emotional challenges
Find Your Rainbow In Troubled Times
There are days when it seems like the storm winds and rain in your life will never stop. Those days when your mind is filled with shadows and your heart is heavy. When a grief or a broken heart seems like a never-ending wound.
But trust me. One day soon you will walk out into the sunshine and see another beautiful rainbow! You will look at the colors of a perfect rainbow after a destructive storm of heavy rains and gasping winds, and you will know that all is well.
The storm may sometimes seem never-ending, but we always find a rainbow of promise on the other side. Then you will see the majesty of the spectrum of colors and the great arc that delights the sky. And if you follow that wondrous curve carefully, you may even find the pot of gold at its end!
In that perfect moment, you will forget the sadness and despair you felt before. The heaviness in your heart will be gone and you will be reminded that nothing is lost forever. The rainbows of life will always bring new moments, a new day, a new beginning. This is Spirit’s promise to us.
Since the dawn of time, rainbows have captured the imagination and beliefs of people in different cultures as a divine symbol of hope, healing, protection and rebirth.
Anger Awareness For The Empowered Empath
Of all the emotional energies that empaths have to deal with, anger is one of the most powerful and potentially destructive, because empaths feel and react first, and think later.
An empath’s initial reaction to someone else’s angry feelings is usually some form of intense “fight or flight” response.
The more extroverted empath will often respond to the anger with equal force, usually involving a very intense and potentially catastrophic emotional outburst. The introverted empath will usually “flee” the scene or do everything possible to avoid the person who is emitting the anger.
After the initial reaction, the empath’s emotional state will often then shift to sadness, anxiety, or feeling drained and depressed at seemingly inappropriate times and for no apparent reason.
Because it is very common for empaths to be intensely aware of the feelings, moods, and motives of others, sometimes even before others are aware of their own feelings, a strong emotion like anger deeply affects us. And if the other person is a spouse or partner in a romantic relationship, anger can become a proverbial land mine. Ditto if it is a co-worker or employer.
Embracing The Gift Of Empathic Insight
Being attuned to the emotional energies of others is a beautiful gift that many spiritual individuals discover and enhance along their spiritual journey. This gift facilitates connection with others and provides insights into both others and ourselves.
While this empathic ability can bring profound understanding, it can also lead to anxiety. Feeling others’ emotions deeply may prompt self-reflection, causing concern about the impact of our actions on others and fear of judgment. Societal pressures become more intense, especially when expressing unconventional opinions, making those on a spiritual path feel isolated or misunderstood during a spiritual awakening.
How can we balance this empathic insight with personal expression and development?
Navigating meaningful relationships becomes challenging as our perspectives expand. Striking this balance requires self-reflection and working towards a more whole and heart-centered way of living.
Maintaining an open mind while expressing our own understandings is like a tightrope walk. We don’t want to become closed-minded, yet we need to articulate our perspectives and advocate for what we believe is right. A spiritual life is a journey of constant growth and understanding. Plateaus and challenges are part of the path, requiring breakthroughs to overcome.
The Inner Truth Of External Clutter
We are almost a month into the new year, the time when most people begin to flounder in their resolutions. For me, resolutions are like empty promises, so my only resolution every New Year is to not make any resolutions.
Instead, I try to simply live my life with a few consistent rules. I have found that staying true to these personal and lifestyle guidelines eliminates the need for major resolutions each New Year.
Clutter is a big one for me. I make it a point to clean out the clutter in my life on a regular basis, whether it is physical, material, emotional, or spiritual.
Material clutter is the easiest to deal with because it is tangible and visible. It is hard to ignore a pair of shoes that you never wear anymore and have to move around in your closet over and over again.
It is also hard to ignore all those old clothes from another era that you have held on to in the hope that one day they will come back in style. Equally difficult to deal with are those old spice jars and other pantry items past their expiration date that you should have thrown away years ago!
These small lifestyle annoyances may seem insignificant on the surface until you consider that material clutter goes hand in hand with mental, emotional and spiritual clutter. The way we live, the way we manage our environment, and the way we organize our outer existence are a reflection of our inner being. The resulting clutter then becomes a recurring pattern that leads to more clutter, chaos, and dysfunction in our lives.
How To Beat The Holiday Blues This Year!
The holidays can be a very difficult and depressing time for some people. It can trigger unresolved emotions from childhood, unhealed trauma from past relationships, or unfinished grief from lost loved ones.
It can also make you feel more lonely, disconnected, and isolated than usual.
Especially for people struggling with existing mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression, their symptoms may worsen during the holidays due to increased stress, social demands, and cultural triggers.
But there are ways to beat the holiday blues and overcome sadness, depression, or low spirits during “the season to be jolly.” There are ways you can take back your power and improve your mood and overall well-being.
First, it is necessary to determine what is causing you to not feel the holiday cheer that everyone else seems to be experiencing.
Several factors can contribute to negative, gloomy thoughts and feelings during this time of year. A common trigger for many of us is that mainstream holiday traditions tend to emphasize spending time with loved ones and family, which can exacerbate feelings of loneliness for those who are socially isolated or have lost loved ones. This isolation can be particularly acute for those of us who live far from family or have strained relationships with them.
Navigating Loneliness During the Holidays
The holiday season is traditionally portrayed as a time of togetherness, love, joy, and belonging. We are inundated with media images of families gathered around a festive table, friends celebrating, and communities coming together.
Paradoxically, for many people, this time of year is instead filled with feelings of loneliness, isolation and disconnection.
The root cause is the societal stereotype and cultural assumption that everyone should be joyful, happy, and surrounded by loved ones during the holidays. If you’re not, for whatever reason, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, isolation, and social failure.
Holiday loneliness is exacerbated by the stark contrast between our actual circumstances and the commercially driven, idealized versions of holiday gatherings and celebrations we see in advertisements, television shows, movies, and social media. This increases feelings of disconnection, low self-esteem, and even depression.
Loneliness during the holidays can have a significant impact on mental health. Feelings of isolation and disconnection during this time of year can exacerbate existing mental health issues and lead to the development of new ones. The constant reminders of togetherness and joy, combined with a lack of social connections and meaningful interactions, can increase feelings of loneliness, leading to emotional distress, feelings of emptiness and hopelessness, and a decline in overall well-being.
Comparison Poisons The Heart, Mind And Soul
When we are going through difficult times, we tend to compare our struggles and suffering to the lives of others and measure ourselves by their perceived happiness, joy and success.
We often do this these days by comparing our own lives to what others post on social media. Then we judge and mentally torture ourselves for not living up to other people’s highlight reels of happiness and good fortune.
Sure, it is sometimes beneficial to self-reflect and strive for more based on the examples of others who serve as our role models. However, when we indiscriminately compare our own life journey to everyone else’s, we end up diminishing our own uniqueness and value.
While social comparison can motivate us to improve and grow, it can also lead to toxic self-judgment, envy, resentment, and extreme unhappiness. Constantly focusing on the highlights of other people’s lives quickly becomes toxic and self-destructive.
However, this tendency is not a character flaw in some of us. In fact, it is a natural evolutionary instinct that we all have. Our ancestors survived by living in social groups. Our tendency to compare ourselves to others is therefore a very common human trait, rooted in our evolution as a species.