By María Murillo
A fundamental aspect of every human being’s life: emotions. What are they? What purpose do they serve? Where do they come from? Here I will share a practical exercise based on Neuro-Linguistic Programming* that helps CREATE emotions that contribute to building a much more fulfilling life.
According to Wikipedia: Emotions are psychophysiological reactions that represent modes of adaptation to certain environmental or internal stimuli.
Psychologically, emotions alter attention, prioritize certain behaviors that guide an individual’s responses, and activate relevant associative networks in memory.
Physiologically, emotions rapidly organize the responses of various biological systems, including facial expressions, muscles, voice, autonomic nervous system activity, and the endocrine system, in order to establish an optimal internal environment for more effective behavior.
Behaviorically, emotions help establish our position in relation to our environment, propelling us toward certain people, objects, actions, and ideas, and away from others.
Hence the importance of becoming aware of their nature and usefulness, since many of them are a powerful source of health, well-being, and pleasure. While their existence often depends on external factors that trigger them, their origin lies within each of us. Therefore, each and every one of us can choose how long we wish to keep that emotion alive or give birth to a new one.
Practical Exercise: Creating Emotions
– Assume a comfortable posture, preferably seated, with your back straight at a 90-degree angle and well supported by the back of the chair. Extend your arms and legs.
– Close your eyes and connect with your breath. Inhale slowly and deeply, exhale quickly. Repeat until you have completed three deep breaths.
– Now identify which emotion you wish to create in this moment. You can have a list of the emotions you feel you need most today: joy, love, trust, certainty, peace, serenity, harmony… Choose only one to work on at a time.
– – Scan your body from head to toe and identify the location of the emotion you wish to cultivate within yourself.
– Now give it a form. What is it like?
– Give that hue a color, a brightness, an intensity.
– Give it a consistency, a texture.
– Give it a scent. What does joy smell like, for example?
– And once you have identified it, allow it to grow, let it grow as much as it can. And consciously tell it that you allow it to accompany you here and now. Thank it for its presence.
– Let it envelop you. Let it cover you, let every cell, neuron, and pore of your skin be enveloped by the emotion you have chosen.
– And stay there, enjoying its existence.
– Each day upon waking and/or before going to sleep, check in with yourself. By noticing how you feel, you will be able to identify which emotion you wish to cultivate and connect with. Repeat the exercise as many times as you like and become aware of your ability to choose the emotion or emotions you wish to experience more often, through your own free will.
*Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a model of interpersonal communication that focuses primarily on the relationship between successful behaviors and underlying subjective experiences—especially thought patterns. It is also an alternative therapy system that aims to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, as well as to change their mental and emotional patterns of behavior.
