The messengers I'm referring to are the emotions, and the sensations that accompany them, that we experience at different times, and to varying degrees. The emotions we feel serve as messengers by letting us know what we don't want, and we what we do want. They present themselves and are experienced through a variety of sensations in our body, and depending where in the body they are felt, can help us to understand more depth about the message we are meant to be aware of. Why do we need these messengers to learn more about ourselves? In my understanding, it's because these emotions are rooted in our thoughts, and most people are only aware of 5% to 10% of their thoughts. And with so many thoughts passing through our mind without us being fully aware of them, our body needs a communication system that allows us to be aware that something is right for us, or not.
So why would we shoot these messengers? Why do we often decide that certain emotions are negative, if they present themselves for us to gain a deeper understanding about what we like and dislike? For many people, many messages have been programmed into us; messages that tell us that we should not feel this way or that, or that we should not express ourselves. Basically, we've often been taught that we do not have permission to feel. As a result, we often resist these sensations, shooting the messenger before we even receive the message. In reality what happens though, is we hold them captive. The emotion does not come as an outside messenger, rather, it is on the inside of us, and we hold it in our bodies.
So why is this a problem? These emotions we store up have a physical presence in the body. They are called peptides, and if they are not released, they will find a home in various parts of the body, most often in the body's organs. This will result in improper functioning of the affected organs, and if left to do so, will create a state of dis-ease. Another issue about stuffing emotions down is that it can create an undercurrent in our subconscious thought patterns that is self defeating, and will serve to perpetuate the unwanted emotions and sensations, which will then result in more peptides being stored by the body. It's a vicious cycle, and it only serves to bring more pain than what would have been experienced had we allowed the emotions to be present in the first place, thus releasing them.
But don't fret. It is not without hope. We, as humans have many tools available to help us to release stored up emotions, and all that is needed is the desire to do so. As one of my teachers would say, humans are transformers, meaning that we have an ability to transform and transmute energies of all types. There are so many tools available to us, and it is a very personal process and journey to discover what fits for each person. Breath work, yoga, exercise, massage therapy, sound therapy, meditation are only a few of the many options.
As part of my journey, I am a strong advocate for the use of healing sounds. They have a way of washing through the body in ways that are not intellectual or analytical, which is great to keep us out of the drama of our egos. They can quickly show us where we're holding emotions, and offer supportive vibrations to help us to release them with ease and grace. Having said that, no matter which options we choose, there is one element that is always an integral aspect in making it work. I'm referring to breath work.
In the words of Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, from his book Meditation as Medicine: "Breath creates movement, pulsation, vibration and life. With breath, we bring some the outer world into us, and we release some of ourselves into the world." When we breathe well, which means to breathe deeply, we allow ourselves permission to relax, which opens us up to many processes that will easily release emotions of all types. A good friend of mine taught me some breath work, and he described a process which he called Triple A. The 3 A's are awareness, acceptance, and appreciation.
When we use breath work, we allow ourselves to feel the emotions in our body. If we invite the emotions to the forefront of our consciousness, we gain awareness of what it is, to whatever degree we feel we need to. When we continue to breathe well with this emotion, we move towards a state of acceptance for it's presence in our body. We are not really trying to make it go away, but are willing to have it in our awareness, and we are saying: "I am aware of you, (sadness, anger....) and I accept you here". At this point in the process, we are not trying to change anything, except for ourselves. If we're brave, and we continue to breathe well with awareness and acceptance, we will come to see what message(s) this emotion was here to present. We will have listened to the messenger, and will have gained some control over a part of our thought patterns, all by having surrendered to the process. At this stage, we are now in appreciation. We are thankful that the messenger (emotion) came, and we are grateful for the lesson that will no doubt enrich our life. Through this breath work, we have gained awareness, acceptance, and appreciation. To reward us for our courage to invite the emotion to our table, it will begin to unravel itself from our body, and it will release itself, because it has now delivered it's message, and we have said thank you and let it go. We have set the messenger free.
