Burras names the process of storing the energy of feelings in the body repression.
He continues: "Chronic pain is often the result of repression. This pain is the direct result of our inability to allow ourselves to feel and to have a relationship with our pain."*
"Recovery means being willing to experience your feelings, as intense as they might be, and learn from them. It is not necessary to try to change these feelings; simply accepting them is enough."*
Burras doesn't offer this but my experience has been that accepting less than desirable feelings is very difficult.
Burras believes that if our mind can feel painful feelings, our body will learn that we will not die from them.
Does this sound like blaming the ill person? Does any of this resonate with you? Do you think the mind and body are this connected? Please let me know by sending me an email or going to comment board.
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
*All quotes from Burras in Return to Nature (2011)
Good Morning, Nicky.
ReplyDeleteI'm appreciating your post today.
And I have to say that I agree with Burras. Many illnesses and disorders are either caused by or exacerbated by stuck emotional energy which could be released through sustained experience and acceptance. Certainly this has been one of the most important things I have learned in my life and I wish I had learned it sooner. Life got so much simpler and more peaceful once I adopted the practice of being with my upset feelings with interested curiosity instead of endlessly trying to make myself feel better by either repressing the feelings or through constant mental churning over what I thought should have been different.
As for your point about it being difficult to accept less than desirable feelings, I agree with you on that, also. Although I have found over the years that it is a skill that can be perfected with practice.
Also, it can be like peeling an onion. When I find something within myself hard to be with without judgment, I often need to first turn to the discomfort of the part that doesn't want me to be with that first negative feeling. Spending time accepting that judgmental and resistant second part often is the key to unlocking the unwinding process for the initial discomfort.
Blessings,
Annon
Good morning to you wise reader! So delighted to receive your comment and hear of your experiences.
DeleteI especially appreciate your phrase "interested curiosity" - I admit that I often skip this and rush to certainty - which often times is misplaced.
I note how you wrote "the discomfort of the part that doesn't want to be with the negative feeling" and assume you are practicing Focusing. Makes me have interested curiosity to pull out my Focusing books.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Much appreciated!
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ReplyDeleteHi Nicky,
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't like thinking that someone gets sick because of their feelings, but I do think it is a factor. But how much a factor? And, what about stress from family or a job.......or lack of money? It's very complicated! I just know I feel blessed when I feel good, but often times it takes pain(body and/or spirit) to make me realize that.
The 64000 dollar question - how much of a factor! I think stress from family and jobs and finances are huge.
DeleteIt is a blessing when we feel good - it is good to appreciate!
Thanks for your comment!