What Is YOUR Daily Path To Aliveness?

Every day I see people posting messages about feeling depressed. And other than being sure they are seeking medical support when necessary, the best advice I can offer is to develop a daily ritual specifically designed to guide and support the emotions. In this case, primarily…fear. Depression, in this sense, is “fight or flight” with no one to fight and no where to run. The emotions turn back on you. The deeper the emotions, the more important this is. Unfortunately, fear, panic and depression sap the very energy you need to do this. The even greater tragedy is that when the moods inevitably swing back up (they almost always do) people won’t use that opportunity to implement such habits.

Depressed? Can’t do it.

Feeling better? Don’t need to do it! I’m busy. So many things to take care of…

Then of course, a few days, weeks or months later they are right back in the negative space. The cycle perpetrates itself endlessly, sometimes spiraling down and down until life is ground to a nub.

What can be frustrating is that the cycle can be interrupted in five minutes a day. The question is: why won’t people spend that five minutes? Well…maybe they don’t believe it will work. But they can’t spend five minutes testing their theory? No, the problem is deeper than that.

I think human beings have what might be called a “shadow” self. If the Hawaiian Huna say that our bodies are like black bags, where we store our unprocessed emotions, that helps explain why…