Light
Jedi: Lecture #27
The
gift of Feeling
Lightside@forceacademy.com
The following
lecture comes courtesy of Mark M., a newcomer to the site - but
there is much wisdom in what he writes.
The Gift of Feeling
For this discussion, it is important that the reader ask themselves
a few revealing questions.
1. When was the last time you were so gripped by a movie, song,
or work of art that you felt it to the depths of your being?
2. When was the last time you read a story in which you were so
moved that you believed you were one of the characters?
3. When was the last time you saw a floral arrangement that was
so beautiful that it moved you to tears?
4. Can you remember the last time you felt as if you wanted everything
to just freeze so that you could enjoy what you felt forever?
5. How many of your neighbors can you name by name in 60 seconds?
6. If you could say one nice thing about either the neighbor across
the street or next door, what would it be?
This essay on feeling is not going to be just another one of those
heady lectures, the focus of which is “thinking about feeling.”
There will be no Webster’s dictionary definition, or ten steps to
a healthy, happier you. We will not pursue feeling good, feeling
bad, or feeling out of shape. (Something I am particularly pleased
about.) No, this is not another essay about “raindrops on roses,
and whiskers on kittens.” It is not the intention of this lecture
to sprinkle fairy dust and make everyone fly once they think their
happy thought. You will not hear any snake-oil-salesmanlike platitudes
about getting rich quick, living life to the fullest or improving
your self-esteem.
Now, of course there is nothing wrong with a full life or a healthy
self-esteem. It is just that we live in a culture in which these
very intangible divine given gifts are marketed as if you simply
need to run down to the nearest self-esteem dealer, and get this
year’s model.
The fact is the truth is just the opposite. Since it is the truth
that we are seeking. We must pare away for a moment our indoctrinated
selves. It is the truth that will set in motion that which will
release us from the bondage of ourselves, our inhibitions and our
endless needs to conform to what we refer to as “normal.” For in
the end it is being truthful with ourselves that is all that matters.
Lets talk about when we were children. Young children are normally
pretty free spirits. They run and they play. They make friends.
They quickly show their emotions of joy and sadness. They say what
they are thinking. They use their imagination. It is all right when
you are a child to believe in things, even if they do not make sense
to anyone else. So, we start out as people who are very able to
receive new ideas and concepts but are equally able to feel. As
time goes on, and we grow up, we become more and more indoctrinated
by our culture which tells us that we need to wear the right clothes,
drive the right cars and live in the right neighborhood so that
in the end we can be accepted. Of course, accepted not for who we
are, but for who the world taught us to be. So what then is the
first step to freeing ourselves to be who we are called to be? Learning
how to feel is the key that unlocks the door to our souls.
Every human being is completely unique. It has often been said we
are one in a million. Actually, it is more like one in four billion.
Each person has a spark of creativity within him or her. So, what
separates those who are highly creative from those who are not?
One trait is the gift of feeling. We live in a society that bows
down to information as if it were a god. It seems as though all
the schools emphasize anymore is Math, Language studies, and Science.
We are able to share information at a rate of speed that would have
been unthinkable 100 years ago. With all this knowledge, it seems
that we have completely forgotten how to feel.
Feeling, like breathing is both an involuntary and voluntary thing.
We breathe often quite involuntarily. In fact, all day long and
all night long as we sleep we breath. We never think about “am I
breathing or not?” We just do it. However, if we get up on the stage
at the Lincoln Center to sing an aria, breathing becomes quite a
different issue. All of a sudden it is no longer just that involuntary
act in which we sustain our lives, it now has meaning and function.
It has a purpose other than simply going through a biological motion.
It becomes part of the gift. The same can be said of feeling. There
are times when we “just feel.” Certainly if a close friend or loved
one died we would feel sadness. That is automatic. But what we need
to focus our attention on in order to free ourselves, is voluntary
feeling. This can be referred to as the gift of feeling.
I asked six questions at the beginning of this essay. I am sure
by now you all have probably figured out that question five does
not fit. Continuing this train of thought, you were probably quite
easily able to name several neighbors in the time given. It was
probably a little more difficult but you were also probably able
to name something nice about some neighbors. But the deeper questions
that required serious feeling were probably quite difficult if not
impossible to answer. So here are the two important points. First,
if we are not exercising the gift of feeling at the time we experience
our deepest feeling; it will probably not have a lasting impact
on us. Secondly, the more we allow analytical thinking to distract
us, the less we will exercise the gift of feeling. That is not at
all to say that analytical thinking is bad, we just should not allow
it to distract us from feeling also.
Here are some of the characteristics of the gift of feeling. These
were found on many web sites with no credit given on any of them
as to the source. People with the gift of feeling often associate
with the color blue. They tend to be aware of subtle details. Manual
dexterity and channeling healing energy are found within this gift.
