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Daily Question, January 13

What feelings do I have that are awaiting honest exploration and acceptance?

  • KC
    Tara Brach speaks of 'seasons of the heart', which I find helpful and comforting to begin to frame broad families of experience, each with their own bundle of stories, beliefs and feelings. Her RAIN meditation is my go to, to pause, settle and be with feelings around a given moment or experience. Dorothy Hunt offers that 'peace is this moment, without judgement, where everything that is is welcome ...'. Back to the toasted bagel with a thick, yummy cream cheese schmear, and a hot cup of ...

    Tara Brach speaks of ‘seasons of the heart’, which I find helpful and comforting to begin to frame broad families of experience, each with their own bundle of stories, beliefs and feelings. Her RAIN meditation is my go to, to pause, settle and be with feelings around a given moment or experience. Dorothy Hunt offers that ‘peace is this moment, without judgement, where everything that is is welcome …’.

    Back to the toasted bagel with a thick, yummy cream cheese schmear, and a hot cup of tea 🙂

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  • Malag

    All of them really. It’s a life’s work. It’s a wonderful question because every feeling I have needs the space to be accepted and let be there. I spent a chunk of my life numbing feelings so it was a long process to allow them in to say hello and be properly introduced.

  • Honeybuns4

    I feel guilty for not seeing that my husband was suffering a heart attack. He did not say a thing and went to bed and I saw his eyes roll back and I called for help and interrupted the CPR because I needed help so he died and I feel so guilty. Everyone tells me it was his time but I feel like I could’ve done more.

    • Michele

      You called for help – you did the right thing. Try to not be so hard on yourself and do not feel guilty. My condolences to you on your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time.

  • mam_gigi

    I need to let go of perfectionism. Accept failure. And embrace my insecurities.

  • Brown Rose

    The feeling of “why?”.

  • MEG

    I will pay attention to All my feelings, allowing them to bring clarity, inner peace and acceptance in the here and now.

  • sunnypatti
    There are many! I fall short of where I'd like to stay, although gratefully not as often as I used to. I do explore them and try my best to accept them, but I do not dwell on them too long, as this is not good for my sanity. Those feelings range from fear, anxiety, feeling less-than and unworthiness. I do, however, think it's also important to explore the better feelings and accept those, as they are my truths! Those are confidence, courage, self-love, joy, enthusiasm, and, of course, gratitude!...

    There are many! I fall short of where I’d like to stay, although gratefully not as often as I used to. I do explore them and try my best to accept them, but I do not dwell on them too long, as this is not good for my sanity. Those feelings range from fear, anxiety, feeling less-than and unworthiness. I do, however, think it’s also important to explore the better feelings and accept those, as they are my truths! Those are confidence, courage, self-love, joy, enthusiasm, and, of course, gratitude!

    I’ve been studying the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali, and I was reminded of Sutra 28 when reading some of the comments below. It says “tajjapastadarthabhāvanam” which translates to “repeating it with reflection upon it’s meaning is an aid.” It talks about how repetition is powerful, and the writer reminds us – “As you think, so you become.” So while it is good to reflect upon our not-so-good feelings, we definitely should not repeat them over and over in our minds! Explore, accept, and move forward!

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  • Layla

    Unburdening myself from being a people pleaser and feeling responsible for others’ emotions. I was an adultified child, felt responsible for my mother’s problems and cast into the role of being her primary nurturer, while having my own needs neglected. Now, it’s literally an everyday effort breaking those patterns.

    • devy

      I can definitely relate.. my mom was an alcoholic and my father was away a lot..

  • Layla

    That we truly cannot save anyone but ourselves. It is so hard to just be an impartial observer in life, knowing that mistakes and missteps offer valuable lessons. We often feel like we’re protecting those we love by helping them avoid failure, but failure may be just the catalyst they need to empower themselves in life.

  • Linda

    My fears of the future. I don’t like to think of the aging process rendering me less capable than I have been all my life.

