“Feelings Are Like Fluid Waves Of Energy…Like The Ebb And Flow Of Tides, The Waning And Waxing Of The Moon” – Anita Johnson

“Feelings are like fluid waves of energy. Like the waves we see in the ocean, they come in, peak, and pass, come in, peak, and pass. They have a natural cyclical rhythm like the ebb and flow of tides, the waning and waxing of the moon. The flow of feeling is as natural as the flow of life itself.”

From “Eating In The Light Of The Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship With Food Through Myths, Metaphors, And Storytelling” by Anita Johnson

Twenty Years Later: “I Feel Your Pain…But Not My Own”

By Jennifer Miller

The year 2012 will be remembered for many important events and  happenings. Two of the biggest are the London Olympics and our own Presidential Election on November 6. But 2012 is also significant in that it has been 20 years since President Bill Clinton made his famous statement in March 1992:

“I feel your pain.”

While it is very difficult to feel another person’s pain, or suffering, unless you have “walked in their shoes”, we can all feel our own emotions, including pain. But why is it that so few people are actually able or willing to feel real emotions?

Do the activities and distractions in our lives numb our inner feelings?

Is it our culture of overconsumption, where we overeat and overspend, and in the extreme, abuse alcohol and drugs?

People are often afraid to go inward and truly connect with their real, raw emotions. It exposes us and makes us vulnerable…but also makes us more authentic. And humble. Getting to the real cause of personal pain and anger can often involve nothing more that looking at ourselves as we are now, not at who we were in the past. We are not that person any more. Forgive that person or move on from that person. Benefit from the often humorous process of “observing yourself” at this very time in your life. I often feel like a stand-up comic,  with an audience of “none” as I go inward and self-reflect. But it makes me aware of the moment.

I am one with my espresso coffee machine in the morning. I am one with my two dogs while I walk them. I am one with my cutting board as I prepare vegetables for cooking.

Do I feel like saying “enough already” and want to rejoin the noisy fray? Sometimes. But to go inward is so much more rewarding. I connect with my inner feelings and shower them with positive reflections. This can often produce the little miracles and happy endings that make life worth living.

Namaste, Jennifer Miller

“The Importance Of Balance In Life” By Jennifer Miller

“Balance” is truly the key to life.  Critical to my path towards self-realizaton is a process of “witness consciousness”, where I can observe myself and my emotions. When I am a little bit “off”, I can hopefully identify those emotions that undermine my feelings of peace and “balance”.

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What I feel in my body, the world will project back to me. When I feel grounded, things just seem to go smoothly. It is so very important to have “fun and joy” in life, as part of our balance.

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When I feel that the child in me needs to play, I should always take the time to play. While at the beach yesterday,  I looked out into the ocean and I saw something moving out in the water. What could it be?

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Looking closer, I could see that it was two seals frolicking and playing together.

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I felt pure delight. I had never seen this before! And they continued on for at least 20 minutes. I felt pure joy.  These two seals shared the wisdom of the importance of play.

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Years ago, when feeling really happy,  I would perform my “horsey dance”. I had a beautiful standard poodle, Harvey, who would get so excited during my dance that he would nip at and actually bite my bottom. We nicknamed him “butt-biter”.  It seems so silly, but it was so important. More recently, as I have been going through a very difficult time in my life, my horsey dance has not been as spontaneous or frequent. But today, I feel the need to dance, feeling the “pure joy of being alive” and being grateful for all that I have. And all that I am.

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What did you love to do as a child?

What do you have that makes you giggle and laugh for the pure joy of it?.

Strive to find your inner “silly child”. It is so important to be able to laugh with and at ourselves.

 

Don’t let anyone or anything  take away your happy.

Happy Dancing.

Jennifer Miller