What are Emotions?

Have you ever thought about what your emotions really are? We all have "issues" with our emotions every once in a while (if not incredibly more often than that). But do we really understand them enough to know what to do about them?

From what I understand, there are multiple theories to explain our emotions (of course it couldn't be simple!) It seems like emotions are both a reaction to changes in the body and a reaction to our thoughts about our experience. My interest is in thinking of emotion as a response to our thoughts.

Two people can see the exact same thing and end up feeling completely different about it. The difference is everything that goes on in these two people's heads. What's significant about that? Well, though not necessarily an easy proposition, each one of us has the ability to change the way we think - and if what we think affects what we feel then we have the power to change how we feel!

So how does your mind decide how you "feel" about a certain thought? What makes something a happy thought and something else an angry thought? This is also a complicated question but I think your mind basically compares your thought to what your goals and desires are and picks a feeling based on that. If you think something is getting in the way of what you want, you might be angry. If you suffer a loss to what you want, you feel sad. If you get what you want or at least take a step towards it, you feel happy. When you're wondering what to change your thoughts to, consider that you want your goals and your thoughts to be compatible.

On a spiritually-minded side note, the more you are in touch with your Higher Self (or your spirit, the Universe or God), and the more you can set your goals in alignment with that part of you, the more your emotions can become a compass for your spirit. Your emotions can become a wonderful spiritual tool, teaching you from moment to moment whether you are moving in-line with God or not.

Instead of thinking of your emotions as something that just happen to you, think of them as a wonderful tool that you just haven't quite learned how to use yet!