Negative Emotions

Negative emotions that I didn’t know I had surprised me recently. There are tent caterpillars ballooning in a few trees in my yard. My go-to remedy for this is to cut those branches down and burn them, caterpillars, and all. I struggle with this because “all life is one and everything that lives is Holy,” according to J. G. Bennett’s grace. Yet, I don’t want the critters eating my trees and spreading. This year, they are too high up for me to reach.

Last week I noticed that each time I saw the tents in any tree that I passed, even driving down the road, I was reacting negatively. It was subtle, but there. Tight muscles, tension—I hated seeing these things eating the trees and spreading into my yard.

When I used a breathing exercise to work with my negativity, I was shocked to realize that the feeling was hatred. That pulled me up short. Dislike, concern, sure. But Hatred? So now what?

I don’t think the answer is to ignore the infestation. But neither is it to invest my energy in a negative reaction, of whatever kind. Somehow, I need to figure out how to be in relationship with the situation, but not be what Gurdjieff would call, “identified.”

How do I stop being identified with my negativity?

By using those moments of seeing the caterpillar tents, to Work. To shift—right into paying attention to my breath.

Following my breath into my feeling, I can capture my negative reaction and re-direct that emotion into sensing a specific part of my body. I know from practice, that a set “reminding factor” like the caterpillars can become automatic. Soon I’m working it all the time. The result is that those subtle negativities melt away and leave a whole lot of space to address whatever it is. If it even needs to be addressed.

Working with negative emotions which infuse our lives, yet half the time we aren’t even aware of, can translate into a level of relaxed living we hardly know is possible. The caveat is, this is not a once and done practice. It takes vigilance and renewal but is well worth the effort.

On an esoteric note, transforming negative emotions creates an energetic food for our spiritual selves. And how lucky we all are, to have such an abundance of sustenance!