How to notice emotions as direct experience?
Here is a description of common emotions in terms of direct experience, focusing on the physical sensations, mental activity, and the overall felt sense that arise when experiencing each emotion:
| Primary emotion | Definition | Variations / subcategories | Direct experience: Physical sensations | Direct experience: Mental activity and felt sense |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happiness | A feeling of joy, satisfaction, or well- being. | Joy, amusement, contentment, pride, excitement, relief, gratitude. | Warmth or lightness in the chest, relaxed facial muscles, energy flow in the body. | Uplifting thoughts, ease, openness, vitality, or calm. |
| Sadness | A feeling of loss or disappointment, often associated with unmet needs or expectations. | Sorrow, grief, disappointment, loneliness, despair, regret, melancholy. | Heaviness in the chest, tightness in the throat, slower movements, tearfulness. | Mental focus on loss or unmet expectations, contraction, sinking feeling, being weighed down. |
| Anger | A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility, often arising from perceived threat or injustice. | Annoyance, frustration, rage, resentment, irritation, outrage, hostility. | Heat in the face or body, clenched fists or jaw, tightness in the chest, rapid heartbeat. | Thoughts about injustice or blame, intensity, tension, an urge to act or express energy outward. |
| Fear | An emotional response to a perceived threat, danger, or harm (real or imagined). | Anxiety, nervousness, dread, panic, worry, insecurity, terror, phobia. | Tightness in chest or stomach, shallow breathing, increased heart rate, jitteriness. | Thoughts about danger or uncertainty, hyper- vigilance, contraction, feeling on edge or wanting to escape. |
| Disgust | A strong sense of aversion, revulsion, or distaste toward something perceived as unpleasant or offensive. | Contempt, revulsion, disdain, loathing, distaste. | Nausea or queasiness in the stomach, wrinkling of the nose, a pulling-away sensation in the body. | Thoughts of rejection or aversion, recoiling, rejection of the object or situation, discomfort in engagement. |
| Surprise | A sudden, brief emotional reaction to something unexpected, which can be positive or negative. | Amazement, astonishment, shock, wonder, confusion. | A jolt or alertness in the body, widened eyes, quickened breath, raised heartbeat. | Momentary suspension of thought, heightened curiosity or confusion, sense of being jolted into the present. |
Notes:
- The Physical Sensations column focuses on the raw, bodily experiences of each emotion as it arises.
- The Mental Activity and Felt Sense column reflects the nature of thoughts, awareness, and the subjective “flavour” of each emotion when it is directly experienced.
Final Insight:
By describing emotions in terms of direct experience, we step away from mental labels and engage more intimately with the raw sensations, thoughts, and energies that make up the emotional landscape. This practice helps to reduce resistance and allows emotions to flow more naturally, bringing clarity and ease.
Here’s the framework of emotions with narratives rooted in identification as a separate self contrasted with narratives rooted in direct experience:
| Emotion | Narrative Rooted in Identification as a Separate Self | Narrative Rooted in Direct Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Happiness | “I am happy because everything is going my way, and I need to hold onto this feeling.” | “Happiness is arising as warmth in my chest and lightness in my body. I am noticing this feeling unfold.” |
| Sadness | “I am sad because I lost something important, and I feel incomplete without it.” | “Sadness is arising as heaviness in my chest and tightness in my throat. I am experiencing it as it flows.” |
| Anger | “I am angry because they wronged me, and I need to make this right.” | “Anger is arising as heat in my face and tightness in my chest. I am noticing the energy and intensity of it.” |
| Fear | “I am afraid because I might fail, and I don’t know how to handle this.” | “Fear is arising as tightness in my chest and shallow breathing. I am sensing its intensity in this moment.” |
| Disgust | “I am disgusted because this is so wrong and unacceptable to me.” | “Disgust is arising as a pulling-away sensation in my stomach and wrinkling of my nose. I am noticing this aversion.” |
| Surprise | “I am surprised because I didn’t see this coming, and I need to react quickly.” | “Surprise is arising as a jolt in my body and a widening of my eyes. I am experiencing this moment of alertness.” |
Key Distinctions:
- Rooted in Identification as a Separate Self:
- These narratives focus on ownership of the emotion (“I am this emotion”) and tie it to external events or personal stories.
- There’s often a sense of clinging, resistance, or an attempt to control the emotion or its source.
- Rooted in Direct Experience:
- These narratives shift the focus to observing the emotion as it arises and passes in real-time.
- They involve noticing the physical sensations, mental activity, and felt sense of the emotion without attaching to it as part of the self.
Practical Use:
When experiencing any emotion, this framework can help you discern whether you’re identifying with it or experiencing it directly. By practicing the narratives rooted in direct experience, you can develop a more spacious, present-moment relationship with emotions, reducing their grip and increasing clarity.
