I sometimes see people talk about picking up feelings and energies that aren’t theirs.
I understand the desire to distance ourselves from or get rid of certain unpleasant experiences. And to tell myself it’s “not mine” seems an attempt at just that.
So what may be going on when we tell ourselves we are “picking up” on emotions – or anything else – that isn’t ours?
OUR REACTIONS ARE OUR OWN
When people say this, they seem to talk about their reactions to a situation they find themselves in.
When I am surrounded by people who experience fear, I may respond with my own fear. And so on.
And my reaction is always mine. It doesn’t belong to anyone else.
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HEALING
If something feels uncomfortable, that discomfort comes from my own reaction to a situation and experience.
And when reactivity comes up in me, it’s an invaluable opportunity to see more of what’s here. Where in me does it come from? How is it to get to know it? Befriend it? Shift how I relate to it? What are some of the underlying and related beliefs and issues? How is it to invite in healing and maturing around the whole thing?
Whatever is going on, if I am bothered by something, it points to something unresolved in me. And this is an opportunity for exploration and healing.
THE WORLD IS MY MIRROR
There is more to this as well.
The world is my mirror.
What I see in others or out there in the world is also here in me. I can take any story about anyone or anything in the world, turn it to myself, and find genuine examples of how it’s true now and in the past.
If I divide too strongly in “yours” and “mine”, I miss out on an invaluable opportunity to “own” what’s here and use it to explore and find healing, maturing, and clarification of what I am.
If I see something in you and call it “yours”, it reflects something similar in me I can call “mine”.
TO ME, THE WORLD HAPPENS WITHIN AND AS WHAT I AM
When I look, I find that the world, as it appears to me, happens within and as what I am.
Here, there is no fundamental “you” or “me”. It’s all, in a very real sense, me.
From here, it becomes clear that if I perceive fundamental divisions, or if I relate to something with anything other than love, it’s a reminder to take a closer look. I am operating from unquestioned beliefs and unloved parts of me.
OUR APPROACH TO HEALING, MATURING, AWAKENING ETC.
So my reaction to something is my reaction.
What I see in the world mirrors something in me at a human level.
As what I am, the world – including other people and what’s going on in them and me – happens within and as what I am.
And any reactivity is an opportunity for healing, maturing, and clarifying what I am. Why would I want it to belong to someone else when it can be so valuable to me?
Of course, this all depends on our orientation and how far we want to go.
How far do I want to go in exploring who and what I am? In healing? In clarifying what I am in my own first-person experience? In seeing how it is to live from this noticing?
DRAFT
I keep seeing people talking about picking up feelings that are not theirs, and so on.
I have never quite understood it.
When people say those things, they seem to talk about their reactions to a situation they find themselves in. And our reaction is always ours.
Not only that, when it comes up, it’s an invaluable opportunity to see more of what’s here, get to know it, befriend it, shift how I relate to it, see underlying beliefs and issues, and invite in healing and maturing around the whole thing.
So (1) my reaction is my reaction, and (2) why would I want it to be anything else when it can be so valuable?
Of course, this all depends on our orientation and how invested we are in healing, maturing, and waking up.
The more invested we are, the more inclined we are to embrace whatever comes up and use it as an opportunity to heal, mature, and clarify for ourselves what we are.
There is more to this as well.
The world is my mirror. What I see in others or out there in the world in general is also here in me. I can take any story about anyone or anything in the world, turn it to myself, and find genuine examples of how it’s true now and in the past. If I divide too strongly in “yours” and “mine”, I again miss out of an invaluable opportunity to “own” what’s here and use it to explore and find healing, maturing, and clarification of what I am.
And to me, the world happens within and as what I am.
…..
When people say that, they seem to talk about their reactions to a situation they find themselves in. They may respond to fear in others with their own fear, and so on. And our reaction is always ours.
….
No matter what story I have about the origin of the emotion, it’s happening here in me, so it’s mine.
….
I sometimes see people talking about picking up feelings that are not theirs, and so on.
I understand the desire to get rid of certain unpleasant experiences, and to tell ourselves it’s “not mine” seems to be an attempt at just that.
At the same time, I have never quite understood it.
…..
Note: a slightly grumpy post.