Emotions, Feelings and Spiritual Qualities

Checking in with you today to see how you are doing and to remind each of us the difference between emotions, feelings, and spiritual qualities.

Spiritual Qualities, also called God Qualities are qualities across religions assigned to the experience of the Divine. These can include Love, Beauty, Grace, Peace, Abundance, Patience, Health, and many more. I wrote a book on these powerful Energy Fields which, as multi-dimensional beings, we always have access to. Many of us may choose one two or three qualities to live into for a year or set an intention to grow more deeply into one in a specific circumstance. Like, “I intend to practice Patience as part of this morning’s meeting, listening to what each person has to say.” Spiritual Qualities are eternal and always available.

Feelings go along with God Qualities in that they are derived from sensations and are a form of Spiritual Communication. You’ve heard people say, and you may have said so yourself “I have goosebumps or Godbumps” which means “this rings true to you and me“. Other forms of God communications or feelings include downloads of information, a bubbling up of love internally, or a gut feeling. Feelings are our own language with The Divine interpreted through a knowingness within.

Emotions, then, are partnered with thoughts. They are perception-driven feedback loops. Yesterday I was ecstatic that the Seahawks won the championship game and are heading to the Super Bowl. Woo Hoo. Los Angeles fans felt differently. The same game looked at from two different perceptions yielded two different emotional responses; and probably even more than that.

An emotion lasts 90 seconds, on average. It rises, peaks, and then falls UNLESS it is tied to a story that you and I aren’t willing to let go of. Last week I was talking to a friend about the upcoming Seahawk game (yesterday) and the chances of going to the Super Bowl. Also a Seattle fan, he couldn’t let go of the 2015 Super Bowl and Pete Carroll’s role in it when a pass was thrown at the end by the Seahawks and the Patriots intercepted it. This stewing emotion was right under the surface and rose right alongside his story. Within the space of asking one question the anger, disappointment, and fury were all resurrected.

Being spiritually mature means that you and I do forgiveness work and we let go of stories attached to emotions as fully as possible. Being present means we are able to show up in a moment without a stuffed suitcase of emotions from the past and as new emotions arise we allow and welcome them to be processed through us without attachment to them.

To order Reverend Bonnie’s book Qualities of God, Qualities of Being, click here.