Face your fear without fear. Dismantle it until it no longer holds any power over you. Take back your energy for use within yourself, for greater awareness, understanding, and exploration of the grand beauty of your human Self, yourself as spirit-in-body. Know these two parts of yourself as one complete being united in wholeness rather than as two separate entities on two separate paths. Bring them together on one path, without fear, a path of heart, the one and only way to truly live a fulfilling life.
The intricacies of reflection and refinement… – Photo by Chuck Ketchel
Emotion and thought are often experienced as polar opposites, warring Titans vehemently struggling for supremacy in human life. This is often illustrated in standoffs between thinking people devoid of emotion versus emotional people devoid of thought.
Interestingly, in both Hindu and channelled descriptions of the multiple bodies that comprise the full human form, which includes the physical, etheric, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, the mental body is depicted at a finer or higher level than the emotional body, as one moves up toward the coveted spiritual dimension.
At first glance this would appear to cement the argument that thought is of superior value to emotion. However, if one observes such a clash of ‘opposites,’ in the form of an argument, one will be struck at how powerful emotion accompanies the ‘thinking type’ in their defensive argument as to the superiority of pure reason, as well as the amount of mental programs that defend the ‘feeling type,’ who digs in firmly behind the value of pure emotion.
Thought that lacks distilled feeling is not grounded or related to real life. This is like intellectual philosophy that dismisses spirituality on purely rational, non-experiential grounds. Intense emotion, driven by unprocessed experience or unreflected thought, overwhelms the circuitry of the central nervous system and also precludes spiritual advancement. To arrive on the spiritual plane, one must refine both emotion and thought, as they become companions on the journey toward wholeness.
Emotion is an energy that comes into prominence at the level of the solar plexus in the human body. This is the coming of age chakra for the ego, which establishes its separate sense of self by creating a moat out of defense mechanisms. Projection is prominent: It’s your fault, not mine. Denial is clear: Ididn’t do it. Grandiosity fuels the ego’s narcissism at this early stage, as it takes its first solo steps on the human stage.
Tremendous emotional energy attaches itself to these defensive structures as one vehemently protects the sanctity of the ego. The ego, thus empowered, feels the necessary strength to hold its own as a separate being. As well, the will is established as the ego develops the ability to achieve and create, channeling its energy toward the satisfaction of its own goals and desires.
For emotion to rise to the level of the heart chakra one must first burn off the impurities of unregulated emotion. Rages, tantrums, and moods are heavily laden with disappointments stemming from the ego fixated at the early stage of narcissistic entitlement. This ego must first go through the refining process of controlling its outbursts and safely releasing its emotions. This develops a rudimentary respect for acceptance of the needs of others.
Arriving at the heart chakra with this control, one is impacted by the call to greater connection with self and others. This also manifests as the concretization of the spiritual drive, perhaps in the seeking of relationship or discovering of one’s soulmate. Both ecstatic and sad emotions accompany this pursuit of wholeness through relationship.
The distillation of emotion at the heart chakra—that arrives at pure love for everything and everyone, including oneself—allows this emotion to smoothly proceed to the throat and third eye chakras, the home of the mental body. If the throat becomes constricted as emotion rises, that emotion must return to the heart and solar plexus chakras to process what it is attached to. Until it is released, love cannot rise above its fixation.
Thoughts issuing from the mental body chakras, imbued with love, will act from right action and for the greater good of the interdependent whole, within and without. Thoughts lacking love are either dissociated from the human form or may be serving the wants of emotion at the level of the solar plexus that have circumvented the heart.
To develop the mental body, the home of thought, one must learn control of thought. Here meditation practices can help one develop the ability to control the randomness of thought and the ability to focus attention. Thought, like emotion, is a powerful energy, that must be regulated to journey into the spiritual dimension.
The spirit requires truth and total transparency to navigate freely. Uncontrolled thought lacks the steadiness and sobriety to ground one in spiritual discovery. Unbridled emotion is likely to waylay one in bardos of discontent or illusory worlds on one’s spiritual journey. These are the fantasy worlds that accompany elevated emotional states that end in empty imaginings.
Refined thought and emotion are able to merge at the spiritual dimension, the crown chakra, as one ventures into greater connection and discovery within and beyond the human form. Thought and emotion at this level are hardly warring Titans but true loving companions on their journey in infinity.
Take care of yourself body and soul, so that each may find a home with the other, within the entity you call Self. Get to know each of these selves intimately so that their union may be successful. In knowing the self, the greater Self may find its way to balance without issue, merely finding home to be the natural union of these two aspects of Self. Find solace in knowing that you contain all you need—it’s just waiting for you to discover it.
Watch your energy. Protect it and keep it safe from harmful outside influences. Endeavor to keep it pure from contamination of both negative thoughts and ideas as well as negative influences that will harm the physical self. Your energy is both spiritual and physical and if kept in tiptop shape should keep going in good balance for a long time. When out of balance, strive to reassert equilibrium so that body and spirit are in alignment. Get to know what it feels like and strive always to maintain good balance of energy, spiritual and physical, within and without. This is good for you.
Patience. Set your intent, send it out to the Universe, and then wait patiently. Remind yourself of your connection to all that is good, to all that is positive and productive, and wait patiently for that which your heart intends. When the heart truly desires and the heart waits patiently the heart will receive if it remains open and trusting. Your dreams will come true if you remain in right alignment within and without. While waiting patiently prepare yourself for receiving, for the outcome of your intent is sure to find you if you are open and receptive. Patient waiting is not sitting and doing nothing. It is a highly active state of heart centered calm intent and trusting preparation, as if that which you intend has already happened. Get ready.
