In Everyday Enlightenment: The Twelve Gateways to Personal Growth, Dan Millman describes emotions as “waves on the sea” or “weather in the skies,” rising and passing of their own accord. That image is both comforting and challenging. It reminds us that emotions are natural. They move through us. They change. They do not need to be feared, denied, or judged. At the same time, we are invited to remember that while we may not be able to control every feeling that arises, we can choose how we respond.
This is the heart of the Seventh Gateway: Accept Your Emotions.
Accepting our emotions does not mean letting them run our lives. It does not mean acting out every impulse, speaking every angry thought, or making decisions from fear. It means becoming honest enough to say, “This is what I am feeling right now,” without shame. From that place of awareness, we can respond with greater wisdom.
Science of Mind teaches that we are expressions of the Divine. If God created us out of Its own nature, then the peace, love, wisdom, and wholeness we seek are already within us. Ernest Holmes reminds us in This Thing Called You that what stands between us and our good is often the accumulated thoughts, beliefs, and emotions of the ages. But what has been placed in consciousness can also be removed.
This means our emotions are not evidence that we are spiritually failing. Sadness does not mean we are separate from God. Anger does not mean we are bad. Fear does not mean we lack faith. Emotions are part of our human experience. They may point to beliefs, wounds, needs, or memories that are asking for our attention.
Many things influence our emotional state. Sometimes emotions arise from the meaning we give to an experience. Sometimes they are affected by fatigue, stress, diet, hormones, illness, pain, or environment. A restless night of sleep can make us irritable. A stressful day can make us reactive. A song, a smell, a memory, or an old relationship can suddenly bring up feelings we thought were long gone.
Because emotions have many causes, we need compassion for ourselves and others. We also need tools.
We can begin by breathing. When we are upset, our breath often becomes shallow. A few slow, deep breaths can create space between feeling and reaction. We can notice our posture, relax our shoulders, soften the body, and allow tension to release. We can step outside, take a walk, sit in nature, or change our environment. We can use humor to regain perspective. And when appropriate, we can take action: study for the exam, have the honest conversation, ask for help, or set the needed boundary.
The spiritual practice is not to control every emotional wave. The practice is to remember the ocean beneath the wave.
We are not responsible for every feeling that comes. We are responsible for the consciousness we bring to it. When we accept our emotions without surrendering our power to them, we become freer, wiser, and more available to the guidance of Spirit within.
Blessings on your journey,
Rev. Gayle
Rev. Gayle
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