Meditate With Urmila: Emotionally Speaking

Emotions are conscious. They interact. They come through, as we invite them by our thoughts. When we do, emotions appear and start to express themselves. Stronger the thoughts, stronger the emotions and stronger their expressions.

Interacting with Emotions

Think about scarcity enough and I will feel scarce, also physically demonstrate/ manifest scarcity. Even repeating the word a few times will start activating that emotion, readying for manifestation.

Emotions surface to interact because I have ‘called’ them. Similarly, if I talk and think about calmness enough, repeat/chant the word, I will activate that force from within as well. Emotions comply to our calling. If I am feeling a grudge, I have ‘called in’ grudge by thoughts such as, “others always get more than what I get”, thinking unconsciously, though repeatedly.

If I want to feel content, I can deliberately activate that feeling too. I have to shift my focus to those memories that have made me feel contented or I can anticipate them.

Activating an Emotion

So, why this talk of emotion activation; deliberate or unconscious?

This is to point out the transient character of emotions. In addition, to reveal a deeper understanding of life that we are not our emotions. And emotions are transitory, changeable, detachable. It is possible to deliberately change or replace an unhelpful emotion with a brighter one. So, who does that? Not the mind. It is a force greater than the mind, it’s one’s own consciousness, the awareness. As eternal spiritual beings, emotions are only a tool for us to experience life while in body form.

When a negative emotion is transmuted, it brings lightness in the body and mind. The feeling of lightness is the feeling of alignment, clarity, shift. What happens when a negatively charged emotion is kept activated? The identification with that emotion starts to intensify, causing oscillations in the energy balance. Come to think of it, all negative emotions throw us in an imbalanced state. Doubt, anger, fear, loneliness, shame, confusion, there are so many emotions “readily” available to cause imbalance. Just as there are so many positives to come back in alignment too, which by the way, needs a deliberate focus on. It’s an awareness work.

Witnessing Emotions

How to do the work? It’s an act of practice; practice to detach from negative emotions. Detachment doesn’t mean feeling numb. It is a practice of being an observer to the emotions that play up. We feel what we feel. We must feel. Do remember, however, that being a ‘consciousness’ and not the illusory mind or the detachable emotions, it is possible to separate the bitter elements of a negative experience and transmute it. Awareness is for that purpose.

Experiences evoke emotions. We experience life all the time. A negative emotion surfacing frequently ought to be processed. It is surfacing for a reason. Hence, it is not to be denied, rejected or escaped from. Doing these suppresses the emotions for some time, which only surfaces more strongly at slight triggers. It seeks to prove its utility.

Let’s say an experience is causing anxiety or agitation. The first step is to elevate the consciousness from it. See it as an identity that is separate, not mingled with awareness. And acknowledge its presence. Also acknowledge that the body feels it. Allow that emotion to unfold fully in the body-mind. This may be discomforting, but continue to cooperate with it and have a dialogue in understanding, “ I see you are present, I feel you, what is the reason for your presence at this time? What meaning do you hold for me? What learning are you bringing me that I am still unaware of? How will you brighten my day? Listen back. Be present.

This processing may be painful but it won’t kill you/ your spirit, but just an ego structure. The pain is that of letting go of the ego structure. After this, what remains is awareness. Not only does one survive, but goes on to thrive in lightness as the weight of negative emotions gets transmuted.