My nephew once posted up a drawing of a fantastical creature that was his best idea of this feeling he was having. As he put it:
I have a theory that setting your current emotion free is a good first step to changing it. And a way to set that emotion free is to draw a creature that represents it. Lo and behold, the walrus dragon. I don’t think I could describe whatever emotion that was better than it describes itself.
– Walrus Dragon by LordPyxel
As it happens, this is quite like one of the hidden mystical practices of yore that I’ve read about, but can’t find the reference for right now. There was the practice of taking an unwanted emotion or trait, and imagining it as a creature that would act as the symbolic embodiment, so the practitioner could let it go from their own personification. Unfortunately, the practice I read didn’t include any sort of directive on what to DO with this imagery once it was created, making me feel as though it could then wander free within one’s psyche…
When I tried this practice, I didn’t want to leave this imaginary embodiment of an unwanted emotion to just “run free”. So I imagined this thought-given-form being transformed into a butterfly-like creature, that flew into the heart of the sun. There, its energy was set free in a brilliant burst of rainbow-white light, empowering greater thoughts and forms to take its place.
This also helped me feel better empowered to embrace a better way of thinking and feeling than I’d found stuck with at the time. It’s great to clear out old baggage, and it’s even better to brighten up the space this clearing opens up. It’s like freshening up the guest room: you’re that much more ready to receive what comes next into your life.
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