Feelings Are Your Guide

by Susyn Reeve

Using your feelings as your guide is the most direct indicator of whether or not you are being peace and happiness. Our feelings are a foolproof guidance system, letting us know if we are experiencing heaven or hell, love or fear, well being or disease. This does not mean we are good people if we have "positive" feelings and bad people if we have "negative" feelings. The truth of who we are is always that we are expressions of God, Source Energy made manifest. We are made in the image of the creator and just because we forget that, it doesn't mean it is not true! Quantum physics has now demonstrated what ancient wisdom has taught through all time, we are energy. Another way of expressing this idea is that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Have you noticed that when someone asks you how you're feeling, or you ask others how they are feeling, a usual response is a detailed explanation of what is going on in their lives, often a retelling of stories long over, dramas, some tales of woe that may actually have been resolved? Since our experience is shaped through the law of attraction, the more we repeat, retell, reactivate stories of woe, the more we use them as the seeds of our future and the fruits of our present. Another common response is when people say they are fine, when their inner experience is one of anxiety and dismay. In terms of the law of attraction, we attract according to our energetic vibration, and if there is a discrepancy between our words and our vibration, vibration wins and is the attracting magnet.

You maybe thinking, "Sure, sure, sure this is easy to talk about but my feelings are real." Precisely -- your feelings are real. It is the meaning that you give to them, the stories that you tell and believe that is putting the cart before the horse. The cart is the story, and since we are meaning-making machines, we make up our stories based on the patterns of thought and stories we have learned from our parents, teachers, and the collective consciousness of the planet. We can make up new stories in each and every moment. Our feelings, which never lie, tell us in the moment how we are vibrating.

When you are suffering, in hell, feeling anxious, frustrated, angry, impatient, hopeless, or helpless, your feelings, the sensations you feel in your body, are simply letting you know you are out of tune. Not whether you are good or bad or worthy or unworthy -- these are human interpretations, stories you are making up! It is, therefore, very important to feel your feelings, whatever they are, and once you feel them, I repeat ONCE you feel them, use them as a springboard to tune your instrument. There is no need to judge yourself if you have what is called a "negative" feeling. It is simply a reminder that you are out of tune. Positive feelings are indicators that you are finely tuned. Simply put, we are either in flow with Source Energy (instruments of love) or out of connection with Source Energy (off-key, off-center, out of tune). Which would you rather be? Use your feelings as your guide and peace and happiness as the point of view in the stories you create, and notice your heart song vibrating through you. Not only does this enhance a personal experience of well being, it has a direct impact on our contribution to the collective consciousness of the world. So let your feelings be your guide.

HOW TO DO IT

DAY 1: Notice what you are feeling. Check in with yourself once an hour. What are you experiencing? What sensations are you feeling in your body? Remember this is not what you are telling yourself about what you are feeling, simply what you are feeling. "I feel comfortable in my body, my breathing is full and deep, I have a smile on my face, I feel a tightness in my chest, there is a dull pain in my the lower right side of my back."

Today is your day to become aware of how your body feels. Any time you notice tension in your body, breathe into that part of your body and allow the tension to be released into the earth as you exhale.

DAY 2: Notice what you are feeling regarding your emotions. Check in with yourself once an hour. Are you calm, content, joyful, overwhelmed, anxious, angry, or scared? Notice what you feel and simply feel the feeling.

DAY 3: Allow your feelings to be your guide, and when you are off-center, out of tune, experiencing hell, use the following technique:

1. Acknowledge what you are feeling in the moment (I am feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, with sweaty palms and tension in my stomach).
2. Choose what you would prefer to be feeling (I choose to feel calm and focused, comfortable in my body).
3. For thirty seconds, imagine something that evokes the feeling you want to feel ("It's 3:00 P.M. I am lounging on a comfortable beach chair on the beach in East Hampton. I am watching the gentle flow of the waves, feeling the sun-drenched breeze on my body.") It is usually easier to imagine a scene unrelated to the content of what is causing your agitation. The purpose of this exercise is to develop your ability to change your vibration at the point of your greatest power -- NOW. Continue on with your life (cooking dinner, paying your bills, taking a bath, driving to work, and so forth).

DAY 4: Allow your feelings to be your guide, and when you are off-center, out of tune, experiencing hell, use the following technique:

1. Acknowledge what you are feeling in the moment (angry, tension in my temples, a frown on my face, my heart is pounding in my chest).
2. Choose what you would prefer to be feeling (calm, my heart beating gently, a smile on my face, at ease, confident).
3. Ask yourself what you believe about the current situation that is creating the feeling you are having ("I am afraid I'm not going to get to my job interview on time, and I will screw up getting this new job before I even get there," or "I believe I am helpless in dealing with my health problems," or "I believe I am never going to be in a satisfying relationship," and so forth).
4. Make up a belief that supports the way you want to feel and focus your attention on your new belief (I have a great job interview, I deserve having the job of my dreams. I have support and excellent care in experiencing well being in my life. I am in a loving marriage.")
5. Continue with your day.

DAY 5: During the day, whenever you notice you are feeling like a victim or that you are a victimizer, make up a new story about the circumstances you are in. For example, try a story in which you are a finely-tuned instrument and everything is perfect the way it is. I was recently feeling like a victim and plotting revenge about something going on in my home. I noticed I had a desire to tell others the drama. So I vented to a friend, who did not get seduced by the story, and once I did that, I remembered that continued focus on the story was simply that, continued focus on the story. I asked myself, "What would love do here?" I kept being pulled back in my mind to the drama, and I kept asking, "What would Love do here?" Within moments I felt calmer and thought, "We all did the best we could do."

Later on, as I was sitting quietly, I had memories of similar circumstances in my life, and I was tempted to use them to get back into the drama. Instead I asked, "What would love do here?" And I followed the advice I heard from my still small voice. I was loving, in the tone of my voice and in my thoughts. Within a few hours I had moved through this experience and had also let go of past baggage. I let my feelings be my guide, and when my feelings indicated I was off-key, I did a tune-up. I needed many tune-ups during those hours, so I got them! During the next two days. I was repeatedly tempted to tell the story about what had happened and what I had learned. I knew the temptation was more about habit than anything else and there was no need to tell the story, only to express my love.

DAY 6: Create your own set of procedures to use when you need a tune-up. What are operating instructions you can follow? Put these instructions in a place where you can see them and then use them. Every time you use them, give yourself a pat on the back. Know you are creating a new pattern, one that includes regular check-ups and maintenance to keep your instrument finely tuned. Update your operating instructions as necessary.

DAY 7: Write your reflections of using your feelings as your guide.

1. What did you learn?
2. How can you use what you learned so that peace and happiness is the dominant tune you sing?

This article was excerpted from:

Choose Peace & Happiness
by Susyn Reeve.

Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. ©2003. www.redwheelweiser.com

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About the Author

Susyn Reeve is an ordained Interfaith Minister whose work includes organizational and personal development consulting with such organizations as NYU Medical Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center. The Plaza Hotel, Exxon, and UJA Federation. In her workshops, Susyn creates opportunities for people to identify, reconnect with, use and honor their natural resources-skills, talents, and abilities. She is co-founder of CelebrateSomebody.com. Visit her website at www.susynreeve.com.