Our emotions play a massive role in the way we operate daily. From our interactions with other people to how we perceive our surroundings and ourselves, the way we feel is what ends up determining the quality of our lives.

When embarking on the inspiring journey of choosing the way we feel, it at first may not seem to be the simplest thing to do, but it is something that we do have control over and it is something that we have to take responsibility for. As so aptly put by ex-president Abraham Lincoln, “People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Sometimes when aware of the way we feel we may find ourselves in negative emotional states, and more often than not the realization that we aren’t feeling good makes us feel even worse. It is not uncommon for us to be in the experience of an emotion like anger and desire to be in the emotion of peace.

However, for most of us switching in an instant from the one emotion to the other is not always easy, and so a more systematic way to approach this task may be to simply acknowledge the emotional state currently experienced and to take ourselves just one small step closer to where we want to be.

Below is the emotional guidance scale extracted from the book “Ask and It Is Given” by Esther and Jerry Hicks. It has often helped my clients, colleagues and I to go through the activity of moving from one state of feeling to the state listed directly above in an attempt to brighten our level of well being. To realize that “where we are, is where we are”, can be very productive and empowering if we use that knowledge in a positive way. So go ahead and begin shifting from one feeling to another and notice how you benefit.

Abraham-Hicks’ Emotional Guidance Scale

1. Joy/Knowledge/Empowerment/Freedom/Love/Appreciation
2. Passion
3. Enthusiasm/Eagerness/Happiness
4. Positive Expectation/Belief
5. Optimism
6. Hopefulness
7. Contentment
8. Boredom
9. Pessimism
10. Frustration/Irritation/Impatience
11. “Overwhelment”
12. Disappointment
13. Doubt
14. Worry
15. Blame
16. Discouragement
17. Anger
18. Revenge
19. Hatred/Rage
20. Jealousy
21. Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness
22. Fear/Grief/Depression/Despair/Powerlessness

“Ask and It Is Given (2004)”, Esther and Jerry Hicks – Page 297

I encourage you to read further into the idea of choosing the way you feel and to follow the activity of being aware of your emotions as often as possible. A great book I often recommend that delves further into the subject is “The Astonishing Power of Emotions” by the same authors (Esther and Jerry Hicks). I can’t say enough good things about this book, because it has had such a wonderful impact on my own life. Feel free to post comments on how the recommended readings and/or the above activity has helped you.

Even though “The Greatest Salesman in the World” is more of a philosophical guide for the noble salesman, the principles Mandino outlines in this beautiful book can be applied by any who seek to achieve a desired set of goals. In fact, I have yet to see a set of principles so well put together as those illustrated in the scrolls of this story. I encourage you to commit the time and energy to implement these principles in your everyday life. Regardless of what your personal endeavour may be, you are bound to see gratifying results. Seminars and workshops devoted to delivering the knowledge of these principles are well known for their ability to transform individuals to high pinnacles of achievement. Now it’s your turn. Here are Og Mandino’s principles for success:

“Only principles endure and these I now possess, for the laws that will lead me to greatness are contained in the words of these scrolls” – “The Greatest Salesman in the World (1968)”, Og Mandino

Principle #1 – Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.

Principle #10 – I will act now.

The following passage is an excerpt from Malcolm Gladwell’s book – “Outliers”, in which he summarizes the intentions of his book by relating the story of a small Pennsylvania town named Roseto, settled by Italian immigrants from Roseto, Italy.

The piece illustrates the unusual circumstances of Roseto, a town where the residents have distinctively better health than its neighbours in proximate towns. Gladwell comments on research done by Bruhn and Wolf who pay specific attention to the low incidence of heart disease in the area, an anomaly considering the residents of Roseto, on the surface, seem to have the same ill behaviours as residents of neighbouring towns where the rates are more than three times as high.

I find the conclusions of these researchers astonishing and at the same time stimulating as it puts to ease a notion I have long held - that our well being lies far beyond the simple matters of base nutritional and environmental needs and depends highly upon the gratification gotten by immersing oneself in emotionally evolved groups and communities.

