Feelings
“Emotions originate as sensations in the body. Feelings are influenced by our emotions but are generated from our mental thoughts.”
As soon as I saw today’s value word, I time-traveled back to the late 70s when the song “Feelings” was first released. I played piano in a wedding band (yes, it’s true) around that time and that song was on our playlist. I _despised_ that song especially about 1.5 hours into a wedding reception, when most of the attendees were three-sheets to the wind and they would sing along. It made an already depressing song that much more depressing.
But I digress…
I found the definition for today’s MotD on the Dakota Family Services site. Essentially they are saying that “feelings are our thoughts about the emotions we experience, and can sometimes be distorted or inaccurate.” While “emotions result from external stimuli and are sensations caused by the release of chemicals from the brain.”
Based on this information, it would appear that we can choose our feelings based on our thoughts…in other words: change your thoughts—> change your feelings. Have you ever had that experience where at first you’re upset about something but then a few seconds later of thinking about it, your initial thought about has changed and now you’re not upset any more.
For example, you’re ready to go out for the evening, maybe going out to dinner with a friend and then at the last minute the friend calls to cancel. At first you may be upset or disappointed, but upon further review you realize that “great…I can stay home in comfy clothes, watch a movie or read a book I’ve been want to check out.” Who hasn’t had that experience.
It would seem, on the surface, that “feelings” are frivolous but in reality they can be a significant helper in letting us know where are thoughts are in that moment…and because we just learned that thoughts trigger feelings (at least I did)…we are now in a position of power because we can change our mind about that thought…thus changing how we feel. Seems like a super power to me.
How about you? Are feelings a core value for you?
BTW…here’s what it looked like to begin with…
joyfully,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
inspiring and encouraging creativity, curiosity, and play through the art of mandalas
About the 2024 Mandalas of the Day
Each day I will create and post a mandala inspired by one of 366 “value” words chosen randomly. The objective being to discover for myself which ones would best represent my core values…and by doing so, I hope it inspires you to determine your own.
Mandala of the Day 