I love discovering new hiking trails and I am blessed to live in an area with no shortage of them. At the start of the trail we have no idea what is coming next. Every bend, every new view is a complete surprise. We are left to do nothing but follow the path and discover all it has for us to discover.
This is similar to the process of listening to what we are feeling in order to discover what is behind them. Like trailheads, our initial reactions and responses hold a wealth of knowledge about ourselves if we are adventurous enough to let them lead us into the journey.
As humans we are created wonderfully complex. So complex though it can leave our innermost being, or heart, feeling very mysterious to us. This is due to the fact that most of what is going on inside is operating in the subconscious.
For this reason, a main goal of all counselling is to bring what is subconscious into the conscious.
Fortunately, our bodies and souls are trying to do this on a regular basis. They do this through what “shows up” in us in reaction to our daily lives.
- You cry all of a sudden and can’t understand why
- You have an attack of anxiety at a seemingly minimal scenario
- You just about lose it at the coffee shop because their latte machine is down (okay…is that just me? :/)
Are we just brutish, self-centred beings that have no control over ourselves? Or is there something more going on? Is there a different, and more helpful approach towards ourselves that can yield invaluable insights?
Yes.
Our internal accuser doesn’t think so. It wants to handle these “embarrassing” situations with brute force, quickly shutting down the reactions and restoring the peace and order. Distract, detach, project or numb out – these are some internal strategies for dealing with pain and uncomfortable emotions.
But what if we could see them as a wealth of knowledge and insight for our healing? What if we could view them as trailheads to an incredible internal adventure?
If we let them, they will tell us what we really think and believe about everything! They will tell us where these beliefs came from and why. Answers to the questions we have about why we do what we do (or don’t do what we want to do…) are contained in them. Insights on our behaviours and choices that our conscious remains unaware of are available in them.
So why don’t we honour them? Well, we’ve been taught not to. Let’s be real; some of what is hidden in them is scary, painful or intrusive. Fortunately, discernment lies within the One who lives in us. As believers we can not only connect to ourselves but also the truth of Christ within us who can help make sense of all we discover.
Though we feel largely unknown to ourselves, we are completely known to Him.
As we receive and integrate the truth He knows about us our wounds heal, our hearts are comforted and we come home to a place of peace within. This is wholeness.
To get there we can try this simple process:
- Acknowledge the emotion, accept it and ask it for understanding
- Invite the Godhead (Jesus, Holy Spirit or Father God whichever is most comfortable) to help you understand it
- Ask how they want to heal it and follow their lead.
“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be.”
Jer.17:9-10 (MSG)
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