THE SCALE OF EMOTIONS by Michael Neill

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Here are more words of wisdom from my friend Michael. He always pulls a rabbit out the hat and here, he comes up with a winner of a topic! Read on and enjoy.

THE SCALE OF EMOTIONS

“Behind every desire is the desire to feel good.” -from the teachings of Abraham

The ‘Law of Attraction’ is in the news a lot these days - in fact, CNN pundit Larry King recently devoted two complete shows to discuss the idea that our thoughts and emotions create (or
at least co-create) our reality.

While I will save a longer exploration of what I believe to be the pros and cons of this approach for another tip, this week I wanted to explore with you a specific tool I use to ‘measure’ your level of ‘emotional attractiveness’ in relation to an issue or goal.

(I first learned this tool when studying the work of Lester Levenson, alternately known as ‘The Sedona Method’ or ‘The Release Technique’, depending on which school you learn it from.
See the ‘Want to Learn More?’ section at the end of the tip to learn more!)

Essentially, there are nine emotional states you can be experiencing in any moment when you are working with a goal that make up a ’scale of emotions’, ranging from the least ‘attractive’ (sometimes described as ‘lowest vibration’) to the most ‘attractive’ (or ‘highest vibration’).

The higher up the scale you go, the more energy you have for your goals and the faster and more easily you will attract what you want to you.

Here are the nine ‘notes’ of the emotional scale:

1. Apathy
Apathy is the ‘dead’ feeling that so many people experience as a sort of depression or indifference to life. In relation to your goals, it stems from a kind of learned hopelessness - “Nothing you do is going to matter anyways”, apathy tells us, “so you may as well not do anything.”

It is sometimes mistaken for ‘peace’ because of the absence of emotional variance - the difference is, peace actually feels good!

2. Grief
If you feel a great sense of sadness or loss when you think about your goals, you are resonating with the frequency of grief. This is an evolution from the hopelessness of apathy to
the helplessness of despair. “It could have happened”, grief says, “but it won’t - at least not for you, not anymore.”

3. Fear
When you begin to see that what you want really is possible to have, grief often gives way to fear. “You could have what you want”, says fear, “but it would cost you so much you’ll regret
it for the rest of your life - which might be over sooner than you think if you actually go for this!”

The important thing to remember is that if you’re feeling fear, you’ve already turned a corner - you have moved from hopelessness to helplessness to possibility (albeit a vague and frightening one).

4. Lust
As you get more comfortable with the idea of having what you want, lust (as in need and greed) tends to kick in. This is for me the real meaning of the biblical phrase ‘the love of money
is the root of all evil’ - substitute ‘lust’ for ‘love’ and you can see how lusting after lucre could lead to all sorts of moral, ethical and actual dillemas. Lust says “You can have what you want - and then you can get more, and more and more and more and more and then everyone will do your bidding and you can take over the world!!!!”

On the plus side, in order to lust for something you have to have really begun to believe in the possibility of getting it…

5. Anger
The energy of anger burns hot. “Sure you can have what you want”, anger rages, “but look at all these jerks who are trying to stand in your way. You deserve it - how dare they!”

There is actually a lot of energy in anger - it’s just usually directed towards your obstacles, not your goals.

6. Pride
Pride can be a tricky one, because to many people it feels really good. “Look at me”, pride declares. “Aren’t I amazing to have already done so well and gotten so much of what I
want?”

Truth is, you are amazing - but if your energy get stuck in pride it stops moving towards your goals and quickly slides back down into anger that you don’t have more, lust to get it, fear
of losing what you’ve already got, and grief any time you actually lose what you thought was yours to keep.

7. Courageousness
Courageousness is the first truly ‘attractive’ emotion, in that it accepts the possibility that things might not work out but drives you on to go for it anyways. “Screw it!” courageousness
declares - “Let’s do it!”

8. Acceptance
There is an easiness to acceptance which says “I have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the
difference.”

You are still moving forward towards your goals with acceptance, but it is with a sense of ease and lightness that knows the journey is every bit as much of a prize as the destination.

9. Peace
In ‘A Course in Miracles’, readers are encouraged to make peace their only goal. This is because when you have peace in your mind and heart, you need nothing and have everything. Peace doesn’t say much of anything, except to occasionally whisper “Rest easy - all is well.”

When we are at peace, we already have everything we need - and nothing is quite so attractive as a need-less human being.

In order to move up the scale of emotions and become more attractive to the things you want in life, all you need to do is let go of your story - the idea that having what you want will
in any way change your life for the better or for the worse.

When you recognize that you don’t need what you want, you’re free to have it - and freedom is perhaps the ultimate goal…

Today’s Experiment:

Here are a few ways you can play with the scale of emotions in
your own life:

1. Write down three goals - one personal, one relational, and one financial.

Example -
*I want to be a size 10
*I want to get on better with my partner/kids
*I want to double my income next year

2. Now, rewrite the goals in terms of ‘allowing’. If the rest of the goal changes at all, that’s OK too. Notice where you are on the scale of emotions when you think about your new goal statement.

Example -
*I allow myself to be a size 10 and feel great (anger)
*I allow myself to have a wonderful relationship with my
partner/kids (grief)
*I allow myself to double my income in the next twelve months
(lust)

3. Choose one goal to work with. Really focus in on what you are feeling as you think about that goal. When you’ve got hold of the feeling, ask yourself this question:

*Could I let go of wanting to change this?*

Stay with the question until you sense a release or letting go happening. If your answer is “no”, ask yourself if you could let go of wanting to change your answer!

4. Every time you are able to let go of even a little bit of wanting to change, tune back into your goal and your feelings.
Carry on until you feel courageousness, acceptance or peace in relation to it.

Have fun, learn heaps, and enjoy the process!

With love,
michael

PS - ARE YOU A COACH WHO WANTS TO TAKE YOUR PRACTICE TO THE NEXT
LEVEL?

The Coaching Mastery training with Michael Neill is being sponsored by the New York City chapter of the International Coach Federation (ICF) and will be held in downtown Manhattan on
the 20th and 21st of January, 2007.

Topics covered will include:
* How to read your clients like a book
* The seven leverage points for creating change in any coaching conversation
*The Obstacle Analysis Grid
*The five keys to a profitable practice
*The best kept secret in marketing

And much, much more!

There is a special early-bird discount available if you book your place soon!

For more information and booking details, please visit:
http://www.icfnycchapter.org/events_special.php

Copyright 2006 Michael Neill http:www.geniuscatalyst.com

THE SCALE OF EMOTIONS by Michael Neill