Many people struggle with negative emotions. Many also experience shame about those emotions since they have learned they shouldn’t feel that way.
Anger, resentment, or fear may also not appear very spiritual.
But no feeling is “unspiritual”.
When we label emotions, no matter if we call them good or bad–that’s judgment. We judge the feeling as “bad,” “not spiritual,””good,” or “spiritual.”
And when we do, we tend to push the so-called bad feelings away and store them somewhere we don’t have to deal with them and where no one can see them.
But the problem is that they are still there, whether we hide them from ourselves or others.
And when we deny feelings like that, they can become problematic.
A negative emotion stored in the body causes negativity to the body. And if we don’t acknowledge it, it may come out in some other way sooner or later because the body cannot carry strong negative emotions for too long without some outlet.
So, the emotion may come out in other situations. We may become very reactive, depressed, or start having anxiety.
So, it’s essential to acknowledge and feel what we feel, even when ashamed.
Being aware of an emotion means we have already taken the first step toward freeing ourselves. We are not entirely trapped in it when we are aware of it.
However, when we feel shame and judge our emotions, we add more suffering to what we already feel. So first, we have the negative emotion, and then a judgement that says we shouldn’t feel that emotion.But we already do.
So, even though shame is a sign that we don’t want to have those kinds of emotions – as opposed to those who act on their negative emotions and see no problem with it, it still adds more suffering because the emotion is already there.
The key to freeing ourselves from any emotion is to feel it fully and set our thoughts aside – to feel it directly as a sensation in the body, without judgment.
It takes some practice, and we may need to start with less intense emotions before taking on the more difficult ones, and do it gradually and with the help of a professional.
But allowing the emotion to have its full outlet is the key to freedom.🙏
