Understanding how our core feelings work and interact is fascinating, but what does it mean to me? Great question. Let’s review some scenarios where igniting and detangling these feelings have a significant impact.
Out of the Blue
Maya was a young woman living in San Francisco, California. She had a nice income and a dream home, seemingly having everything she could ever want. Despite all this, Maya often felt a deep sense of unease and confusion, not knowing exactly where this frustration came from.
Maya wasn’t originally from San Francisco. She was raised on a rural farm in Ohio, surrounded by greenery, sea water, and sky blue. Here, everything was busy and industrial. Despite being happy with her marriage and children, she couldn’t organize herself or find the inner peace she longed for.
One day, while browsing through a bookstore, Maya stumbled upon a book about the ten core feelings that compose the psyche of a human soul. Intrigued, she decided to delve deeper into this wisdom, hoping it might help her rejuvenate and bring some meaning into her life.
Maya decided to embark on a journey of self-discovery, using those core feelings as her guide. She began by identifying and acknowledging each core feeling within herself. This helped her become acquainted not only with her physical body but also with her emotional one.
First, she discovered the power of ‘sensing,’ which means visualizing and getting a sense of everything around her. She had always wondered about her sudden mood changes while walking the streets of San Francisco. “What’s so bad here? And why can’t I just enjoy that walk?” she thought.
By exercising her power of sensing, she learned that sensors don’t ask when to turn on or what message to bring. But after practicing, she could choose when to activate them, what message they should bring, and whether to go with it or not.
She understood that her sensors were triggered by the contrast between the materialistic city life and the homey nature she missed. She decided that the sky is blue here too and that she could use her sensors to enjoy the skyline, where the blue aligns metaphorically with the high buildings.
Next, she meditated on the power of ‘calculating.’ She discovered that in Ohio, she was calm and didn’t think much, but she wasn’t good at mathematics. Here, her unease challenged her, and she automatically scored much higher. “But can’t I have both?” she wondered. “How can I work and use my calculation ability, and then, when I walk out, regain my serenity? Is it true that you can’t have your cake and eat it too?”
Soon, she learned that she actually could have both, and it wasn’t so hard. After repeatedly exercising the power of calculating, counting numbers from zero to ten, she gained the ability to control whether she wanted to brainstorm or just have peace.
Jealousy at Work
When John started working in this office, he was ready and positive. He was really committed, working hard, and seeing results. The business was literally booming. In return, he was well appreciated and had already planned his future, based on this success.
Everything changed when the manager decided to expand the office and hired another worker.
Jake, the new hire, was much younger than John and even lazier, but he was more charismatic. John noticed that Jake was more beloved, respected, and listened to. John felt terrified, thinking, “I’m older, smarter, more experienced, and had a big part in building the business, but now everyone listens to Jake."
John felt like he was ready to quit and seek other opportunities, but a voice in his mind kept buzzing: “Who says there wouldn’t be a Jake in the new place?”
John felt like the world was ending for him and continuously asked himself: Is it Jake’s problem or mine? And anyway, if I am at fault, what can I do about it?
John decided to be brave and have an open discussion with the manager. He was shocked to hear that the manager really praised him over Jake, and he was convinced that the manager was lying to him.
But John would give it a second chance. “I anyway don’t have an offer yet, so let’s see how things develop!”
Days went by and John didn’t see any improvement. While he couldn’t pinpoint any disrespect or direct embarrassment, he still felt like Jake had settled into his seat. And this seemed to him like a very clear fact. Everybody, from the team workers to the customers, tended to cling to Jake, and it seemed like he was here instead of being in an old age home.
But why is the manager denying it? And anyway, what can he do?
Finally, he picked himself up and made an appointment with a social worker. The social worker asked him a lot of questions about his upbringing and marriage, which didn’t add any clarity. Trying another option, he went to a coach, who – surprisingly – took the side of the manager!
The coach assured him that he was really respected in the place, and possibly, even more than Jake. Clinging is not a sign of respect, he explained, but a sign of youth and good social skills. This should not be mistaken with respect, which is John’s strength. He is really the senior worker in this office and is the most respected one.
John was puzzled and didn’t know what to do with the lump in his throat. He was wondering if it’s time to swallow it or to spit it out. Is it really so? Should he just return to work as if Jake is not interfering with his career?
He decided to make believe that nothing happened and try again to push it off. But time wasn’t helping much.
He tried to boost himself by analyzing that the harder questions were handed to him, and only the easy questions were directed to Jake. But why was everyone still around Jake?
He went back to his life coach and discussed the new observation. The life coach explained to him that yes, respect and seniority are different from social fun and love. While people look for social interactions, they would turn to Jake, and while looking to resolve a hard question, they would turn to him.
This answer was already satisfying a lot, since it massaged his ego and rescued him from seeing the scenario much worse than it was. But still, he found that people tend to love fun much more than they are interested in problem-solving, and that this was still giving too much promotion to Jake.
“Why is it so?” John sobbed. “Why don’t people see the value in the big effort that I do?” and – “Is there anything that I can do to better the situation?”
Then John was told by a friend about the core feelings from which a psyche is composed. He right away understood that he was using only “calculating,” “contracting,” and “performing,” while Jake was using “enjoying,” “performing,” “managing,” and “expanding.”
Now it doesn’t matter so much about the competition, as how to grow, balance, and ignite all other core feelings.
Jake’s personality changed totally in his eyes, since he was no longer viewed as a faker who steals his opportunity, but one who uses different qualities which are also important. He understood that by respecting Jake, he would be able to work up those qualities in himself.
After a short time, John and Jake became best friends, while serenity and success took over the place of jealousy and competition.
Settled!
Jessica excelled at Harvard University. She was a dedicated scholar and a good friend, earning her the love and respect of her peers. However, she struggled with one person: her teacher.
From a young age, Jessica had dreamed of attending Harvard, believing it would be the perfect place to unleash her creative mind. Now that she was finally there, her teacher insisted that to truly understand, one must learn. The material was factual and required study and verification, not invention.
This made Jessica feel like she was seated in a highly educated prison.
When she learned about the core-feeling concept, she was intrigued, even though she didn’t know where it might lead her. Being an experimenter at heart, she immediately began practicing the exercises on her own.
She soon realized that separating sensing and calculating caused her significant discomfort. It felt like trying to separate fingers that were naturally intertwined.
But the next time she attended class, she discovered that her brain could function differently than it always had. She found it comfortable to make calculations that aligned with facts rather than her desire to create and sense something new.
Jessica began using her power of sensing in a new way, appreciating the magnificent scenes of nature, discovering scents and aromas, and seeing beauty in people’s efforts.