“Emotional Intelligence. You’ve heard the term. I will define it as the ability to use your emotions, feelings, moods — and the emotions, feelings, moods of others — as a source of information that allows you to make better choices so that you can navigate more effectively throughout life.”
–Dr. Hendrie Weisinger
Navigation.
Emotions are about navigation.
When worked with constructively, nurtured, integrated, used as powerful tools, and allowed to run their course, they provide you with valuable information.
Information about yourself, your life, and your place in it.
Information that can mobilize you to greater response ability and emotional resilience.
But when neglected, emotions set your navigation system out of kilter. They buffet you around, leaving you confused and without comfort. They hijack your conscious logic, and your Ego takes the reins.
So think about this the next time you start to feel… uncomfortable. Icky.
Will you suppress your emotional reaction? Try to destroy it with unconditional love and white light? Try to meditate it into oblivion? Or kill it in some other way?
If you do, you’ll likely get lost.
Each time you ignore your internal emotional navigation system, you lose access to important information about yourself, your life, and your place in it.
(You lose a part of yourself.)
So think about this the next time you start to feel… uncomfortable. Icky.
How will you use your icky emotions to better navigate your life?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Melissa,
Will you elaborate on the line: Try to destroy it with unconditional love and white light?
I understand the other ways we tend to kill our emotional reactions, but this one isn’t obvious to me.
Thanks, love your blog.
Kelley, great question!
I haven’t yet gone into the details — as it’s definitely subtle — but will soon and then link back to it in that sentence. :) It’s kind of like a hint for what is coming up. ;)
Oh, I see. Interesting! Looking forward to it!
Our emotions are powerful in controlling our actions and decisions in life. However, I believe that we should try our best to step above its influence. Only by mastering ourselves can we be able to transgress our limitations. :-)
I can understand where you’re coming from Walter, but “stepping above” implies a negative judgment of our emotions as being inferior somehow from “us.” As biological humans, we are constrained by our physical bodies, of which emotions are a vital part of.
I do believe that self-mastery is important. It’s good to know when, where, and why you are experiencing certain emotions, when possible. But I think it’s an illusion to have mastery over all of your emotional reactions — being able to do so would be, something other than “human.”
That’s why I don’t promote “stepping above” emotions, but working with them at their level. It’s much more realistic and productive in the end. :)