Few stories have illustrated this idea better than what is written here, and perhaps this story is enough to stimulate us into creating communities so beautiful and connected as Roseto:

“What Wolf began to realize was that the secret of Roseto wasn’t diet or exercise or genes or location. It had to be Roseto itself. As Bruhn and Wolf walked around the town, they figured out why. They looked at how the Rosetans visited one another, stopping to chat in Italian on the street, say, or cooking for one another in their backyards. They learned about the extended family clans that underlay the town’s social structure. They saw how many homes had three generations living under one roof, and how much respect grandparents commanded. They went to mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and saw the unifying and calming effect of the church. They counted twenty-two separate civic organizations in a town of just under two thousand people. They picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community, which discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure their failures.

In transplanting the paesani culture of southern Italy to the hills of eastern Pennsylvania, the Rosetans had created a powerful, protective social structure capable of insulating them from the pressures of the modern world. The Rosetans were healthy because of where they were from, because of the world they had created for themselves in their tiny little town in the hills.” - “Outliers (2008)”, Malcolm Gladwell

Only good can come out of knowing your strengths and weaknesses. In the case of left brain versus right brain dominance knowing how you think and operate is likely to be a useful addition to this list.

If you haven’t heard the theory before, it’s actually quite simple. According to psychologists, each side of the brain controls different types of thinking and people are said to prefer one type of thinking over the other. You can liken it to hand dominance, but with the brain. A person who is “left-brained” is said to be more logical and objective, while a person who is “right-brained” is said to be more intuitive and subjective.

Here’s a quick test you can try right now.

Now try to focus and see if you can change her direction. If you concentrate you’ll be surprised to see that she’s moving in the opposite direction!

In general, the left and right hemispheres of the brain process information in different ways. The Left brain uses logic, is detail oriented, likes facts, words and language, is good with order, is reality based, forms strategies, and is practical. The right brain on the other hand uses feeling, is “big picture” oriented, like symbols and images, not necessarily good with order, is fantasy based, and risk taking.

The question here is not which side is better, but instead how you can integrate the appropriate functioning of both your hemispheres. This comes down to strengthening the less dominate hemisphere of the brain. For example, if you have a difficult time following verbal instruction (often thought to be a right-brain characteristic) you may benefit from writing down directions and developing better organizational skills.

Although we tend to process information using our dominant side, mental abilities are enhanced when both sides of the brain participate in a balanced manner and are actually strongest when both halves of the brain work together. While this idea like is often over generalized, understanding your typical behaviour can help you develop better ways to operate and function in your life.

Here’s a good left brain/right brain test produced by the Art Institute of Vancouver. Give it a try. You might learn something new about yourself.
http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

If you haven’t already watched the highly acclaimed, yet controversial film “The Secret”, it may be that time for you to jump on the band wagon. This presentation, featuring a series of authors, doctors, physicists, and entrepreneurs, was catapulted to public attention through television talk show moguls such as Larry King, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. Those of us not aware of the film are likely still familiar with it general theme and topic - The Law of Attraction, and the idea that our thoughts create our world. Sounds good doesn’t it?

But for those of us who’ve tried it all from affirmations to self approbations, holding on to such an entertaining idea can be challenge. In our work as hypnotherapists, it is not uncommon to find ourselves face to face with individuals who are in a state of despair after several failed attempts toward a specified goal. We’ve all had it happen to us and likely more than once. Why wouldn’t we feel down?

Esther and Jerry Hicks, authors of “Ask and It Is Given” and other books in alignment with The Law of Attraction, have themselves written and spoken about some omitted, but important components to the concepts illustrated in the movie The Secret.

In the field of hypnotherapy, these missed components have to do with an individual’s emotions and how one can establish control over them. Without the appropriate emotional state, any task or activity that could be done with relative ease and naturalness becomes arduous and difficult. This applies not only to physical tasks, but also to mental tasks such as visualization and imagery. It is the ease of these tasks that directly contribute to one’s long term success. The more difficult something feels in our minds, the more difficult it becomes to achieve them in our reality. Consider working through your own emotional blocks to help you attract what you want into your world.