Hi,

I've been doing something lately that I've found enormously useful called The Sedona Method. It is a strategy for releasing emotions. It's quite simple, but does take a little bit of learning (for me anyway, because I don't deal well with emotions). The basic premise is that your emotions - while powerful - are not you. Your natural state is peaceful. Emotions are piled on top to mask that core existence. Now this theory does tend to go against all prevailing psychological approaches to counselling and dealing with issues - which focus on the feeling. This approach asks you to feel, but then to release it. Sounds odd, but it does work.

There are nine emotional states you work with in this method: apathy, fear, anger, grief, lust, pride, courage, acceptance and peace. All of your emotions can be aligned with each category. I've spent alot of time in fear and grief. But these are ultimately empty (trust me on this) and can dissolve as soon as you look behind and beyond them. This is not about suppressing the emotion, but seeing it for what it is, experiencing it and letting it go. The book I'm reading is called The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin if you are interested. He has a great saying in this book that has helped me - 'you can choose to be any one of these emotions or you can be free'. Importantly, its not just about releasing the so called 'bad' emotions, but the good ones as well. I'm still working my way through it, but when I have used it, I have often experienced dramatic changes in the way I feel at any particular moment.

Might provide some insight for you.

Take care.