Emotional Freedom

Emotional Freedom

What is emotional freedom? Emotional freedom is not freedom from experiencing any “negative” emotions. It isn’t serenely gliding through the day with a smile in place, devoid of any variation in feelings. And it isn’t the result of being unaffected by the situations that you encounter in your life.

Many people wish they could eliminate their annoying and inconvenient feelings. But let’s consider the implications: touching a hot pan will result in an immediate sensation of pain, letting us know not to pick it up. Fear gives us an indication that danger may be eminent, and anger motivates us to take appropriate action to protect ourselves, either physically or emotionally. And just as the concept of “full” has no meaning without the understanding of “empty,” and “here” is meaningless without a place called “there,” you cannot experience pleasure without understanding the experience of pain.

To enjoy Emotional Freedom we must have the willingness to experience our feelings instead of resisting, controlling, denying, hiding, repressing or exploding in reaction to them.  The dictionary gives the following definition of feeling: a strong surge of physical sensation produced by our reaction to a person, object, place or situation. And since sensations are vibrations, our feelings are also energy vibrations.

  A prism splits a beam of light, (light, too has a vibrational frequency),  into specific colors.
Similarly, the energetic vibrations traveling through our body, are perceived  by our brain as specific sensations which we interpret as the various emotions according to our beliefs, past experience, and conditioning. The inner conflict arises when we attach our judgments to these specific emotions.

We may prefer one sound to another, but we seldom label a particular sound as negative or bad. But we have strong opinions about which feelings are positive or negative. Because of these judgments we restrict the natural flow of our feelings and create negativity and resistance. Denying or ignoring our feelings don’t make them disappear. That energy must be released or it seeks expression in the form of illness, obsession, depression, anxiety, self-defeating behaviors and over-reactions to minor situations. Feelings are not an indicator of our psychological health or our Spiritual condition. However, the way we respond to our emotions and our ability to discern the information that our feelings contain, dictate the level of emotional freedom that we experience.

Another aspect of Emotional Freedom is learning to perceive and interpret the information our feelings reveal to us about ourselves. Feelings of being discounted, unappreciated or taken for granted in our interactions with others may indicate that we need to establish some healthy boundaries.  A particular recurring emotion can mean that a basic need is not getting met or that we are avoiding something that must be faced or addressed. Feelings illuminate limiting or self defeating beliefs. We are often unaware that we have these beliefs or we may not realize that certain beliefs are causing us difficulty in our lives.

However, if we do not repress our feelings, they will unerringly direct us to the source of our discomfort, affording us the opportunity to address the belief, behavior or choice in question.

Emotional Freedom provides us with a source of communication that we can get no other way. Feelings are the language of the Soul. We have all experienced that gut instinct at some point in our life. Emotional Freedom consists of developing the sensitivity to be aware of these messages on a consistent basis. It may come in the form of an AHA, or suddenly knowing the answer to a problem as a result of a comment made by a stranger in passing. Or you may experience a sense of certainty about which choice or direction to take that previously had eluded you.

But to experience true Emotional Freedom you must have the courage to trust and act on this wisdom in the face of intellectual objections, your own or others.

We also receive indicators that tell us when we are not aligned with our vision or purpose.  Feelings of stress, anxiety, or impatience may indicate that you are focused on the lack in your life. Instead you must visualize and practice experiencing the feeling which we imagine the abundance that we desire will give us. 

May be we are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted because we are immersed in a flurry of activity, trying to force our goal to materialize or trying to control and manipulate circumstances and people to achieve a specific result. If we trust our feelings and follow our inner guidance, we can limit wasted effort, stress and even enjoy the process. When we begin to practice listening to this guidance, we have an excellent source of information which will allow us to make decisions with greater clarity and to obtain better results.

 We can cease to overwhelm ourselves by frantically trying to figure out the actions to take to get a particular outcome. If we have the courage to take actions based on our guidance, the results will take care of themselves. And the results that manifest based on following our guidance, often are grander than we could have ever imagined.

So how can we partner with our feelings to receive the information that they can provide for us?

