Even emotion words can be laden with meaning that may be entrenched or stale or at times just too narrow for all that we are feeling. When we use these words we may quickly and unknowingly foreclose on the range of new or different or unanticipated experiences that we might otherwise get to have had we stayed a bit more open to the wonder of all that we were actually feeling. Yet in the face of meaning-laden language, we can do more. We can turn toward other ways of perceiving. In any given moment, we can sense and feel temperature, contraction and release, energy, sound, image, biological drives, taste, smell, texture, balance, vibration, chemical reaction, heart rate, physiological response, spirits, mystery, qualities of existence, the soul, and more. Describe something you're feeling right now without emotion words. How does this relate or not relate for you to emotion?
[image description: A heart with a quizzical facial expression stands holding its chin with one hand and scratching its forehead with its other hand. The heart is surrounded by emotion words: "joy," "love," "sadness," "disgust," "fear," "anger," and "interest." Around that the heart and the words are encased in bubbles of color that grow darker toward the edges. Text reads: "Beginner's heart isn't certain what it's feeling."]
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