Getting To The Heart Of The Matter

Learn the distinction between emotions and feelings, and how to gain space from them so you're not overwhelmed by them and you can use them to accelerate forward. SUMMARY: - There is a difference between emotion and feeling - Emotion is a purely natural, instinctual response to a situation. There is no mind involved. A true emotion lasts only a few seconds to a couple of minutes. - A feeling is an emotional state perpetuated by the mind. We no longer are in the situation that caused the emotion but our minds put us back in that situation and we continue to emotionally react and live as if that same situation is happening even though it happened hours, days, months and sometimes years ago. - A feeling can further distort and become so rigid that it becomes our identity - Distortion patterns can perpetuate the same emotions over and over again which then conditions what kinds of thoughts we have and what we’re willing to experience - The “negative” emotions (the ones that we tend to try to avoid like fear, anger, worry, anxiety) can be extraordinarily beneficial − either because they can be a catalyst or because they are a signpost of what we need to pay attention to and see in ourselves. - Emotions can be a change agent.