Beyond the Story

We are often taught to treat our emotions like problems to be solved - or worse, ignored...

When a strong feeling arises, our minds instantly go to work. We try to analyze it, justify it, or talk ourselves out of it. We tell ourselves, "I am sad because..." or "I shouldn't be angry about this." We wrap the emotion in a story, keeping it safely locked away in our thoughts.

But the truth is, emotions are not just abstract concepts or words on a page. They are biological, physiological events. They are energy moving through us. And long before an emotion becomes a thought in your head, it is a sensation in your body.

The Body’s Vocabulary

If we pause the story and drop our awareness down into the body, we discover that our feelings have texture, temperature, and weight.

• Sadness might not just be a mood; it might feel like a palpable heaviness in the chest, or a pressure behind the eyes that asks for release.
• Anxiety is often less about "worry" and more about a nauseating  fluttering in the stomach, or a tightening in the throat that makes it hard to swallow.
• Anger frequently shows up as a rising warmth that starts in the belly, flushes the face, and energizes the limbs, preparing us to jump into attack mode or dart to safety.

Why Sensation Matters

Why does this distinction matter? Because you cannot think an emotion out of your body. You can only feel it out.

When we stay in our heads, analyzing the "why," the energy of that emotion often gets trapped. It stagnates. But when we turn our attention toward the physical sensation—when we simply notice the heat, the heaviness, or the flutter without judgment—we give the emotion permission to move.

This is the key to true, lasting healing. By witnessing the sensation, we allow the wave to crest and eventually wash through us, leaving clarity and spaciousness in its wake.

A Practice of Gentle Noticing

The next time a strong emotion visits you, try to gently shift your focus away from the narrative of why it is happening. Instead, ask your body:

"Where do I feel this right now?" "Is it heavy or light? Hot or cold? Still or moving?"

You don’t need to fix it. Just notice it. In that simple act of noticing, you are reclaiming your capacity to feel, release, and return to yourself. Noticing is one of the greatest medicines we have.