Dear ,
I just learned something fascinating that relates to mindfulness and journaling.
Here’s the big idea…
We know that it’s not good to repress our negative emotions. It’s better to take an honest look at them and let them move healthily through us. Psychology 101.
But did you know that it’s also important not to repress our positive emotions? When I read about this I thought, “That’s crazy. I’m sure I don’t do that. Why would a person repress positive emotions?“
For self-protection.
I’m reading Dr. David Hawkin’s wonderful book, Letting Go: The Pathway to Surrender (2005). His research has discovered that people consistently repress positive emotions.
· We feel an upwelling of love for someone, but tamp it down. What if they don’t love me back?
· We see a homeless person on the street and a strong emotion of generosity and kindness comes up, but we stop the impulse. People might think I’m a sucker or a soft-touch.
· An overwhelming feeling of happiness comes up. But what if this is only temporary? Won’t I feel worse if I give myself over fully to the happiness and then it stops?
Isn’t this fascinating? We’re a little afraid of our positive emotions.
If this is true, then what is the answer?
Carl Jung believed that there is an aspect of ourselves called “the shadow.” The shadow is all of our repressed thoughts and feelings that we do not want to face. Including our positive emotions. But when the “shadow” is brought into the light and acknowledged (perhaps during our Morning Pages), the shadow loses its power and no longer runs us.
All we have to do is honestly acknowledge ALL of our feelings, including the positive ones.
· I want to tell my friend how much I value and love them, but I feel a little nervous. Acknowledge the love and the fear. Just let the feelings move through you. You may tell that person you love them, you may not. Either way, you did not repress the positive emotion.
I think that sometimes we are afraid to face our emotions because they can be so overwhelming. But did you know that emotions only last 90 seconds?! According to a study by Dr Jill Bolte, out of Harvard, no matter how big the emotion, it will only last 90 seconds. (Last week’s Power of Journaling podcast talks about this in detail and I put a link to it in the P.S. section.)
I want to repeat that. Emotions only last 90 seconds, a minute and a half.
Piece of cake. We can handle that. There is nothing to be afraid of. We can face ALL of our emotions and acknowledge them honestly.
You’ve got this.
This is Rebecca with Journaling.com, sending you love and lots of positive emotions.
P.S.
Here’s the link to last week’s podcast. It’s about 2 scientific studies that have changed how we think about the mind and our emotions. It’s really fascinating. (If you like the podcast, would you mind writing a review? This will help other people find the show. Thanks so much.)
On Spotify… https://open.spotify.com/episode/4alYuSe2qTNhngKOiiNQqj?si=omWqZ2kJTpGZYprk28jBEA
On Apple iTunes… https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-power-of-journaling/id1550538439?i=1000631801106
Talk to you again soon! - Rebecca
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