As I was creating a “Healthy Me” presentation I’m scheduled to give next week to a group of sweet kiddos at my son’s school, I suddenly felt inspired to expand & share my thoughts with all of you lovely people who follow my blog. I think it’s a really fun topic so I hope it serves you well.
I started planning my presentation by stepping back and asking myself, how can I best represent the term healthy so that it’s all encompassing? We put so much emphasis on physical diets through nutritious foods, sleep and exercise; however, our bodies are amazing energy systems, constantly expending, replenishing and storing energy by not just physical means but also by emotional means.
While I absoluteky agree these physical aspects of our diet are an integral part to our health & wellbeing as it gives us the energy we need to survive & thrive, what I think we don’t talk enough about, which in my opinion is just as integral, is our emotional diet. I say this because now that I’ve become a practicing life coach, I’ve recognized that our emotions are a huge part of a well maintained energy system. In fact, I believe that a healthy emotional diet can take our energy system to whole new levels of efficiency, high vibrations, wellbeing & fulfillment. By the way, fulfillment happens to be my specialty as a life coach. Hint, hint…you now know who to call. ?
Let’s start exploring by first diving into the word emotion. The study of emotions is a complex field of study and I’m not sure there’s one good definition but here’s the Wiki version: “Emotion, in everyday speech, is any relatively brief conscious experience characterized by intense mental activity and a high degree of pleasure or displeasure”
When I researched the Latin roots for the word emotion, I found it can be traced to the root ‘emotere’ meaning energy in motion. This really resonates with my understanding of the word because when I think of emotion I really see it as our experience of energy moving through our body. This is sometimes experienced as sensations of contraction such as tension/stress and a heaviness or a sensation of expansion such as calm & lightness. Are you with me so far, can you relate? Although in itself, emotional energy is neutral, the meaning we apply to this energy with our minds through our unique thoughts, beliefs & experiences is what ultimately we label as a feeling, and what changes the charge of this energy to either positive or negative.
Ok, so now that we’ve established that our e-motions are energy in motion, it’s easy to understand that by the laws of nature they aren’t meant to be stagnant because no energy is… they are meant to be fluid and move through us. Have you ever heard the phrase “feel it to heal it”? What this means is that simply identifying (labeling) and expressing our emotions/feelings is not sufficient. It’s a great first step but not enough to release it. Emotions are meant to be felt in the body and released not suppressed.
We have to consciously identify the sensations they cause in our energetic & physical bodies. These sensations could be heavy, tingly, hot, cold, tense, etc. Once we pinpoint the specific sensation in our body, there’s a divine intelligence within all of us that knows to wash these negative emotions away and move us into homeostasis, a naturally balanced state. Call it the divine sweeper. Wowsers! Even I love the way I coined that phrase.
Think of emotions & feelings as a cloud passing through you. You feel cold, wet, uncomfortable, tense while it’s passing through, but as it leaves your body you start to feel, calmer, lighter & free. This is known as moving from contraction into expansion. Knowing how to navigate negative e-motions opens the door to lasting happiness & fulfillment because it results in spending more time in a positive emotional space. Negative emotions & feelings from our past that haven’t yet passed through or healed are the cause of many physical illnesses that we can experience years later. That’s a whole different & complex topic, one that I often explore with my coaching clients.
To get back on topic, just as with any diet, with an emotional diet there are behaviors that are toxic for our energy and there are behaviors that nourish our energy. I’ll give you a few practical tips that can help you maintain a healthy daily emotional diet. You’ve probably heard these tips before, but now that you have a deeper understanding of the importance of our “emotional diet”, they hopefully become more meaningful. Let’s do this!
Emotional Detoxing
1. Stop the monkey brain ?. This is the negative self talk, the critic inside your head that’s constantly telling you you’re not blank enough…good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, etc.
2. Remove yourself from toxic situations where others are judging, gossiping, creating drama, acting in angry ways. Energy is very contagious. Not to mention the negative feelings we experience when we compromise the integrity of our highest selves by judging others.
3. Start embracing nothing but TRUTH. Lies are the biggest energy sappers, even when we tell them to ourselves, as they always lead to negative feelings of shame, guilt, regret. By the way, emotions of guilt and shame have very low vibes associated with them so avoid them like the plague. They will drag you down, big time.
4. Recognize that if you’re one that is easily offended by what others say and do this is a personal problem and the solution lies inside yourself not by controlling or changing how others treat you. If this is you, know there are deeply seeded insecurities within you that need to be dealt with. They are typically tied to thinking we’re not enough. See #1?
5. Stop comparing yourself to others. First of all recognize that what you see is not the whole, balanced picture. Think of it as the photoshopped version. There’s a whole lot of ugly truth that was brushed out. Plus, you’re the only one that can be awesome at being you. Embrace it! Dr. Seuss said it best “No one is you-er than you”
6. Drop procrastination. This is such a huge energy dipper because it leaves you with that nagging long lasting feeling of guilt. The trick here is to start small, but start. Knowing that you started relieves you of those negative feelings. Plus, it’s not unusual that once we start, that momentum of seeing progress is enough to drive us to continue.
7. Give up expectations for what others should do for you. We have the power to give ourselves just about everything we need to survive, grow & thrive. We have magic inside us. Most of our needs can be met from within us not not from outside of us.
8. Last but not least…stop complaining. This is fingernails on the chalkboard. You know one for sure but do you happen to be one? Ask those around you. The good news… this one’s easy to fix-instead of focusing on what is missing, focus on what you have.
Emotional nourishment
1. Make joy a daily practice. Look for opportunities to experience joy in your daily activities. One of my personal daily mantras is “The joy of living is inside me. I take it everywhere I go”. I even made myself a shirt to remind me. 
I also set myself triggers and I repeat this mantra to myself many times throughout the day. Have some fun and come up with your own “Joy” mantra and set triggers. For example…every time you open a door or enter a new space. Or, you can steal mine shamelessly if you wish.
2. Make meditation a daily practice. When we’re in meditation, what we find in that space between our thoughts is our divinity which is nothing but pure love & light. It’s our direct connection to our beloved God.
3. Practice self-kindness. Kindness starts from the inside out. Think about yourself no differently than any other favorite person you’re in a relationship with. Offer yourself the same kindness as you would offer them…the same level of understanding, unconditional love, acceptance, compassion, forgiveness, etc.
4. Make gratitude a daily practice. Get yourself a journal and start writing down all that you’re grateful for. Try to stretch everyday by adding one new thing to the list. The act of writing it down brings it to the front of your conscious mind and sticks as a long lasting source of positivity.
5. Activate the LOVE energy field daily. Within us we have the incredible power to activate the exact emotions we want to experience. Why not choose love, it’s the most powerful energy in the universe.
6. Be adventurous – push yourself to step out of your comfort zone. The feeling of growth & expansion gives us tremendous positive energy.
7. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, who exhibit positive energy, who have accomplished things that you admire. Their energy is contagious and you’ll know who they are intuitively because you feel great in their presence. Adopt a collaborative mindset not a competitive mindset, which stems from fear.
8. Establish daily intentions as well as healthy habits & rituals, including acts of service & contribution towards others. When we structure our day this way, at the end of each day we can feel great about the positive contribution we’ve made to our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.
I hope you enjoyed today’s content. It came from my heart in the spirit of helping you grow and of course in hopes to help you create happiness & fulfillment in your daily life. As always, please share your thoughts & impressions with me. Send me some love back if you liked it. I hope you have an amazing weekend.
Sending you lots of love & light!
Dee
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