Negative Emotions - The Messengers That Tell Us Exactly Were We are Stuck

So today we have this beautiful theme that touches most of us. That is what we call negative emotions and how they are a gate for perception of where we are in that moment. So first of all, I would like to say that what we call negative emotions. In my perspective, I understand the concept at the surface that we have a need to catalog positive emotions and negative emotions in terms of pleasure and suffering that put us in a place that we can be calm, can we feel love, can we feel at peace, that we can feel joy. Or the other ones that we can feel anger and anxiety, depressed. But in my perspective for what I've been growing in myself, I can't see anything as positive or negative emotions in that sense. Any emotion is an energy and movement. If we dive deep in who we truly are, we can observe that most of you already do it with the work that we have been doing or with all the work that you have been doing in your life growing your inner observer that is your presence. You can all see that emotions come and go. But for the ones who present, the emotion is what is there, what is presence and that presence is you. So emotion has an energy in movement and is a guest to your true authentic being. So just to begin and to clarify that there is no emotion that we can in a very honest way and in truth to call negative or positive. That we are only on the psychological concept of the consequence of that emotion in our emotional body.

So an emotional body is a cold language to be in this personality. And honestly if we can see any emotion as a guest or as a beautiful bird that has the right to sing, has the right to express themselves. And this little voice that comes - one that is so sad, so angry, so anxious. If we hold the space for any emotion to be recognized, to be accepted, that we have the space for their true existence and true expression. What we are doing by holding the space inside of the as for that emotion to exist. What we are doing is to establish an environment inside of us that we can somehow allow the emotion to manifest but we are not drowned into the emotion. What happens is normally we are totally drawn to the emotions. So we find ourselves in the history of the emotions and in the reaction of the emotion and in the interactions and reactions of the emotions with ourselves and with others. And by this I don't want to sound that when the emotion comes, especially the strong ones, we don't feel. We really feel the pain acting in our body so we feel deeply strong discomfort in the body. We feel the intensity of the emotional body in our system and even sometimes the confusion and the obsession of the mind, of the thoughts becoming very active.

So when we are speaking about these emotions that normally people call them negative - the perspective of psychology or any therapy normally is helping the person to have safeness, to slow down and to have ways to deal with that emotion. So we are not not totally drowned by the emotion and we lose our connection with reality when we go through very strong emotions. What happens is that we are so afraid that we can't sustain these emotions. We are so afraid that we will die, that we will go crazy, that we will do something crazy. And of course there are many times that we even act out very crazy because of the intensity of the emotion. So all the therapy tools that they are in our disposal are here to help us to slow down and to become more in touch with reality around us. So we don't lose our ground and to see even if the motion is here we can stay grounded and in reality.

Our body has a very safe mechanism for self strategy defense. That is when something is really painful physically or emotionally happens, our body shuts down and it is where many people faint away.

So this is a very precious and intelligent strategy of our body to help us to shut down when we can't hold or sustain ourselves to that situation. So of course speaking like this seems very simple and very easy. It's very intellectual but I will give you an example. A person that is in war, even a military, if he sees a very terrible situation like their friends losing arms or if he receives an attack and he receives a strong shot, the body automatically shuts the pain, the chemistry to feel the pain. He shuts out, shuts down. We don't feel and normally we faint, like with abuse, or car accident or a big fall, or when the intensity of the emotional pain is so strong that somehow we faint away. This is a strategy to help you not to feel that intensity. So if you are in a situation that you are still feeling somehow is because your system can't hold that emotion.

This is the part when therapy can really support. All these techniques bring us out of history. Because when the chemistry in the body becomes strong and the discomfort becomes strong, the mind becomes very active not in the sense that it wants to control, but it really wants to help. But the way to help is very foggy and why - because we have all these conditionings from past situations that have these filters. So the mind will act out with thoughts that come from all the other situations from the past.