First you must start being aware of your emotional fluctuations that you have learned to ignore. Then you must be willing to acknowledge the emotion without minimizing, justifying, or judging it. Realize that you cannot benefit by clinging to the old belief that denying your emotions is constructive in any way. It is important not to judge yourself by the feelings you experience. It is your response and the choices you make as a result of your feelings that is important.

Knowing that you have a feeling is not sufficient. It is by experiencing the feeling that you gain the most insight. Experiencing the feeling is the initial step that insures that the energy produced by these vibrations pass through you instead of becoming blocked. Blocking your feelings can produce unwanted negative energy.

Releasing this emotional energy is vital. The way to do this is obvious for some emotions. If you are experiencing pain or sadness, crying is natural and effective.  Tears are very cleansing and produce a sense of relief. Anger makes the energy level in your body soar.  Physical activity is the most effective method to dispel this type of energy. Running, cleaning, punching a pillow, hitting punching bag, or sometimes a good loud scream (not at anyone however) releases this energy so it doesn’t reside in your body as negativity.

Sometimes expressing your feelings either by journaling or verbal communication can give you some relief. It is important to note, however, that the point is to focus on the emotion, or your emotional response to a situation, and not the situation itself. You must let go of the story that produced the emotion. It was just a trigger to point you to a part of yourself that needed attention.

The next two methods can seem counter intuitive at first. But I have found them to be very effective. The first is to take a mental step back and take the role of observer. Then really examine and explore the emotion. What kind of sensation is it? Where do you feel it in your body? Does it feel heavy or light? Does it charge up your energy or drain it?

Your beliefs, past experiences and conditioning can intensify your emotional responses. By observing the feeling, you are assuming an objective attitude and focusing on the present moment. This present moment focus keeps your past experiences and limiting beliefs from contaminating or escalating the present emotion. This objective stance plus present moment awareness will allow your inner guidance to direct you to the choices or insights that will promote Spiritual growth and emotional freedom.

In this next method, you exaggerate the feeling and then relax, exaggerate, relax. For example, if you’re feeling stressed, clench all your muscles as tight as possible, and then relax. After several repetitions, much of the stress will have dissipated.

I have used this method when I have had several days of disappointment and I notice that I’m beginning to feel a bit sorry for myself. I give myself permission to take ten minutes and just really give myself a pity party. A big pity party. I whine and moan about my feelings. Again, focus on the feelings and not trigger. I usually only last a few minutes before I’m bored with monologue and more than ready to give it up and move on.

I also use this when I feel frustrated about a situation that I can do absolutely nothing to change or fix. I allow myself a ten minute gripe session. I air my opinion about everything and everyone that is creating the obstacle. Releasing all that energy brings me back to my sense and enables me to get into the solution.  I would caution against using this technique, however, for people with rage issues or debilitating shame.

Once you release the excess energy, you are able to objectively evaluate the message in the emotion. The important task is not to resist the emotion or deny that the feeling exists because this only strengthens the negative vibrations moving through you. Acknowledging the way you feel does not mean that you should mope around if you are sad or be unpleasant if you are angry.

You must address the cause of the emotion. This may mean making a change in your attitude, thinking, behavior, choices or goals. It may mean re-aligning yourself with your vision or goal or possibly revising it. Aligning yourself with your vision means to behave as you would if it had already materialized. It means to try and experience the emotions that you would feel if it had already come to pass. The energy being used to repress unpleasant emotions is unavailable for your use to manifest your vision.  And what you resist, persists.

You must emulate the attitudes, beliefs and actions of a successful person if you want to manifest success in your life. But more importantly, you must focus on the feelings that your vision will create in you.

Even when you cannot change a situation that is causing you pain, for instance the death of a loved one, you can ease the intensity by changing your thoughts about it. The sadness may still be there at times, but it does not have to dominate the emotional tone of your life. You can feel the sadness without being sad. And that is a huge difference.

Emotions give life color. They make our existence more vibrant. They are a unique source of guidance. Emotions fuel creation. There is always a message in the emotion if we have the courage to look for it.

Our feelings are our intimate connection to our Soul. Why would we want to suppress or deny this special and unique relationship?

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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