I Want to Feel Alive. How Do I Access My Feelings?

Awareness, Body Language, Communication, Communication Coach, Connection, Courage, Curiosity, Empathy, Feelings, Meditation, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Empathy, Self-Love, Self-Reflection, Silence, Vulnerability

You are energy. You’re an energetic being because all matter was once part of a sun, including your body. Your feelings describe the energy that you experience in your body. 

Emotional energy is neutral until some internal or external stimulus activates you. Suddenly there’s momentum with your energy, your body reacts, and you describe your body’s sensations using feelings (calm, open, proud, happy, playful, curious, angry, sad, scared, tired, confused, etc.). 

It might be that you have a hard time accessing your feelings because you learned a long time ago that it wasn’t okay to express yourself, especially your emotions. 

“Stop being angry.” 

“Stop with the crying.”

“Stop being emotional.”

“You’re too excited.  Calm down!”

When you repeatedly heard those messages, you shut down your experience and your emotions. You also didn’t know what to do and never learned how to express yourself authentically.  

Authentic expression is feeling the range of feelings that you have a right to feel. Feelings bring you to life – this is what it means to feel alive. And, I don’t just mean only to have “good” feelings. I also mean to include the “bad” feelings. 

The truth is, feelings just are. Feelings describe your body’s sensations that are neither good nor bad, right nor wrong. It’s how you unconsciously suppress/express them that can cause harm either to yourself or to others.    

Here’s an everyday, 15-minute practice that starts to open your body’s energetic channels so that you can start feeling the range of feelings you were born to feel. 

The key to this practice is to invite and welcome all wanted and unwanted feelings with intention. 

Set aside quiet time. Either lie down or sit in a relaxed position and close your eyes. 

1. Take three deep breaths. The key to this practice is to intentionally invite and welcome all wanted and unwanted feelings by saying, “I’m inviting and welcoming all wanted and unwanted feelings into my experience. How am I feeling right now?” Be curiously silent for a few minutes. If you need to, use this list to help you.  

2. When you acknowledge these feelings, notice any sensations in your body. If you need to, use this list to help you.

3. When you notice your body’s sensations, what other feelings emerge?

4. What is it like to invite and welcome these wanted and unwanted feelings?

5. After you’ve been with these wanted and unwanted feelings, thank them for showing up and say goodbye.

6. After you’ve worked through steps 1 – 5, journal your experience. Then every week, look back at what you wrote and see if any patterns emerge. Write down any discoveries.

I wish you tremendous success as you begin to open your energetic channels to living a vibrant, vital, rewarding, rich life!

Be well. Be free.