Emotional Awareness 4: Blinded By Feeling

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Once we recognize the presence of strong emotion  and have named it, the next step on the path of emotional awareness is to recognize that this feeling, this joy or sorrow or anger that can seem all consuming, may or may not be a reliable guide to reality.

In the grip of emotion, this fact can be hard to reach.  If we feel this strongly, surely there must be a real, objective, verifiable reason.  And often there is.  Those footsteps behind us on the street may signal real and imminent danger.  But equally, the sound of footfalls might just mean someone is walking behind us.  Read more

Emotional Awareness Part 3: What am I Feeling?

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Emotional Awareness begins with becoming aware that:

1) We are in fact in the grip of an emotion,

2) The world we see through the lens of that emotion may not be the world as it really is and

3) Because we may not be seeing clearly, the emotion has the power to limit our awareness as well as our freedom of choice and action.  It can lead us into doing things we later regret.

How do we recognize emotions?  Read more

Emotional Awareness Part 2: Where do Emotions Come From?

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Have you ever been so immersed in an emotion that’s all there is, the emotion?  It’s a natural reaction to the birth of a wanted child, for example, or the death of someone we have loved.  But emotional “swamping” is not always proportionately related to life events.  In the throes of disproportionate emotional reaction, our Awareness can be so overcome by the feeling itself, there’s no room to look at where that emotion comes from.  Yet, uncovering the source of our feelings is the foundation for managing our emotional life. Read more

Emotional Awareness Part 1: Emotional Overwhelm

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Recovery, the self-help group for people suffering from depression, has a catch phrase:  “Feelings Are Not Facts.”  In other words, what we feel is not always a reliable guide to what is real or true in our lives.  Yet many of our day to day thoughts and actions are based on what we feel.  When we’re caught up in emotion, our Awareness of what’s truly happening around us can be severely handicapped resulting in limited choices and poor decisions. Read more

5 Steps to Radical Awareness: Step 4

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What I Really Feel – Four Minutes of Self-Awareness

Spiritual growth begins with Awareness, awareness of the world around us and the fact that we may not see it clearly. Meditation, breathwork and other practices help us expand Awareness.

Here is the fourth of five short practices to expand Awareness and help us see more clearly.
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5 Steps to Radical Awareness: Step 3

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Manage Emotions – Three Minutes of Breathing

Spiritual growth begins with Awareness, awareness of the world around us and the fact that we may not see it clearly. Meditation, breathwork and other practices help us expand Awareness.

Here is the third of five short practices to expand Awareness and help us see more clearly.

This exercise is great when you feel emotional, particularly if you are caught up in anger. It can be done anywhere, anytime, but preferably when you won’t be interrupted for a minimum of three minutes. Read more

5 Steps to Radical Awareness: Step 2

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Body Awareness – Two Minute Body Scan

Spiritual growth begins with Awareness, awareness of the world around us and the fact that we may not see it clearly. Meditation, breathwork and other practices help us expand Awareness.

Here is the second of five short practices to expand Awareness and help us see more clearly. Read more

5 Steps to Radical Awareness: Step 1

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Staring – A One Minute Object Meditation

Spiritual growth begins with Awareness, awareness of the world around us and the fact that we may not see it clearly. Meditation, breathwork and other practices help us expand Awareness.

Here is the first of five short practices to expand Awareness and help us see more clearly. Read more