Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Out of the Soup, into the brain: Transforming Emotional Pain

The amazing results we get from the Feldenkrais Method
and the Anat Baniel method,
are all about going slowly, and
gently,
and in harmony with the natural functional movements
of humanity,
so that our brains get more alert and smart
and at ease moving in many new ways.

New options.

New possibilities.

And the pain becomes superfluous because the movement
and our selves becomes so interesting
and free.

Let's take a "bad feeling"
and play a little with what I'm calling the
Elixir of Transformation.

You feel bad, very sad say, as if you are all alone in the world,
no friends, or something like that.

First thing is to pause,
and not try to run away from it,
but just stick around there awhile and see
"What Is."

Then you start to gently see this feeling as a
four layer package:

The thoughts:  I'm never going to have any good friends. No one likes me.
(Whatever they are(

The emotional feeling: which is sad and abandoned, say. But it's you,
you find what it is for you, now, today.

The physical sensations. Where is this constricting you.
All "unpleasant" feelings are felt as unpleasant
because we clamp in and down on ourselves.

How and where are you doing that? Now. Today.

And the "soul" equation.
Soul knows we are all one, and that this moment is precious,
and body life isn't forever, and that life is good.

This area is a bit less clear to work with, but we can just
feel the missing, the longing in our soul, when
this feeling is where we are living.

And then,
hang out with the four layers all at once,
and experience who and how you are.

Now,
my whole process is taking each area into more and more
distinctions,
more and more differentiations,
more and more options,
so the stuck becomes not only unstuck,
but darn interesting.

Let's take the feeling realm.

One option: intensify and lessen the intensity of the feeling.
Notice these differences.

Two: think of the feelings as a child that needs care.
1) Give that child a tender feeling, by breathing gently into the pain,
as if stroking the child.

2) Feel the historical aspect of this feeling, the whole panorama of times
this has been where you've been caught.
Find an observer in you to witness this, like a kind parent,
just watching and knowing you went through all this.

3) Look around the room. Be like a parent who guides a sad child
to look at the tree leaves and the colors in the sky in addition
to the feelings.

4) Rock yourself, not to escape the feelings, but as if it's a baby,
that needs soothing motion.

5), Sing to the child

Three:
Give voice to the feelings without words. Let them sing
to you,
but with no words.

Change styles: opera, lullaby, country western, classical, anything you want

Four:
Add other feelings at the same time.

1) Sad plus gratitude

2) Sad plus curious

3) Sad plus patient

4) Sad plus happy!

really, you can do both, it's not common,
and it's freedom.

Five:
perspective:
think of happy moments in your life, and see them from your sadness

think of happy moments in your life and see the sadness from your happy moments

Six:
Get lost in the present,
leave the words out,
leave the history out,
just sense what you are aware of in your body now

This leads to the sensations part of your feeling,
and there are lots of options there,
and that's another essay,
and the sensation route is actually the most sure route
out.

So why didn't I pick that first?

I don't know.

Enjoy this much learning.
Even though it's a fourth of the Elixir of Transformation,
leaving out the work of Byron Katie on the thinking part,
and all sorts of movement and sensing play in the physical part,
and all sorts of distinctions on when we are in soul and when not,
it's huge what I've offered here.

Take advantage of it, if you wish.

Ciao
for
NOW,

Chris

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