Page 112 - Taming Your Gremlin A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way (Rick Carson)_Neat

Simply Notice
Choose and Play with Options
Be in Process

For example, if your gremlin has convinced you that certain of your

emotions are dangerous or wrong or that you’re not entitled to them, you
may feel panicky when you feel these emotions. If, on the other hand, your
gremlin has convinced you that some powerful emotions are physically
intolerable and will hurt you when you hold them in, he may encourage you
to express them immediately and without respect for others. You may feel
better for the moment, but in the long run your gremlin will win by setting
you up to feel anxious, guilty, isolated, or empty. Respect your gremlin’s

trickiness.

BREATHE AND FULLY EXPERIENCE

If, instead of listening to your gremlin, you will simply breathe, feel your
emotions, and give them lots of space in your body, you will notice that
these emotions are no more than simple energy, and to experience energy is
to feel vibrant and alive. After all, emotions are intended to be felt and fully
experienced and used to benefit your existence. Anger is not inherently evil,
sadness does not automatically imply depression, sexual feelings don’t

automatically engender promiscuity, joy is not the same as irresponsibility
and foolishness, and fear does not equal cowardice. The only time that
emotions become dangerous is when we habitually bottle them up or
discharge them impulsively without respect for other living things.

Emotions will not disappear simply because you don’t acknowledge or
express them. By the same token, it is unnecessary to express every

emotion outwardly. As you begin to pay closer and closer attention to your
emotions and to their effects on your body, you will notice that there is
nothing in an emotion to be afraid of. It is only your gremlin who is afraid
of your emotions, because he knows that when you are experiencing them
fully, without judgment, you feel a simple sense of vibrancy, and that
feeling of vibrancy is the key to fully enjoying your gift of life.