How Emotions Can Influence Our Health

Letting go of feelings is a natural process which helps us stay connected to the Flow of Life.

Positive feelings feel amazing.  Many people enjoy expressing positive feelings for that reason.  It just feels good.

Feelings born in the tummy flow out freely when one feels good.

When negative emotions are involved the process of expressing them does not always seem as simple.

In order to express a feeling we first need to feel it, and many of us would rather not feel the negative feelings.  Instead we decided to suppress them, in hopes that we will never have to deal with them.  Some people get really good at suppressing all or part of their feelings.  This traps the feelings inside ourselves.  As more emotions are piled internally on top of each other we start to run out of room.  The emotions start to find other ways of escaping causing all sorts of mental and physical symptoms to their human.  We may find ourselves having to spend more and more energy managing the great collection of emotions within us instead of putting that energy into other things.
We sever our smooth connection to Life's Flow.  

We can not suppress our emotions all our lives.  Eventually we run out of internal storage room and they find a different way of escaping.  There are natural, healthy ways to release emotion.  Suppressed emotions can cause mental and physical strain to their human.

There is no need to panic...

Part of our life mission is to learn how to deal with our feelings to the best of our ability.

It is easy to start and we do not need anything special or expensive.

All we need to do is to start consciously feeling our emotions.  Even if we can not manage to stay present for what we feel in the moment a feeling is conceived, we can always revisit that moment later on, in a more comfortable space.

It is very helpful to accept that this process may not feel pleasant at first, 
but still to commit to a positive, new outcome.

A more in depth post on how to learn and manage emotions is right HERE.

In my personal life...

I feel most of my emotions start out of my stomach and rise up with my breath to escape through my head.  (Hence the illustrations.)
Maybe this happens differently for others.

Depending on my state of mind, body and soul combined, sometimes I would feel certain feelings get stuck on their way out; in my chest, in my throat.  Paying attention to how I feel in my body, mind and soul is a new practice for me.  Prior to this all my life I had other cooping mechanisms.  Suppressing emotions was one of them.  Eventually my stomach started to get "eaten" away by them.  Pretty much literally.  Many things in my body stopped working properly and I got really sick.  This was my encouragement to pay attention.  Which is what I am learning how to do now and slowly healing my tummy.

FEAR + DOUBT: Results Within the Thought Process

Before a conscious thought that could be expressed in words is born, my mind goes through an entire process of "pre" thinking. 

Playing with my thought process one evening, I was able to see the different stages that my mind goes through (within a millisecond) in order to get to a conscious, firm thought / conclusion.

The greatest discovery from the exercise was the realization of how quickly my patterns of Fear and Doubt enter into each equation!  I have perfected the pattern of inserting these two into almost everything that goes through my mind.

Which means Fear and Doubt affect almost all my decisions and actions!  
And; therefore, most outcomes! 

My mind tricks me.
Instead of calling Fear and Doubt as they are, my mind gives them other names depending on circumstance.
  Realistic  
    Sensible
      Responsible
        Committed
The list goes on...

 
Examples with Fear and Doubt:
  
thought:  Perhaps I can also enter into that art contest.
realistic reply:  Nope, look at all those awesome artists, there is no way you even stand a chance.

thought: Oohhh I want some tea with chocolate!
responsible reply:  Nope, that will make you fat and caffeinated and plain no good.

Thought Process with Fear & Doubt Inserted

GAME: How to Catch Fear and Doubt

Feelings are the answer.  I suggest playing a game with your thoughts.  Have a quiet space to just relax and watch your thoughts go by.  Think of something that makes you feel good.  See how quickly that feeling is interfered with.  The instant you feel your true happiness and excitement changes to something slightly more negative is the moment in your thoughts you want to revisit.

You might want to see what the interference with the feeling of happiness feels like. Sometimes you might label it, 'SADNESS', sometimes the feeling is too complex for words.  Just feeling it is enough. 

Try talking to the feeling too,
"Hi, who are you?  What are you doing here?  Where did you come from?"
Pause after every question.  Often the answer comes within moments.  Answers come in a variety of ways, not just words.  Sometimes an event from the past pops into memory, or a person's face or another feeling that is connected to something else in your life.  I would encourage anyone to follow these little clues deeper into themselves.  I am often surprised and thankful to find out where they lead.

It is a fun game.  What is there to lose?




After playing this game...

I tried following my thought process again, but this time completely canceling any negative influences.  Results were not only positive, but amazingly unexpected!!



Examples without Fear and Doubt:

thought:  Oohhh I want some tea with chocolate!
reply:  Why not?
thought:  Well I just wanted to make myself happier about the last thought of not being good enough for an art contest.
reply:  Just go for it.  It will be fun.

Thought Process without Negative Influence

I started to realize things about myself I was not consciously grasping.
Working with these new realizations I was able to improve my state of mind within moments!

Is this some sort of magic?