Suppression is the act of rejecting emotional experience
from the field of awareness.
The problem with suppression of feelings is that the
feelings are not resolved but merely hidden. When something is suppressed,
it is made temporarily unconscious, only to accumulate and break forth at
some later time. Anger, for example, does not dissolve when suppressed but
remains as forceful as when originally felt, except that it is no longer
within the field of awareness. When it erupts, it is likely to cause much
more damage because of the buildup that has occurred.
Suppressed feelings influence us in even more far-reaching
ways. They leave us much in the position of being ruled by hidden forces
– forces that at times can seem uncontrollable, like a separate entity
with an independent intelligence and will. We become guided by neurotic,
unconscious urges that lead to irrational, self-destructive behavior. We
are attracted to the wrong people, reject the right people, and become compulsive,
addictive, and unreliable, all in spite of our best intentions. Our urges
are strong and difficult to oppose. Indeed, opposition is impossible because
the suppressed energy eventually has to come out. Holding it back will only
bring a more destructive release later. We go through life leaving more
or less a shambles behind us, accumulating more unresolved energies and
adding to our Karma.
Energy is what
becomes suppressed
Unpleasant feelings as well as unresolved situations
are the kinds of things that are suppressed, but when we suppress, it is
energy that is being put into storage. Emotions can run high, and emotions
are nothing but energy moving through the centers of consciousness. When
people interact, there is an energy exchange between them. Energy is what
enables us to have experiences. Experiences are kinds of energy that we
assimilate. Of course, I am referring to psychic energy, which is not yet
generally recognized by science. Nevertheless, subconscious energy can build
to a considerable strength. It becomes part of our personality, affecting
us as well as others.
Since we suppress in consistent yet individual ways,
we build a reservoir of negative energy of a specific type. Some people
suppress mainly anxiety; some, the sense of worthlessness or sexual frustration,
for example. The suppressed energy then creates patterns: unconscious, individualistic
ways in which we meet life. Patterns would not be a problem, except that
they are often negative, keeping us from full realization of our creative
power. Because patterns are usually unconscious, we don’t know that
it is we who are limiting ourselves.
