Emotions are energy in motion.

They are a shift.
A change in an inner process.
A portal into the now.

Many times, emotions arise from a new experience, a new event, or a new realization.

Something happens.
Something changes.
Something becomes clear.

And emotion moves through us as a reaction.

We Often Go Back to the Story

Because emotions often arise from events, we tend to go back to the event that created the emotion.

We replay it.
We revisit it.
We return to the story.

And when we do that, we often create more of the same emotion.

You can do this on purpose, of course. If you want to experience a certain emotion, you can go back to the event, and the emotion will be created in you again.

But emotions are also an opportunity to look at the now.

Because emotions bring the past into the present.

And once the past is here, you have a choice.

You can keep living inside the old event…

Or you can let go of the past and focus on what is present now.

The Questions That Bring You Back

Ask yourself:

What is here now?
What do I feel now?
Where do I feel it?
What is it like?
If it were a metaphor, a picture, or an image, what would it look like?

When you do this, you allow the energy to keep moving through you.

And when the energy keeps moving, something new can be created.

The Body Carries What We Don’t Process

The body feels emotion.

And the body can carry emotion for a long time.

If we don’t focus on what we are experiencing now, we can carry emotions for years.

We carry the event with us because we never processed it.

But it’s not only about processing the past.

It’s about processing the present.

A Simple Example

You might notice:

“I feel tired.
I feel like I have no desire right now.
I feel numb.
I just want to lie down and do nothing.”

So you ask:

“Where do I feel that?”

And maybe the answer is:

“I feel it in my arms.
My arms are going lower and lower.
My shoulders are dropping down.”

Then you stay curious.

“If I could draw this, what would it look like?
How does it look right now?”

And maybe you see an image:

“It looks like I’m sinking into hot sand.
It’s like a dune, and I’m there in the dune.”

Then you ask:

“What is it like?”

And you listen:

“It’s warm.
It’s soft.
I can feel the airflow on my face,
but my body just wants to stay in the dune, in the warmth.”

Then you keep going:

“What’s coming up now?”

And something new appears:

“I realize the dune is so nice,
but I have a mission.
I’ve got to go.”

So you ask:

“Where do I want to go?”

And the answer comes:

“I want to take a cold, cold shower.”

Then the meaning becomes clearer:

“This is a desire to tell my body that I need him with me today.
I need him to listen to me today and trust me.
I love my body, and I want to nurture it and give it the best things I can.
I know it feels nice to stay here in the sand,
but we need to go to the cold ocean, take a bath,
and then go do some service for others.”

You See What Happened?

This is how you can process emotion in yourself.

You stay curious.

You give the emotion shape and form.

You feel what it is like.

You experience it.

And when you do that, you receive:

• more richness
• more context
• more awareness

Then something new can show up:

• a new decision
• a new choice
• a new emotion
• a new energy

Because emotion is a request to become present.

To shift.
To notice what is happening.
To notice what is coming up right now.

And once you become conscious, you get to choose.