Hugging, touching and “warm fuzzies” are characteristics. The negative
side of this feeling is that if they become out of balance, they
can be defensive, take things personally and be over emotional.
It is quite obvious that those who have the gift of healing have
some very special powers. So why then do we refuse to use this gift?
It is the need for acceptance from others. We judge our feelings
based on what we believe other people think. This starts of course
with our parents. Note this quote from Dancing the Path of Feeling:
Since it was Judgement that put the emotion away in the first place,
this tends to be our specie's way of dealing with the activation
itself. By judging the feeling, we can create the illusion of "recovering"
from the activation, forgetting as soon as possible that it ever
occurred. This compacts more Feeling into that which is already
stuck.
Much of this judgement we learn from our parents, who, of course,
learned it from their parents, etc. As babies, we have no conscious
judgements about what we are feeling. We just feel. Then when we
try and express, we receive cues from our parents that tell us how
they feel about expression of our feeling. Sometimes these cues
are verbal. Sometimes they may be facial expressions. More often,
it is the subtle ways we are touched and the feelings that we perceive
from our parents, for infants are far more psychically sensitive
than can be easily observed, especially to their own parents. It
does not take long to learn which feelings and expressions our parents
liked, and which ones they did not. ("Dancing the Path of Feeling",
Chapter 2 page 1.)
So you see, if we are truly going to accept the gift of feeling,
we not only have a lot to learn, We have a lot to unlearn. Here
are some suggestions for beginning the journey:
1. Empty your mind of the day’s events and find a quiet place to
let your feeling happen.
2. Begin with meditation or prayer.
3. Do not be afraid if your feelings take you someplace that makes
you uncomfortable. Continue to feel, even if what you feel seems
to be illogical, stupid or odd. In the end, it may make more sense
than you think.
4. Make a diary or journal of what you feel and track it over time.
See where your feelings lead you.
Peter Shepherd in his “Release Techniques” essay gives the following
list of feelings:
ð· Apathy and related feelings such as bored, careless,
cold, cut-off, dead, defeated, depressed, discouraged, disillusioned,
drained, forgetful, futile, hopeless, humorless, indecisive, indifferent,
lazy, lost, negative, numb, overwhelmed, resigned, shocked, stuck,
tired, worthless, etc.
ð· Grief and related feelings such as abandoned, abused,
accused, anguished, ashamed, betrayed, cheated, embarrassed, helpless,
hurt, ignored, left out, longing, loss, melancholy, misunderstood,
neglected, pity, poor me, regret, rejection, remorse, sad, unhappy.
ð· Fear and related feelings such as anxious, apprehensive,
cautious, cowardly, doubt, dread, foreboding, inhibited, insecure,
nervous, panicky, scared, secretive, shaky, shy, skeptical, stage
fright, suspicious, tense, trapped, worried.
ð· Compulsive feelings of anticipation, craving, demanding,
desiring, devious, driven, envy, frustrated, greed, impatient, manipulative,
lust, need, obsessed, pushy, ruthless, selfish; wanting desperately
to have or to hurt; needing security, control, acceptance or approval;
need to be right, to make another wrong.
ð· Anger and related feelings such as aggressive, annoyed,
argumentative, defiant, demanding, disgusted, fierce, frustrated,
furious, hatred, impatience, jealous, mad, mean, outraged, rebellious,
resentment, rude, spiteful, stern, stubborn, vengeful, vicious,
violent.
ð· Pride and related feelings such as aloof, arrogant,
boastful, clever, contemptuous, cool, critical, judgmental, righteous,
rigid, self-satisfied, snobbish, spoiled, superior, unforgiving,
vain.
ð· Courage and related feelings such as adventurous,
alert, aware, competent, confident, creative, daring, decisive,
eager, happy, independent, loving, motivated, open, positive, resourceful,
self-sufficient, strong, supportive, vigorous.
ð· Acceptance and related feelings such as balance, beauty,
compassion, delight, empathy, friendly, gentle, joyful, loving,
open, receptive, secure, understanding, wonder.
ð· Peace and related feelings such as calm, centered,
complete, free, fulfilled, perfect, pure, quiet, serene, tranquil,
whole.
In a day and age in which we seem to be flooded with violence and
hatred, it seems that we as a society need to learn how to deal
with our feelings. We also need to learn to feel and to be allowed
to feel. Our challenge is not so much to decide if we will feel
or not. The true challenge is to remove the box that we are in that
prohibits us from feeling. Once we free ourselves from that, the
feelings will come naturally.
Ellen Merrit
EdmRead@aol.com
