This Being Human Thing

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This is a great poem by Rumi that is so descriptive of life with emotions:

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

This life we lead, being God consciousness projected down here on earth in human form, can be so complex sometimes. We know we are Divine beings having a human experience, and yet we encounter so many human emotions on this journey. I love this poem because it expresses such a profound and beautiful approach to being with all emotions. They aren’t good, bad, right, wrong…they just are.

And they are meant to pass through us, like phenomena. They are not meant to be stuffed, hated, ignored or attached to. They rise, they are experienced, and they pass through—even what we might label as the positive emotions. We are not to cling to these either, but rather be with them and allow them to move through. They will be there again. When we get tight fisted about any emotions is when we can begin to suffer.

When we cling to or stuff emotions, we then store these as stuck energy. Stuck being the operative word. Our energy is meant to flow unhindered, and emotions, when they don’t get processed or integrated, can cause illness of mind and body. It is constricting to hold onto anger and/or guilt for example, and great damage can occur if not released. We also do not need to attach to the positive emotions such as joy….as if we must harbor it and tuck it away for a rainy day. Emotions are like water, flowing and cascading and abounding.

They are here for us to feel them, invite them, welcome them, and then when they are ready, they will pass on through. We don’t need to stop everything all the time to be with them, but we will be best served for allowing them without fear. The stronger experience we have behooves us to stop and be present, observe, breathe and feel. Choose to let the light of your awareness shine on what is present.

Emotions are nothing to be afraid of, but for various reasons we have carried around this belief for most of our lives. The ego is the only one afraid of being present with emotion. Being with what is and stepping back and witnessing becomes the doorway through to something that feels much lighter and brighter.

We want to be with feelings and sensations without attaching thoughts and perceptions. Just be with the sensations and feel them in your body. Welcome them as friends without the need to attach your mental body to why you are feeling this or what this means, etc. Stay in the present moment with what is.

Here is one approach from Alain Herriott of The Wonder Method:

“Think of something that bothers you and notice what the sensation is like. For many of us it feels like a wall with turbulence. Think of yourself as a leaf. Let the turbulence blow or move the leaf; let the leaf go wherever it goes. This action will take you to new territory and a shift. The key to all this is to realize that we are like leaves that are blowing in the wind of resistance. If we allow ourselves to be blown without resistance we become free. Anything that presents as a wall is the opportunity to be blown to new territory and be set free.”

Our thinking can so often be the resistance that keeps us feeling trapped and keeps the emotions in our body. There is a powerful and necessary place for wholistic self-inquiry, and most of us just need to learn to be still and open and let go of the resistance first. The next time you experience strong emotions or disturbance just stop and invite it in like Rumi says. Know that it isn’t a part of you and it doesn’t really care to stick around.

When you become comfortable with this process, you will find that these intense emotions end up passing right along. Don’t attempt to change them or make them go away…this is another form of resistance. Just welcome, allow and breathe, and perhaps become the leaf as in the above example.

I’ll end with one more quote from Alain:

“You do not change the world, the world is changed by you. This may sound a bit like double talk but it is so very true. When we attempt to force change we create a kind of conflict, a deepening of the drama so to speak. If instead we become present and find the point or state of balance that exists within us, we change our relationship with the issues that we are in conflict with. This allows change to occur and things simply work. When we practice this, life becomes a meditation.”

This being human is a glorious experience! It is to be embraced and appreciated. Yes, it can feel so difficult at times, and yet it’s these very things that draw us deeper into the transformation of the lower self and propel us into mastery and self-enlightenment.

With you on the journey,

julie