7 Human Emotions

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While dozens of human emotions exist, each of us has one of seven root emotions.

(For a general list of emotions, go to this page.)

Before I list the 7 human root emotions, it might be helpful to understand a little more about what the word 'emotion' really means.

An emotion is a package of thoughts and feelings. Nothing more- nothing less. You experience a never-ending flow of thoughts. (No surprise there!) But you also have a never-ending flow of feelings.

Out of these two streams- the stream of thought and the stream of feeling- come the artificial labels we call 'emotions'.

Anger is a package of thoughts and feelings. Fear, joy, happiness, sadness; they're all labels we use to try to explain and understand our thoughts and feelings. Emotions are labels we use in an attempt to gain some bit of control over what we're feeling.

Obviously, labels have their place. It's good to be able to describe what we experience. But it's much more important to understand the streams of thought and feeling.

Let it in: a never-ending flow of thoughts and feelings constantly and continuously bubble up inside you

Now let's look at those root emotions.

The 7 Human Root Emotions

The root emotions:

Shame.
Anger.
Fear.
Despair.
Lonliness.
Hurt.
Pity.

One of these seven is your root emotion.

It may be the one you feel the most, but it doesn't have to be.

Your root emotion resembles an anchor. It's the one you 'return to' as you go through your trials and tribulations.

You use it to justify and rationalize and explain to yourself 'why things are going the way they are'.

Oftentimes, it's the emotion you 'wallow' in. It's the one you're most comfortable with. It's the one that makes the most sense.

And usually it's the one emotion you never question:

"Of course I'm angry! Look what they did!"

"Of course I'm scared! Look what might happen!"

"Of course I feel shame! Look at my childhood!"

"Of course I'm lonely! Look at..."

Obviously, all of the 7 human root emotions are felt by everyone at one time or another. Because thoughts and feelings are a gift, as humans, we have the right to feel and think anything we want. Nothing can take away that right because it's a 'human gift'.

But you've latched onto one of those emotions. You've made it more than it was meant to be.

Start by going over the list of the 7 root emotions. Let yourself feel each one- one at a time. Like trying on a new outfit. Give yourself permission to feel each one with wreckless abandon. Immerse yourself. Fill yourself- fully and completely- with each one. Let it absorb into your skin. Imagine yourself as a sponge.

Now here's the key point:

While a sponge will just sit there filled with water, you can channel that emotion right through you.

Imagine your eliminatory canal. You take food and water into your mouth, the nutritive value is extracted by your digestive system, and the waste passes right through you and leaves your body.

In a similar fashion, you can take in each emotion, extract power and energy from it, and release it. When you 'clearly' feel any emotion, you'll always feel more alive. And it always releases.

As you go through these 7 emotions, look for the one that seems a little too familiar, a little too strong, a little to deep. Most likely, that's your root emotion.

Remember- the root emotion is the one you always return to. The problem is, it's also the one that can clog up your streams of thoughts and feelings.

As I mention in my free e-book on emotional healing, you have a well-spring inside you. The thoughts and feelings come through the well-spring.

Well, your root emotion is sort of like a layer of rocks that impede the flow of those streams. By learning about your root emotion -the 'heaviest' emotion you experience- you can work to alleviate its influence.

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