Many people carry this burden with out understanding its true supply. We frequently suppose that by avoiding our painful feelings, we’re defending ourselves from extra hurt. However what if the other is true? What if the very act of suppressing our feelings is what’s weighing us down?
The Phantasm of Safety
We stay in a society that values positivity and power. We’re taught to maintain a stiff higher lip, to push by means of ache, and to all the time current a contented face to the world. This cultural norm has led many people to consider that acknowledging and feeling our painful feelings is an indication of weak spot. So, we numb ourselves. We distract ourselves with work, hobbies, or social media. We inform ourselves that we’re effective, even after we’re not.
However this faux positivity comes at a value. Once we suppress our feelings, we don’t make them disappear. As a substitute, we bury them deep inside, the place they fester and develop heavier over time. The extra we ignore them, the extra they have an effect on us, manifesting as stress, nervousness, and a intensive sense of heaviness.
The Paradox of Consciousness
Via conversations with many ladies, I’ve observed an intriguing paradox: those that are deeply dedicated to their private development journey and internal work usually really feel extra emotional heaviness than others. At first, this appeared counterintuitive. Why would those that are extra self-aware and devoted to development expertise extra penalties from numbing their feelings?
Over time, it has grow to be clear that elevated consciousness and the pursuit of non-public development can generally result in the unintentional suppression of feelings. As we grow to be extra conscious, we additionally grow to be extra inclined to make use of instruments designed to face in positivity, comparable to mantras, affirmations, and methods to boost our vibration. We’re taught to catch ourselves after we begin spiraling into negativity and to shift rapidly to a extra optimistic state.
Nevertheless, this fixed push in the direction of positivity can generally end result within the suppression of our true feelings. We would use these consciousness instruments to bypass our damaging emotions moderately than totally experiencing and processing them. In distinction, those that aren’t as engaged in private development could have fewer instruments to shift their emotional state. Whereas they may be much less conscious, in addition they really feel much less strain to always transfer to a optimistic place, which suggests they could find yourself suppressing their feelings much less continuously.
This paradox highlights the significance of balancing our pursuit of positivity with the necessity to genuinely really feel and course of our feelings. True development and emotional lightness come not from avoiding damaging feelings however from embracing and understanding them.
The Hidden Weight of Suppressed Feelings
Suppressing feelings is like attempting to carry a seaside ball underwater. It takes numerous effort, and finally, it can pop again up, usually with extra power than earlier than. The emotional vitality we use to maintain our emotions at bay is exhausting. It drains us and leaves us feeling heavy and burdened.
This emotional heaviness can seep into each facet of our lives. It may have an effect on {our relationships}, our work, and our general sense of well-being. We would discover ourselves changing into irritable, withdrawing from family members, or shedding curiosity in actions that after introduced us pleasure. The load of suppressed feelings may even manifest bodily, resulting in complications, fatigue, and different stress-related illnesses.
The Counterintuitive Path to Lightness
Right here’s the place it will get counterintuitive: the way in which to really feel lighter is to cease avoiding our feelings and begin feeling them. This might sound scary at first. In spite of everything, we’ve been conditioned to consider that going through our ache will solely make it worse. However in actuality, permitting ourselves to completely expertise our feelings is the important thing to releasing them.
Once we make area for our feelings, we acknowledge their presence and provides them an opportunity to be felt and processed. This doesn’t imply wallowing in negativity or changing into overwhelmed by our emotions. It means sitting with our feelings, understanding them, and permitting them to maneuver by means of us. By doing this, we launch their maintain on us and free ourselves from their weight.
Understanding Our Soul’s Objective
In Chapter 2, web page 47 of my ebook “Turning into Soulful: Six Keys for Profound Transformation.” I write, “Our soul yearns to expertise the fullness of the human situation, accepting the thrill and challenges. It acknowledges that struggling and luxury, concern and bravado, despair and hope are important to our life’s mosaic.”
Our soul’s major objective is to study, develop, and increase by means of experiencing life to the fullest. This includes feeling all feelings with out labeling them pretty much as good or unhealthy. Many people have been taught from a younger age to numb or suppress our feelings. Nevertheless, our soul doesn’t see feelings pretty much as good or unhealthy. All feelings are a part of our human expertise.
