harness the winds of your emotions
What relationship do you have with your emotions?
Here’s what I’ve heard from thousands of people over the years when I ask this question:
My emotions are my nemesis.
A reason to give up.
An excuse to justify past actions.
A block to going after what I want.
A liability. I can’t trust my feelings.
Do you allow your feelings to decide what you do and don’t do in a given day? Do your emotions call the shots? Are the winds of your emotions blowing you off course?
When your emotions become your weather vane, you risk losing your way. On top of that, these powerful winds can have you navigating your path with frantic, reactionary urgency. Life can feel like you’re living inside a hurricane with no control.
The fact is that the winds of your emotions are blowing all the time. Why? Because you are a human being engaged with the world with a high functioning temporal lobe in your brain. There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re simply… human.
Your emotions vs your Core Truth
Are you someone who is guided by your emotions? You see them as a powerful connection to your intuition, as an indicator that you are on the right path. I’m going to offer that it’s not your emotions that are guiding you.
We can easily confuse our emotions with what I call your core truth.
Your core truth is your inner compass that when activated guides your way forward. It’s rooted in a feeling, a deep feeling that stays with you, lives and breathes inside you no matter what the emotional weather is doing. It’s a part of your DNA and it’s very powerful.
And… your core truth is not your emotions. Emotions are ephemeral, temporary feelings that blow in and blow out based on internal and external factors. For example:
You didn’t sleep well // you slept great.
You got yelled at // someone complimented you.
You’re running late // you’re ahead of schedule.
You didn’t get the job/client/partner // you nailed it.
You’re in physical pain // you feel physically strong.
You feel shame // you feel respect.
Do you see the difference between your core truth and the winds of your emotions? More so, how these winds can blow you away from your core truth?
How to harness the winds of your emotions
The end goal is not to stop the winds from blowing. Rather the goal is to harness the winds so you can use them to accelerate your way forward.
The practice here is so simple and so powerful. It comes from one of my teachers Hiroko Demichelis. Hiroko is a certified expert in the use of neurofeedback and biofeedback, Cognitive Behavioural Training (CBT) and a clinical counsellor. She is also my teacher as I complete my 200-hour Meditation Teacher Training Program.
The practice is called PUA. Presence. Understanding. Acceptance. Pronounced poo-ah. It’s ok to smile as you say that. Practice PUA every time the winds of your emotions blow.
Through the rinse and repeat of this practice you will create space to listen to your core truth so that it can be the force that guides your way.