Happiness seems to be something we are all trying our best to achieve. One way or another we want to:
- Avoid pain and gain pleasure
- Avoid criticism and get praise
- Avoid disgrace and have fame
- Avoid loss and achieve gain
Is it possible to be happy and never be sad?
The problem is, life is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. We can’t experience pleasure without experiencing pain. We are always grasping for feeling good, not bad, and this just isn’t possible living in the real world. Things are going to happen in life that are disturbing and things are going to happen that put a big smile on our face.
In my individual retreat you will learn to see what you are clinging to and what you are trying to avoid. You will get to explore these parts of you that make you suffer, the old beliefs that are keeping you stuck.
What makes you feel good and what makes you feel bad?
I was talking with a client the other day and she was having difficulty with allowing herself to actually just be with her feelings of sadness. First off, she didn’t want to feel them, and secondly she felt weak for having them. Because she had guilt and shame around feeling sad, she would medicate to not feel them. Cleaning her house was her medicator. I can certainly think of worse medicators, but non-the-less it is an avoidance of feeling.
Why are we so opposed to feeling our feelings?
We avoid feeling our feelings because it’s so totally uncomfortable. Our mind goes off into our story, we start feeling crummy, and then it settles in our body. We might get a stomachache, headache, or not be able to eat. The feelings permeate our physical body. This is why we avoid them. There is nothing comfortable about feelings of sadness, loneliness, or hopelessness, etc. Sometimes feelings of anger feel good in the moment because they cover up the real feeling of sadness. Once we are done with our anger we will usually be left with the raw feelings of sadness.
In my individual retreat you get to explore your feelings and why they come up and learn how to be with them without feeling like you might die. Sometimes the feelings are so overwhelming that you will feel like you are dying.
Hence the avoidance!
The problem with avoiding your feelings is you never shift your old belief causing the feelings. So, you might as well get your hands dirty and start looking at your stuff. When we look at what causes the feelings, we give ourselves the attention and care we need to do our healing work and actually diminish the heat that is in the feelings.
Are you ready to make a shift in your life and start facing your feelings? My individual retreat will give you the opportunity to be in a nurturing environment, working one-on-one, shifting your old beliefs, feeling your feelings, and changing your life.
