Accepting our feelings

[Raven.joy]

Accepting our feelings

I think its probably normal to feel all kinds of negative stuff all the time its the rising above it that counts.

[Rusty-576]

Accepting our feelings

This post could not have come at a better time mario thank you so much for your thoughts...and for all who posted on this thread..thanks.....With the holidays comming I think I have hid my feelings all to many times....this year with my sobriety and new understanding I do hope to make it better and play forward.

[KateH1]

Accepting our feelings

I have been giving this thread a lot of thought.....interesting topic, Mario. I think that for me, I would say that I acknowlege my feelings. I decide if these thoughts and feelings are valid and if so, what I need to do about them, if anything. For instance, if my feeling are hurt, I try to decide if the hurt was a misunderstanding, intentional, if I have questions, as the person for clarification.....then move on!

Recently in chat there was a conversation with a member who constantly has the need to express, anger and rage and even threats of violence. Several members tried to talk a reason with this member about getting help for these "Feelings" and to move past them. In anger the member replied.."This is Just Who I am....I will get help in Prison!". Well...I guess he is "Accepting" his feelings but this is of No Help to himself nor anyone else.

Just some thoughts.....would love some feedback!
Kate

[mario]

Accepting our feelings

I am slowly allowing myself to feel normal, The deep reservoir of pain and the intense feeling of a lack of safety that i carried around inside of me made me feel separate from other people. In recovery i have reached into the black hole inside me released the tight mass of pain and allowed breath,air, and sunlight to return,As i have said we dont have to let our feelings control our behavior.We dont have to act on each feeling that passes through us,we do not need to indulge in inappropriate behavior,But i will remember that feelings are an important part of my life,I will be open to my feelings in family life,in friendship,in love and at work, I will feel my feelings without judging myself :-)

[startingover]

Accepting our feelings

This is where I struggle Mario, I DO judge myself by the feelings I have. I am finding it very hard not to. Well actually make that impossible.

[hippie37]

Accepting our feelings

I asked this question recently when someone in fellowship told me not to trust my feelings. Below is the question I asked and one of the responses I got which I thought I'd share with you.

If God is Love then my spirituality must encompass ALL feelings under that umbrella of Love whether they be positive or negative. So why should I not trust them if I have God in my life? My spirituality is just a flicker of a flame at the moment at this stage so I am not suggesting I truly have God consciousness in my life everyday. I still like to play God myself don't forget!

It's my understanding that my thought process can lead me to believe I am feeling something that I have created on self will alone. But under God's will why should I not trust my feelings?


"gut feelings" or intuition refers to that feeling of right v. wrong, truth v. dishonesty, real v. illusion. we learn through the steps that lead us to god-consciousness, to trust these "gut feelings". the 9th step promises tell us that we will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. this comes with the connection to a power greater than self which is the stated destination of the steps. as we nurture that connection and allow it to flourish this ability to trust intuitive response becomes clearer to us and we realize that we are walking in lock-step with a god of our personal understanding.

the other feelings we're talking about here are stimulus-response feelings that are grounded in our often warped notions of good v. bad, negative v. positive. from a theoretical posture there is no good or bad things there are only things. our determination of negative or positive is based solely on the way these things make us "feel". happy, sad, angry, put upon. such emotions are not unreal or false but they are knee jerk reactions to stimulus and are probably not wisely used as responses to a situation.

i.e. bill made a commitment to pick me up to go to the store. he didn't come to get me. therefore i am angry, i am put out, i hate bill, i won't talk to him again. perhaps i will hit him next time i see him.

if i allow my responses to be dictated by my "feelings" i am, to my way of thinking, neglecting the intuition that in keeping with a power greater than self, i am responsible to love my brother, to pray for his progress on a common spiritual path, to be of service to him in order that i may serve myself and the "god" of my understanding.

I trust my intuition today, I am wary of my feelings.

Love and Light
Phil
xx