Honest Emotion

 

“I’m going to tell you something: thoughts are never honest. Emotions are. Do not go around asking for honesty in what people think; much of what they perceive as thinking is empty anyway because it’s thought out again and again and comes out refined and muddy. The ones who know how to feel might have to say to you a couple of interesting things or not and when they do that, you ought to know how to listen. So learn how to listen. You can’t make someone open up about their feelings in case they don’t want to. But you can remain open yourself through listening deeply and completely; they might want to talk about the weather and keep it simple — allow them to feel the simplicity…Emotion pours out directly or indirectly each time people engage themselves in the process of genuine interaction.”
— Albert Camus

 

I cannot reach you with my thoughts
you are so much more reasoned than I
and my tongue gets tied so easily
but my emotions are an endless well
and much more honest
so I’ll push my thoughts aside
and let you see my heart
pulsing with love
shared pain and a yearning
for a day that I have not yet seen
My hope is strong
and if you listen
that is what you will hear.
My need for realization
and my dreams of tomorrows yet to come
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Elemental TransformationElemental Transformation by G A Rosenberg

 

Sinking Below the SurfaceSinking Below the Surface by G A Rosenberg

 

City EncompassedCity Encompassed by G A Rosenberg

 

Emotions Streaming

 

“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Flowing through the emotional stream
floating along in ecstatic dream
or is it terror I feel?
In this place It all seems real
tho the illusions dance and sing
they play my heart strings
with wonder and stirrings
of eroticism reoccurring
as their fingers slowly caress
tender parts that may be stressed
of fragile psyche and ego bold
no emotion left untold
Caught in endless reverie
can there be escape for me?
No so I will see it through
nothing left for me to do
but ride the ever present strange
and realize this too will change.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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28-BerithBerith (#28 in Goetia Series) by G A Rosenberg

 

Prowling Through DesolationProwling Through Desolation by G A Rosenberg

 

Letting the Feelings Flow Through

 

“Nature is playful and terrible. Some see the playful side and dally with it and let it sparkle. Others see the horror and cover their heads and are more dead than alive. The way does not lead between both, but embraces both. It is both cheerful play and cold horror.”
— Carl Jung

 

Resist not your feelings
Your nature is wild and strong
The times that you are raging
you’re only withstanding the storm
Don’t hide your head neath the covers
feel them with all of your might
the storm that’s intense will pass by you
leaving behind peaceful night

 

Emotions are just like our weather
clear skies and cloudy mixed in
No use whining or complaining
by the time we’re done, a change has come in.

 

I once was an uptight bastard
bottling up all my rage
I felt like some wild creature
was trapped in my steel-headed cage
I finally got bored with my anger
my sorrow and feeling alone
I now let the feelings flow through me
not a one am I required to own.
— G A Rosenberg

 

A bit of doggerel on an evening where I have been awake too many hours with too little sleep. Tho feeling it a bit as a song. Jung’s quote talks about coexisting with nature rather than hiding from it. I have long seen my emotions as being similar to weather patterns. If I acknowledge the negative emotions that come up and let them pass through, it can be liberating. It’s when I try to clamp down on anger or hurt or sorrow that I start to feel trapped. Eventually I end up clamping down so far that I get a case of mental constipation, the shit has no way of coming out.
That doesn’t mean I have to lash out at anyone or punch walls, it just means that I have to acknowledge my anger or frustration. I witness it, witness how it manifests and then go on to other things. With practice, it becomes easier. Since I have started doing this, my stomach hurts less and I get way less stress and sinus headaches. I feel more clear-headed and can better handle whatever has caused the stress in the first place. Of course having my art as an outlet doesn’t hurt either.
Blessings, G

 

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Will Rise in FlamesWill Rise in Flames by G A Rosenberg

 

Holding It All TogetherHolding It All Together by G A Rosenberg

 

Releasing the Fear Brakes…

 

“Fear can make you do more wrong than hate or jealousy… fear makes you always, always hold something back.”
― Philip K. Dick

 

Fear maybe our biggest enemy. It causes us to not take chances, to play it safe. It stops us from telling people we love them and risk rejection. It stops us from standing up for ourselves when facing bullies, even the ones in our own heads. For fear of what others think of us, we withhold opinions that we know may be unpopular or we react totally the opposite and say things we know will be unpopular, daring others to reject us. When we do this we withhold the part of us that may actually agree but then this too is out of fear. Feeling fear is normal but if we cause it to freeze us in our tracks than we severely limit how far we can travel..It is only when we say “I fear that this will happen but I will do it anyway” that we exceed beyond our greatest expectations.
Blessings, G

 

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Facing the Cosmic DramaFacing the Cosmic Drama by G A Rosenberg

 

Entering Darkness and Finding LightEntering Darkness to Find the Light Within by G A Rosenberg

Alchemy of Unwanted Emotions

 

