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Much can be, and has been, said on the subject of emotion.
The word emotion itself means to express or get out. Yet
often times emotion leads to unsatisfactory results. We
feel drained instead of invigorated. Surely this natural
function of the bodymind has a possible healthy purpose.
Here we shall examine what that purpose, or function, is,
where we went wrong, and how to remedy the situation;
this will lead us to healthy emotion.
Emotional expression is something we are born with, in
that we are capable of it without instruction. This
expression settles in when we are primarily involved in
learning how to move (see Language of Movement). Movement
is learned by imitation, so we naturally have some
crossover in emotional imitation. Since people in general
do not have healthy emotion, and we imitate people -
namely our parents, siblings, and other caregivers - we
imitate this deviation from healthy emotion right from
the start. (Let us not put blame on these folks, for they
are in the same boat with us.)
A few basic examples are useful to ponder as we consider
where we strayed. One easy illustration is 'controlling'
emotion - which really means stopping it. Of course we
need control, just as with bowel movements, which we also
learn at this time. However, with our bowels we are
allowed relief at a proper time; emotions are postponed
indefinitely. This is evident in common phrases like
"There's nothing to be scared of . . ." or
"It's going to be alright," etc. If we learned
also an appropriate time and place for expression of
emotion, this control could become useful. There would be
a lot fewer temper tantrums as well.
Another example is 'labeling' emotions, generally as good
or bad, acceptable and not acceptable. When this happens
- say, when a little girl is allowed to cry but nothing
else - then all expression is funneled into one outward
manifestation. This is not a satisfying expression and
drains the system of energy.
Both of these examples are forms of my third example,
'denial' of emotion. This includes any attempt to
discount emotion, such as "I'll give you something
to whine about!" which basically says our emotion is
wrong, or should not exist. When emotion is met by this
kind of violent reaction, it gradually shuts down, or is
denied. This repression of emotion takes a great
energetic toll on the bodymind. These three examples
should suffice to make a beginning in our journey.
One of my favorite sayings is "The only negative
emotion is an unresolved emotion." Truly resolution
defines emotion. Until it 'comes out,' it is not yet
emoted. This strange energy of unexpressed emotion is a
poison to us. The way to relief is to lance the boil, so
to speak. There are many methods for getting 'caught up'
with old emotions; I will not detail them here, but
bodywork is fundamental to most of these methods. They
must be resolved because any current expression will be
tainted by them. The key in this, and please read this
carefully, is not to analyze during emotion. Many lines
of esoteric teaching tell us that thought opposes
emotion, and you will find this is true. The emotion must
be allowed to run its course. Then, if you wish, you may
analyze (you will find things much clearer then as well).
In reality, analysis is usually an attempt to abort
expression, albeit unconsciously (that is, by imitation).
So now we have covered, in basic formulations, where we
went wrong and how to fix it. We now come to the why: Why
have emotion at all? What good is it? Since we know that
emotion is part of our machinery, we will look for its
normal, or healthy, function. I will begin with Five
Element Theory, which provides a simple, yet complete
understanding of emotional integration. The five basic
emotions are fear, anger, joy, compassion, and grief. If
we see each 'element' as being in relationship to the
others (and not as good or bad), and needing balance in
this relation, we are moving in the right direction. Each
element can be 'symptomatic,' or have too much energy, as
when anger becomes rage. Each element can be depleted, as
when joy becomes sadness. Or they can be in balance, in
which we could call fear 'respect' (this gives a new
meaning to 'fear of God'). If we look carefully, we can
distill every emotion to one of these five and then seek
balance. Five Element Theory has much to say about this
balance.
Where would we be without healthy anger? We would have no
boundaries. Without fear we have no sense of scale.
Without joy we are depressed (this topic will be
addressed in another paper). These emotions are as
necessary as the air we breathe; in fact they are related
to and are in the air. Without them we are choked off (yes,
there is a direct correlation with asthma and other
diseases). This leads into our final point: What does
healthy emotion look like? Here we must be clear by using
objective results. In the last paper we spoke of "expression
of negative emotions" (see Identifying Stress) as a
leak in the bodymind. Let's explore what this means in
the context of healthy emotion. We all have experience of
two basic modes of expression: one kind gives energy, the
other drains us. Notice that I didn't say "feels
good" - this is because expression of negative
emotions often seems to feel good. There is a movement of
energy with negative emotion, but it is energy moving out
of us. So it is important not to look for results during
expression, but afterward. After crying, for example, are
you exhausted or refreshed? Healthy emotion always
refreshes us. This is an objective result.
After practice, careful observation, and a tabulating of
results, you will begin to notice a definite 'taste' to
both healthy emotion and negative emotion. We need to use
this taste because of the speed of emotion (see Somatics
and the Unconscious), which is infinitely faster than
ordinary thought. In this way we will develop an ability
to emote in a healthy way and control our leaks. The
effects of this on our physical health will be quickly
and clearly evident.
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