emotions
Working Your Way Up The Emotional Scale
Is it not amazing how many different emotions we can experience? No one even knows for sure how many different human emotions there are!
Over the years, psychologists and neuroscientists have proposed various models for categorizing and understanding human emotions. The highest total number of distinct emotions identified by a single model is found in the research of Alan S. Cowen and Dacher Keltner, who identified 27 distinct emotions. Their model is one of the most comprehensive in terms of categorizing a wide range of human emotional experiences.
A concept closely related to the wide range of emotions we can experience is that of an emotional scale, also known as an emotional spectrum or hierarchy. This idea involves categorizing and ranking emotions based on various criteria such as their intensity, positivity or negativity, and how they relate to each other.
There are several emotional scales that are used to help us better understand and navigate our emotions. There is Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions, Russell’s Circumplex Model of Affect, David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness and Abraham-Hicks’ Emotional Guidance Scale.
Emotional scales and models serve a variety of purposes, including therapeutic contexts, self-help, academic research, emotional intelligence training, spiritual growth and guidance, manifestation practices, and other esoteric and practical applications. They help people identify, categorize, and work with their emotions for improved emotional well-being and self-awareness.
Always Feel Free To Own Your True Feelings
Has anyone ever told you that you are too happy? Or has anyone ever told you that you smile too much? My guess is probably never.
So, why is it that whenever we experience negative emotions, be it grief, despair, or depression, we are often told that there is a time limit to such feelings and that we need to get over it. In today’s society, it is essentially also taboo to express feelings of loneliness, sadness, fear, or simply being unhappy.
My brother died at the tender age of 12 and left such a void in our lives that my entire family grieved his loss for decades. Fortunately, we were raised to accept this as a perfectly normal and natural process for us. We all understood that we would work through our feelings of grief and loss in our own way and at our own pace. We did not grieve according to a schedule or set of societal rules.
I find that a useful way to think about feelings and how to process them is to think of our emotions as being processed by our heart and mind like food is processed by our body. Just like food, we need to break down, digest, and assimilate the lessons and insights in our emotions to serve as growth “nutrients” for the soul.
An Empath’s Intervention Can Save A Life
This morning after I finished meditating, instead of logging on to work as usual, I felt intuitively guided to visit a local coffee shop that I had visited a few days before.
While I was there I had noticed a girl working there who seemed extremely sad. Her aura clearly showed me this. I also intuitively saw that she had probably been crying before she came in that day.
While waiting for my order, I tuned into her energy field to see what information I could get to help her, even indirectly. Normally I would not do this in public, but this poor girl really tugged at my heartstrings for some reason.
I immediately had more intuitive flashes about her and her boyfriend. I saw him being very mean, controlling and abusive to her, and also cheating on her with numerous women.
I also realised that she was living with him instead of him. I had a strong feeling that if she stayed there with him, things would get really bad in the long run – to the point where she might even have to go to a refuge for victims of domestic violence.
But as we did not know each other, I did not feel it was my place to interfere by giving her unsolicited advice. Nor did I want to embarrass her or myself! So I just prayed for her in silence and sent her some healing energy, but kept my premonitions and insights to myself.
Anger Awareness For The Empowered Empath
Of all the emotional energies that empaths have to deal with, anger is one of the most powerful and potentially destructive, because empaths feel and react first, and think later.
An empath’s initial reaction to someone else’s angry feelings is usually some form of intense “fight or flight” response.
The more extroverted empath will often respond to the anger with equal force, usually involving a very intense and potentially catastrophic emotional outburst. The introverted empath will usually “flee” the scene or do everything possible to avoid the person who is emitting the anger.
After the initial reaction, the empath’s emotional state will often then shift to sadness, anxiety, or feeling drained and depressed at seemingly inappropriate times and for no apparent reason.
Because it is very common for empaths to be intensely aware of the feelings, moods, and motives of others, sometimes even before others are aware of their own feelings, a strong emotion like anger deeply affects us. And if the other person is a spouse or partner in a romantic relationship, anger can become a proverbial land mine. Ditto if it is a co-worker or employer.
The Compassion Of Tough Love
We have an amazing tool within us: our heart. Not only does it keep us alive, but it also allows us to feel deep emotions, such as love and resentment, joy and sadness, achievement and loss, compassion and apathy.
Many people fail to see the power of the heart and what we as humans can do with that power for ourselves and others. The heart is in fact key to our personal and spiritual learning and our soul expansion in this lifetime.
However, many of us who strive to contribute to a better world with the power of our loving hearts have also seen that giving material things, like money, and trying to help those who refuse to help themselves, does not cure the suffering in the world. It usually only puts a band aid on the underlying problems and in time it just returns as additional problems.
We all have our own karmic lessons, and if not learned it becomes a recurring issue until we finally learn to fix it, learn from it, and move forward. Then it is no more a lesson, but a wisdom.
It is also true that we can get in the way of others learning their lessons. Sometimes we jump in too quickly or end up taking on their burden, only to find it happening again and again. Then all our efforts and sacrifice were in vain.
The Constant Battle Of Head Versus Heart
Have you ever second-guessed yourself, done or said something that went against your gut, only to realize in retrospect that your initial feeling or hunch was right? Had you acted differently, it could have saved you a lot of heartache and loss, emotionally, physically or financially?
If you have ever been in this position, know that you are not alone. The “head versus heart” dilemma can be very confusing and frustrating. Many of my clients struggle with it and some experience a great deal of confusion, stress and emotional discomfort as a result.
When faced with difficult decisions or challenging situations, we usually have a good sense of what the best course of action might be. But then we tend to look for concrete evidence to support our feelings and intuitive hunches, and when we cannot find any, which is often the case, our heads take precedence over our hearts. So we end up discounting our feelings and intuitions, usually to our own detriment.
The struggle between head and heart is a common theme in philosophy, literature, art, and popular culture, as we all regularly experience inner conflicts between reason and emotion, logic and intuition, responsibility and passion.
Spiritual Self-Care Empowers The Empath
Because empaths spend a great deal of time experiencing the emotions and feelings of others in a very visceral way, spiritual self-care is especially important for us.
Work, family, friends, and intimate relationships, not to mention current world events, can take a toll on anyone, but they can be especially overwhelming for the empath. That’s why it’s important for empaths to be clear about which feelings and emotions are their own and which are coming from external sources.
Empaths are often compared to sponges, as they tend to ‘absorb’ all the energy and emotions around them. Sooner or later, the empath’s energy field becomes overwhelmed with energy imprints, residue, and attachments, and cannot absorb any more.
Instead of adopting a spiritual self-care routine to maintain their health and well-being, some empaths tend to engage in self-destructive behavior or self-medicate with food, alcohol, caffeine, or even drugs in an attempt to find relief. In the worst cases, this can result in a complete breakdown or worse.
It’s obviously wiser and much healthier for empaths to find a more constructive way to recharge their energy and center and ground themselves. Also, bad lifestyle habits will do nothing to shield your aura from outside energies.