Feelings......to believe or not to believe...

Don’t trust your feelings as fact because they are filtered through your history.

Wait...what was that? Are you saying my feelings aren't real.
No, your feelings are very real, meaning you are feeling them. But are they always accurate? Not usually.
Confusing? Let me explain.

First of all what are feelings? In this world where everything is energy, feelings are just that, emotions-energy in motion. If you are paying attention (and I hope that you are) you can feel your feelings in your body. Ever feel "butterfly's in your stomach" before a performance or get a stomach ache if you are nervous? Ever hear something tragic and feel like you can't breathe? Those are all examples of feelings as energy, in our body.

Where do they come from? This is important. Our beliefs (blog about that here), give rise to our thoughts, which give rise to our feelings. It is impossible to have a feeling without a thought. Really. For a minute think about that because it's fascinating. Every feeling is a reflection of a thought and every thought a reflection of a belief we have.

Now we know about thoughts and beliefs. Every thought we have is had is reference to the past. Therefore so are our feelings. In a very real way every feeling we have isn't real to the present moment but in reaction to our habitual thoughts. Confusing?

Let's take an obvious example. Let's say as a child you were chased by a dog and thus, formed the belief that dogs are dangerous creatures. Maybe it was a big enough deal that it left strong emotional residue (fear) in your body, and became part of your identity story. So now, you walk around with belief that dogs can't be trusted (of course with that core belief that is exactly what you'll manifest again and again, right?). Anyway, one day you are talking a leisurely stroll down a sidewalk see a dog. Here come the thoughts, "oh no, there's a dog" and it "it looks just like the one that attacked me those years ago". Here come the feelings. Maybe you start to have a hard time catching your breathe. You notice your pulse start to race. You start to sweat. You cross to the other side of the street to avoid what you perceive as a threat. See what I mean? Our feelings are created in response to a belief we believe is true. We have the thought about that belief and then we have the feeling.

So quite literally, when it comes to feelings, we are running our present through our past. It’s like living in a dream state. We are stuck in time, reacting to our present as if it has already happened. Is it any wonder why we keep creating and feeling the same experiences and feelings we say we don't want?

Another important note, is that most of those beliefs we have are not even ours to begin with.  It's interesting to ponder the fact that we are following instructions given to us years ago by people we wouldn't listen to today.

So our feelings are energetic shadows of our past and must be seen as thus. We must realize that they are emerging with baggage attached and we have to question their validity as it pertains to the present moment.

A bit about what I like to call karmic PTSD
Do you remember the file folder effect I spoke of here? Feelings arise the same way. All those file folders in our minds store and catalog all the past stories, beliefs, thoughts and associated feelings. Like a giant web of electrical impulses all weaved together. When a file is tripped, say when the person in the example above sees a dog, the whole file is triggered. It's a bit like those fire cracker chains you might set off at News Years celebration. Bang, bang, bang, each one lighting the next. You can’t just trigger one part of the file without firing off the whole file. So, the emotion ( energy in motion) that is released is not just about the present situation, but all those past situations stored in the file as well. In our dog situation, there is fear (obviously), perhaps some shame, some frustration, some sadness...any number of emotions attached to the beliefs in the mind file labeled "dog". When the dog file is triggered out flood the whole file of emotions that seem to be about the present situation. But are they? This is what I like to call karmic ptsd.
Someone suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder will overact to a stimulus because they have triggered a powerful web of emotions hidden deep in their mind file folder. When the war veteran hears a car backfire as he is walking down the street he may find himself falling to the ground taking cover from a perceived threat. His mind file of emotion might be so intense that reality may shift to the point he believes he is back at war. What is he reacting to? The file folder marked “sound like a gunshot" is triggered in his mind. What do you think someone that has spent time in combat has in that file? I would imagine it is full of stories of war, terror, and anguish. He reacts accordingly. Instantly. Believing he‘s being shot at. Our bodies stress response is triggered if we believe it is so, whether it is so or not, because our bodies don’t know the difference between now and then, real or not real. We all have karmic PTSD to some extent with our feelings. Every single one of us


“The fact that you are sad doesn’t mean that something is wrong. It simply means you‘re sad“- Marianne Williamson

What do we often do with our feelings?
I don't know about you, but the first thing I do is usually believe them. Then I try to "deal" with them. Which is comical really. We may also try to minimize them, figure them out, or deny them. We might attempt to stuff them, right along with food or drink them down with another beer. We may blame them on whomever and whatever we can. We often try to get rid of our unpleasant feelings as soon as possible. Instead of welcoming them, learning from them, and allowing them to pass we tend to fear them.

“Rather than understand the original cause—a thought—we try to change the stressful feelings by looking outside ourselves.” ~ Byron Katie

Are feelings at all helpful?
Yes!!!
Our feelings can be exceptional barometers of the conditions of our mind. Our emotions have wisdom. They let us know what needs attention. For if we are in pain we are in error. Sometimes fear is helpful. Fear can often tell us something to pay attention to, something to avoid, or be smarter about. Feelings can give us great information about the trajectory of our present reality. They can give us insight into what mind energy from the past we are resonating now. They are a tool to let us know when we have some inquiry to do. By being curious about our feelings we can begin to see what is unseen. We can look at those emotions and follow them back to their birthplace, question them, and then choose to let them go because they are based on beliefs that are not true.



So what do we do with feelings?
We can feel them, just not believe them.

You will notice if you stay in the moment our feelings feel very different. In fact, you may find that your feelings lose purchase like a cat on a tin roof. Without the past to create reference our feelings become observations of the present moment where we can step back and access their validity and accuracy, rather than part of our justification of our stories. Our creative energy is no longer trapped in the past like a bad rerun replaying the same story. We are free to use our creative energy to move forward in new ways. Our reality begins to look very different.

Feelings are like waves in the ocean. If we just let them wash over us they pass and move on. We can allow the energy to be released like a fever burning old energetic residue. In fact, emotional tears are very different than other types of tears. Tears that are more of the reflex variety (like when you peel an onion) are 98% water, while emotional tears have many other chemicals. Emotional tears have prolactin, a variety of stress hormones. and endorphins. There is something to be said for having a good cry. It is when we attempt to block our feelings, control them, deny them, or fight them, we just get tired, frustrated, and maybe even ill. (more on that next week). Just as there is no stopping the ocean there is no stopping feelings. We must allow them to wash over us and let them pass. We just don't have to believe them.

“My research has shown me that when emotions are expressed--which is to say that the biochemicals that are the substrate of emotion are flowing freely--all systems are united and made whole. When emotions are repressed, denied, not allowed to be whatever they may be, our network pathways get blocked, stopping the flow of the vital feel-good, unifying chemicals that run both our biology and our behavior.” ~ Dr. Candace B. Pert Quotes


Our feelings are like the weather. They reflect the present atmospheric conditions of our reality. They tell us what we need to take a look at. If there is a feeling of pain there is mind energy that needs to be examined. Like the weather we can’t stop our feelings. We can try to ignore them but that will just delay their emergence. Allow them. Like a storm they will pass. Like a storm, after the energy is released we are left cleansed, new, refreshed, with a rainbow of new beginnings showing the path ahead.

“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 are 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“.-Rumi