Emotional Consequences of Thought
You Feel What You Think!
You’re constantly experiencing emotions. Often they go unrecognized. Have you ever wondered where emotions come from and what their purpose might be?
There are many human emotions but the five most universally recognized are happiness, sadness, fear, anger and disgust. A common theory about emotions goes something like this. You’re constantly being exposed to internal and external sensations. These sensations consist of things you see, hear, taste, touch, smell, as well as think. Your brain receives these sensations, identifies them and then decides whether or not they are important to your survival.
Emotions are labels your brain assigns to thoughts and physical sensations. These labels help to inform you as to whether what you are experiencing is perceived to be beneficial, or detrimental, based on your established belief system. In other words, your emotions are a survival mechanism.
Close your eyes and think of a recent unpleasant event that occurred. What are the emotions that arise in response to the thought?
Now think of a pleasant event. Again, what are the emotions that arise in response to the thought?
You’re probably beginning to see how powerful your mind is as it creates the constant array of emotions that you experience throughout the day. Your important take-away from this is simply that your feelings are a consequence of your thoughts!
Practice
- When an emotion arises simply note it in your mind, for example, sadness, anger, happiness, etc.
- When you notice that you’re feeling a certain emotion, see if you can figure out what the original thought, or sensation, was that produced the emotion. Then trace the sequence of reactive thoughts that lead to the development of the emotion.
Summary
- Emotions are labels that your brain places on thoughts and physical sensations, to tell you whether what’s being experienced is perceived to be helpful or harmful to your existence.
- Your mind is responsible for the creation of your emotions.