My husband and I watched the movie “Lucy” the other night, about what happens when a human being accesses 100% of her brain-based cognitive abilities. I promise I won’t spoil the movie for you! This morning he and I had a short discussion over breakfast…yep, this is how we roll…when we’re not being light and silly… about what might happen if a human being accessed 100% of his/her heart-based emotional abilities. We decided within minutes that it all leads to Unity/Love consciousness. Big concept. So I’m blogging….
So many of my teachings include my intuitive knowing about Soul Plans, Soul Agreements, the promptings of the soul to guide us in our lives, the well-meaning but distracting efforts of the ego to keep us safe and preserved, and the energetic cords that bind and limit us. Then there is the life of the human heart and its many emotional experiences, some of which take time, respect and self-love to embrace and heal. And did you know this about the heart’s dramatically huge energy field? Research tells us that it’s actually 5000 times greater than the energy field of the brain! Wow!
The spiritual path of grief is of special interest to me for many personal reasons, as every human life bears some, or a huge amount of it. Modern culture admonishes us against diving into grief and encourages us to tuck it away, and we do, erecting firm defenses that serve the purpose. And then we wonder why we are blocked from creativity, love, peace, joy…life! Encouraging exploration of these emotions and experiences can be life changing, and uncover unimagined treasures and gifts.
It’s of course, no accident that I was drawn to train and work in a profession that deals directly with the heart and human emotion. I had already begun to heal my own heart and painful past experiences and losses through therapy, and my ongoing training deepened that healing and awakened my passion for helping others to do the same. I quickly found that one of my gifts is to guide and facilitate this emotional/spiritual exploration into healing. And I don’t ask clients to go anywhere I haven’t gone. Deep dives into emotion are so much less scary when you have company that has traveled that road and can ‘hold the lantern’ as well as hold your hand. I found that out for myself and am honored to be that traveling companion for my clients.
To get more comfortable with allowing emotions rather than blocking them or pushing them away, it helps to remember that all emotions begin, rise, peak, fall and eventually, dissolve…if we allow them to. Very often, out of fear of ‘what will happen if I feel that?’ we stop it at the peak and there it stays. And then we suffer endlessly and store that emotion, never being free of it, nor allowing what would emerge next given the chance. Right next to anger or sadness might be joy, or wonder, or love. Are you willing to find out?
This is the way to be fully human, feel it all and know it won’t kill you. Once you get that, your energy can flow as an open heart, imagine that! As my son reminds me, it’s not all bunnies and rainbows…and all the rest of it is deeply precious for its unique humanness… and for the stunning courage it takes to be human.
While this is often much harder and more challenging than it sounds here, breathing, grounding, and trust are what make this kind of in-the-moment living possible, and even a bit easier as time goes on. Life takes on richer, deeper hues as we live this way. And, major bonus! It then becomes so much easier and more graceful for us to connect naturally with each other in love, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, lightness, soul-to-soul. Worth it, you think? Given that we humans thrive on connection and wither without it, seems way worth it, doesn’t it!
How do you experience and walk with your human emotions, especially the ones that have caused you pain in the past? How have you accessed and defined healing for yourself? What makes this easier…or harder? How has life changed for you as you embrace your emotional nature more deeply?
Thank you for being here and reading this. I would love to read your COMMENTS in the section below, so please share!
I love you.
Janice Masters, The Shaman Mama
If I can support you on your path of awakening and living more authentically in a soul-driven way, use the CONTACT form on this site to email me and we’ll arrange a time for a complimentary Spiral Path Healing Discovery Session to get to know each other and discuss your goals and challenges… and how I can help.
#emotion #grief #humanheart #Lucymovie #courage #grief #joy #connection #healing #changeyourlife #theshamanmama #compassion #forgiveness #pain #love
It’s just how I roll (as you say); that’s how this model of human being was built… deep dives standard equipment. It made for much struggle as a young girl/young woman but at this point in life (I am eligible for SS this year 🙂 I have to say that it has only helped me to know how fully alive I have been every step along the way. I experienced deep grief young in life; much younger than I would have liked to (my father passed unexpectedly when I was 18). I think that having an open heart, open emotions allowed me to be open to others messages and that was a life saver in a number of instances. No mistakes, just encounters you can explore or ignore and the ones I chose to explore usually propelled me forward in life, past stuck issues. And then, once something clicks it requires a series (probably forever) of self reminders about what you now know to break the habitual chatter that can still swirl around your being until you have something better habituating your airwaves. It’s all such an amazing journey, never one way and surely very different for as many different people as there are. I always loved your message about the mountain… it’s a mountain, stop pushing and try to move it; it’s not going anywhere. I’ve learned many a new path through you, Jan and I’m very grateful.