Giving ourselves permission to be precisely the place we’re emotionally in each second may be difficult. Nevertheless, if we permit our soul to information us and really hearken to her, we are able to launch the fixed effort of attempting to all the time keep a excessive vibration. Once we focus solely on elevating our vibration, we ignore the feelings that want our consideration. Once we totally settle for no matter we’re experiencing within the second, we not want to use effort to launch or let go of difficult feelings. As a substitute, we create area for these feelings, really feel them, and permit them to be. In doing so, the feelings themselves will naturally allow us to go when they’re prepared.
Feelings don’t come to hurt us. They arrive to be held. Unhappiness, hopelessness, anger, and frustration are all regular components of our human expertise and deserve compassion moderately than being swept apart. By making area for our feelings and really permitting them to be, we’ll naturally shift to a lighter state.
Embracing the Full Spectrum of Feelings
I lately underwent shoulder and arm surgical procedure. Main as much as it, I felt anxious and nervous, however I reminded myself to embrace these regular, human emotions. To my shock, the primary week after the surgical procedure went exceptionally nicely, each bodily and emotionally. I had great help from my husband and buddies, and I additionally felt deeply supported by Reiki. A bunch of Reiki masters from my neighborhood, together with college students and graduate buddies, despatched me day by day Reiki earlier than and after the surgical procedure, making me really feel held and carried by their vitality. This help helped me keep emotionally secure and pleased with my restoration.
After the primary week, nevertheless, issues modified once I had my first bodily remedy appointment. I eliminated the sling that had been holding my arm, and the therapist started instructing my arm to maneuver once more, which brought about extra ache. That day, the bodily ache triggered a wave of feelings. It was as if eradicating the sling and beginning to transfer my arm allowed me to lastly really feel the ache, fatigue, and a little bit of hopelessness that I had been holding again.
I grew to become very conscious of my ordinary tendency to remain optimistic and suppress ache, however I noticed that true therapeutic required me to completely expertise these difficult feelings. I allowed myself to really feel the unhappiness, frustration, and nervousness with out operating away from them. After giving myself this present day to course of all of the tough feelings, one thing magical occurred. The following morning, I wakened feeling a lot lighter, as if a weight had been lifted from my coronary heart and soul.
Avoiding Non secular Bypassing
It’s true that attempting to be optimistic on a regular basis generally is a type of protection mechanism, main us to numb ourselves with positivity and never really handle the underlying points. This is named non secular bypassing – utilizing non secular practices and optimistic pondering to keep away from coping with painful feelings and unresolved points.
We frequently grow to be extra essential, not solely due to our background but additionally as a result of we really feel the necessity to set the tone and be an instance for others. Nevertheless, it’s essential to grasp that we have to really feel and undergo our personal experiences first to genuinely lead by instance. True therapeutic and development come from embracing and processing our full spectrum of feelings, not simply the nice ones. By permitting ourselves to really feel the ache, we create area for genuine therapeutic and a deeper reference to our true selves.
Embracing Authenticity
Embracing our feelings is an act of authenticity. It means being sincere with ourselves about what we’re feeling and giving ourselves permission to really feel it. This authenticity may be extremely liberating. It permits us to attach extra deeply with ourselves and others, fostering real relationships and a stronger sense of self.
Once we cease numbing and begin feeling, we start to see feelings not as enemies to be feared however as precious messengers. They inform us what we’d like, what we’re lacking, and the place we have to heal. By listening to those messages and addressing the foundation causes of our ache, we are able to remodel our emotional panorama and discover true freedom.
Conclusion
The journey to emotional lightness shouldn’t be about avoiding ache however about embracing it. It’s about recognizing that our feelings, even the painful ones, are an integral a part of our human expertise. By permitting ourselves to really feel, we are able to launch the hidden weight of suppression and step right into a lighter, extra genuine model of ourselves.
If you end up feeling heavy, take a second to examine in together with your feelings. What are you holding again? What must be felt and acknowledged?
The trail to freedom is thru feeling, not avoiding. Embrace your feelings, and also you’ll discover the lightness you search.
Should you really feel heavy and also you’re prepared to permit your soul to information you in releasing this weight and feeling lighter, take into account taking the Journey into the Soul with me. You’ll be able to awaken to the knowledge of your Soul and obtain clear steering from inside.
