Handling Difficult Emotions

There's is strange relationship between thoughts and feelings. Thoughts provoke feelings, and feelings, in turn, can bring about thoughts.

Feeling is subtler than thoughts.

Feelings change.

You can't have the same feeling all the time.

When we feel high, there's no problem. The problem comes when we feel low. Then the more one tries to feel high, the more the low feelings persist.

Have you ever loved your low feelings? You have always fought with them. Just close your eyes and go into the low. Don't do anything; just agree. You'll start rising in no time. If you try to fight with your feelings, they take a longer time to clear.

People tend to get angry, then sad, and then angry again. People go through the cycle of emotions without awareness. Children algo get angry and then cry. However they snap out of emotions easily. Even before their tears have dried, they start giggling. But the adults take months, sometimes even years, to overcome emotions. What prevents adults from snapping out of this cycle and living in the present moment? It is because our emotions are stored at certain points in our body. An event is just a trigger for these emotions to come into play.

(Proposed solution) Pay attention to the effect of emotions on your body. Every emotion has a corresponding sensation in the body. This phenomenon is connected with the endocrine glands.

The the same way the body influences the mind, the mind also influence the body. Start observing the sensation in your body that the emotion creates. You'll notice that as you observe the sensation, the emotion starts to dissolve.

Through mediation, we can get centered. This doesn't mean that you become stiff and emotionless, but the emotions don't rule you. Amid a storm of emotions, be solid like a rock-don't let emotions carry you away. Depression and low feelings can't touch you at your core.

However big the clouds are, they can't overshadow the sun. Even on the darkest day, it is still day-clouds can never make it night

Excerpts from "Notes for the Journey Within" by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

#srisriravishankar #notesforthejourneywithin #mindcoaching #emotionmangement #depression #acceptance

Amazon link for the book: https://a.co/d/17Yxida