Welcoming Neglected & Forbidden Emotions

Here is a guided visualization to help you welcome previously neglected or forbidden emotions and dialogue with them. What emotions were neglected or forbidden in your family of origin? If you have a pen and paper handy, you might list those that come to mind immediately. Reflecting on your life now, what emotions feel less acceptable to you and what emotions do you hardly ever express? What emotions in others do you find yourself making negative judgments about? You may wish to add some of these to the list What effect, if any, do you feel these patterns might have on your relationships? The text for this visualisation was drawn from Reflection 9: Behind the screen emotions, in the book, The Life of Love: An Invitation – Fifty-two Reflections on Emotional and Spiritual Healing, by Sharon Southwell.

Many thanks to Borrtex for the theme music from ‘She’s a Gift’.

Transcript

Pirate ship O known of one of two welcoming neglected and forbidden emotions what emotions were neglected or forbidden in your family of origin?

If you have a pen or paper handy you might want to list those that come to mind immediately it is likely that others will suggest themselves to you over the next few days or weeks reflecting on your life now what emotions feel less acceptable to you?

What emotions in others do you find yourself making negative judgments about?

You may wish to add some of these emotions to your mental or written list what effect,

If any,

Do you feel these patterns might have on your relationships?

What do you think or feel about being the lover of all your elements as Gibran's prophet expresses it?

Or treating each emotion honorably as Rumi expresses it,

Seeing what each has to teach you?

Here is a guided visualization to help you welcome some of these previously neglected or forbidden emotions and dialogue with them take some time to settle yourself in a place where you will not be disturbed you might support yourself in this process through mindfulness,

Meditation or prayer become aware of your breath follow it for a time,

In and out allow your attention to rest on your breath gently and repeatedly return your attention to your breath some people find it helps to focus on the sensation of breathing in one place,

Perhaps the nose,

Shoulders,

Chest or abdomen when you become distracted and aware of thoughts,

Note the content and gently return to your focus on the sensations of breath in this part of your body once you are settled,

Turn your mind's eye or inner imagination to an image of yourself seated where you are in a particular room as you feel able,

Attend to your own sense of calm and bring to mind or cultivate a warm sense of love and hospitality as though you were expecting much loved guests when you have a sense of this warm and hospitable place,

Draw your attention to a room divider screen,

A literal one,

Off to one side recall to mind the emotions that you listed earlier from that list,

Choose one,

Not the most challenging one and in your mind's eye or imagination,

Invite that emotion to be your guest use your imagination to the full to see,

Hear and experience this part of yourself as it emerges shy,

Seductive or forthright as you feel able,

Hold a sense of yourself as a loving host,

Making a guest welcome you may wish to see yourself making your guest welcome take the time you need for this exchange you may wish to engage in some dialogue with your guest you may wish to discuss where that emotion will reside in you,

Back behind the screen or somewhere else or perhaps even quietly on a chair in your imagined room see yourself responding in whatever way feels appropriate to a loving host if your guest is agreeable,

You may even wish to embrace or offer a prayer or words of blessing for your guest now our imaginations are powerful things not all guests will behave themselves or be peaceable many may feel overwhelming and some may come in a mob so remember that you are the one inviting and you are the loving host none of these emotions are really unknown to you all you are doing is intentionally inviting them into your awareness if a guest is unruly,

At least you now know this about this part of yourself if it seems possible,

Hold even this sense of unruliness with the hospitality of a loving host after you've welcomed one emotion,

You may feel ready to welcome another you may also choose to leave that step for another day the choice is yours take the time you need to complete this exercise in an unhurried way this visualization is generally an intense experience when you are ready to leave the exercise,

Allow yourself about 5 minutes to slowly shift from an inner focus back to a sense of yourself in the present moment it may help to notice the sensation of your body against your chair then the sounds you hear around you and finally the things you see around you take some time to notice your responses what was this exercise like for you?

You may wish to journal about this experience or discuss it with a friend

Reviews

This hit an ongoing chord that plays within! It caught me a bit off guard.....but I want to revisit this. I believe this will help me thru a confliction that I’ve been wrestling with. Thank you!!

Thank you. I met with a piece of myself that is hard, tough, not changing, angry. Just to have that part of me come forward is a blessing. I hope I will be able to come back here after the insight timer update and changes. I can not afford the cost to sign up. Much work to be done here in me. Thank you for shedding light on the way.

Will return to this often. The only thing was the abrupt cutoff at the very end. Thank you all the same!

This is a very powerful and healing meditation!! Thank you for facilitating it. 🙌🏼💕🙏🏼

Timely in my life. Thank you.