There are a number of breathing techniques that can assist in many ways, and I will recommend finding good sources to study them. A good place to start, however, is to sit down, and breathe deeply, so that the belly expands as we inhale, and then allow the body to relax on the exhale. The more often we breathe in this way, the easier it will be to allow the body's natural processes to receive and release emotions. Furthermore, anytime we feel a sensation in the body, if we can make some time to breathe deeply with this messenger, to gain the awareness, the acceptance and the appreciation, then we ensure that the body is not taxed with holding onto the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger, or hold it captive. Breathe!
So why would we shoot these messengers? Why do we often decide that certain emotions are negative, if they present themselves for us to gain a deeper understanding about what we like and dislike? For many people, many messages have been programmed into us; messages that tell us that we should not feel this way or that, or that we should not express ourselves. Basically, we've often been taught that we do not have permission to feel. As a result, we often resist these sensations, shooting the messenger before we even receive the message. In reality what happens though, is we hold them captive. The emotion does not come as an outside messenger, rather, it is on the inside of us, and we hold it in our bodies.
So why is this a problem? These emotions we store up have a physical presence in the body. They are called peptides, and if they are not released, they will find a home in various parts of the body, most often in the body's organs. This will result in improper functioning of the affected organs, and if left to do so, will create a state of dis-ease. Another issue about stuffing emotions down is that it can create an undercurrent in our subconscious thought patterns that is self defeating, and will serve to perpetuate the unwanted emotions and sensations, which will then result in more peptides being stored by the body. It's a vicious cycle, and it only serves to bring more pain than what would have been experienced had we allowed the emotions to be present in the first place, thus releasing them.
But don't fret. It is not without hope. We, as humans have many tools available to help us to release stored up emotions, and all that is needed is the desire to do so. As one of my teachers would say, humans are transformers, meaning that we have an ability to transform and transmute energies of all types. There are so many tools available to us, and it is a very personal process and journey to discover what fits for each person. Breath work, yoga, exercise, massage therapy, sound therapy, meditation are only a few of the many options.
As part of my journey, I am a strong advocate for the use of healing sounds. They have a way of washing through the body in ways that are not intellectual or analytical, which is great to keep us out of the drama of our egos. They can quickly show us where we're holding emotions, and offer supportive vibrations to help us to release them with ease and grace. Having said that, no matter which options we choose, there is one element that is always an integral aspect in making it work. I'm referring to breath work.
In the words of Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, from his book Meditation as Medicine: "Breath creates movement, pulsation, vibration and life. With breath, we bring some the outer world into us, and we release some of ourselves into the world." When we breathe well, which means to breathe deeply, we allow ourselves permission to relax, which opens us up to many processes that will easily release emotions of all types. A good friend of mine taught me some breath work, and he described a process which he called Triple A. The 3 A's are awareness, acceptance, and appreciation.
When we use breath work, we allow ourselves to feel the emotions in our body. If we invite the emotions to the forefront of our consciousness, we gain awareness of what it is, to whatever degree we feel we need to. When we continue to breathe well with this emotion, we move towards a state of acceptance for it's presence in our body. We are not really trying to make it go away, but are willing to have it in our awareness, and we are saying: "I am aware of you, (sadness, anger....) and I accept you here". At this point in the process, we are not trying to change anything, except for ourselves. If we're brave, and we continue to breathe well with awareness and acceptance, we will come to see what message(s) this emotion was here to present. We will have listened to the messenger, and will have gained some control over a part of our thought patterns, all by having surrendered to the process. At this stage, we are now in appreciation. We are thankful that the messenger (emotion) came, and we are grateful for the lesson that will no doubt enrich our life. Through this breath work, we have gained awareness, acceptance, and appreciation. To reward us for our courage to invite the emotion to our table, it will begin to unravel itself from our body, and it will release itself, because it has now delivered it's message, and we have said thank you and let it go. We have set the messenger free.
There are a number of breathing techniques that can assist in many ways, and I will recommend finding good sources to study them. A good place to start, however, is to sit down, and breathe deeply, so that the belly expands as we inhale, and then allow the body to relax on the exhale. The more often we breathe in this way, the easier it will be to allow the body's natural processes to receive and release emotions. Furthermore, anytime we feel a sensation in the body, if we can make some time to breathe deeply with this messenger, to gain the awareness, the acceptance and the appreciation, then we ensure that the body is not taxed with holding onto the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger, or hold it captive. Breathe!