One of the concepts that has radically changed over the past year of deepening my relationship with God is that of healing groups, therapeutic groups, support groups, and similar gatherings created to “release” or “process” our emotions.
Feeling our emotions is an innate ability of the human soul, just like walking, eating, or riding a bicycle. Any of these abilities develop simply through the engagement of our desire and the corresponding action. None of them require a group, course, workshop, or anything similar.
One of the underlying beliefs in the groups I participated in and even coordinated was that we need other people to feel our own emotions. This is not true and can be harmful. It reinforces the mistaken belief that a person cannot handle their own emotions alone and the idea that they depend on others to do so. It is like helping a butterfly out of its cocoon—it disrupts an essential process of its natural development.
Another belief reinforced in these groups is that there are shortcuts to processing our emotional wounds and that, through group dynamics or individual exercises, we can eliminate our physical or emotional suffering.
When we seek immediate or magical relief from suffering, we end up creating more problems than solutions. I have firsthand experience in this context: I participated in, organized, and led many of these groups throughout my life. However, today I realize that these practices violate fundamental spiritual principles.
I now see issues related to humility and will. The human soul was created with the innate capacity to feel all emotions, regardless of their intensity or quality. Feeling our emotions is something we can do on our own, without the assistance of other people, friends, or therapists. This is the natural process and is within everyone’s reach.
When we engage in practices that reinforce the false belief that we need others or specific rituals to access our emotions or understand the causes of our symptoms, we introduce unnecessary “noise” into the process. This noise weakens our will, as it makes us believe that we depend on others to feel. As a result, we end up turning other people into our “emotional crutches,” transferring to them a responsibility and privilege that are exclusively ours.
These practices compromise the principles of truth and desire. The truth is that, many times, we do not want to feel the emotions behind our symptoms, and that is why we cannot access them on our own. Those who try to “help” actually hinder, as this is essentially a personal process.
I also realize that these practices violate the very principle of love. When our friendships or relationships are established with a utilitarian or functional purpose, they cease to be based on true love and instead become based on a system of exchanges. In such circumstances, we are not dealing with love but with conditions and expectations. Conditioning our relationships on any kind of material, emotional, or spiritual “benefit” or “gain” is extremely harmful.
Why do we want to assume this role of helper? It’s a good question because the causes can be quite deceptive, even if they seem like kindness or service. I used to feel “good” doing it, but now I see that this feeling was fed by the belief in the weakness or deficiency of the other person, or even by the idea of making them dependent on me for something they are completely capable of doing on their own.
This sense of success, both for me and for the people who participated, is an illusion. It is like the relief one feels when taking a pill for a headache—it temporarily removes the discomfort but does not solve the real problem.
That is exactly what I experienced with these practices. During the time I engaged in them, I had the impression that I had solved many problems and vices. However, with time and with the development of humility and the aspiration for truth, I realized that the same challenges resurfaced, intact. There was no real solution or transformation.
I have had a few (not many) moments when I have reached a level of sincerity that allows my communication with God, which is the goal of everything I am doing now. The experience is rich in emotions, insights, and revelations. It is a mix of joy and repentance, as it clearly reveals the error within me. This is the most economical, effective, and loving way to discover what exists within me.
God is accessible to everyone, with no need for intermediaries. He does not reach us through this or that person, nor through any group. Group or assisted healing may seem like a useful shortcut, but in reality, it is neither the most effective nor the most economical method. On the contrary, it causes us to waste valuable time and energy that we could be using to develop our relationship with our Father/Mother.
But our priorities need to shift away from ourselves and our emotions and turn toward God, His characteristics, His Nature, and His Personality.
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