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The Emotional Guidance System
Many of us carry around strong ideas about our emotions and how we feel. These ideas were created in part by the reactions of those around us while we were experiencing them, by the ideology of the society in which we grew to maturity and by our own experience of and with how we feel. In actuality our emotions are neither good nor bad and to borrow from Shakespeare, it is our thinking that makes them so. Most of us have entirely missed the boat altogether on the purpose of emotions. Emotions serve a function…they let us know where we are internally. If we feel good then we know that there is balance and harmony between what we are thinking, what we are doing and our innermost self. If we feel bad, then something is out of alignment. So the feelings that most of us view as negative actually give us an opportunity to make a change, to come into alignment and to restore harmony and balance.
If There’s Discomfort Go Deeper
Whenever a strong emotion arises within you, it might be helpful to look at it like an internal alarm…lets call it your harmony alarm. It’s telling you to wake up and take a look around…that something is going on of which you were not aware. So the first step is always to stick with the emotion…and let it lead you to thoughts that created it…because it will take you to the source of the disturbance which can always be found within your perspective in other words within the lens you are choosing to view the events and happenings of your life. That lens generates thoughts born out of that perspective…the body then reacts to those thoughts in the form of an emotion. So stick with the feeling, let it lead you to the thoughts that generated it and then examine your perspective.
Playing With Perspective
Consciousness is the most stubborn substance in the cosmos, and the most fluid. It can be rigid as concrete, and it can change in an instant. A song can change it, or a story, or a fragrance wafting on the wind. ~ The Fifth Sacred Thing
As illustrated in the quote above, a viewpoint is easily changed. It is much more fluid than most of us realize and changing it is somewhat similar to changing an old pair of pants that no longer fits. Once you have tracked down the thoughts, take a non-judgmental look at them. Ask yourself if what they are saying is really true? Is there any real danger here? Perhaps you’re thinking about something difficult that could happen or something that was unpleasant in the past. Perhaps you’re dealing with another person and instead of realizing that their actions are a reflection of what is going on inside of them and their current needs, experiences and explorations you are assuming that this is all about you. Try to take yourself out of your viewpoint and try on another. (Like pants shopping) keep trying on new pairs until you identify one that feels o.k. and continue to play the game until you find one that actually feels good. When you reach the one that feels good, you will know you are on the right track. You have identified the emotions, followed them back to the thoughts that generated them and used those thoughts as a window to the viewpoint which was in error and was in essence responsible for the imbalance. By using the navigational system of your emotions, you were able to identify a viewpoint which would restore that balance and go on with your life from your newly enhanced perspective…thereby transforming all that was negative into positive change.
