Okay, so far we’ve done meditations on gratitude, judgment and our physical selves. Now we going to make you aware of where you non-physical self touches your physical self. This is where your thoughts become your biology and your biology becomes your emotional day.
Where we have to start is in finding your dominant emotion and where it sits. So essentially we’re looking for the end of the equation. After you’ve thought something and your system talks to your hypothalamus and you get a complex chemical dump that rushes through your body and in you it tends to go…. where?
Once you slow your thinking down it will be easier to find these sensations but right now we’re just getting you back in touch with yourself so you can start to take control yoverself–over your determination or your eating or your anxiety etc. If you’re over 30 you’re starting to develop a face from your common chemistry. Meaning you think a certain type of thought so commonly that the emotion associated with it is starting to form how your face naturally sits.
Many people easily know their dominant emotions but if you don’t then your face will be a clue. Figure out if you spend more time worried, angry, hurt, anxious, sad, superior, curious, happy or loving. If you look mostly loving then you probably don’t need to read this blog but that’s very low odds–I can go years without seeing a new person who truly spends most of their time loving.
After we have the emotion we want to know where it goes. Of course it goes to your face and everywhere else, but where’s it sit. Do worry and it tightens your gut? Do you get angry and your chest tightens? Are you sad and your shoulders are heavy and your head is down? How about anxious and something’s always twitching? Spend a day homing in on yours.
Once you have that you have your most obvious signaling system. Once you know that your nervousness sits in your gut you can be at your desk and think to yourself, “Oh my God I have that new client this afternoon. I hate new clients. I always do something awkward and look dumb in front of all these new people who are just meeting me… ugh.” And then maybe you touch your stomach or reach for your antacid. Boom. There’s your clue.
So let’s say it’s anxiety in the stomach. Well–that just used to be it. You’d feel that and then you’d request more of that chemistry by continuing that anxious narrative about the job and the worries and predictions of how it will go and what they will think. Truly wildly speculative stuff that only seems valid because you only pay attention to your life in ways that self-reinforce these ideas. So you’ll only notice when you’re anxious so it’ll seem like you’re always anxious which will validate the narratives you’re exchanging.
Remember, in the end this is all just you volunteering to talk to yourself. Now that we’ve found the result of the common type of conversation, rather than continue on to a chain reaction of other thoughts you can use this blog as a signpost to say–hey wait a second: is this emotion valid? In many cases it won’t be.
The question is, what can you do about that? How does that help? That’s what we’ll cover tomorrow. Today’s about finding that emotion and where it sits. Do that and you are progressing just fine young grasshopper. 😉
You guys have a fantastic day getting more in touch and closer to your natural health. I look forward to the next step tomorrow. It’s a big one.
peace. s
Scott McPherson is an Edmonton-based writer, public speaker, and mindfulness facilitator who works with individuals, companies and nonprofit organizations around the world.
I help people achieve better mental health by teaching them about reality.
great stuff, thanks Scott
You’re very welcome. Thanks for the appreciation. I appreciate it. 🙂