Accept It To Release It

Whenever we push away our feelings, that usually intensifies the feeling. We may think that pushing something away means it will just leave and never come back. In not honoring how we feel, in not embracing our human experience as messy as it can be, that is when food comes in, addictions come in, digestive issues worsen, and stress increases. We have to accept, embrace, and befriend our emotions to bring our body into a relaxation response where deeper healing can occur and where the intensity of our emotions and sensations can decrease.

Is there anything in your life right now that you are pushing away? Are you having a hard time slowing down and listening to the wisdom your symptoms have to provide? As difficult as it may feel, trust that your symptoms, your emotions, your weight, your relationship with food is all there for a beautiful reason. It is all there to be the greatest teacher for you to cultivate the most potent insights.

So how do we do this? How do we begin to embrace what is? Here are some suggestions:

1. Whenever you hear old harsh internal voices arise or old patterns show up, begin to breath and start to name what is unequivocally true around you. Usually our thoughts are going over things from the past or anticipating what is to come for the future. When we begin to name what is true around us, like the sky is really blue today, I am wearing jeans, the leaves on the tree outside my window are bright green, you can begin to come back to your body and the present moment and experience that you are safe.

2. Name the thought or feeling. We get to approach everything with childlike curiosity. So when a thought passes by like a cloud in the sky, you can just name the thought, "O look that old thought is popping up again. Thanks thought for showing up in trying to protect me." There is so much softness and loving kindness in just approaching a thought not as a fact but as a fabrication of our own mind that we can explore how it got created in the first place and experience that its existence is there trying to support us in feeling safe and protected. The same thing can happen with feelings. When you feel anxious or stressed and want to begin to push it away, actually welcome it in. "O my dear old friend anxiety, how are you today? Thank you so much for being here." In embracing your human experience, it suddenly makes emotions not something that is dangerous but in actuality they are your friends.

3. Ask who is this part of me? If this voice had an age how old would it be? How is this thought revealing to me ingrained beliefs that are no longer serving me to believe? What new beliefs would I like to feed this part of me that is needing my loving attention? In getting curious where our thoughts are coming from, we can cultivate awareness, understanding, and compassion for ourselves that often are ingrained beliefs were created at times in our lives when we needed them. You can imagine who you were, how old you were, and what influenced this belief to be created and then picture yourself at that age and tell your younger you what you actually need to hear at that time of your life.

These tricks can facilitate coming into the present moment with so much love and compassion that whatever is coming up for you is here to guide you. When we embrace and accept our human experience as it is, that is when our experience of the moment can shift and change as we release any internal battle of fighting what is.