Finding appropriate avenues for expressing your feelings is part of the healing process. Many people resist their emotions because they fear the consequences of expressing their feelings. They do not want to hurt others or themselves by honestly speaking the truth. It takes exploration and practice, but there are safe ways to express your feelings. 

     Expressing your feelings to yourself is the first and most important step in speaking your truth. Keeping a journal allows you to vent your emotions in a safe and private place. In your journal, you can say it anyway you want, without worrying about the effect your words have on others. You do not have to be concerned with the validity of your feelings. With feelings, there is no right or wrong way to feel. Use your journal to explore the meaning behind the feeling and to express the emotions. Be honest. 

     A drawing is another good way to express a feeling. Use a blank page and color pens to express what you feel. This exercise is not an art contest so do not be concerned with style. Use this time to express the depth of your emotion with color. Whatever you create is perfect. At a later time you might want to examine the drawing looking for themes in the patterns and colors. Your drawings will often give you great insight into the meaning of your emotions. If you feel comfortable, you might want to show your drawing to a friend. Often someone else can see things that are hidden to you. 

     Some people use movement or dance as a vehicle for expressing emotions. Other people use exercise as a way to vent built up feelings. One woman I know ran every day as a way to deal with the anxiety and anger she felt concerning her divorce. 

     Writing a letter allows you to express your feelings to others. You do not have to send the letter to the person unless you want to do so. Sometimes expressing the feelings is more important then sending the message. You might want to write one letter that you know will not be sent as an exercise in catharsis. After you have fully expressed your feelings, you can rewrite the letter into a form with which you feel comfortable in sharing. 

     In a effort to express their anger, some people find it helpful to beat on a pillow or hit a punching bag. One friend reported experiencing a great release of anger by screaming in a car with all the windows rolled up. 

     One of the most effective ways to deal with emotions is to transmute them. Emotions are energy moving through our consciousness. If we have received the message of the emotion, we can safely transmute the energy into a higher form, keeping it from becoming repressed in our bodies. Follow the instructions listed below to transmute emotional energy into light. 

Exercise: Transmuting my emotions 

• Find a quiet place and time to do this exercise. 
• Close your eyes and relax. 
• Call forth the energy of the emotion you want to transmute. 
• Allow yourself to feel it in your body. 
• Thank it for the message it has brought to you. 
• In your mind's eye, see the people involved in this situation and surround them with light. 
• Forgive them and yourself for the part you each played in this scenario. 
• Ask your Higher Self or God to take the energy of this emotion and transmute it into light. 
• Release the energy into the hands of God. 
• Thank God that what you have requested has been done. 
• Anytime the old feelings come back to mind, remind yourself that you have released this situation and energy into the hands of God. 

Record your experiences with this exercise in your journal or on the opposite page.

Reverend Marty Varnadoe Dow, MSW

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