Your Wisdom

• Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks have written many books that deal with emotional awareness. (www.hendricksinstitute.com)
• Dr. Christiane Northrup, who has written many books about women's health and the wisdom that emerges as a result of our menstrual cycles. (www.drnorthrup.com)

Emotional Awareness

I was so delighted to learn about emotional awareness because for 50 years I was so out of touch with my own emotions. Since discovering how to feel and deal with fear, sadness, and anger, I have actually laughed more because I can experience joy when I no longer have to shut down in order to not feel the negative emotions.

If you're like I was and require a train wreck to get in touch with your emotions, it's helpful to know how your body responds to the four major emotions. (All other emotions are simply a blend of these four.) Let's start with some basics:

Fear shows up in your stomach area above your navel and below your ribcage. You may experience sensations such as a knot in your stomach, butterflies, or queasiness.

Anger manifests itself at the top of your shoulders, the back of your neck, between your shoulder blades, and in your jaw. It results in tight, sometimes painful muscles and can cause definite physical problems such as TMJ. The posture may be exacerbated by improper posture at the computer or while driving a car.

Sadness shows up in the chest, front of throat, and eyes. It can be a tightness or heaviness and, as you know can result in tears.

Joy feels like bubbles or energy streaming up the center of your body. As you well know, it erupts as laughter and invokes smiles and crinkles around your eyes.

Awareness Evokes Wisdom

Isn't it fabulous that you have control over your wisdom. Use your emotional awareness as your compass and your wisdom grows! Here's how I coach my clients about using their emotions to guide their actions:

• Identify the issue clearly. Here are a few examples of clarity:
  • I want to change jobs, what's stopping me?
  • What's up with my relationship with so-and-so?
  • When I'm moving toward my goal, why do I always get stuck in the same place?
• Take several deep breaths and ask yourself, "How do I feel about this issue?"
• Scan your body for sensations:
  • Belly/solar plexus
  • Lower Back
  • Chest
  • Throat
  • Shoulders
  • Jaw
  • Back of your neck
• Note the emotion associated with the area(s) you notice:
  • Belly/solar plexus and lower back = Fear
  • Chest and throat = Sadness
  • Shoulders, jaw, back of neck, between shoulder blades = Anger
• Once you identify the emotions, ask yourself, "What might I fear/be angry about/be sad about concerning this issue?"

Learning from Symptoms

One of the best resources I know for identifying the underlying meaning of symptoms is Louise Hays book: Heal Your Body. When you use your own wisdom and intuition, you can make many discoveries about what your body is telling you.