Good question. Here’s how I see it.
The starting point is the feeling is in the subconscious – trapped, fragmented, unintegrated, but still affecting us.
Next, it jumps into awareness because of some (projected) event. It’s now conscious, but still unintegrated. “Integration” refers mainly to the rejection of the mind. The mind is normally (unconsciously) resisting, pushing away, making the feeling wrong.
Next, the mind reverses its stance and becomes more accepting of the feeling. This may require a deliberate, conscious reversal of the mental attitude towards the feeling. Integration is now starting, and now, it’s possible to move into the moment with the feeling, which was not possible before, because of the rejection of the mind and the resulting unintegration of the feeling.
Here, in the moment, the feeling is integrated, because the mind is no longer thinking about how to avoid the feeling, but the feeling has not yet “released” or dispelled or gone away.
This is the critical point of processing where you apply the capacity to remain in the moment with the feeling, experiencing it with no thought of anything needing to be different. You have shifted beyond the ego-based preference of the mind, which always simply wants to avoid pain, and you are in the transcendental witness, just being present with the feeling, with no thought of needing to fix, change, make better or different.
As you stay in that place, at some point, it appears that “resolution” will occur. There may be stages of resolution: 1. You still have the feeling but its not so bad, it’s no longer motivating you, you have disidentified with it and are peacefully coexisting. 2. The feeling has actually been exhausted, and it’s gone. 3. There’s been a conscious bringing together of both ends of the dualistic syndrome in question. For example, if you’ve been working with feelings of failure, the compulsive quest for success starts to normalize, and both failure and success are welcomed as the complete dualistic experience, resulting in growing beyond being trapped at this stage. 4. Outside events and circumstances are miraculously changed because of your inner processing.
