Love Your Emotions
Isn't it astounding that feeling emotions is so fundamental and essential to our humanity and well being and yet few of us were taught how to feel? Few of us were guided to notice the sensations in our bodies related to our emotions. Not many of us were shown how to use our breath to free our emotions and help them move. A small minority of us were supported to verbally and physically express our emotions in healthy ways? A tiny, very lucky few of us were encouraged to accept, welcome and love all our emotions. There are likely some people who were taught to ask for help when emotions were too big to feel alone, but I haven't met them yet.
If you haven't yet experimented with bringing love to your emotions, I highly recommend it. Right in the midst of your emotion, whether it's anger, sorrow, excitement, or joy, bring love to it. There is an aliveness and a vitalness that comes when you bring love to your emotions while they are activated. The love I'm talking about is not an indulgent love or a clinging love. It's a compassionate, welcoming energy. If this energy of love were to speak it would say, "Welcome anger. I'm so glad you're here. Welcome fear. I love you. I'm with you all the way. Depression, I've got you. We're going to get through this together. Hello Excitement. I'm right here with you." Try loving your emotions as if they are very young children, your very young children.
Clearly, there are some emotions that are difficult to love. When difficult emotions come up and love is hard to cultivate on your own, it's time to use your imagination and your resources. A resource is anyone or anything that you feel unconditionally loved and supported by - a friend or family member, an animal or a part of nature, an entity or spiritual being. When you can't access the love yourself, imagine your resources surrounding you and bringing love to you and your emotions. Of course, if you have actual people or other resources to reach out to, take that option. But don't underestimate the power of your imagination; it can get you through those times when no one is available.
You can also bring love to your thoughts, your needs, your characteristics, your body, to every last part of you. Life triggers the things in us that need to be loved. When we bring love to whatever comes up in us, then our life energy can keep moving and growing, instead of getting stuck in our bodies.