Decoding the signs

As changes continue to unfold in the world, each of us reacts or responds based on our level of consciousness. This feels like inner harmony or disharmony. We may feel like a conscious creator, taking responsibility for each thought and feeling within, or perhaps confused, indifferent as if we are helpless or powerless.  It may feel as though resistance or specific emotions are arising.

Consider nausea.  An inner view is that nausea is a physical expression of rejection or feeling not being heard.  There is something in your life that you do not want to hear.  One physical possibility is that nausea or vomiting results from something ingested, inhaled or absorbed.  Emotionally, there may be something that you don’t want to integrate or deal with or there may even part of yourself that you reject.  Ask yourself if you feel uneasy with and resistant to those in your environment who don’t resonate with you.  Ask if you are tired of making effort yet feel under or not appreciated.

Now is the moment to be open to new points of view, to read the signs you are giving yourself and to take steps to be in greater harmony with and more accepting of yourself.

Get More out of Life

To get more out of life, its useful to get in touch with our thoughts, emotions and feelings and also be aware of what is happening in the body.

By practising breathwork, we may grow acutely aware of grief, fears, loss, anger, physical pain, emotional pain and energetic imbalances. Many people have heard of the unconscious mind but you may not be aware of the difference between conscious and unconscious breathing and how unconscious breathing plays out in your body.  What if growing aware can improve your health and be a turning point for positive change?

There are periods or situations in our lives when we feel unsafe or unloved. We may hold onto emotional pain for many years, if not lifetimes, until we are ready to address those feelings.  By growing aware of the emotional body and allowing it space to communicate, we gain insight into ourselves and opportunity to heal past or ongoing wounding.  Being present to painful or uncomfortable emotions does not mean acting them out in harmful ways.  Rather, breathwork and related meditation practices allow us to be present with and feel these emotions. To get the most out of life, we are invited to love, accept and integrate all of ourselves. 

If this post resonates, invite you to search relevant key words for related articles like:

Breathwork shifts habits

12 Ways breathwork empowers me

Interview with Dan Brule 

Interview with Steven Farmer

Interview with Jaan Sanaam (Jerabek)

Walking the Path

A path is made by walking it. This is about recognizing life takes on the meaning it is given.  Its easy to be positive or optimistic yet being overly positive doesn't allow feeling deeply. In fact, it blocks out shadows or another side of who we are. We are often taught to rush through adversity to avoid pain.  This does not allow us to get through pain or allow feelings entirely appropriate for different situations. Is it always desirable to rush turning a frown upside down?

A true Yoga perspective would say no.  Each person's truth ought to be honoured. All feelings in the moment deserve love and acceptance. Healthy emotional stages allow for shock, anger, disappointment, sadness then acceptance and reorientation to a more balanced focus.  Eventually, its useful to be more fully open to the unknown or new possibilities. To allow everything to flow, and seeing this is part of wholeness, this is truly walking the path.  The truth is only ever felt directly.

12 keys to living more authentically

Many people are seeking authenticity and wonder why obstacles arise in this Path.  Watch what happens as it dawns that every apparent obstacle is actually a stepping stone to experiencing life from a point of wholeness.  Everything we do is like taking another step or leap into the loving arms of authentic being. Reflect on these 12 keys to living more authentically:

1. Tune into your internal messaging system

2. Sit with emotions (and hear their messages)

3. Take ownership for your feelings, thoughts and behaviours (rather than blaming others)

4. Keep your promises (live in integrity)

5. Do contemplative work (shadow work & inner child work)

6. Explore mindfulness techniques (i.e.varied approaches to meditation)

7. Explore dream symbols & images

8. Uncover interplay among identities

9. Know self is the only person you can help

(we can change our beliefs and behaviours, how we are perceiving, discover how authenticity feels and live from this vibrational point. We cannot force another person to do any of this.)

10. Develop wisdom (the result of life experience, intuition, discernment & deep inner listening)

11. Be open to forgive (allow yourself to experience the grief process: includes difficult feelings of anger, sorrow, anguish and dissapointment)

12. Know experiencing all emotions fully without judgement opens the heart to self-love  

4 Steps to own disowned anger

During childhood, sometimes certain of our behaviours are judged as unacceptable.  As the result, we are conditioned to fear the consequences of re-enacting them.  Deep down, we develop core beliefs that certain natural responses are bad, wrong or dangerous, and we banish or repress emotions we judge in ourselves rather than allow them to flow. 

If tense muscles and recurrent discomfort in different parts of the body are familliar, there may be more to this than initially imagined.  As we grow more conscious and search through our feelings, it hits anything we attempt to hide or disown in our subconscious silently drives the dynamics of our present. Reflect on 4 steps to begin owning disowned anger:

1. Accept feeling anger is okay  

Some kids are taught anger and negative emotions are bad and to be avoided. We disown emotions as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from harm or backlash.  Anger may be something we hide from or, it may be a healthy part. Anger is a very common disowned part and deserves attention like all emotions.

2. Recognize the implications

If we disown our anger (or another part of ourselves), it helps to know why we do this as well as the implications.  In the case of disowned anger,  we may also lack assertiveness.Our strength (healthy aggression) also gets disowned along with anger. We may feel unheard in areas of our lives, belittled, not taken seriously, may be perceived as passive, pleasing, self-effacing, or lacking in self-confidence and drive. 

3. Validate all emotions

As we validate all emotions, express them when we feel them, this helps accept anger or another part of us that has been disowned.  We make ourselves what we are.  When we love all parts of ourselves, we believe in ourselves and other people naturally believe in, hear and validate us.  Self-validation is a step to allowing ourselves to change, blossom and share more of our gifts with perfect timing.

4. Develop healthy ways to express intense energy

The more allow ourselves to express intense energy in healthy ways like tantrums, the more we speak our truth, stand up for ourselves in the moment, the more we stand in our power. This involves creating healthy boundaries. The ability to be firm, take risks, be grounded, allows us to feel more alive. As we express how we feel, our inner strength is activated.  Thus, anger rarely arises because we call on our healthy sense of power, forcefulness, and set limits to handle situations. It hits we can be strong and assertive without frightening or harming others.