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EMOTIONS
ARE THE BEST MEDICINE
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By
Raj Mathur
Give your feelings, good or bad, full rein and you will be bursting with energy Any idea why you suddenly feel tremendously joyful for no particular reason? Or why depression might dog you for days on end, no matter how hard you try to run away from it? Love, fear, anger, disgust, compassion: all form a panorama that, as we experience it, evokes distinct feelings and emotions. In reality, though, there is no difference between one emotion and another. They are all manifestations of an aspect of our self which we exaggerate or suppress in accordance with the energy levels in our body. Often, it is the fluctuating energy level that is responsible for varying physical and mental states—unless, that is, you are in total control over your mind and body (or just plain lucky!). Some days one might feel that no job is too big or too difficult. Life is a breeze and all obstacles can be overcome with ease. Them, there are those days when even getting out of bed in the morning is such a chore. The world seems to conspire behind your back and anything that can go wrong, does. If only it were possible to crawl into a hole and do a slow fade-out. These ups and downs can also be dictated by other factors like your environment, the people around you and the energy generated by your biorhythms. But how these affect an individual is a different subject altogether. So do fluctuations in energy levels imply that the amount of energy is one's body varies from time to time? Quite simply, no. You always have the same amount of energy at any given time, but what does vary is how much of this energy is free and how much is blocked. The body's energy centers are the chakras. The seven major chakras reside along the spine and the head. Beginning at the base of the spine and the head. Beginning at the base of the spine (Mooladhara) moving through the pelvis (Swadhishtan), below the solar plexus (Manipura), to the heart (Anahata) and the throat (Vishuddh). The sixth chakra is between the eyes (Ajna) and the seventh lies just above the crown of the head (Shahasrara). Ideally, energy flows from the bottom chakra to the top through the intermediate chakras and is called kundalini. Each chakra emits energy with different characteristics. For instances, the Mooladhara manifests itself as balance and as emotions dealing with fear, while the energy in the heart chakra finds expression as feelings of love. If any of these chakras are blocked, it is not possible for that particular type of energy to pass freely through it. These blocks are easily discernible by watching one's emotions (or lack of them). For example, a block in one's Mooladhara may cause a tendency towards fear, while a block in the Anahata may show itself as an inability to love, In extreme cases, this may even cause an individual to develop streaks of cruelty or sadism. These blocks can occur due to a number of reasons; childhood experiences, karma and affinities acquired in past lives (according to some lines of philosophy), physical or mental illnesses, or traumatic experiences. And, it is the individual who is responsible for any blocks that may occur—an external agency can only trigger a block, not create it—but he or she also has the power to remove the block. |
The solution lies in recognizing and accepting one's emotions. In the
course of a single day, or sometimes even a lifetime, we instinctively
strive to envelop ourselves in good emotions like love, compassion, elation
and pride, while negating or suppressing bad ones like anger, fear, lust
and abhorrence. This is a mistake that we often commit. As mentioned,
bad emotions are only symptoms of blocks in the body. Ignoring or suppressing
these blocks does not cause them to vanish; what is more likely to happen
is the strengthening of the blocks.
Energy, like water, must be allowed to flow—keeping it bottled up will result in spillage. The first step in the right direction is to break down the classification of good and bad emotions. For instance, consider a situation when you are moved to tears by a particularly touching scene in a movie or a book. What happens is that the situation you are reading about or viewing touches your chakra, hereby permitting a free flow of energy. The emotion you experience is a result of this rush of energy which had been lying dormant in your chakra. If you have undergone similar experiences with a so-called negative emotion like disgust, hatred or anger, count yourself blessed. And if you haven't try opening yourself to the emotion the next time it occurs until you feel yourself totally enveloped in it. The experience can be as enriching and fulfilling as a rush of good emotion. Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating loss of self-control and wallowing in emotion until you can attribute all responsibility for your actions to that emotion. Just as you let yourself go while watching a movie or reading a book while maintaining awareness of your real self, be aware of yourself and then let the emotions wash over you. With practice you will find a little part of yourself standing apart watching smilingly as you bathe in the purifying sea of your emotions. Initially, you may have to consciously make yourself aware of situations in which you are letting your feelings collect inside you, and then make an effort to experience them. With time this will become spontaneous and the experience will become easier, until you feel every little emotion while retaining complete awareness of it. That does not mean that you have to walk around wearing your emotions like a badge on your chest. It just implies that while trying to hide your emotions from the world, don't end up hiding them from yourself too. A short exercise helps: take time out in private at the end of the day and relive the powerful moments of that day. Visualize yourself in the same situations again, and this time, permit yourself to experience the moods and feelings that you had shut out earlier. Cry if you want to, or laugh, scream, get angry. At the end, thank yourself for removing the power those pent-up feelings would have had over you if you hadn't let them take their natural course. There are tools which may help you cleanse and open your chakras, allowing you to express and experience your feelings in their true depth and form. Reiki, chakra meditation, pranic healing and past-life therapy are all practices which break the energy blocks within you. But nothing is absolute. So, read this piece and correlate it with your own experiences. |
Life Positive, May 1997 |
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