Happiness eludes us when we hold old fears and other negative emotions in our bodies. Releasing negative emotions provides us with greater wellbeing, health, and energy—and it allows us to be happy.
Our bodies are wonderful monitors for telling us what is going on in our lives. Have you known anyone who died of a broken heart? I do. My best friend never got past her husband leaving her for another woman. Her heart was broken. She died of a heart attack in her sleep. I’ve seen people who are in suffocating situations develop breathing problems, and people who were so wound up in fear they were unable to move forward, which showed up in leg and knee problems. One of my beloved cats had a stroke and loss her eyesight. It was a friend who enlightened me when she said that my cat had given up her sight so that I might see.
Certainly not every illness, not every cut or scrap, not everything that happens to us is to “teach” us something about ourselves, and certainly we do not consciously draw illness or physical pain to us. And certainly the spirit-mind-body connection is much more complex than I’ve made it seem. That said, the first question we may want to ask ourselves when an illness strikes or we injury our bodies in an accident is: “What is my body telling me?” Once we figure that out, we are able to go deeper and mine tremendous gifts from our inner world, one of them being happiness.
The following process requires physical movement. If you are unable to walk, the process is somewhat effective as a visualization. The time it takes will vary, usually twenty to sixty minutes.
Begin to walk. If possible, walk on the earth rather than concrete, and walk in a quiet, safe place. As you walk, bless and thank each part of your body. Bless your toes, toenails, and feet for your perfect health and for carrying you through the day. Bless your calves and shins, bless your knees and thighs, and thank them for supporting you. Continue to work up your body, and then move inside your body. Bless your brain, thanking it for functioning perfectly. Bless your heart and lungs for perfect breathing and the perfect beat of life. Bless your digestive system, the esophagus, the stomach, gall bladder, liver, large and small intestine. Bless all organs, the kidneys, pancreas, female or male organs. Bless your blood and the arteries, veins, and capillaries. Continue throughout your body, blessing your bones, joints, skin, muscles, and so one. End with blessing and thanking every cell of your body for perfect health and wellness, and bless your mind for accepting your perfection.
As you bless and thank your body, feel yourself relaxing and letting go of stress. Thank Mother Earth for taking this stress and cleansing your body. Then begin to chant, “Love/God/Spirit/Universe/Creator/Energy (choose the Divine Source in which you believe) is in every cell of my body, Divine Source is in every cell of my body, Divine Source is in every cell of my body. Divine Source is in every cell of my body healing me and filling every cell with perfection and energy.”
Continue chanting and walking. As you do, you will begin to experience emotional and physical changes. You may resist, feel like running home to safety. You may feel sick, want to cry, feel fearful. Keep walking and keep chanting. It doesn’t matter if you walk in a circle, up and down a country land, in a city park, a suburban neighborhood, or in your own back yard. Just keep walking and chanting, and soon you will have a breakthrough.
The breakthrough will come as a thought about someone or about a situation. It may be a recent memory or a childhood memory. As you think of this person/situation, bless him/her/it and ask your Divine Source to replace any resentment, anger, or other negative emotion with love. Ask to have your heart opened to this person or situation. This does not mean you need to allow the person into your life, or that you allow them to cross any healthy boundaries you have set up. It does not mean you accept the situation or want to stay in it. It does mean you are letting go of your human emotions to allow yourself to experience unconditional divine love—for yourself and for the other.
As you release negative emotions you were holding toward this person or situation and open to Divine Love, you will be flooded with emotion. You may feel a warmth in the heart center. You will experience the beauty around you on a cellular level as though you feel in your body the beauty you see, and the beauty may feel almost overwhelming. You will experience bring-to-your-knees gratitude for your Divine Source, for the other person or for the situation that brought you to this place, for the world around you, and for yourself and your life. You will be overwhelmed with gratitude that you are able to walk and to see and to release and to experience this moment. You will be happiness and experience joy as a deep contentment that fills your every cell.
Repeat the blessing of your body daily. Repeat the releasing of negative emotions as needed but allow at least a few days between the releasing to allow the full process to take place.