Transparency

I’ve continued reading Practicing the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and have encountered another helpful processing skill.

Tolle says you can embrace transparency. To step above the mind, step above the body, and visualize the emotions flowing right through you. They no longer have a container to harbor and store up. Instead, they float right on past.

I told my husband this and he said, “But aren’t we supposed to feel our emotions?”

Fair question. Yes, we are. But, we aren’t meant to be controlled by them. And they aren’t meant to be so strong that they run the show versus us. They are intended to be a wave of ups and downs, not a mountain whose peak stays steady.

So, I’ve tried this when my emotions feel too strong, and I’ve found it quite helpful. I tend to lean more towards intellectualization and internal processing and I have a hard time stepping fully out of my mind. So, I do find myself visualizing being transparent and the emotions flowing through and past me. But, I still find this use of visualization effective and not a hindrance yet.

I’ve found taking the time to practice this also helps me pause before I react. It lends itself to taking deep breaths alongside this visualization and slowing myself down. In the throes of toddlerhood I find the consistent chaos can lead to me feeling very reactionary and internally dysregulated, this skill has helped pause my reactions and help me speak to my son in a way much more aligned with who I am and who I want to be as a parent.

So, this week, if you find yourself amid strong emotions that are overstaying their welcome or starting to run the show, pause and use this visualization technique. You, too, may find rather quick effects like I did.