Emotional Awareness

Author: ​Nebo D. Lukovich

Learner, Reader, Student of Life

Nebo D. Lukovich

Image by JL G from Pixabay

Emotions are precious messengers that may convey vital lessons about our lives.

There are no “positive” and “negative” or “good” and “bad” emotions. In fact, so-called “negative” emotions often carry more valuable information about our inner being than the “positive” ones.

Anger, rage, resentment, fear, anxiety, sadness, despair... All these feelings, in fact, have great transformative potential in the development of each of us. For this reason, the only possible classification of emotions would be (1) “pleasant,” (2) “neutral,” and (3) “unpleasant.” Actually, this grouping may help us in finding the proper ways of dealing with them.
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Nevertheless, the only authentic way of dealing with emotions is to directly face them and reintegrate them into our whole being.

The only authentic way of dealing with emotions is to directly face them and reintegrate them into the wholeness of our being.

Dealing with Emotions

Since every emotion is, in fact, a thought with a strong energy charge, it is always expressed in our body through physical sensations.

Emotional energy is constantly reflected in the body, causing different reactions in its specific parts. It is almost always expressed as a tension of a group of muscles, sometimes accompanied by other phenomena—heat or cold, pain, sweating, heart palpitations, rapid breathing, shivering, etc.

Sometimes we are not even aware that there is a strong emotion in us that, if not reintegrated, can cause various difficulties and, eventually, illness. Focusing on the physical sensations that result from such emotions will help us more easily recognize their appearance in everyday life.

In this sense, it is very important for us to develop a continuous awareness of the presence of emotions through the recognition of their manifestations in our body.
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Related to this, we have two ways of developing the awareness of the presence of emotions, that is, emotional awareness:

• Continuous awareness of physical sensations, and
• Periodic body scans.

We have two ways of developing the awareness of the presence of emotions, that is, emotional awareness: (1) continuous awareness of physical sensations, and (2) periodic body scans.

Image by Eduardo Rocha Dudu from Pixabay

Continuous Awareness of Physical Sensations

This awareness is, in fact, a form of mindfulness, which we may also call the conscious Presence. This type of mindfulness should include observing both external and internal contents.

When we talk about mindfulness, with the development of this skill we are gradually increasing our awareness of external stimuli—the varied images conveyed to us by the sense of sight; the sounds conveyed by our hearing; and all other content that our other senses convey.

Also, by practicing Presence, we become increasingly aware of everything that is happening in our inner world—both in the psyche and the body. Thoughts, mental images, emotions, and all kinds of physical sensations are tremendously important objects of our observation. I should also add that in mindfulness, while consciously observing various external and/or internal events, it is vital to maintain awareness of our sense of I, or self.

Another way to develop overall emotional awareness is to periodically scan the body.
 
Body Scans in Search of Unpleasant Emotions
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Unpleasant emotions strongly affect our physical form. Each of them has its own characteristic body imprint. Some emotions cause tightness of the neck muscles, others cause stomach stiffness, some trigger tension in the chest, while certain emotions are mainly expressed on the face or in the limbs. There are also those that are expressed through the spasms across the whole body. In addition, many emotions are manifested in the body through pain, nausea, itching, and various other unpleasant bodily feelings.

Each of emotions has its own characteristic body imprint.

If we are mindful enough, there are two possibilities:
   (1) We may notice the bodily sensation first, or
   (2) We may notice the emotion first.

So, if we feel tension or some other unpleasant sensation in a certain part of our body (and we are not physically ill or injured), it often means that we have some background emotion or thought with a certain emotional charge. Often, we are not even conscious of such thoughts and emotions. We can only uncover them when we become aware of the corresponding tension or discomfort in the body.

For example, we just felt the uncomfortable tightness of our neck. We have two options ahead of us—either to (a) deliberately relax all the neck muscles and then immediately return to the activities we did before, or (b) mindfully experience and observe the tension.

If we have developed our mindfulness skills enough, the former option is relatively easy—we notice the tension, immediately relax the muscles, and return to our previous activity. But the latter option may bring us far greater benefits than the former.
 
(1) Experiencing and Witnessing the Tension

As we experience the tension in the neck, we need to maintain awareness of ourselves, of that “witness in the background” who experiences that feeling. In those very moments, we need to be simultaneously aware of our own self and that tension in the neck.

After a while, we should fully accept this tension.

It is also important that we be completely open to any new mind content surfacing—it is very likely that some thoughts, mental images, or emotions, will soon appear. Whatever is coming up should be accepted one by one. If this mental or emotional content is very strong or recurrent, we should do the Dissolving the Temporary I (DTI) technique several times if needed.
 
(2) Noticing and Dealing with the Emotion

On the other hand, if we first notice an unpleasant emotion, we can scan our body right away and determine precisely in which part of it and how that emotion is expressed—whether it is manifested as a simple tension, pain, or some other kind of irritation. This way, we will be able to deal with emotions that cause tension much more easily and effectively.

For example, we feel the fear of an impending public appearance. We need to scan our body immediately and find out where and how this fear is expressed. Let's say it manifests as a tightness in the upper chest. Then we become aware of that feeling of tightness. We look at it for a while with our inner eye. No resistance, no internal commenting; a neutral standpoint. We then fully embrace that bodily feeling.

