In today's society we are infiltrated with events that spark an emotional reaction. Whether that emotion be extreme happiness such as having a new baby, ultimate sadness such as a lost loved one or perhaps rage from a horrible event- we perceive those emotions as okay to express or not okay to express based on our earlier events childhood.
What tends to happen is when certain negative occurrences take place during childhood, adolescents and even adulthood that spark a particular emotion that we do not want to identify with, we immediately deny all most connection to it, and it therefore 'scars' our inner self. From the instance of heart ache, rage or pain, we refuse to identify with these emotions and suppress these images/events inside the body. We will then rectify to ourselves that we have 'let go' of the emotion, when in reality we have pushed it so far down unconsciously that we are preventing other positive emotions from entering. These disowned feelings then become a part of our shadow.
Carl Jung describes the shadow as our dark side, the unconscious part of us that houses all the raw thoughts and desires we are shamed to admit to. This part of our psyche contains those aspects of our character that could have been formerly disapproved by society, experienced shame guilt or rage from family, friends and loved ones, or caught in a strict religious belief system; because of these aspects we were unable to acknowledge or act out at that time. So from the time we were very young, these emotions and feelings were represented as "bad", therefore hidden away not to be experienced. We committed to being "good", and kept away the "bad".
Growth is uncomfortable because you must face those "bad" and "dark" emotions, yet once you acknowledge and welcome these feelings, you can just as easily let-them-pass. Because our nature is to evolve and become ever more enlightened, the part of us that's dark will constantly try to come to light. The disowned/numbed part of us wants to be heard and accepted. If we ignore these emotions that are prevalent then they will begin to cause you physical pain, because you are manifesting physically what you do not what to express emotionally. For example Kathy Freston from Quantum healing says it clearly when she gives a glimpse into the mind-body connection. "Basically the brain says, Whoa! I can't let myself feel that rage. It threatens my identity as a good and nice person. Good and nice people do not have rage; it is unseemly and out of control. I will send a signal to the tendons and muscles in a certain section of my lower back (or shoulder, or headache etc) so that it seizes up with pain, and then I will completely forget about that nasty emotion because I will be too busy focusing on how much my back hurts and what I can do to stop it. "In her descriptive imagery, she allows us to take a peek into the internal dialogue that ensues between the body and mind all day long.
Freston also says that, "We can only begin to truly heal by connecting to these disowned feelings and let them be expressed. " Some ways to release this emotion would be to scream in a closed car, beat a pillow, curl up in a ball all day and cry, write it in a journal, as a song/poem or do work with the Sedona Method, (A technique for releasing the energy of these emotions from your body) , and much more. None of this will kill us; in fact it will heal us
Once we make peace with our demons- be they rage, anger, fear, shame or judgment etc- we become more fully integrated human beings. Those who are in touch with their feelings does not need to manifest symptoms physically because they are already paying attention to what goes on inside.
So next time your feel a pain or illness coming one, ask yourself what emotion or memory are you trying to avoid? Be inquisitive to your inner being and Ask the questions to find the answers. Know that it might be difficult to find the answer immediately because it is unconscious. But remain open to the process. Know that the answers will come when you are open to the idea of releasing your emotions. The moment you free yourself from judging your emotions and looking upon them as evil, negative or bad- is when your higher self can come to form, and you can be freed of all your old beliefs and start to choose the ones that really make you feel good!
No comments:
Post a Comment