Feelings.

"Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Concious breathing is my anchor"
-Thich Nhat Hanh

Mastin Kipp rocks it in the opening of his new book by saying;

"For Grace to unfurl in your life, you need to shake your foundations so the soil loosens, allowing devastating catastrophes to become wondrous opportunities"

After seeing Mastin lecture on Saturday night, and hearing his emphasis on the importance of feeling our feelings (which I agree with, wholeheartedly) I couldn't help but wonder, how have I been avoiding my feelings?

As human beings, we all have experience in facing painful situations. These situations will vary from person to person, some we will be able to relate to, and others not, but no matter what the situation may be, we all experience the same feelings at one point or another in our lives. Sadness, anger, hurt and hopelessness are just some of those "icky" feelings that we tend to run away from. We mask them with distractions, relationships and our careers, we stuff them down with drugs, alcohol, food or shopping, we do anything to not feel these feelings. In my opinion, this inability to handle life on life's terms is one of the root causes of addiction. 

Addiction can be defined as;

"the continued repetition of behaviour despite adverse consequences".

Of course it is easy to see the adverse consequences related to excessive drug and alcohol use, but remove the substance, whatever it may be (which is actually just the addicted persons solution to their life problem, not the problem itself) and what you are left with is the actual issue. The issue is the inability to handle life on life's terms. It is a lack of confidence in oneself to move through life successfully. It is a lack of love, and that lack of love is really damaging to our souls.

I use the term 'addicted' to describe the escape because we continue to repeat a behaviour (for the sake of this blog: running away) despite the adverse consequences. (Adverse can be defined as "preventing success or development; harmful; unfavourable") By constantly running from our feelings and not facing them, we are preventing our own development.

I do believe that there is a Power greater than ourselves that is guiding our every move, this Power brings us to each situation with purpose. I choose to call this Power, God, but you may refer to it as whatever you like.

My expeirnece has been that when I surrender and allow God to enter my life, I am given the strength and courage I need to take action. (I invite God in through prayer and meditation)

My experience has also been that when I remain open, I learn to identify the patterns and situations that cause me pain and then I have a choice to do things differently.

Magical.

Feelings won't kill you. When we acknowledge them, we allow them to pass through us.

That's the goal, angels. Feel those feelings that you've been running from.

Give yourself the space to allow whatever is meant to come.

Get rid of all your favourite distractions!

You can do it!

What actions are you going to take?

Faith is trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.

PS: Please, PLEASE, make sure to have compassion for yourself on this journey, don't beat yourself up if you discover you've been running away - trust that you've been doing the best that you can with what you have.

As always, take what resonates and leave the rest :)

Love, Kylie