Austin On-Track Counseling

The body is not what we think it is.  We are focused on fixing the body.  We think that pain and dis-ease are the problem.  The body is our vehicle for us to live in on this physical plane of existence.  It’s purpose is to help us get back to who we really are, our true self, our true nature.  The way our body does this is by allowing us to feel.  The body carries every moment we have ever experienced in time and space.  The body is of the time and space dimension.  It provides us with the ability to feel.  Our feelings are not the ultimate truth, but they lead us to that truth.  What we have done is to dis-own the body.  We have deemed it ‘sinful,’ lustful.  We have learned not to trust our bodies.  We feel betrayed by our bodies when something in them goes wrong.  Nothing is wrong, what is happening is that the body is showing us, reflecting back to us our blocks, our challenges that we came to this life to resolve.  The body is reflecting back to us what we need to know to move forward in our evolution.  

We have confused our body with our Self.  We think we are our body, we have become indentified with our body as our Self.  Our body is our tour guide.  Our bodies are in total and complete service to us to point the way.  We ignore the signs and signals that our bodies give us every moment of every day.

Most of us have no clue that we are living in a treasure chest, and the buried treasure is within us.  Our bodies are showing us where the treasure lies, but we choose not to look or listen. We kill the message with painkillers, and we often kill the messenger too.  The problem is that very few others have the wisdom to help us get to the treasure, so we disconnect ourselves from the possibility because we are fearful.  Our pain and symptoms have been defined as dis-eases and dis-orders that we need to medicate and manage.  We lost sight of the deeper truth and focus our attention on the discomfort.  We have no idea what is underneath or on the other side of this discomfort, dis-ease, pain, etc.  Very few others have gone there...

What is Possible through Aikido of Emotion? 

A new perception and practice that transforms your relationship with your emotions, feelings, physical sensations, and pain.  And by transforming your relationship with your inner landscape/body-mind, you can enjoy:

• A deeper understanding of your true self and your personal needs                                   
• Your compassionate heart is more available to you and to others
• Enhanced relationships with loved ones, friends and colleagues
• Greater access to your intuition and personal power
• More happiness, peace, joy, aliveness and freedom
• Enhanced well being, health and vitality

The Energy Of Emotions by Lynne Arial, MA, LPC

July 30, 2008

I recently wrote an article titled The Energy Of Emotions.  Here is a short version of the article:

The Energy of EMOTIONS, A Guide to Self- Knowledge

You will learn how to navigate and be in harmony with your emotions for greater happiness, peace and self-awareness.

I find in my counseling practice that most people don’t want to experience pain, whether it is physical or emotional pain.  So we tend to run from our painful emotions, and only want to experience happy and joyous ones.  Therein lies the resistance to the experience of our emotions.  But, by avoiding our emotional pain, bigger problems get created because the emotional energy has to go somewhere.  Either it gets acted out in more serious ways, or we suppress it, and experience physical problems and/or addictions of various kinds.  We also miss out on knowing ourselves at deeper levels of awareness because we are unaware that our emotions are the signals or signposts that point to the depths of who we are.  Instead of respecting our emotions, we have been taught that emotions are irrational, frivolous, petty and meaningless.  So you ask, what can we do?

I like to use a technique I call The Aikido of Emotion.  The premise of the martial art form of Aikido is to practice yielding to the opponent instead of using your force against him/her.  It is the practice of non-resistance.  If we apply this philosophy to our emotions, which at times we might think of as our opponent, then what we want to practice is the art of non-resistance regarding our emotions.

So you ask, how does The Aikido of Emotion work?  Imagine you are a vessel or container, and inside of you, you contain thoughts, feelings, and perceptions about your life situation or the events and experiences of your life.  If who you are is the container of your thoughts and feelings, then you are not the thoughts and feelings that run through you, you just contain them.  The thoughts, feelings, and sensations, are energies running through the vessel or container that you are. 

Aikido of Emotion
The Energy of Emotions

Imagine what it would be like to trust your inner experience without resistance or fear. What things might be possible? What might you learn about your self?

Aikido of Emotion is an experiential technique and practice that teaches us how to be present to our internal experience (thoughts, emotions, physical sensations) without resistance, fear or judgment.

By using the Aikido of Emotion technique, we learn how being present to our inner experience can lead us back to the deeper truths within ourselves, offering us access to our true nature. This work is in alignment with the teachings of Eckhart Tolle on presence and non-resistance.

Lynne Arial, LPC