Integration
When countering Suppression, it’s crucial to highlight upfront that we are not trying to change our emotional reaction to anything. We typically think of this as the feeling itself, and it’s a reflex. Getting startled isn't a choice if someone jumps out from a concealed location. Initially being sad, angry, or otherwise due to any experience is no different.
What we want to analyze better and potentially alter is our response to that reaction. Whether it’s stored trauma or the impulse to commit road rage, our aim is to notice these feelings and then express them appropriately. The term I use for this overarching countermeasure is Integration. It’s the healthy movement of stored energy within us and the ability to process emotions effectively in real time.
As I’ve discussed, we are primarily dealing with sorrow and anger, as these tend to have the most energetic impact on us. Things like shame, regret, and guilt can also be troublesome, but they are primarily associated with Storytelling. In my experience with these feelings, once I reframed the narrative about my past from the viewpoint of Gratitude, they dissipated. Sadness and rage are different animals, though. Not only are they undoubtedly justified at times, but they require healthy expression.
Harkening back to our first countermeasure for Oblivion, Integration starts with a basic awareness of what’s happening. You must be able to make the leap of faith that your body does keep the score regarding previous traumatic experiences. If you have ongoing aches and pains that modern medicine can’t explain or parts of you that never feel quite right, consider the possibility that it’s due to energy dysfunction. Of course, you may not have anything like that, which is perfectly fine. But recognize this scenario if and when it arises.
In my article Learning to Cry and on Episode 9 of the RARE SENSE Podcast, I spoke about how psilocybin opened my eyes to this reality and forced me to release a torrent of pent-up emotional energy. In my case, this was an overcompensatory action. I’d held the pendulum in one direction for so long that it swung back hard the other way once released. However, one needn’t pursue such an extreme course of action. Even if you go down the entheogen route, remember your experience may be completely different than mine, regardless of what you desire. Expecting emotional relief through their use by no means guarantees it.
Besides, the crucial part of my psychedelic journeys was teaching me the overall mechanism. I learned how necessary this process was to my holistic health and how I needed to allow it to overtake me when my body gave me signs. In the months and years that followed, I would have similar outpourings of emotion that were completely independent of ingesting a psychoactive substance.
Even as recently as last month, I watched a show about the 2004 Red Sox as we approach their twentieth anniversary of winning the World Series. As if it summoned the ghost of Bill Buckner, I found myself breaking down a little as I watched a replay of the final out at first base that clinched the title. My reaction only lasted a few seconds, but I didn’t resist. That’s the critical part. You don’t need an exogenous chemical catalyst. You need to pay better attention to somatic cues.
Then, you absolutely must get comfortable with crying. There are a few songs I know of called Learning to Fly. Pink Floyd has one. Tom Petty has another. But I wish some band had a popular tune named Learning to Cry because it’s something so many of us need to do. You don’t have to be in the presence of others. However, you must be willing to let go on your terms because it’s not a weakness. It’s a strength. It’s being vulnerable, which is a sign of being mentally and emotionally fit. That’s a vital difference. And it’s much more likely and necessary than sprouting wings.
You might even try finding a trigger that you know gets you there. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that you harm yourself physically. I’m talking about a song, picture, or video that gets you choked up. Find a place where no one can hear or see you if necessary, and allow the emotions it triggers to flow unencumbered.
For example, there’s a video on YouTube by DDP Yoga about the incredible physical transformation of a disabled veteran named Arthur that gets me every time I watch it. Being a paratrooper during the Gulf War took a toll on his knees and back. After his service, he relied on canes, leg braces, and a back brace to get around and gained lots of weight. For fifteen years, doctors told him he would never walk again unassisted, and he believed them.
He then came across Diamond Dallas Page’s yoga program and, through his own initiative and discipline, lost 140 pounds in ten months. He went from being nearly crippled to running. The video has over 109 million views, and even Joe Rogan tears up while watching it during his podcast episode with Page. It’s masterfully edited, and the layering of Javier Colon’s cover of Fix You by Coldplay with footage of Arthur’s journey tugs on my heartstrings like nothing else. The freeze frame of him sprinting overlaid with “They were wrong” (addressing the doctors’ prognosis), and the lyric “I promise you I will learn from my mistakes” punches me in the gut even after dozens of viewings. Find something like this that has the same effect on you and use it if needs be.
