Do you stop yourself from crying when you get sad? Do you distract yourself when you feel angry? Do you even acknowledge you are angry? Or do you gloss things over? When you get hurt, do you automatically say, "I'm OK."
How often do you consciously FACE what you are thinking and feeling?
Today, I watched my Jyotisha teacher talk about the only thing you can do when old stuff is coming up. When the load of the past comes sneaking by the sky of your mind, and you relive old traumas or hurts, presenc-ing is the only thing you can do. Becoming present.
My mentor and colleague, Katie Hendricks has begun using the word presence as a verb. I like that because it enlivens the practice of getting here and now.
This practice to BECOME PRESENT, is an antidote to the feelings that stress us out. FACING is one way to presence yourself.
SO, feelings are one thing we bury.
Our awareness can be buried.
Thoughts, actions, and things we say are all things that are often buried into our subconscious unconsciously.
And, then there are things that we ruminate about... like things we didn't do or say. Or things that someone said to us that we never got complete with.
The simple act of facing can heal and create completion around so many of life's upsets.
But, how? How do you catch yourself trying to bury stuff?
Start with a commitment to FACE. I commit to facing what is. I commit to face my feelings, thoughts, actions and words. I commit to face what I have not been able to see until now.
You can actually put the item somewhere in the space around you. Use your imagination NOW! Think of the last time you felt frustrated.
Stand up and with your imagination, put that item somewhere in the room around you. Then, play with facing that direction and NOT facing that direction. Try different speeds. Different levels of turning towards and turning away.
Experiment with this practice of facing with easy things. Then when something bigger happens, like a death in the family, you will have some practice facing.
Let me know how this precenc-ing practice of FACING works out for you.
Let me know if you feel more present in your daily life.