Does it have to be rooted in a logical explanation, or can life just suck sometimes?
I'm not even sure that's a real sentence, but I mean what I inquire. As a human and friend and mother and practitioner, I'm always very interested in the WHY, and I think there's a lot of important insight to be found while digging around that dirt. But after 37 years on this planet, I can also say with greater certainty that we can't always grasp the entire WHY, especially at the very hot, bothered, drowning moment in which we're most desperate to figure it out.
According to some expert astrological interpreters, we're in for a fair amount of liquid flailing this month: Eric Frances says that June's theme is w a t e r - the realm of emotions. The challenge is to feel more, without being overwhelmed. For people who aren't so friendly with their affections and sensitivities, it may feel like work to open up, and acknowledge that feelings not only exist, they drive everything we do, consciously or sub-. For those who are already very in touch with that notion, the overwhelm can come in the form of getting lost, confused or obsessed. It's exactly like swimming or floating or spinning and never coming up to the surface. You can lose energy, hope and - most importantly - perspective.
Perspective is the oxygen we seek. Where is my center? Where is the horizon? How do I get out of this situation that has no form or order or rhythm that I understand?
Here's the one tiny and mighty answer that I've kissed the ground to give thanks for:
pivot.
Veer, whirl, redirect, switch. You're in possession of the ball and you keep one foot on the floor, but you turn, and assess, and choose.
Any time you feel negative emotion, stop and say: Something is important here; otherwise I would not be feeling this negatie emotion. What is it that I want? And then simply turn your attention to what you do want... In the moment you turn your attention to what you want, the negative attraction will stop; and in the moment the negative attraction stops, the positive attraction will begin. And - in that moment - your feeling will change from not feeling good to feeling good. That is the Process of Pivoting. -Excerpted from the book Money and the Law of Attraction
Great advice, and a very simple mental tape to drown out the less useful ones. Although I sometimes find it hard to know what I do want 'instead', and I also struggle with seemingly conflicting Buddhist ideas about desire and non-attachment. So I also love these options that help us get off the spiral and turn things around:
-The meditation practice of Tonglen (breathing in darkness/pain, breathing out light/peace)
-Tapping/EFT (some call it psychological acupuncture)
-Acupuncture!
-Dance salsa, swing, tango, African, or play basketball, tennis, do tai chi -- anything that has a lot of turns in it
Anything that helps you actually feel a pivot or turn in your body will help you recreate the mental state and energetic sensation that you can use ANY time you get stuck. Just imagining the feeling, or visualizing yourself turning, can be enough to wake you up. And if it's not enough, find that friend or practitioner or teacher who has a entire boat full of life preservers to share with you.
The key is to come up to the surface. But also to do it with patience and kindness. Your ascent speed is slow to save you from the bends. If we're grateful for the time it takes, we take advantage of the chance to look around and learn more. And when we rise, we remember there's no further destination or distant galaxy that saves us. We revolt and come back together a million times a day. And the simple and comical grace is that we are always returning, returning, returning.