Dear Lynn, thank you for your wise and clear words about this important life issue. They are wise and clear as only one who has been there can speak them…knowing the direct experience of pain and how our learning shifts us into a different place that allows for choice. CHOICE, imagine that! Ti be able to sidestep the chatter that swirls (love your imagery of this!) and choose a different branch of the path. And the uniqueness you refer to makes us like precious gems, no two ever exactly alike but sharing properties and characteristics and deep value. and yeah, surrender to the mountain…Love you, Lynnie!! xxoo ~Jan
Love this post! It leads me to think about the emotion/body connection and how emotional repression, and an unhealed past, takes root in the body and disrupts not only our relationships and mental health, but our physical health as well. “It takes stunning courage to be human …” as you say. Thank you for the beautiful post.
Melissa, you’re so right about the disruption cycle…and that is usually at the heart of what I call the INDY Woman experience. One can get stuck in heartbreak and then feel powerless to answer that I’m. Not. Done. Yet! call. And we are SO brave, aren’t we! xxoo Thank you!!
I agree as a fellow therapist, I hold the emotional and spiritual journey of my clients as sacred and would never ask them to go where I have not traveled myself. You are speaking my language, Janice through the connection of blocked creativity and emotions. Thanks for this post.
Lisa, I am so happy to hear that you value the ‘been there, done that, still doing it’ model we hold for our clients. It’s so much easier for them when we are fully human in their eyes and they feel that and resonate with it. Helping to dissolve the blocks is so amazing when energy begins to flow again! :))
Jan, this is definitely an ongoing process for me. I used to avoid, numb and medicate myself from feeling painful emotions. And them I learned to tolerate and accept them, they would pass faster if I didn’t resist them. Now I am seeing them as teachers and learnnb to appreciate them, as they have port anyessages for me. I would like to get to a point where I will be delighted with all my feelings because my inner joy will always be present. On the journey <3
Rachel, we are ALL on the journey of being human. And it’s not always easy. I still struggle sometimes with not wanting to feel things, avoiding them. I recognize the patterns faster and return “Home” sooner, that is the key in my mind. Not to never get lost again, but to get back Home to my heart quicker. It happened just today and when I recognized it, I heard myself say “well, the only answer for this is a boatload of love for myself!” xxoo Thank you… :))
The journey is not easy. Often times one can get mixed up with beliefs that are not even of their own. I know I have had to relearn and let go of things that were not mine, but family beliefs. The past couple of years, I have been on a journey that is more heart based, not what was taught to me. So much happier when I “listen” with my heart. Thanks for you sharing! Much Love, Natasha
I agree, Natasha! We start out with beliefs we have taken on from significant others and they end up feeling like our own. Separating out what’s mine and what’s not is an essential step in claiming our experience and our heart, as you say! Thank YOU for reading and commenting, Jan xxoo
The path of grief is quite lonely. I am feeling especially sad at Christmas as it was my husband’s birthday. I still miss him so much.
Oh, Catherine, what a difficult time…Christmas and his birthday…two that are hard enough to get through, each on their own. And missing him…how could you not. Even though we may believe in the eternal life of the spirit, the earthly presence of your husband being gone from this world, from your life, leaves a void that is painful and as you say, very lonely. I am sending my love and warm hugs and hoping you are able to navigate through the holiday season with some comfort.
I know you are probably doing the things you know to do to manage, embrace, allow the feelings….and still, it’s not easy.We are human and the heart hurts. I have been missing my mom, not the same as a husband for sure, but a deep relationship. I had a happy connection with her a few days ago making the cookies we love so much…and then an old family friend called and my mom was the only one I wanted to share that with…and couldn’t and the tears came.
I wish for you to have the grace to guide you to flow with the waves of grief, and be open to the happy memories too.
Love, Janice