That's why when I work at the emotional level, of course, I use a lot of tools from therapy for emotional release from somatic, for trauma release, for any other tools. But the main environment that I want to create, that I present to people is awareness. What I want is to create a space inside of you, by your own timing, by your own presence that you can step-by-step be with yourself. And anything that comes - you can sustain without becoming drowned by it and going to the river of that history, drama, tragedy. That you can sustain that and really become present as a true observer of what is going on with you in that moment at the emotional level.

That's why it's so important to everyone that you are looking for an emotional release that you are dealing with stress, with depression, even with schizophrenia, bipolarity, trauma. That you have all the techniques from therapy, from medicines tools that they can support you for that moment.

The myth that there's negative or positive emotions we need to overcome even in our intellectual perspective. Because if we keep on cataloging as negative or positive emotions, we are still dividing inside of us two parts of our being and of course that makes grow inside of us the need to only feel good or the need to avoid what we call negative emotions. So what I want to present to you is every emotion that you feel, they are welcome. Every emotion that they appear in your system in your present, they are a gate for a meeting with yourself in a sense that you can become more present and to observe what is going on and how to work with it and how to learn with that. They are messengers. They are messengers of your physical body, emotional body and mind body trying to tell you something.

For example, if we feel very tired, it's just an example, we start to become sometimes very reactive to people, so we start to become very impatient and anxious. What happens is, if we don't exercise our presence we are totally drawn to it and we don't even notice that those emotions, those reactions of our emotional body and physical body and mind-body they are trying to tell us - Hey, pay attention! You need a strong rest! Because when you are truly in your presence, truly in your presence, you are not a reactive person. You are not, you don't feel the anxiety. So why are they coming? They are coming because they want to call your attention, so you can come back for your true presence or balance. For example fear, when fear comes it's because there's something of our own, about our safeness, is not only physical but emotional safeness that is trying to call attention. Anger, anger when it comes and it's very strong. Sometimes it is trying to call our attention to our boundaries that are not being met. Our healthy boundaries that we are losing or we are allowing that other step. So all the strong emotions and it can be very joyful and be very beautiful, all this what normally in therapy calls a current language, we call negative emotions.

They are here to support, to come back to our true presence. And that's my invitation for you to start when you feel something, when you meet some emotion, the first reaction for everyone is - I want to run away from this emotion, I don't want to feel pain, I don't want to feel the discomfort, I don't even want to feel the rage. But what really happens the more we try to run and run is by alcohol, drugs, relations, food, everything that helps us in that moment not to feel. What happens is the way we do this, the way we live this life will only make you repress these emotions and they will grow inside. The more we have the capacity, when the emotion, in metaphorical language we say - attackers or knock at our door, if you can really in that moment take a deep breath and say - What is going on here? And to really do this self-inquiry full of compassion, not self-inquiry to transform or to deal or to run away, but the self-inquiry to see what is going on right now inside of me.

That is the statement, that is the environment, that is the place where you will find the space for yourself first to accept what is going on, to see what is going on, and then to see the message behind and the true needs of your system of who you truly are that they are not being met in that moment.

So when we accept what is going on, when we allow ourselves to have true compassion and to look what is the message behind - we can start step by step to melt, to allow all the tears that they need to come out, all the shells that need to come out and to allow this judgment this criticism just to start to fade away and to really look what is really there to be met. And when we start to meet a presence - a very calm present starts to have space. And then only through that we can start to see what can we really do in practical daily life to support those needs that they were not met.

Those situations that will help us to bring us back to presence.

Those moments of stillness that they will bring with the clarity to deal with those situations.

That's why I strongly believe that it is not as the mind-body thinking, but as a very deep experience inside of me and others. That therapy is just the surface that helps us to slow down and to take us off the shock. So I'm very grateful for any therapy that I've been working with and tools but there's the other work that is awareness, the true presence that we need to cultivate, that we need to be there, to sustain that space for ourselves and that can be done and it's done in a every moment of our life. Of course, we come to retreats, we go to sessions, we meditate to help that presence to have more space. So we become more in contact but this present you can practice everyday every moment of your life. You come back to yourself and you really allow your inner observer to see what is going on.