    • Elaine

      I resonate with your comment Linda. I have a hard time thinking of myself as other than youthful and active. And honestly, I’m not convinced that exploring that feeling further is helpful anyway!

  • Katrina

    I feel like I just walked into a therapist’s office. For today, I’ll stick to the feeling for which this site is dedicated – gratitude: What keeps be grounded in feeling and experiencing gratitude? And what feelings tend to lead me to abandon gratitude or forget the experience of gratefulness? That’s what I will ponder in my journaling and prayers today.

  • Nelson

    Tbh, anger. It can be triggered from unresolved communications and resentment from the past. I will admit through years of intentional work on my mental and emotional health, it continues to subside. It gives way not only to acceptance but also compassion, empathy, forgiveness. I’ve been able to come to terms with trauma from the past. It’s always a work in progress.

  • Mary Pat

    Well, my answer yesterday has lots of feelings I can explore and accept. What an overwhelming question…let me just add there are many, but anger, fear, and anxiety should keep me busy exploring the rest of my life.

    • Holly in Ohio

      I can understand and sympathize with this.
      We suffer first through certain terrible experiences. But we suffer longer, by reliving them.
      Burying hard feelings doesn’t work to erase them, and yet…
      do you (or I) want to spend the rest of your life exploring anger, fear, and anxiety?
      For what it is worth, Mary Pat, I know you deserve better, to be free of such difficult things.
      With love ❤

      • Mary Pat

        Ah, but in order to take care of myself, I need to go through them, not ignore them. There is a great meditation that Jack Kornfield does that works by going through it, and I think Tara Brach has one as well. I have found them to be extremely helpful. It has freed me from much…..

  • Marnie Jackson

    Feelings about my past – especially now that my children are asking questions.

  • Patricia

    As Mary did, I will ponder these things in my heart. They’re not for posting….

  • EJP

    “Accept the things I cannot change”…..feelings that I constantly struggle with but need my honest exploration and acceptance.

  • Holly in Ohio

    It is an interesting question. I’m torn between exploring some of the emotions that has made this week not the best – and ignoring them.

    Michele has an excellent point about acknowledging emotions, but I also know “Whatever we focus on, expands.”

    Perhaps I can decipher and briefly acknowledge anxiety, disappointment, and loneliness, and then let go, and focus longer and deeper on love, curiosity, and joy.

    • sparrow

      Sometimes,
      dear Holly,
      focus can also open up a bigger window,
      a place where you can see more
      and expand your awareness of the source of your emotion…

      • Holly in Ohio

        Thank you for this, Sparrow. I see now there can be value in understanding the source of the negative emotions, perhaps to disarm them, if you will. I will reflect on these now. thanks! 🌺

  • Carla

    I’ve been keeping some feelings of loss / grief at bay. Oh, I know they’re present. I’m working on befriending them, to walk with me versus running me on a leash.

    • Celia Wildroot

      Wow. That is such a good expression. I dont “deal” with grief. It might be taken the “spiritual bypass.” It is possibly still sitting quietly at the table. A course a miracle says that if death were real then God would be cruel. Thich Nhat Hahn says death is not the enemy. Look inside it is happening all the time. Tara Brach recently has a good podcast on grief. Heaven or Hell is in my mind in past or future. Thinking is hell.

  • Kevin

    Wow! Now there’s a loaded question if there ever was one!

    I would have to break this question down into sections because I could write all day just about feelings, another day to figure out which feelings to explore and another week of writing about which feelings to incorporate within my head and heart, not to mention the pile of feelings I may want to dismiss or let go of, and why, and write another two weeks about that.

    I may need a bagel first!

  • Michele

    All of my feelings should be accepted and validated. They range from happiness, joy, peace, anxious, sad, angry, hurt, jealous – good ones, bad ones. Nonetheless, at the start and end of each date GRATEFULNESS is the winner:)

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