If this fear returns, we simply repeat the process over and over again. Of course, if despite these efforts the fear of public appearance always resurfaces in similar situations, it is best to address it through the application of some other techniques of the Reintegration System. We can start with basic techniques, such as the DTI or the Gentle Touch of Presence (GTP). If the problem is not resolved, we treat it with the main techniques of the System, like the Inner Triangle procedure.[1]

Next, let's take an example of a common situation where we find ourselves stuck in a traffic jam. We may feel anger or frustration about the circumstances we are in. Such feelings will surely be expressed in our body. Instead of applying the technique of acceptance to those emotions, or one of the basic techniques of the Reintegration System (which is also a credible approach), it may be easier to simply identify in which part of our body that emotion manifests itself and in what way. For example, as a result of this anger, we feel pressure and warmth in the abdomen. We just need to keep our attention on that bodily sensation, persistently accept it, and soon the sensation, along with the emotion that causes it, will disappear completely. By doing so frequently, we will become increasingly aware of this uncomfortable feeling in similar situations and will more effectively restore our inner peace and composure.

Whether we are currently experiencing an emotion or not, it is highly advisable to develop the habit of frequently scanning the body in search of traces of tension or other discomforts. We will be surprised how often some parts of the body are tense, of which state we had not been aware at all. Any such tension is the result of some repressed emotion that needs to be brought to light, confronted, and reintegrated.
 
Pleasant Emotions

Pleasant emotions can also be important markers of some parts of our personality that need to be integrated, i.e., to be harmonized with the whole of our being. For example, romantic infatuation, excitement, an ardent desire for somebody or something ... These are emotions that usually need to be reintegrated. Otherwise, they will continue to be obstacles to our spiritual and psychological development, though we may not be aware of that fact.

Since pleasant emotions cause strong bodily sensations, we can apply the same methods to these emotions as we did to the unpleasant ones. We locate the body sensation, feel it fully, observe it, and accept it.
 
Triggers of Emotions

Every emotion has its own trigger, which is, typically, a very specific situation or a person who occasionally approaches us and activates the emotion. As soon as the trigger appears, the corresponding emotion automatically arises on the surface of our being.

It would be very useful for our development if we were to make a list of the most common unpleasant emotions we face in our daily lives, which would include their triggers. One emotion can have many triggers as well, so they should all be listed.

Like emotions themselves, their triggers instigate specific bodily sensations, too. That is why, before the emotion activated by the trigger emerges, we should become aware of the feeling in our body that the trigger/ situation creates. In essence, it is this bodily feeling that is the immediate activator of an emotion.
Of course, we can treat these bodily sensations in an equivalent way with the examples described above. This can really help us a lot in our efforts to reintegrate many emotions and raise our general level of awareness in our daily lives.
 
Emotional Triggers of Mindfulness

In the Reintegration System, the so-called “mindfulness triggers” play a key role in developing the conscious experience of the present moment, or mindfulness. Perhaps the most valuable types of triggers are those that use the appearance of certain emotions to enter a state of conscious Presence.

The occurrence of unpleasant emotions such as fear, anger, or sadness might seem easier to notice, but it's quite the opposite. When any of these feelings emerge within us, we automatically and completely identify with them. We are fully becoming that very emotion. In those moments we are not even aware of ourselves. In other words, there is no conscious distance from that emotion. This makes it very difficult for us to become aware of these feelings every time they occur.

However, if such emotions are repetitive, we can turn the situation to our advantage: we can use the appearance of certain emotions as triggers for conscious Presence, or mindfulness!


[1] As stated above, the emotions that most commonly occur to us are largely unintegrated contents of mind and need to be reunited with the whole of our being.
One of the most effective methods for eliminating the energy charge in emotions is the “Dissolving the Temporary I” (DTI) technique. Also, there are other basic techniques of the Reintegration System: "Gentle Touch of Presence" (GTP), "Moving to the Heart" (MH), "Dissolving the Temporary I Plus" (DTI+) and "Freshness and Acceptance" (FA).
To address severe emotional traumas of the past, or to integrate other strong emotions and repressed complex mental contents, we have other advanced methods of the Reintegration System available, such as, for example, Single Chain (SC), Double Chain (DC) or Inner Triangle (IT) techniques.
All of these methods are detailed in the books "Deep Personal Transformation" (FREE e-book!), "Inner Peace, Outer Success," and "Inner Freedom Techniques." 

We can use the appearance of certain emotions as triggers for mindfulness.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

How do we develop triggers like this? Of course, this is not an easy and fast process at all. We need to imagine and visualize the occurrence of this situation/emotion as a trigger many times and repeat it over and over again until that trigger is fully imprinted into our subconscious mind. Then the sequence “trigger occurrence—becoming Present” becomes automatic.
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Accordingly, the key to creating a trigger for Presence is to repeat, repeat, repeat… But the benefits are immeasurable!

To establish effectively these triggers we can also use specific auto-hypnosis techniques, described in detail in the article “Transforming the Subconscious Mind.”
 
All Emotions are our Friends

So, to deal with our emotions we can use various approaches, such as awareness of the physical sensations, body scans, meditation, mindfulness, or the application of various psychological techniques, the methodology of the Reintegration System, or some other spiritual system.

Regardless of the specific method we use, it is very important to know that all emotions, whether pleasant or unpleasant, are extremely valuable inner messengers and important beacons that accurately point us to the direction in which we should continue our spiritual and psychological development.

We need not fight emotions. On the contrary, we need to fully embrace them, to accept and reunite with our being. If we value and respect them, with persistent inner work and open-minded approach, our lives will improve and become more harmonious, we will be getting more and more subtle insights into our lives and relationships with people, and ever more frequently we will spontaneously enter into a state of deep and indescribable inner peace.

Emotions are our friends.

Have a wonderful day! :-)