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Learning to Appreciate Your Feelings Exercises
LEARNING TO APPRECIATE YOUR FEELINGS EXERCISES
***Warning: Folks with a history of mental illness, severe trauma, or panic are urged not to use this process without a therapist. If you decide to use this process you will agree to absolve the webmasters, the server, Steve Mensing, and Emoclear.com of any responsibility for either the application or misaplication of these exercises. Within any emotional or mental process is the possibility that someone could experience discomfort. So proceed with this warning. ***
(c) Steve Mensing
*Engaging the spectrum of feelings in light reverie or in deeper trance and noting how they've been helpful, even though painful in the past, can lead to an underlying sense of appreciation. Someone can recall feelings' yeomen like duty in various situations. If someone wants to daydream about their emotional past they can do so while allowing the all seeing eye of their unconscious to review the small miracles and wonders our little friends performed. Our unconscious is stocked with all kinds of memories and resources it can appreciatively link to our emotions and feelings.
*Someone could go emotion by emotion and feel them through recalling or imagining situations where the feelings became intense and held their ground for our resisting attention. Then when a feeling is in full view, we pop the magic question to them. "After I have gained an appreciation and acceptance of you, how will I feel? What good and valuable things will I have noticed about you?" Your unconscious, after intutitively tuning into your feelings, will answer those questions for you and in doing so will lay down attitudes leading to future appreciation.
*You could use the "Resistance/Acceptance Scale, which is basically a rating scale of resistance/acceptance, ranging from overwhelming hate/can't stand your feelings to loving and fully appreciating them. Jot this scale down on a piece of paper. (This scale could also be used instead of the SUD Scale for measuring progress in emotional processing and integration work). Here goes:
RESISTANCE/ACCEPTANCE SCALE
(10) Overwhelmingly hate/Overwhelmingly can't stand my feelings.
(9) Strongly hate/ Strongly can't stand my feelings.
(8) Hate my feelings/can't stand my feelings.
(7) Mildly hate.
(6) Very much dislike my feelings.
(5) Dislike my feelings.
(4) Experiencing some negativity toward my feelings.
(3) Putting up with and not quite accepting my feelings.
(2) Accept/have some appreciation for my feelings.
(1) Love/have strong appreciation for my feelings.
When you've written down this scale, ask yourself what your various resisted feelings would feel like at each number on the Resistance/Acceptance Scale. This exercise can lead to developing acceptance/appreciation or even love/strong appreciation for a feeling. Let your unconscious do this intutive work. Feel the resisted feeling and ask it how it would feel at each number on the scale. Start from 10 and work your way down. When you arrive at (2) and (1) you can reinforce these emotional experiences by intuitively asking your feeling these questions:
(a) Feeling what would you feel like if I accepted and had some appreciation toward you? What would I appreciate about you? Is there anything else I would appreciate about you?
(b) Feeling what would you feel like if I loved and strongly appreciated you? What would I strongly appreciate about you? Is there anything else I would strongly appreciate about you?
SOME TIPS FOR DOING RESISTANCE/ACCEPTANCE SCALE
*Place your right palm on your heartbeat region for the duration of the exercise and do some left nasal dominance breathwork prior to doing the scale. Simply pinch your right nostril shut and breathe deeply and fully through your left nostril only for 12 inhalations and exhalations. When you've concluded this left nasal dominance breathing, then remove your finger and return to regular breathing.
*Make sure you are properly hydrated prior to this exercise.
*Closing your eyes can help in tuning into each emotion. Use each of your 5 senses in evoking memories or imaginal imagery to stimulate your emotional reaction. Hear what happened. See what happened. Feel what happened. Taste what happened. Smell what happened.
*Fully feel your feelings and allow them to be there without attempting to get rid of them or keep them.
Have fun, Steve