By Sue Siebens
"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." --Viktor E. Frankl
Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist of the last century, is known for his Logotherapy. Mixing psychological and philosophical concepts, Logotherapy stresses the "meaning-dimension" in humans: freedom of will, will to meaning, and meaning of life. [1]
"The meaning of life differs from person to person, from day to day, from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment." --Viktor E. Frankl
We find life meaning in our present moments.
So, it is essential to appreciate the present moment. And yet, we are rarely fully here. Many distractions take us out of our bodies and minds. It takes particular, but not strenuous, effort to be in each moment.
Popular theories suggest that we should practice presence by being physically and mentally still and quiet. Seeking that calm space, we employ happy endorphin-generating strategies. We work our bodies through massage, exercise, sex, and yoga. We journal, meditate, and pray to wring out the troubling thoughts. We excite our senses with food, wine, chocolate, essential oils, music, and sunshine. These coping strategies do bring us solace for a short time. But once the endorphins are gone, the moment is over, and the distractions are back.
Our freedom and growth come when we stop reacting to distractions and respond to present circumstances. The source of the distraction is always going to be with us. It is there in our environment: family, finances, jobs, community, politics, etc.
· When we react emotionally, we are distracted from the present and into a story about what is happening.
· When the triggering emotion is absent, we respond to what is happening without story or rationalizing. We are present. We are more confident and empowered with plans laid out before us.
Clearing up the moments of our life
Savoring the "good times" seems easy enough. But the stretches of uncomfortable emotions? We don't want to look at them; we want them to disappear.
Our days have so many moments—each experienced individually. And yet they coalesce into a larger sensibility of how we are in the world, how we feel about ourselves and others, how we explain or rationalize the past and anticipate the future.
Each moment is emotional—angry, fearful, sad, surprised, numb, happy, loving, content. Often, the unpleasant emotions are not of the moment. Stimulated by current conditions, they are triggered by past experiences that ring similar to the unconscious.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to find purpose and meaning in the present moment when our mind is swirling with unprocessed emotions. And how do we escape our emotional quagmires?
Emotions are felt through our bodies and interpreted by our minds. Interoception is the perception of sensation from inside the body. Emotional Resolution, or EmRes for short, employs interoception during emotional circumstances to sweep away the emotional imprints of earlier trauma, leaving any conscious or unconscious memory without the troubling emotional strings.
This is better—memory without the emotional drag. It means we can experience our present and find meaning without past distractions.
EmRes uses natural emotional processing mechanisms that we all have but rarely use consciously. Sessions with a professional EmRes Practitioner or using Self-EmRes clear up the moments of our lives. The results are rapid and the relief is immediate.
With EmRes work, we find that our world, our relationships, our past and our future are not the disturbances they once were. Kismet is turning our way.
Are you ready to find grace and freedom in you life?
References
1. Logotherapy: Viktor Frankl's Theory of Meaning, https://positivepsychology.com/viktor-frankl-logotherapy/#:~:text=Three%20philosophical%20and%20psychological%20concepts,both%20internal%20and%20external%20conditions.
Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay
About Sue
Sue Siebens uses Emotional Resolution, EmRes, to work at a fundamental level, where the roots of the illness, fear, and pain can be accessed and resolved. Sue teaches and writes to raise awareness about this new technology so that as many people as possible can find relief and peace in their life. Sue is based in Ft Worth, Tx, USA.