In addition to processing trapped energy, we must begin responding better to emotions as they arise. Philosophies such as Stoicism are heavily in favor of such a practice. However, this can be misinterpreted as counsel to treat feelings as annoying nuisances to an otherwise pristine human existence. Remember, that’s not the idea here. We are humans, not Vulcans. The goal is healthy expression, not dismissal.
The trickiest of these situations involves anger, which is often largely a secondary reaction to something deeper. Many of us engage in it regularly to avoid what’s beneath the surface. If someone cuts us off in traffic, and we react by screaming from behind the wheel of our car where they can’t hear us, what’s the true source of that response? Chances are, it has nothing to do with the current circumstance.
We would be much better served by performing some serious internal reflection as to why we allow something to make us angry in the first place. Whether it’s compensation for our inability to express sadness or something else, it’s the result of a situation you’ve suppressed that, once again, your body is looking to dissipate. Maybe it is a personal relationship or a disappointment at work. The point is, that’s the thing to work on.
Don’t ignore your anger. Instead, pause, take a breath, objectively look at it, assess its utility, get to the heart of the matter, and then address it appropriately. For more on this, check out The Acidity of Anger.
Several exercises can also facilitate the healthy movement of energy in our bodies, thereby assisting in holistic integration. Some of these build on practices from previous countermeasures like meditation and journaling. Others, like breathwork, address your nervous system. I’ve included brief overviews below with links to training posts and complete instructions for each method as applicable.
Body Memory Meditation
If you are having trouble finding stored energy within yourself, this can be a helpful practice. It allows you to spend ten minutes tuning into your body and sending comforting messages to parts of it if necessary.
Memory Journaling
This method uses journaling to help process traumatic memories and improve brain function, immune response, and physical health. By spending four sessions of 15-30 minutes within a month writing in detail about a troubling memory, one can resolve and integrate negative energy and somatic memories.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
Five minutes of alternate nostril breathing a few times daily can help balance your internal energy. Place your index and middle fingers on the bridge of your nose. With your thumb, close off one nostril and breathe in through the other. Then, release your thumb, close the other nostril with your ring finger, and breathe out. Breathe back on the same side before swapping your ring finger and thumb. Breathe out and repeat this cycle.
Perfect Breathing
According to James Nestor, the ideal breath rate is five and a half liters of air per minute, achieved by inhaling and exhaling for five and a half seconds each, totaling about five and a half breaths per minute. I love this technique, and to date, it’s the most-watched instructional video on my YouTube channel.
Qi Gong
Qi Gong, meaning "life energy work," combines meditation, breathing, and movement, similar to Tai Chi. It’s a great way to release pent-up energy. Even a seven-minute routine has profound benefits for my emotional well-being.
Physical Exercise
This is one of the easiest and most obvious ways to get energy flowing. A workout almost always improves things, even when I’m not feeling great physically. It’s a highly positive way to channel emotions to benefit your health.
Block Therapy
A few bodywork practices, including massage, can also help physically release stored energy. I’m a fan of Block Therapy, which I learned about from Gary Sharpe. It’s a form of self-administered myofascial release. Lots of emotion can get stored in our fascia, and breaking that up through pressure applied on a wooden block allows us to release what’s trapped and let energy move around us more freely.
Acupuncture
I love acupuncture. Even though it’s much older, traditional Eastern medicine tends to be much more progressive than its Western counterpart when recognizing the need for healthy energy within the body. Along with the practices of Qi Gong and Tai Chi mentioned above, it can help to have a licensed practitioner perform this technique on you.
Closing Thought
Remember that our somatic energy, precisely our emotions, might be the most underserved part of our makeup regarding care and feeding. The longer we continue in this vein, the more harm we inflict upon ourselves and potentially others too. Don’t be afraid to let tears stream… down on your face.
DISCLAIMER: RARE SENSE® content is not medical advice. Nor does it represent the official position or opinions of any other organization or person. If you require diagnosis or treatment for a mental or physical issue or illness, please seek it from a licensed professional.