Thoughts have the power to either make us well or make us sick. When we’re not paying attention to the content of our thinking we may be blindsided by its effect on our mood. To “feel your feelings” in a somatic sense means getting to know what’s underneath the thinking, like looking under the hood of a car. It’s to get familiar with the engine. Doing this regularly means we will be better acquainted with the ups and downs and the in betweens. We will judge ourselves less and accept our process more fully knowing that the experience of feeling is universal. With thinking, we pause before we react and notice when the thoughts are leading us down a rabbit hole. Creating space around highly charged events lets us see more clearly what we need and how to appropriately get those needs met. There is no shame in that; it is the responsible thing to identify and address what is off balance. The more we do this the less likely we will be to run into obstacles in relationships. While obstacles are a natural part of life, they are also a by-product of thought. To begin, therefore, with clarity of thought is to recall our agency.
