Thanks Andrea, You will see that I slightly updated the post to include bodily sensations under feelings. Thanks for mentioning that to me. I definitely include bodily sensations there. I used to say that emotions were just bodily sensations interpreted in words. But I am not so sure now. In my own meditation practice, I notice free floating emotions that appear more like impulses than bodily sensations. There is a sense I have had to learn of trusting these disembodied 'feelings' as guiding me in useful ways, but I cannot isolate a sensation with them. Do you have a similar experience or is this just me?
Thanks Paul. You've captured something very profound about the interplay between different aspects of our inner experience.
I often perceive emotions and thoughts lingering in a mental space where they seem to amplify one another. Paying attention to the sensations that arise in the body feels like a way to ground the experience, bringing it back to something more tangible and helping to step out of the never-ending stories of the mind that only stir emotions further.
The intensity of the emotion does seem to make a significant difference. Strong emotions often bring clear and unmistakable visceral sensations—like a racing heart or tightness in the chest—making them easier to notice. In contrast, mild emotions might affect the body in such subtle ways that they’re almost imperceptible unless we really tune in. A crucial part of my contemplative practice has been to increase my bodily awareness so I can become ever more sensitive to what goes on within my body, no matter how mild it might be.
This sounds very wise to me Andrea. I also find refuge in orienting more towards the sensations that are present and just allowing them to be as they are. And I think you are right about the 'strength' of emotions. Strong emotions definitely do show up clearly in the body. I think I had in mind the more subtle ones that are there whenever we check in. Like right now I have some sense of satisfaction that you seem to get what I said, and that we are in resonance, but it doesnt really show up in my body except as a kind of ease I think. Or at least I cannot discern it. That said, this is probably because so much of my day is disembodied. I think when I have come out of a 10 day retreat and I am highly attuned to my body, I am more able to sense the sensation aspects of emotions.
Thanks, Paul. This is such an interesting conversation. I’ve been reflecting on how inner experiences sometimes lean toward neutral thoughts that don’t seem to trigger much of an emotional response or sensation. Yet, I’ve also noticed how my body often reveals emotions I’m not fully conscious of. For example, I might feel relatively relaxed while doing or thinking something, but when I check in with my body, I’ll notice contractions or other sensations that make me realize there’s an emotional background I hadn’t been aware of.
It’s fascinating to consider how much of the story our body tells through sensations comes from the present moment versus being shaped by emotional habits or remnants of past traumatic experiences. There’s so much complexity in inner experience that it can be hard to even know if we’re truly talking about the same thing when we try to describe it!
Thanks. That was very helpful!
Thanks Andrea, You will see that I slightly updated the post to include bodily sensations under feelings. Thanks for mentioning that to me. I definitely include bodily sensations there. I used to say that emotions were just bodily sensations interpreted in words. But I am not so sure now. In my own meditation practice, I notice free floating emotions that appear more like impulses than bodily sensations. There is a sense I have had to learn of trusting these disembodied 'feelings' as guiding me in useful ways, but I cannot isolate a sensation with them. Do you have a similar experience or is this just me?
Thanks Paul. You've captured something very profound about the interplay between different aspects of our inner experience.
I often perceive emotions and thoughts lingering in a mental space where they seem to amplify one another. Paying attention to the sensations that arise in the body feels like a way to ground the experience, bringing it back to something more tangible and helping to step out of the never-ending stories of the mind that only stir emotions further.
The intensity of the emotion does seem to make a significant difference. Strong emotions often bring clear and unmistakable visceral sensations—like a racing heart or tightness in the chest—making them easier to notice. In contrast, mild emotions might affect the body in such subtle ways that they’re almost imperceptible unless we really tune in. A crucial part of my contemplative practice has been to increase my bodily awareness so I can become ever more sensitive to what goes on within my body, no matter how mild it might be.
This sounds very wise to me Andrea. I also find refuge in orienting more towards the sensations that are present and just allowing them to be as they are. And I think you are right about the 'strength' of emotions. Strong emotions definitely do show up clearly in the body. I think I had in mind the more subtle ones that are there whenever we check in. Like right now I have some sense of satisfaction that you seem to get what I said, and that we are in resonance, but it doesnt really show up in my body except as a kind of ease I think. Or at least I cannot discern it. That said, this is probably because so much of my day is disembodied. I think when I have come out of a 10 day retreat and I am highly attuned to my body, I am more able to sense the sensation aspects of emotions.
Thanks, Paul. This is such an interesting conversation. I’ve been reflecting on how inner experiences sometimes lean toward neutral thoughts that don’t seem to trigger much of an emotional response or sensation. Yet, I’ve also noticed how my body often reveals emotions I’m not fully conscious of. For example, I might feel relatively relaxed while doing or thinking something, but when I check in with my body, I’ll notice contractions or other sensations that make me realize there’s an emotional background I hadn’t been aware of.
It’s fascinating to consider how much of the story our body tells through sensations comes from the present moment versus being shaped by emotional habits or remnants of past traumatic experiences. There’s so much complexity in inner experience that it can be hard to even know if we’re truly talking about the same thing when we try to describe it!