Our Emotions trigger Feelings, our Feelings trigger Thoughts, and Thoughts are Things!

Thoughts manifest into a reality that is not always welcoming. If we learn to experience our Thoughts as an observer, acknowledging and being aware of them yet not taking possession of them, we can be free of the Thoughts that serve us no productive purpose.

The fundamental difference between emotions and feelings is that emotions are experienced consciously as sensations in the body (in real-time), while feelings are influenced by our emotions and manifest either consciously or subconsciously into Thoughts. Those thoughts become the Things in our reality which dictate our lives. Some people may spend years, or even a lifetime, not understanding the depths of their emotions; humans experience many emotions. This range of emotions is impacted by such factors as behavior, culture, and previous traumatic experiences. The “positive and the negative influencers” are recorded in our minds from the time we are born to around the time we emerge as teenagers. Then we are adults left to deal with our “recorded realities.”

As people, we are always changing, every time we exit our environment into another we do not come back the same being.  Just exposure to a beautiful garden along the way can change the way we perceive things, a pleasing beautiful rose, what an aroma, or thorns, ouch won’t touch that again. The brain is almost always in the process of learning something new, it steers away from change, the brain is a creature of habits, rigid when it comes to change, our perfectionist brain will keep at the same behavior even if is detrimental to us. This understanding is key to change in what we may call our dysfunctional behavior, which serves us no purpose.

For example, we may get a physical sensation of fight or flight, and those feelings turn us to fear, and that fear turns into thoughts-realities that are non-existent. Like you are in the middle of an earthquake about to fall into a crevice, yet that is probably not ever going to happen: fear. This fear can and most likely will send us into a state of stress, self-doubt, and overthinking, which all lead to inflammatory conditions in the body, which can and do lead to the manifestation of chronic diseases.

My experience is that we need to be more considerate and kinder to ourselves when uncomfortable situations arise for us in our minds. In the process of “Becoming”, we are always developing and fine-tuning one or the other of our many qualities, and it is a natural part of this process that things tend to get out of balance. This may be upsetting to us, or the people around us, but we can trust that it’s a normal part of the work of self-development.

Self-development: This is where the 8 disciplines of Holistic Wellness come into play. If we are conscious of the 8 disciplines we can achieve contentment, and balance throughout life.  As well, the 8 disciplines set the grounds for living what is now called an “anti-inflammatory lifestyle.” We now have access to empirical data showing that the anti-inflammatory lifestyle, (many of the philosophies of the Holistic Health (Natural Hygiene) movement that Dr. Herbert Shelton set into motion in the earlier part of the 20^th century have been adapted here)¹ is the key to health and longevity.

Moving on: We can start by not giving so much power to the intensity of the stories that our minds create, and we can apply whatever the context of those stories to the What, When, and How in your reality. This technique, when feelings get triggered, helps us to start to dig, dig, and dig into our fears without judgment. Judgment will only make it difficult to discern what is happening in real-time (the present moment) and can and will make it difficult to make it past the fear stage so much so that we may linger in that discomfort without ever affecting change to our behavior. We fear whatever moment, we do not affect change to it. 

Thoughts are things: Thoughts materialize from patterns of behavior that our brains identify as a “purpose that is self-serving” whether it serves us or not. Until we face the unwanted “purpose” in our rigid, perfectionist, habit-forming brain we can rest assured that we will have a battle pushing out from the Self-destructive, and move towards Self-benefiting actions resulting in Health-promoting habits.  We need to be at peace with ourselves and get centered, vibrate to an energy that lets us face whatever the fear, and without judgment or as an impartial observer,  decide what power we are going to give over to the perpetrator in our thoughts.

We all benefit from identifying triggers as our first step. With that comes an awareness that identifies what does not align with our actions or what affects our behavior in negative ways. Identify and acknowledge them, even name them. Get to know them. Let them know they can exist yet not come into our reality, our comfort zone.

Once triggers are identified write them down. Journal, write down when it was,  what it was and how it was that made you “feel an emotion that lead to a thought” that materialized into something other than ideal. Find out where it originated, and how your body felt, stop and acknowledge what your body is telling you about thoughts and things that make you fear. Acknowledge, self-soothe, and gain intelligence over your self-agency.

In the first step, we became aware of emotions and feelings by practicing awareness and contemplation instead of fight or flight. We now accept them. Accepting them means you can allow them to exist within your reality. This takes strength and conviction and a state of grace and gratefulness that you will come out the other side in a sunnier space. They are, by the way, part of us, that committee in your head that tries to advise you every minute of the day.

Thirdly, we put into play and regularly practice a mindful type of living. A living centered around what brings us power over our thoughts to improve our self-agency and bring us peace of mind (Holistic Wellness). Here is an example: our minds race and the brain is already in a Thought way before we even knew what was about to hit. Our instincts to fight or flight trigger. What to do?

Breathe! Just breathe. Take a breath. Yes, a breath. A deep lung-expanding breath. A deep conscious breath helps us come back to reality; there is no brown bear ready to attack us, there is no one chasing us, and there is no danger. The breath triggers the parasympathetic nervous system to calm us down. This breath lets us experience the beautiful serenity of calm.

As we become well aware of our triggers we can redirect our attention and focus the mind on taking the power back to change thoughts into powerful vessels of change.

The bottom line: Learn how to express ourselves, our emotions, our need, all that seems to be locked up building pressure. Find a healthy outlet and release the pressure, physical activity, cry, run, laugh (laugh a lot), meditate, do things that matter, and meet people who complement your being. Make intentions for your life. Each day fill your life with purpose, and set boundaries as we know that “this too shall pass.”

Understanding feelings, emotions, and the thoughts and things that result from conditioning can be difficult to overcome yet with the right tools, you can healthily process them.

For further information on how you or a loved one could benefit from a Holistic Wellness, Whole Health path, please do not hesitate to contact me at sixto@drsixto.me.

To your Whole Health and Wellness, naturally!

Dr. Sixto J. Sicilia

Holistic Health & Nutrition Practioner

Founder, issimoUSA