How to Travel the Emotion Wheel
The Emotion Wheel Series: Part 1
This process shall move you through your emotional states, if you find yourself trapped in an emotion.
All 7 of these emotions are good, and serve a purpose of centering us in the Lord, but they can also become overwhelming when they grow too great, and threaten to control us, rather than guide us. Therefore, there is a process by which we can travel out of a specific emotion, and - unsurprisingly - that process is Biblical.
Beatitudes and Emotion Wheel
The 8 Beatitudes (Matt 5: 3-12) apply to the 7 basic emotions, in a concrete way.
Fear: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sadness: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Contentment: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Anger: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Indifference: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Happiness: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Excitement: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
There is also one general beatitude, which does not correspond to an emotion, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” A soul may be in any emotion, while bearings wrongs against himself.
When moving through the process of releasing our emotions, we usually begin in anger, fear, or sadness, for these emotions, being unpleasant, wake us up to our emotional process. When we find ourselves in anger, or with fear, or with intense mourning… no matter what emotion we find ourselves in, if we begin to take the action step associated with the emotion, we will begin to heal from it.
The emotions move naturally in a clockwise direction, leading one into the other. Once you address anger, ask yourself what you fear. Once you face the fear, what is it that fills you with sadness? Once you have mourned, ask yourself what leaves you feeling indifferent. After that, what are you content to let be? Then, what are you happy about? Finally, what is it you look forward to with excitement?
The Steps:
Example 1: Anger over Harm Done to Little Children
I found myself angry, one morning, about sin in the world, and the consequences of sin on little children. Finding myself overwhelmed, I stopped to consider, and put words to my emotions.
Step 1: Why am I angry?
Answer: I am angry because sin has pervaded our entire reality!
Step 2: What do I fear?
Answer: I fear that it shall consume God’s little ones, and never be defeated.
Step 3: What am I mourning?
Answer: I am mourning the loss of the preternatural gifts in the garden of Eden, and the necessity of evil, because of our first parents’ sin.
Step 4: What do I feel indifferent toward?
Answer: I feel indifferent as to whether or not evil people go to hell, so long as they cease violating little children.
Step 5: What am I contented in?
Answer: I feel contentment in regard to the purity of little ones. My soul rests in the goodness of their hearts.
Step 6: What am I happy about?
Answer: That the Lord does not hold little children responsible for the evil others force them to commit.
Step 7: What am I excited about?
Answer: The redemption the Lord is working in our world!
That was a deep process, but since it was what I was feeling just now, it served as a good example. It is easy for me to want to blame myself for how I feel, in certain stages, especially the Anger and Indifferent stages… But our feelings are not moral judgements - they are feelings. And it’s important to be honest about them, or else we remain stuck in an emotion, unable to move forward.
Once we acknowledge the emotional reality, we can take a deep breath, and entrust everything back to the Lord. He has the little children in His Will, and I can only care for those in front of me, whereas He cares for the entire world, with more love than I can fathom!
Example 2: Sorrow Over Missing My Boyfriend
Step 1: What am I mourning?
Answer: The absence of the one I love.
Step 2: What am I indifferent about?
Answer: Any impediments that keep us apart.
Step 3: What am I contented in?
Answer: His presence and love.
Step 4: What am I happy about?
Answer: That I love him, and he loves me, and we both deeply love God.
Step 5: What am I excited about?
Answer: Seeing him again.
Step 6: What am I angry about?
Answer: That he’s not taking more concrete steps to come see me, and be with me all the time!
Step 7: What do I fear?
Answer: I fear I will live in a state of misery for months on end, not being with him, as my heart longs for!
The greatest insight tends to come at the very last stage, which is the emotion directly preceding the one we are first aware of. This brings emotional catharsis, even if it doesn’t bring answers.
I invite you, next time you are experiencing an intense emotion, to try out this process for yourself, and see if it works for you, and brings you peace.
“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.”