EsoExo: feelings and learning
Emotions and feelings are often an aid to learning. They may best be that aid when they are experienced one at a time, even when several may come in quick succession.
🤢😃😢😁😆😒 Artists interpret emotions. What feelings would you guess they are expressing here?
Emotions may be a source of power and feelings, and an expression of that power. Power is available. We have some control over it. As an old aunt of mine used to say, "Use it, or lose it.
Our feelings may be a loving awareness of sentiments, emotions, desires, environment, thoughts, sensations, identity, and more.
We can understand our feelings as our interpretation of our emotion. As such, they are often biased by our desire. Good to realize.
When we are conscious, we know something about what is going on, what we or others are doing, what is happening. Then in our awareness we can do some interpreting and find some meaning in goings on. We can have a critical awareness of our own situation and identity. Remember "critical" is often positive and it is often even loving. Realizing how we feel about what is gong on can be very useful information.
So, we can consider that feelings are a state of consciousness that it can be useful to be aware of.
An emotion may start with the touch of a hand. We may feel it down to the tips of our own fingers and begin quite a lot of interpreting.
It may be useful to think of an emotion as starting in reference to a physical movement, to an activity or a reaction within you, and come to be a strong or not so strong feeling in accord with your interpretation of it.
We do a lot of interpreting. It can be empowering to pay more attention to that doing.
I am led to consider that we often do not find it easy to distinguish between our changing physical states and the meanings we assign to those states. There seems to be a lot we can learn. We may even be called to review and refine the difference between emotion and feeling.
Modern researchers differentiate between emotion and feeling much like this: Emotions are are physical reactions or happenings. Often without much thought, we note our heartbeat quickening, perspiration, coldness, change in breath rate.
While feelings are our 'more advanced' interpretations of those physical changes, usually in relation to a certain context. For example, if, as a man observes the approach of the beautiful significant other in his life, his heartbeat quickens, he may, without much thought, interpret that quickening of heartbeat as love or as enthusiasm or as something else. If the same man is rapidly approached by a large, tooth baring lion and his heartbeat quickens, his interpretation might be fear or excitement, or something else.
Emotions and feelings come early and stay long in perhaps all stages of human development. So, I believe this little discussion has importance.
Even feelings of love come early and stay long. You have probably noted that there are many kinds of love. Discussion of love may best be left to another essay. We can note here that all sorts of love are likely to be effected our desires, and all are subject to our ongoing interpretations.
We can benefit from our awareness of our emotions and feelings. We can benefit from being more aware of our desires. We can benefit from the motivating power of our feelings. There is much we can learn.
RCS