	Article Directory		Article Submission Service		Article Marketing Blog		Publishers		Member Log In

Article Directory :: Religion & Faith Articles

Getting Back To Our Nature

By Yamaya Cruz

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 10Mar2012
Word count: 483
Viewed: 62 time(s)

Get Free Content For Your Site

I never believed that it was smart to put an animal in a cage. We hear stories on the news of animals attacking their owners. There was the 200-pound chimpanzee that attacked and maimed an innocent woman. There was the killer whale that seized a trainer in its jaws, dragged her to the bottom of the pool, and thrashed her around until she was dead.

There are countless other stories that have aired on You-Tube and on Animal Planet about tamed, docile animals suddenly turning violent. People are shocked when things like this happen, as if they don't understand the dangers of repression. Locking up our emotions is like trapping a wild beast in a cage, sooner or later; it is going to fight to be free.

I am often amazed when people describe Yoruba, Vodun, and even Santeria as primitive. Yes, there are numerous deities that embody the forces and elements of nature such as fire, water, and earth. But people in these religions have an individual connection to the natural world. Our ancestors lived closer to the earth and had a grave respect for nature. Today, so many people are far removed from nature that they have forgotten that all of its elements exist within man himself.

People are not allowed to freely express themselves. Instead, they are being reared like a pet. They are rewarded for good behavior and scorned for bad. People can't embody the natural element of fire, because anger and jealousy is bad. People can't show sadness, the element of water, because sadness is a sign of vulnerability. People can't be too loving and giving, the element of earth, because it is a sign of weakness.

So many people suffer from repressed emotions and desires. At first, they are smaller than you, and you are very much in control, like a new pet. Then, your repressed emotions grow until they are like the 200 pound simmering chimpanzee. Much like your emotions, the chimp is pissed off that you kept it caged up for so long. It has a whole bunch of misdirected energy and it is going to do anything to release it. And that includes attacking the very person it loves.

We see this everyday, when we hear stories about people who suddenly snap, they lose it, or go off the deep end. These people were in trouble for a long time, but they never got help. We as a community need to understand that if our emotions are trapped or misdirected, they are going to come out in perverted and violent ways.

Many may view African religions as primitive. However, our ancestors understood that everything in nature has to flow, including our emotions. This is why we need to accept our emotions as well as others without guilt or judgment.

Yamaya Cruz is the author of When The Shadows Began To Dance. She writes about African spirituality, chakra healing, shamanism and much more. For more information go to http://newafricanspirituality.com/page3/page3.html

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here