Good morning…
Many of you have written to ask more about the EMOTION WHEEL talked about in yesterday’s blog post, Treasure Each Tuesday. So, I went on a treasure hunt to find a copy of a similar image for our written word community, and viola! Here it is. Take a moment to look over the emotions detailed above. What do you notice yourself noticing?
I find this diagram incredibly helpful. Regardless of our age or our skin tone, our socioeconomic level or our family history, we each have a body which is designed with five senses. As we become more in tune with the sensations in our own body, we can shape our experience in the moment by our conscious awareness.
As I seek to deepen down into the experiences of my body, I can activate the peaceful power of the Holy Spirit implanted in me. As you seek to deepening down into your innermost being, might you also feel the healing power of peace? Could it be that the Lord is leading us all to deepen down, to sip from God’s endless, inner stream of living water?
Then on the most important day of the feast, the last day, Jesus stood and shouted out to the crowds—“All you thirsty ones, come to me! Come to me and drink! Believe in me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says!” (John 7:37-38, TPT). The footnote here says, “rivers of living water will flow from his throne within. A drink becomes a river!”
As we used EMOTION-SENSATION WHEEL last week in our PAWkids staff training hour, we were each encouraged to ask ourselves, “As I pay attention to my own body, where am I on this wheel right now?” Personally I felt myself “quiet” and “gut-turning” in a brand new situation. Others around the table identified different sensations. “Heaviness.” “Heart racing.” “Numb.” “Headache.” “Jumpy.”
Looking at the wheel, we discovered the emotions beneath our bodily sensations. For example, “numb” connects to “distant” which is an offshoot of “anger.” “Quiet” connects to “insecure” which is an offshoot of “fear.” “Heaviness” connects to “lonely” which is an offshoot of “sad.”
As a diverse group, black and white, young and old, newcomers and old-faithfuls, we were then guided to relax into our breath. Just as each of us has a sensing body, all of us have been given the gift of breath to fill our lungs. Breathing is free, available to all, any moment of the day or night. Breathing consciously for two minutes, we followed three simple rules.
- Breathe in and out of your nose (oxygen in, carbon dioxide out).
- Breathe slowly.
- Exhale longer than you inhale.
After two minutes, we unpacked the new sensations in our bodies. I felt myself leaning back into my chair more, feeling the support of God’s tangible presence with me as I relaxed into a new group. Another woman felt like she wanted to jump out of her skin. She needed to open her eyes so she did not get sucked down into her rising anxiety. (Later I learned that her cancer had just returned.) Still another person said his heaviness lifted, he felt lighter. Settling down into God’s presence in the moment, he felt less alone in a difficult situation he was facing.
We learned that, through focusing on our breath, we can shift our experience in our body. We can move from what we are thinking into what we are actually feeling. When we notice our feelings in the moment, we can breathe into a different experience as we activate the Holy Spirit living within us. Breathing consciously with God, we become a non-anxious presence in the midst of anxious situations we face every day.
Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding; a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity.
A sound mind makes for a robust body, but runaway emotions corrode the bones.
You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you’re kind to the poor, you honor God (Proverbs 14:29-31, MSG).
Relaxing into our bodies as we work through our mixed emotions, may the Spirit of God make us slow to anger, sound in mind, and kind to the poor.
…Sue…
