What do you do in moments when you feel uncomfortable and edgy, but you're not quite sure why or what to do about it? In this article, you'll learn a simple technique to get to the heart of what you're feeling and discover the message in it, so you can take action to move you forward.
So, what's your first inclination when you feel edgy? Do you want to take something to make the feeling go away? Do you distract yourself by focusing on something else? Do you look for something that happened, something you did, or someone to blame? Do you analyze it until you come up with a story that makes sense?
All these are natural inclinations which can have value. These strategies may alleviate or take your mind off of symptoms in the short run. Yet they may also perpetuate the recurrence of this very same feeling again and again. Identifying with the stories we tell about our experiences can make them stick and repeat. We tend to believe our stories and tell them again and again, so our life replays in a self-fulfilling loop.
So, what can you do in these uncomfortable moments that would change things, guide you forward, and initiate something new? Here's a simple technique called Accessing Your Emotional Centerline.
The moment you notice yourself feeling edgy and uncomfortable, instead of jumping right into analyzing it and coming up with a story to explain it, see if you can just sit with the sensation, be present with it, and get underneath it.
Try these four steps:
1. Insert a mental pause, let go of thinking, and pay attention to the sensations along your Emotional Centerline: from your neck, through the middle of your torso, to your lower abdomen. Putting your palms together in prayer posture, as in the picture above, can help you tune into this centerline. Focusing on sensations along your Emotional Centerline quiets the thinking mind and enables you to access your emotions without the baggage of intense storylines.
Inquire into the specific sensations within this area of your body. Is it tight, compressed, blocked, hard, hot, cold, numb, pierced, deflated, sinking, empty, raw, tingly, fluttering, rising... ?
2. Pay attention to these sensations mindfully. In other words, see if it's possible to accept the sensations completely, unconditionally, and non-judgmentally. See if you can become familiar with the felt sensation without telling a story about it or being consumed by it.
3. See if you can label the exact feeling the sensation represents. You'll sense a "yes" when you have the right label. Is it anger, sadness, fear, anxiety, joy, excitement,... ?
4. Once you've identified the emotion you are feeling, ask what it is prompting you to do. Focus into the sensation along your Emotional Centerline and address your question here. Notice what comes into your awareness. It could be a nonverbal knowing, specific words, an image, a song, or an inspiration to do, say, or feel something... Just notice what arises, stay with it, and allow it to grow in clarity. See where it leads.
If nothing arises in this moment, see if you can maintain an awareness of your Emotional Centerline as you go about your day. Notice what you become aware of as you do this.
As you practice these four steps again and again, you'll find you can catch yourself before you get too deeply entrenched in uncomfortable, edgy feelings or overly-identified with your usual stories about what they mean. You'll discover there's a deeper guidance under the surface of your emotions. Emotional intelligence cuts through mental chatter and speaks to the essence of what you need to do in this moment. Sometimes this wisdom is vastly different from the stories your mind is in the habit of telling.
https://ezinearticles.com/?Uncomfortable,-Edgy,-Indecisive?-Access-Your-Emotional-Centerline&id=9982876
No comments:
Post a Comment