There was too much Zinfindel and not enough corks! My middle guy came waltzing in with a three quarter filled bottle saying that we HAD to taste the wine. I must say, it’s pretty rough having parents who have a small Zinfindel vineyard on their property. There was nothing that could be done about it. It was 12:44 pm, so I stepped up to the plate. Besides, I was reviewing beautiful springtime pictures to add into another blog post; so checking them over with a glass of wine seemed like a great plan!
But the wine needed a pairing with some chocolate, and then, well, the chocolate needed to be paired with more wine. It’s a slippery slope that we can dig for ourselves, right? Trust me, I know all about the feelings that arise from deep within that are so uncomfortable that I simply want to mask them or at least numb them. I have even developed small habits that regularly cover up those uncomfortable feelings sometimes without even knowing it.
When we hit a crisis, the pain involved with moving through the situation can be so intense that the only way to lighten the heavy heart seems to be addictions: alcohol, sugar, shopping, smoking, etc. Author, inspirational speaker and spiritual guide, Caroline Myss says that the reason we indulge in these behaviors is that the intuitive knowledge of the speed at which we CAN transform is so earth shattering and life quakingly changing on a physical level that we use these unhealthy overindulgences to slow down the energy movement.
Though I have found some fairly sure fire ways to completely abort the down trodden energy, and it always involves laughter, it’s actually super important to allow for time to move deeper into the center of the pain to allow true transformation to occur. This last portion of the Full moon to the New Moon, I allowed myself to really explore a very very deep sadness that was holding within my heart that I was consistently masking with my daily routine of having my special pieces of my chocolate bar. Now, mind you, not every time I go for my chocolate am I masking something, but I knew it was covering up something, I just didn’t know what.
Tools to Transform Those Hidden Emotional spaces within:
-When you feel the sensation in you that moves you to believe that you need to go shopping, go for coffee, eat that chocolate, or have that first drink, create an awareness that there simply is a feeling that is arising within you that is creating that need to act in these ways.
-Next, stop yourself from acting on it. Now, ask yourself what are you feeling, right now. Sit with it. Sit with your eyes closed and just feel. Allow the feelings to come to the surface. What is it? Sadness, pain, fear, anger, hatred…what comes up?
-Don’t allow your mind to go into the, “Woe is me” party. Or the obsessive, “why is it so hard to be me? Why do I have to go through this?” Just try to bare witness to the emotion. Try to stick with it. Emotions like contractions in birth, only last a certain amount of time. Or like hiccups…you can’t have them forever. Hiccups do eventually go away, and that usually takes only about 10 minutes. So if you can help yourself to just KNOW that you will be spending possibly 10 minutes of holding the emotion(s) whatever it/they are, then they actually unwind…like a really tight muscle. They unwind and release and it will feel so very good. The ride can be bumpy for those minutes, but breathe, feel, watch/witness.
-And then the clincher…when you have allowed this portion to process, seal the deal with laughter. Now you have to rewire the circuitry. And this part is the fun part. I am including three Youtube videos that always make me laugh. Find the ones you love and bookmark them so that you can easily go to them when you need them. The laughing creates healing vibrations that allow your neural circuitry to reestablish positive configuration.
Several of my favorite YouTube clips for a good laugh:
Federer and Nadal…can’t stop laughing…so contagious!
Contagious laughter on the subway!
Double Rainbow ALL THE WAY!
Not all choices are ones that mask
We make choices all day long. Not all choices are covering things up. And sometimes, we are not cover something up just because we happen to make a choice to have a substance that has an addictive or masking propensity; however, it’s so fabulous for our growth if we can inspire within ourselves the drive to bare witness to our choices and evaluate if the behaviors are masking anything.
Ahhhh the Zin
The Zin has been delicious and surely helped to move this blog into being. Now if you don’t mind…back to enjoy the last sips and one more small taste of the chocolate while I watch one more time the YouTube clips I listed above.
To Your Health!
– Margaret, The Mother of The Mother Rising
