The Emotional Processor
Moving through laughter and joy is easy, but life includes a full spectrum of emotions.
How consciously allowing and inclusive are we towards ourselves and all that we feel?
What if we processed difficult emotions the same way
we did happiness, curiosity, and surprise?
How do we process happiness, surprise, and curiosity?
When we feel happy, we acknowledge it, we allow ourselves to feel it, and we accept having the emotion with our whole being. It is easy; such emotions automatically relax the body.
How do we process anger, fear, sadness, shame, and disgust?
Our instinct is to protect ourselves; we tense up and do our best to avoid the cause of the emotion, both physically and mentally. When a threat to our survival is imminent, this is a good strategy. But, in the world we live in today, there are many things that evoke these emotions in us without being an actual threat to our lives.
When that happens, we can practice to consciously process such emotions in the same way we do happiness. By acknowledging the emotion, allowing ourselves to feel the emotion - noting where and how it presents in our body - and accepting that the emotion is there for the moment. Relaxation may not be automatic, but we can adopt practical practices to induce it, e.g., mindfulness, meditation, and tapping.
Check out our Processing Emotions page for more information.
