5 Steps for Clearing Negative Emotions

Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends. It is a good time to slow down, reflect and be grateful. Recently, I’ve been hit with hurdles and challenges that have gotten the best of me at times and I’ve been finding it hard to keep my usual cool, calm and grateful state. I have a degenerative eye disease and I’m legally blind in one eye and lately, the other eye has been acting up. I’ve also been dealing with a surprise law suit that has added tons of stress to my life. There are other things but I won’t list them here. When I sat down to write out all of the stresses and challenges that were piling up, it was easy to see why I was feeling emotionally overwhelmed, frustrated and angry. Sure, my practice of mindfulness meditation and regular exercise keep me in check but sometimes anger bubbles up and I could feel my frustration and anger building. It made me feel terrible. 5 Steps To Clear Negative Emotions

1. Think of healthy ways to acknowledge and express your feelings.
2. Acknowledge the negative emotion by first identifying it and then by saying the following words out loud: “I see you, I feel you and I hear you.” This allows you to accept rather than deny your feelings.
3. Exercise is also a great way to help dissipate anger and frustration. Go for a walk, work out or do something physical.
4. Watch humorous videos online. Laughing is a great way to change your state.
5. Use the Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT to help with negative emotions. EFT is a form of meridian therapy based on the ancient Chinese technique of acupuncture. You simply tap on designated accupressure points while tuning in to a particular emotion or problem. I love Dr. Carol Look’s approach to EFT.

See Challenges as Gifts As I reflect on what I’m grateful for, I realize that my greatest gifts, lessons and spiritual growth opportunities come from challenges and frustrations. Being aware of myself and how I deal with these issues is the steel that sharpens my sword. They make me stronger. When faced with overwhelm, frustration or anger ask yourself: 1- What can I do to deal with my emotions in a positive, productive and healthy way? 2- How can I honor, forgive and accept myself despite these temporary emotional upheavals? We are holistic by nature, we cannot maintain spiritual equanimity while harboring negative emotions. From Overwhelm to Clarity It can be challenging to maintain your clarity of mind when you are overwhelmed and frustrated. Remember the number one tool in your tool belt: mindfulness meditation. Cleaning the subconscious mind is key and requires practice and patience. It means imbuing and grounding yourself in pure awareness. This means clearing away all anger, frustration, desire, memories, beliefs, hopes, dreams, re-presentations (old mind movies and scripts) trainings, opinions of the world and who you think you are or will be are all mind stuff. Imagine your body burned up by fire with nothing left except ashes. What remains is an unidentified observer or witness – your awareness of being aware. When you are aware of that cleared space within you, you realize you are this awareness. What remains is no-thing but joy, which is your natural essence.