Emotions in Motion

Based on my experience, I consider emotions as moving energies that can either strengthen or deplete our bodies.  We cannot see our emotions, but we can certainly feel them in our bodies.  Happiness, rage, fear, love, depression, disgust, guilt, pride, helplessness: even the mere mention of these words, let alone the emotions they describe, can affect us.  Indeed, it could be said that it is our range of emotions that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom. 

In my experience, many people are unaware of the effects that emotions can have on us.  Emotions can and do manifest themselves in physical symptoms in the body.  Anger can be stored the liver, which then pours out its imbalances into the skin as psoriasis.  Grief can work its way into the lungs, making us feel pain, resistance and an inability to be kind to ourselves.  But happiness and love, stored in our hearts, can help us to overcome the most difficult of circumstances.  I believe that in the future, medicine will show us where the energy in our bodies is blocked, and which emotions affect different organs.

We have the power within us to control our emotions and thus control our health and well-being.  We know that our emotions are our feelings, but where do they come from?  They don’t just appear out of thin air!  Our emotions are primarily based on the life experiences which are stored in our subconscious minds.  What has happened to us in the past – or present – determines our emotions.  But our emotions are more than just that.  The same event can provoke different emotions in different people.  Our beliefs, our outlook, our attitude, our upbringing, our circumstances, our constitution and our conscious minds are all important when it comes to emotions.  Some people are born happy, some are born serious.  Some people choose to be happy, some choose to be serious.  The choice is our own.

We all have a memory bank of happy and sad times – but ask yourself “What are my present thoughts?”  Because consciously you have the power to change your thoughts over time to become less habitually negative to become more and more positive in your life.  Now, more than ever, we need to be working on ourselves to connect to the uplifting emotions in our minds: not just for our own benefit, but also because if we are positive, we actively help other people around us who may be going through a rough patch.  

My next positive living workshop “Understanding Emotions, & Why Healing is Forgiving” explores this theme in more depth.  Full of practical tips and techniques and real life case studies, and taking a fun-based approach, the workshop topics include:  

·         What are emotions and why do we have them?

·         How different emotions affect different parts of our bodies: for better and for worse

·         Making a conscious decision to be positive

·         Healing is forgiving, and forgiving is healing

·         Love is the greatest emotion of all

 “Understanding Emotions, & Why Healing is Forgiving” takes place on Saturday 11^th December from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at the Woodlands Hotel, Dunmore Rd, Waterford.  Call 087 2025753 for more information, or see www.bredagardner.com.   

SMILE OR SIGH!

 Everybody has a healer within them.  Some people are more aware of how to tap into the inner peace and love that naturally reside within each of us.  We can perceive the world in different ways: though eyes of love, or through eyes of fear.  As we read about wars, let us not forget the beauty of a sunset.  When we think about the state of our country, let us not forget how many people fell in love today.   

For some people, pain, fatigue and depression become a part of their everyday lives.  It is as if the body is constantly climbing uphill, simultaneously pushing a heavy vehicle in front of them!  Many people get caught up in their own – or other people’s – drama, without realising how much this affects them. 

Here’s a funny story from a friend of mine about how some people don’t realise how they are spreading their misery.  On a December morning a few years ago, the day after an office Christmas party, this friend had a monumental hangover, and the trains were running late.  A woman had complained to the guard on the train and he'd explained as best he could about the delays and apologised, even though it wasn't his fault.  The guy sat next to my friend commented how good it was that the guard had apologised even though he had nothing to do with the delay.  The aforementioned woman then launched into a 15 minute monologue about the delays, the inefficiency, the guard, the price of tickets, the government etc, etc.  My friend eventually snapped and said "Will you please, please, just be quiet about it?  Build a bridge and get over it!  There’s enough doom and gloom around without you spreading it."  An indignant silence ensued, although my friend said that he did receive a number of grins of acknowledgment from surrounding passengers!

When we take ourselves a little less seriously, we are doing ourselves a serious favour!  A hearty laugh breaks the essence of negativity and lights up the soul.  So go out and watch a funny movie or share a joke with your family and friends.  Next time you walk down the street, decide to share a smile with someone.  That other person may respond and decide to smile back.  Before you know it you may have lit up a few people’s lives by taking life lightly and sharing a smile.

Not long ago, I was giving out to my kids for doing something naughty.  In the midst of all the drama, one of our dogs, Sylvie, let rip loudly!  All we could do was laugh our hearts out, and suddenly we all forgot what the fuss was all about.

So lighten your load, ride the waves with awareness, and feel the joy in your heart.  You’re worth it.   

PS  My next Homeopathic First Aid Course starts in Kilkenny on 30^th November, and my next positive living workshop “Understanding Emotions, & Why Healing is Forgiving” takes place in Waterford on 11^th December.  Call 087 2025753 for more information, or see www.bredagardner.com.