How are you feeling? Good? Bad? Happy? Sad? We get asked this question all the time but we rarely ever answer honestly or even accurately. How can we when the model we use to gauge our emotions is so one-dimensional.
Have you ever met someone with the “Eeyore” type personality? I bet you’ve joked around with them and in that moment they felt happy even if their overall mood was negative. How about a person who is always energetic and full of life? I bet you’ve seen them when they are sad.
It is my belief that there are two main types of emotion. Major state and Minor state. Major state is the overall attitude and view you have of the world and for simplicity’s sake can be divided into two basic states; Negative and Positive. Minor state is the more immediate “current” emotion (but seen through the “lens” of the major state).
Major state tends to change slowly if at all, in most people. Minor state fluctuates rapidly. If major state does shift rapidly from (for example) Negative to Positive, the emotional disparity between those states can cause extreme excitement and one tends to “spiral” upward.
If one spirals too high they eventually become emotionally exhausted. This leads to a major state shift from positive to negative and the emotional disparity between those two states causes one sadness and exhaustion and they tend to spiral downward.
So if you are caught in that cycle or just have a negative major state, how can you achieve a healthy positive-balanced state?
Meditation is an excellent tool for this, but if you find it hard to sit still or “think no thoughts” then go out for a walk, or go on the bus, or listen to music, etc. Whatever method you decide to use, try what to do what I simply call “observing”.
People sometimes have a hard time “not thinking” because like I mentioned before they are trying to “think no thoughts” which is (keyword: THINK no thoughts) still a thought. So instead of focusing on not thinking, try “Observing”. This is how I start observing(this applies to whatever method you choose):
Start by thinking about time. What is the past? It is a memory and a memory is a thought. What is the future? It is expectation and expectation is a thought. The only part of time that is real and tangible is the present.
The present can not be measured because where does it begin? Where does it end?There is only one eternal moment that we are always at the apex of. This is not to say that yesterday didn’t happen or that tomorrow will not come, but simply that they do not exist right now. And now is where we always are. So be in this moment.
Start to take everything in; the sights, the sounds, the smells, etc. Observe everything all at once without focusing or reflecting on it. Just notice. Be in the moment and notice how much more detailed and vibrant everything is. You should start to feel balanced and when you decide to start thinking again, think positively. Your emotional states should be “tuned” (or tuning) to Positive(major) and Balanced(minor).
A tip of advice for people who achieve a positive state when you are used to a negative one. When you go to sleep you may wake up to find your major state has shifted back to negative. Do not worry and do not let yourself spiral downward. Simply just keep meditating/observing. It may take some time for positive major to become your “default” state.
