01/09/2026
A powerful post shared by a friend. Such wisdom in the words & guidance.
In my younger age I stuffed feelings down, sadness & anger, emotions that were too painful to allow myself to feel or that weren’t safe to express.
It is healing to allow yourself to feel the emotions and release them. It doesn’t mean to act in harmful ways to yourself & others. Have curiosity about why you are feeling this way and recognizing that our thoughts can impact how we feel.
Then finding a way to release them, let them go, don’t hang onto them to be weighed down by the feelings & thoughts attached to them. Perhaps imagining them floating away on a stream or doing a body scan to release tension.
It isn’t necessarily easy to do, it takes practice & sometimes it will be easier to let them go then other times.😘
HOW TO PROCESS YOUR FEELINGS (Without Being Controlled by Them)
Feelings are not problems to fix.
They are messages to understand.
Most suffering doesn’t come from emotions themselves —
it comes from resisting them, suppressing them, or becoming lost inside them.
Here’s how to process your feelings with awareness, not avoidance:
1. PAUSE
Before reacting, pause.
Take a breath.
Slow your body down.
This pause creates space between what you feel and what you do.
In that space, wisdom can arise.
In Buddhism, this moment of pause is mindfulness —
the ability to see clearly instead of acting blindly.
Not every emotion needs an immediate response.
Some only need your attention.
2. NAME IT
Give the feeling a name.
Anger.
Sadness.
Fear.
Disappointment.
Joy.
Naming an emotion takes away its power to overwhelm you.
What is named becomes observed, not possessed.
You are not “angry.”
Anger is arising within you.
This subtle shift reminds you:
You are the observer, not the emotion.
3. FEEL IT (WITHOUT JUDGMENT)
Sit with the emotion instead of pushing it away.
Don’t label it as good or bad.
Don’t rush to escape it.
Don’t shame yourself for feeling it.
Feelings are like waves —
they rise, peak, and fall if you don’t fight them.
In Buddhist practice, this is equanimity:
allowing what is, without clinging or aversion.
What you resist persists.
What you allow, softens.
4. ASK WHY
Gently explore the root.
What triggered this feeling?
What expectation was unmet?
What attachment was touched?
Often, emotions reveal hidden truths —
unhealed wounds, unmet needs, or false stories we tell ourselves.
This is not about blaming yourself or others.
It’s about understanding.
Awareness turns pain into insight.
5. RELEASE
Once understood, let it move through you.
Breathe deeply.
Write it out.
Speak to someone you trust.
Sit quietly and watch it fade.
Feelings are energy.
If they are not expressed or released, they become stored tension.
Release does not mean forgetting.
It means not carrying unnecessary weight.
6. SHIFT
After release, gently redirect your energy.
Toward calm.
Toward kindness.
Toward something constructive.
Not as an escape —
but as a conscious choice.
This is wisdom in action:
choosing peace over rumination, growth over repetition.
FINAL TRUTH.
Feelings are temporary guests.
They come to teach, not to stay forever.
Suffering begins when you cling.
Freedom begins when you observe, understand, and let go.
You don’t need to control your emotions.
You need to befriend them — and know when to let them leave.
🧘♂️ Nothing that arises is meant to be held onto forever.
