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Acknowledging and Working with Strong Emotions

Woman filled with strong emotionsWhen I started the Creative Grief Coaching certification program, I was concerned that I would be overwhelmed by strong emotions, especially the “dark emotions.”  Last week, I started to experience a wave of physical manifestations of my emotional life. I noticed stomach pains, headaches, insomnia, and intensified dreams.  This was all very noticeable for me because I don’t often experience these physical aches and pains.

One morning while I was lying in bed with a fit of sleeplessness and a gut full of emotions, I said to myself, “I’m feeling overwhelmed.” That acknowledgement alone was so helpful. In the same way that we feel comforted by being heard by a friend — being heard, seen, and felt by our conscious mind can provide us with the supportiveness that we seek in order to move forward and take action.

One of the actions that I knew I had to take was to do an intense (even if brief in duration) yoga session. I needed to be in my body and fully feel my emotions and not ignore them.  I needed to breathe into them and feel them release through the poses; and then, rest in savasana and feel the support of the universe. Later that day I found time for a yoga session that was full of intensity, not the least of which were tears that came to my eyes as I stretched my body and stopped holding back my emotions.  I just allowed what I was feeling to flow both physically and emotionally.

That morning, I also reminded myself of the Reiki Resolution Technique, which I have written about previously.  This technique is usually taught in a Reiki 2 class and is a powerful way to work with strong emotions. However, I will review it here so you can experiment with it even if you have not completed a level 2 class yet.

  1. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position
  2. Close your eyes and select the emotion that you would like to work with
  3. Place your hands on your heart
  4. Visualize holding the emotion in your heart
  5. If you’re a Reiki 2 practitioner, use the appropriate symbols. If not, skip this step.
  6. As you hold the emotion in your heart, breathe deeply and notice what you feel
  7. Sit with the emotion for several minutes
  8. When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes and notice how you feel, especially how you feel around the emotion that you were working with

For my most recent work with the Reiki Resolution Technique, I sat with the “overwhelmed” emotion and noticed what happened as I held it in my heart and allowed universal life-force energy to flow with the emotion. Afterward, I felt calm, aligned, and supported.

How do you work with strong emotions in your life? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.

 

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Reiki Resolution Technique

The past five days have been filled with anxiety, anger and pain.  Sometimes for me this has been almost disorientating and disabling.  I almost don’t know what to do next as I feel held by these strong emotions.

However, I have reminded myself of the wise and helpful technique presented by my teachers, Libby Barnett and Maggie Babb.  They call this technique the Reiki Resolution Technique.

The technique works as follows:  If you are a Reiki practitioner, level 2, then first do the mental/emotional symbol plus the empowerment symbol.  Place your hands on your heart and hold the emotion in your hands and heart.  Don’t shy away from it.  Don’t dismiss it.  Hold the anxiety, for example, in your hands and notice what happens.  (Hold it for about 5-10 minutes, with your eyes closed, your body relaxed and your breathing deep and steady.)  As I have done this the past few days, I’ve observed a melting away of the emotion as it replaced by a wave of peace.

If you’re not a Reiki practitioner, you can try this technique as well.  It is helpful to not turn away from our emotions but apply loving and heartfelt attention toward them.  The practice of self-compassion is very important.  The more compassion we create in ourselves, the more we generate this out into the world.

Try this technique and let me know how it works for you.

I will take a blogging break until after the new year.  I wish for each of you a Blessed Solstice, a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year filled with love, light and peace.

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