November 24: Day 147

STONE EIGHT CONTINUED
 
Release: After experiencing all feelings, I release any emotions I deem harmful to my spiritual path.

Instruction: Release control.

Our emotions come and go, and it doesn’t seem as if we have control over what emotions come and what emotions go. We can be riding in a car, pleasantly enjoying the scenery when all of a sudden, someone crashes into us. Our emotions will flood into our consciousness, and we won’t be able to stop them. The life we have led and the thoughts and beliefs we have held might influence some of the emotions we experience to a lesser or greater degree, but it will not stop them. In the moments that follow the crash, we are often helpless to control our emotions — and we shouldn’t. We need to experience them, and at times, to vent them to ourselves or to someone we trust. We will find it difficult to release unwanted emotions if we try to ignore or suppress them, and since we have no control over the initial onslaught of emotions that we face every day, we might as well accept them, own them, and release them.

We don’t even have control over the positive emotions that bring joy and happiness into our lives. Trying to hold onto these emotions will discourage us and can have us living in a la-la land of make-believe that glosses over reality. We must accept the emotions that come and try not to place value judgments on them. This is not easy to do. We place value judgments on most things in life, and our emotions are no exception. We value happiness, peace, and love, and we try to steer clear of pain, sorrow, loss, and anger. This is understandable. As we have said before, there is value in all our emotions, and all can serve us if we understand their usefulness. Not only do we release those emotions we deem negative, but at times we also release those emotions that we believe are positive, trusting that, just like the negative emotions, they will return. By trying to hold onto the positive emotions longer than reasonable, we can find ourselves living in the past — or at least trying to. We are not meant to live in the past, so it is important to let our emotions play out each day and to remember to release them. Our ultimate goal is peace and a spiritual connection with all beings. Releasing enables peace and oneness.

We have now talked about release for seven days, and today’s lesson has been about releasing control. Life moves in circles, life and death, light and darkness, day and night. Many things that happen are temporary, and when the circle is complete we will end up where we started. As we try to consider the bigger picture today, remember that control is out of our hands in many areas of life, perhaps in the majority of the areas of our lives. Release control.