One of the things I realized during my years of therapy is that my mind had been taken over by powerful emotions that stemmed from events in my early childhood. To that extent my mind, and therefore my life, was constantly being hijacked by pain and anger from the distant past, fueling a deep and debilitating cycle of depression.
One of the most powerful things I learned is that my emotions are not necessarily mine, and neither are my thoughts. When we are children, particularly if we are very sensitive, we can channel the disowned emotions of the family group-mind. These are usually emotions that no one else wants to own due to their “negative” quality, and so they energetically “throw” these onto the sacrificial lamb, otherwise known as the black sheep.
The family is a microcosm of society, and as such the principle holds true for both. As a culture, we throw our disowned emotions onto those most vulnerable to taking them on, and we then label these people “unbalanced” or “mentally ill”. We can learn a lot about ourselves, both individually and socially, by meditating on the extremists in our midst instead of marginalizing them or locking them away where we don’t have to deal with them. By separating ourselves from them we are choosing to go into denial about the origin of their actions, which can be found in our shared human nature.
In a world based on separation, fear and hatred, love is the ultimate act of rebellion.
Tots agree. Great blog Margot.