A young brown cow standing in a green pasture on a sunny summer day.

WARNING: ABOUT INTROSPECTION/RUMINATING

ByEdge-admin

WARNING: ABOUT INTROSPECTION/RUMINATING

The first topic we will discuss is feelings; however, one crucial thing to mention before discussing feelings is ruminating or becoming overly introspective. We do NOT want to become overly introspective. This leads to the black hole. It often sounds like. “I’m bad, stupid, unworthy, dumb. Things are never going to change. Why am I here again? What’s wrong with me? No one loves me. If he loved me, he wouldn’t….”

If and or when one allows themselves to go into this mental state, or rabbit hole, it could have dire consequences. It will increase anxiety and depression, no doubt, and it could lead to a nervous/mental breakdown. We can not over-emphasize the seriousness of this.

What is ruminating? If we think of a cow chewing on the same cud over and over, this is ruminating. If we allow ourselves to do the same thing with our negative thoughts, just cycling over and over, dwelling on the negative feelings of distress and their causes and consequences of hostile states, and never reaching a conclusion, this is ruminating. For the human mind, ruminating is highly unproductive and very different from the constructive feeling of feelings and walking through the path we will take here at Edge of the Red Sea. Being overly introspective turns into self-loathing and self-pity. It increases anxiety and depression. 

If we look at the spiritual realm, it is cooperating with the enemy’s work. Not with God.  Self-loathing is very different from feeling our feelings and making meaning out of one’s pain and suffering. Over-introspection leads us further into our trauma instead of out of it. It is destructive rather than constructive. It is without end of completion. Many of us have been here, and that is part of the reason many of us sought out ERSM was to experience something different. With that being said, identifying our feelings and feeling them and the exercises to follow are constructive, healthy, and necessary. 

We will read about feelings in out next Blog.

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