Sunday, March 8, 2009

EMOTIONS: DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM

When I think of emotions, I think of a state of being. When I think of feelings, I think of how I make meaning out of something or how I perceive a situation. When emotions, such as sadness, are coupled with confused thinking and too much adrenaline, our feelings cannot be trusted. They will be out of control and we may act in a frenzied way.

We need to learn to let emotions of any kind be run through a purification system in order to get to our real feelings. If we are codependent or trying to control others, it will be hard to trust that our feelings are pure. They will be true to us, but not necessarily pure. If we act out of confused or distorted thinking, our actions will be reactive rather than based on authentic responses.

This is why it is important to take responsibility for your feelings and work through thinking so that emotions can give you true perceptions of how you really feel. When you are unclear in your thinking or confused, perceptions tend to get muddied. They may not be reliable. When you work through tough problems and unresolved issues, you will have a much clearer assessment of what is going on and can trust your feelings.

It is time for you to relearn the skills of discernment and intuition. If you have had trauma or struggles with intimate relationships, you will need to do some inner work on your own experiences. Connecting with Higher Power awareness and spirituality can bring sensitivity to truth and honest insight. During this time, you can journal your thoughts and feelings and find out what is right for you and begin to trust your heart.

The emotions and range of feelings will begin to expand as you take them with you in an honest way. You will begin to feel alive and led by love of self and God. You can learn to trust your point of view and observe situations from a healthy perspective as you allow others to have their own views as well. Feeling alive in your own self allows you to give permission to others to be alive in their own ways.

This is a process and will not happen overnight, especially if you have been codependent and viewed your world from the perspective of others or how they defined you. If you had parents that were critical or were in abusive relationships, you may have given away a lot of your personal power and connection with your emotions. It is time to begin to take back that ground and not leave home without it.

Awareness and observation are the first steps to living in your feelings and being able to trust their reality for you. Wait and do not operate out of confusion. Try not to leap to anything and be reactive, but if you do, let those reactions lead you to discover your true feelings. Why did you react in an angry or sad way? What were you really feeling? Once you ask yourself these questions, you are getting keys to what is going on with you. You will begin to feel new awareness and a sense of being alive. You will start to experience intimacy with God, yourself, and others.

I encourage you to begin today to seek this path. Get in touch with your emotions.

Blessings,
Susan

6 comments:

  1. Am I the only one Susan is addressing? Oh my goodness, my name should be in each paragraph. God Bless you, Susan for your ability to express this in a such a way for me to understand. I am sure people who don't have these issues would read this and say, wow, this is like basic life 101....and it is. But for me, I am having to relearn the basics.

    The very last paragraph,"Wait and do not operate out of confusion" is so true. If I can be of any encourgement to someone, just let me know. God is not a God of confusion. When you need to do something it will be made very clear to you. And that time may not be until you have regained who you were created to be and being someone that someone wants or expects you to be. God won't send you out for your next assignment until you are ready. He would not do that to you.

    Thank you, Susan. You are awesome

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  2. ..correction.....
    ...and NOT being someone that someone wants or expects you to be.

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  3. Love this!

    I've spent so much time concerned with other feelings, how they defined me, letting them tell me how to spend my time, waiting for their cues....I lost myself. I had to shut down my feelings in order to live this way.

    As I begin to 'thaw out' and feel again, all you say is so true Susan.

    What I have found is that when I have times I feel confused, it's best to not react right away but to slow down and give myself some time to really feel what is going on inside of me. As I work through the process my feelings become clearer and sharper and I am beginning to recognize them faster.

    This is such a good thing...and feeling 'alive' describes it well. I'm beginning to find myself again.

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  4. Jo, you have described "me" to a "T". I, too, had to shut down in order to survive. I am thawing out too. :) Keep it up

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  5. r,
    Thanks, you too!!

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  6. ok I don't know who 'wuts it' is but r, that was me saying thanks and you keep it up too!!!

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