Emotions as Warning Signs
It is all too easy to get caught up in the trap of trying to figure out exactly why we believe the things that we believe and why we do the things we do. Complexes (clusters of related thoughts) are such, that as soon as we start thinking about them, we actually start activating them. This means that we actually invoke an emotional reaction according to the limitations that the complex imposes upon us.
Each emotional state can be seen as being a signal, a warning sign, which alerts us to the existence of the beliefs that are composed of, and give rise to, limiting thoughts. When we understand this fact we can actually work intelligently with emotions and see them as being nature's warning sign and an opportunity for personal growth.
Almost every day, we have the opportunity to have most of our limiting thought patterns exposed and tested by everyday life. Instead of seeing this as being a frightening experience and something to avoid, we can actually see it as something we ought to embrace and work with intelligently and enthusiastically. James said:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
James 1:2-3
Victory over Sin
So we know from the Bible that it is possible to be able to actually work with our limitations in such a way that we are able to find freedom through them. When you think about it, the Biblical concept of sin so accurately mirrors the wants and emotions that are identified by the Sedona Method and Release Technique.
The Epistles (letters to the churches) of Paul are seen as being the most important books in the Bible because they tell us who we are in Christ through His death, burial and resurrection. Many Christians see the book Romans as being Paul’s masterwork. My favourite chapter in the Bible is Romans 6 because it deals with the subject of freedom of sin like no other chapter in the Bible.
Romans 6:6 says that be do not need to be held captive by our own emotions, because Jesus Christ has bore the body of sin on our behalf so that we no longer need to be slaves to sin – no longer controlled by our limiting thoughts and feelings. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we can find freedom from our limiting flesh nature, so that we can be the person that we were made to be.
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:11-14 nkjv
The apostle Paul also said let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us (Hebrews 12:1). The Bible would not tell Christians to do something that they were not able to do. Through belief in Christ and the remission of sin through His precious blood, we have the ability to let go of our sin.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:24
The Bible also says that we must crucify the flesh. We know that Jesus Christ has already born the body of sin on our behalf and that through his blood there is remission of sin. Jesus has therefore done everything that He is prepared to do about the sin issue – the rest is very much up to us. We can expect the Holy Spirit to alert us, advise us, teach us and help us deal with sin – but He cannot release wrong desires for us – we have to do it – we have to make that choice because it is an expression of our free will. James 4:7 says resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Jesus has done all that He is willing to do for us when it comes to the sin issue and He did everything that needed to be done. Now, as believers in Christ, it is up to us to resist the devil – Jesus will not do it for us. The Bible says that we have been given authority over the devil and all his evil works:
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luke 10:19 nkjv
Living Holy Lives through Rule keeping
For years Christians have been put under a great deal of strain to make their own efforts to stop sinning and live a holy life that is acceptable to God. But there has been hardly any teaching on how Christians can actually resist sinful thoughts and desires. The assumption has been that wrong thoughts and desires can be controlled by an effort of the will. Some people struggle more than others and it seems to me those who struggle with the flesh soon find that they are not able to live up to the demands placed on them by other Christians. In an effort to instil holiness in the church, Christians have resorted to badgering and patronising believers into conforming to the religious demands of the church.
Releasing Provides a Solution
We know that negative emotions are the result of our own limiting thoughts that caught our energy to be blocked, energy which could otherwise be put to good use. So we know from our own emotions that there is a limitation present in our own thinking. We also know that emotions are rooted in one or more of the core wants that all of us have to some extent: security, approval, control, oneness or separation. When these wants manifest themselves and we experience the corresponding emotions – we can simply choose to identify them, see them for what they are and release them with a simple releasing question. There is no need to get sidetracked with trying to keep rules and to follow formulas and principles.
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