The Story
The Light at the End of the Dark.
When we Go Dark, when we feel the emotions and allow them to pass, we give ourselves the opportunity to learn the lesson and release it. We see that we were never our emotions, we were just experiencing them.
Because that’s the incontrovertible truth; we can’t have one without the other, light and dark, death and rebirth, imprisonment and freedom, beginnings and endings.
When you feel an emotion: allow it. We have to face our dark to live in our light - resisting our emotions will only delay the process and keep us stuck. Sit in the emotion for as long as it needs to be acknowledged. You will then notice that it starts to subside. And in its place will be an understanding of what was bothering you.
You will also start to see that feeling your emotions were never anything to fear. You didn’t just survive, you moved one step closer to wholeness.
When we give space to our emotions, however trivial or simple they may seem, we are telling ourselves that all parts of us matter, even the bits we don’t always enjoy! This is in itself, is one of the most beneficial things of Going Dark.
When you are feeling an uncomfortable emotion, it may help to follow these simple guidelines:
Allow it to take you wherever it needs to go. Let it come up and give yourself the space to acknowledge it. This could be all you need to do.
If not, then look at it objectively. Firstly allow yourself to acknowledge how only a part of you feels that emotion, not every fibre of your being. That helps it become approachable. Name it - “a part of me feels sad”.
Once the emotion is approachable ask yourself, is there a specific trigger that is making me feel this way? How is this emotion showing me where I believe I am not good enough? You may be called to write about it or speak to a friend.
Sit in the emotion and the belief that has created the emotion. Ask yourself to just feel it and slowly notice that it passes. It may get worse before it gets better or it may just start to subside once you acknowledge the reason. But either way, as you let it pass through you, you will see that it was merely a state, not a permanent reality.
Notice when the emotion has left you and is replaced by relief. Acknowledge that in some ways you lived your fear, and you came out on the other side in one piece.