“The alchemy of the dark emotions is a process that cannot be forced, but it can be encouraged by cultivating certain basic emotional skills. The three basic skills are attending to, befriending, and surrendering to emotions that make us uncomfortable… When you are open to your heart’s pain and to your body’s experience of it, emotions flow in the direction of greater healing, balance, and harmony.”
— Miriam Greenspan

 

Why do I feel this way? I don’t want to. I hate this frustration. I shouldn’t feel this way. Yet I do. How often do we find ourselves going in these loops? We feel bad or angry or sad and then beat ourselves up about it. The truth is that in happy times we seldom monitor our feelings. We are usually do busy enjoying them. Our so called negative emotions can often teach us a lot more about our shadow selves. All we have to do is be open to feeling them. That doesn’t mean wallow but give them their proper space and time. By knowing that not only can we feel deeply but seeing what set them off, we can gain valuable insight into the areas of our life that we have not faced. Soon enough they will leave. Very few emotions can be sustained for very long and in their passing quite often they can leave behind gifts.
Blessings, G

 

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Eerie SunsetEerie Sunset by G A Rosenberg

 

ChargingCharging by G A Rosenberg

Buttons

 

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning do to do afterward.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

 

It is so much better to laugh at frustration. Otherwise if I can’t laugh or walk away the temptation is to rage or cry and then beat myself up about it. It can become terribly messy and leave scars on those around me but slowly I am learning. There will always be people and situations that can press my buttons and that is a good thing. It shows me where my buttons are. If I have a difficult time respecting myself in certain situations then I will react strongly when I feel disrespected by others. Despite the fact that I know that respect cannot be begged borrowed or even earned… and ultimately is an inner dialogue and not an outer one. Those who show me disrespect do me the favour of pointing this out in a very real way.Too bad I find it so difficult being appreciative at the time. I see people react similarly to with emotions of guilt or unworthiness. So I thank those who show me the areas I still need to work on. Slowly I am getting to the point where gratitude has a stronger balance than anger, sorrow or frustration. Perhaps someday….
Blessings, G

 

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Woman of the WiseThe Lady and the Serpent by G A Rosenberg

 

Interference PatternsInterference Patterns by G A Rosenberg

Feelings Light and Dark

“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.”
― Jim Morrison

 

Do you know what it is to be frightened by what you feel? To sense the opposite emotions, their shadows, hovering somewhere close behind. New agers hide it by chanting “Love and Light, Love and Light” yet would they be so eager to invoke light if they weren’t put off by darkness. It’s ok to feel and acknowledge fear, anger and sorrow. They do tend to be part of our makeup whether or not we do. By acknowledging it all, by accepting it all, the uneasiness subsides. In pitch dark, the least amount of light shows out almost blindingly. Light casts shadows. Very often we earn our pain and need not fear it. We may have to do without it some day but for now it is ours.
Blessings, G

 

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The Slow Dance copyThe Slow Dance by G A Rosenberg

 

FireburstFireburst by G A Rosenberg

Emotional Waters

“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.”
― Alan Wilson Watts

 

When too much is going on in my head, doing more or finding more to think about rarely helps. I have to sit with what’s there and let it gradually either fade or sink to the bottom. When I’m feeling frustration or impatience, I don’t find it helpful to dwell on the source of these emotions. That just adds fuel to the fire.  It also doesn’t help to tell myself that I shouldn’t feel what I’m feeling. That adds guilt to the list. If I sit with whatever the emotion is, letting myself feel it, even watching myself feel it as much as possible and I find it start to dissipate. It feels quite a bit like muddy water looks when it settles, a clearing thats gradual at first and then picks up speed until only a few traces of the cloudiness remain. After the emotion has gone, I can look at causes and reasons and perhaps come to a dispassionate understanding. At the very least I can do it from a perspective of peace and calm.
Blessings, G

 

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Time-ZoneTIme-Zoned by G A Rosenberg

 

SeededSeeded by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – June 14 2012

“”May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Until everyone is healed.

May a rain of food and drink descend
To clear away the pain of thirst and hunger
And during the aeon of famine
May I myself change into food and drink.

May I become an inexhaustible treasure
For those who are poor and destitute;
May I turn into all things they could need
And may these be placed close beside them.

Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
(from Alex Grey’s Sacred Mirrors)

 

The beauty of the above needs no additional comment. Just some time to sink in and wear it.

This past few days a combination of sinus hassles, astrological aspects of which I understand there are several going around, and general time of the season has made me more reflective and less outgoing than I usually am. I seem to be in what a friend of mine who did intuitive readings call a holding pattern but really means there’s more going on internally than externally. Amazing the feelings that have been coming out tho almost all directed internally or at wildly abstract forces. As long as I let them flow through I’ll be fine. Well, I’ll be fine anyway it will just be less painful if I ask myself “Who is it that is feeling this?” “Who is it that thinks these thoughts?” The witness always knows and answers with a silent smile. The shadow also knows…but he delights in not telling…
Blessings, G

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Cosmic Slalom by G A Rosenberg