May 9th 2010- Learning from Our Moods

Many times when experiencing negative emotions there is the tendency to negatively dwell on it. The more we dwell on it, the more uncomfortable we feel in our own skin. Those anxious feelings, sadness, anger, etc., are something to get rid off, "a waste"- as I heard many of you talking about your emotional state.
It might be helpful to remember that such attitude doesn't allow us to see the opportunity to learn  from those parts of the self in need of healing, acceptance and compassion, and the transformative power of undergoing such experience.

Below is a beautiful poem that came to my attention during a conference this past week; it speaks about to open ourselves to accept who we are and where we are in our lives at the moment.

Take a look and share with us your thoughts


Befriending Our Feelings

How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at
the beginning of all races - the myths about dragosn that
at the last moment are transformed into princesses.
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are only princesses
waiting for us to act, just once, with beauty and courage.
Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest
essence, something helpless that wants our love.

So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises before
you larger than any you've ever seen, if an anxiety like
light and cloud shadows moves over your hands and
everything that you do. You must realize that something
has happened to you; that life has not forgotten you; it
holds you in its hands and will not let you fall. Why do
you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any
miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know
what work these conditions are doing inside you.

RAINER MARIA RILKE, Letters to a Young Poet
in The Mindfull Way Through Depression  by
Williams, Teasdale, Segal & Kabat-Zinn
Guilford, 2007