Not through the eyes of what is correct, what you should do, the criticism, the belief systems, but you allow yourself to really feel what is going on with you inside of you. And that's sacred and that goes beyond any therapy, that's sacred. That is life. We think that enlightenment, we think that spirituality is just to be calm and peaceful, everything that happens to us, everything is sacred. Everything that we experience is the life force. And the more we are in our presence the more we can see and hear. The more we are in this pain body, the emotional body, mind body, we are so busy in these, that we don't see life, that we don't feel life around and inside of us.

That's why it's so precious together with this therapy and awareness path. And there's no path that is the wrong or the right one. It's your path. You can hear me. You can hear thousands of teachers, thousands of books, but if you are still following someone, if you are still grabbing someone to save you - it will not happen. It will not happen. I can sit by your side, I can even show you the door, I can tell you what happened to me, what helped me and I can say - Do you want to try?

And by trying to be there for yourself to really feel what is resonating inside of yourself, you are allowing yourself to be present, to blossom. And that's the work that I try to bring you here and in every retreat that I do. Not in a sense that I bring you the truth, but in a sense that I bring you a space that you can meet your truth and your truth is yours. And there's a point that you need to let go of everything that you think, you know, and you need to allow this presence to vibrate inside of you. You come back to this presence with the self inquiry, full of compassion, not from the mind, but from this space of sensing. You will see that your inner observer starts to become more and more present.

I really appreciate this mythology and metaphors for our inner journey through life. There's the warrior path and always these warriors arrive at a place that they need to decide if they want to go through or if they want to stop. And normally the warrior is confronted with deep fear. All these metaphors and the stories about warriors, they deeply resonate inside of us. And the story about a human being that he faces some, but he did nothing, he just steps away - normally, these stories are not told and you know, why?

Because inside of us these beings are so alive. They are so hungry for blossoming, so passionate for being present that all the fears that they could meet, they are the opportunities for true growth. That being, that the warrior needs to overcome himself for what he thought he could do, for what he thought that he was. So these are metaphors for all of us to remember that the true being, the true presence is much bigger than all the emotions and all the belief systems that we carry. There is always more for all of us, there's always a new step that we can take. That's why we all resonate so much with this methodology that they have been told for centuries since our existence.

It's always moving so deep inside of us and it goes beyond our minds and even our emotions. It is the core presence inside of us that moves. That's why our emotional body vibrates so much with such a strong story of warriors. That's why our mind becomes so clear and understands the principles behind the story. That's why our physical body feels strength in that moment. Because through this mythology, through these stories we activate all archetypes that live inside of us, that touch the core of Life, of existence. That is what a pure transformation is. That is even overcoming the process of life and death, that is accepting that life and opportunities is each moment. Even if we need to confront death. That's why we are so touched by it. If we see this what we call in psychotherapy or current language as negative emotions as gatekeepers for you to deal with and allow yourself to overcome who you truly are and become more in touch with your core essence. That will be a true support, a very resourceful place to invite all these emotions that they are welcome to your life.

And yes, we are in a very challenging time and by this I don't want to sound like I'm making these strong emotions small and not important. You need to just allow yourself to be vulnerable and to use anything that you can to help yourself, to do something that nurtures you, that gives you some kind of pleasure and joy. Because the presence for each one of us is totally different and you have totally the right to be where you are and that's the beauty of your own life. You don't need to compete with your friends, with your family, with your master, with nobody. You just need to accept where you are. And then when you slow down and you feel a little bit more safe in yourself, in your emotional body, in your mind, in your physical body, you can start again to deal with that emotion. So every work when we are working with strong traumas or strong shock, we need to go very slow step-by-step. So we activate a little bit of that emotion. We can feel that we are a little bit activated but we can still be grounded. So the process is to activate a little bit and through all the techniques that you still need to use - you use.

If you are dealing with strong pain, big trauma, deep shock - you need help. You need to look for someone that supports you, of course

Satya, Working With Satya