Emotions are the way. Not what gets in the way.

Originally posted on Your Bella Life.

Our analytical, intellectual minds attempt to get in the way. Our judgments, our apologies, our comparisons, they get in the way. Of growth, of learning, of feeling, of being. When we judge our emotions, we are refusing to see our own truth.

I have been known to be a chronic judger of my emotions. I feel something, anything and the negative self-talk begins right away. “You are being silly, she didn’t mean any harm”, “Why are you so emotional?? No one cries this much”, “Suck it up, you’ll be okay”. How mean is that? Would I say that to a friend? Never.

Why are we talking to ourselves this way? It could be that it’s what we have learned to do. Most of us were taught to suppress our emotions as we grew up. We were told that we were too sensitive or that we overreact and even when no one is actually telling us to stop feeling, we take on that role ourselves. But here is the reality. We are not overreacting. What we are feeling is real, it is truthful, and it is beautiful. I am here to remind you that you no longer need to control your emotions, judge your emotions, or apologize for them. It’s time to let them run, wild, crazy and free.

Our emotions are the key to our intuitive selves; they are an essential aspect of getting to know ourselves at the deepest level. When we learn to accept and honor our emotions, they can become our greatest teachers.

How can we access the knowledge that our emotions are providing us?

1. Let it be. When you feel emotions coming up that you are uncomfortable with, say to yourself “I accept my feelings fully, they are here to guide me.”

2. Ask. Ask your pain, your sadness, and your grief what it is you need to learn. Sit in a meditation, lie down in silence, write, or call up a friend and start talking through it. Call on your inner knowing to provide you with the answer. You may come up with an answer that can help you. You may not. And if you don’t, trust that when the emotion passes through you, things are shifting.

3. Surrender. Create a space for yourself where you can fully submit to the feeling that is coming up for you. Let it come through you uninhibited. Cry. Laugh. Scream. Whatever needs to happen let it happen. Think of emotions as energy that needs to pass through you.

After all, feeling is a part of being human, it’s part of knowing the richness and depth of our lives. Be courageous; get to know your own depths.