the Emotion Wheel

 

We can do four things with our emotions;

We can EXPRESS them (whether that is in a healthy or unhealthy manner)

We can SUPPRESS them. We do this consciously when we deem them unsuitable or uncomfortable.

We can REPRESS them. After suppressing emotions for a long time we shortcut the program and we suppress them unaconsciously, we don’t even consciously realize that we are feeling the emotion.

We can ESCAPE from our emotions… this is where distraction, addiction, denial and more come in.

Why do I feel so bad?

After a lifetime spent running from our emotions it can be difficult to actually pinpoint what is going on inside, what is it that we actually feel. We become out of touch with ourselves. When difficult emotions arise we categorize them as ‘anxiety’ or ‘depression’ or ‘I feel like shit and I don’t know why’. We also don’t experience much joy because we have such a narrow range of emotions that we are willing to experience… can’t go too low, can’t go too high - life becomes muted.

We don’t know why because we’ve spent years suppressing and avoiding. And you’re here because you realize that now.

The average emotion lasts 90 seconds… but we suppress it so that it stays in our system for 20 years. Instead of facing it straight on, we hold it within us simmering below the surface. Does that make any sense? Or is it time to try something different?

Time to get back in touch with yourself

The Emotion Wheel is a great tool to help us understand what emotion is truly happening below the surface. When you’re feeling bad or down is the perfect time to pull it out.

Instructions:

  1. Find a quiet place to sit alone and in stillness. Pull out the emotion wheel. I recommend saving a screenshot to your camera on your phone.

  2. Go to the center circle and identify which of the emotions that you’re feeling most. You know within you which one resonates the most.

  3. From there move into the middle circle (lighter in color here) with the one that resonates the most.

  4. Then move to the outer circle and again, which one resonates the most.

  5. Once you’ve identified the emotion, sit with it asking yourself; Where did it come from? When did it start? Why I am feeling this way?

  6. Consider what you’d like to do with this emotion, what is the most appropriate response? Do you need to act on this emotion or just release it?

  7. If you’re familiar with EFT or Tapping you can use your preferred tapping protocol to tap it out. Otherwise, you can use the white healing light.

  8. White Healing Light Protocol: Find where the emotion is in your body - find a sensation in the body, it may feel heavy or light, tingly or tight. Once you’ve found it you can first acknowledge it. All emotions are real but that doesn’t make them true. For example we may feel angry at a person who has passed away and feel abandoned. It doesn’t make sense in a logical way but it the emotion within you is real. Honor whatever you’re feeling. Bring white healing light into that part of your body and allow this healing energy to dissolve the emotion leaving you lighter.

the emotion wheel