We are taught that things outside of us create our feelings. If we have the perfect relationship, weigh the perfect weight or make a lot of money we will be happy. If people treat us the way we want we feel respected. If people show love the way we expect then that is how we feel loved. To feel better we must change the people around us, or change our circumstances. But we are not taught the truth.
The truth is that external circumstances don’t cause our feelings, our THOUGHTS about them do. It is not just semantics, knowing this can change everything.
Knowing this means we are responsible for all of the feelings that we feel. BUT knowing this also means we have the power to think and feel exactly as we want. Knowing this is like winning life’s lottery. It is the secret to well being!
Not only are all of our emotional feelings created by our thoughts, now we know many of the physical manifestations of pain in the body come from our thoughts as well. Pain in the body has long been thought of as a sign something physical in the body is broken. But neuroscience teaches that only 1-5% of chronic pain conditions are from a purely physical cause.
How do thoughts create our feelings? We can learn by studying brain science.
When we have a thought, the neurons in our brain fire electrical signals. Initially, scientists only had the ability to measure the “electrical brain.”
But more recently, they discovered another, more ancient “chemical brain.” This is what we now know creates our emotions.
In The Molecules of Emotion, Dr. Candace Pert explains how neurotransmitters create the chemical changes in the body that we identify as emotions. The reason why we feel the way we feel all comes down to chemistry. Peptides- proteins in our bodies.
She proposes a more primitive chemical network that works alongside and in conjunction with our neuron’s electrical charges. Neurotransmitters like Dopamine, Serotonin, and Melatonin, as well as hormones, are produced at synapses between neurons.
They find receptor molecules on the neighboring neuron to bind to, and they respond by vibrating or chemical cues. “They wiggle, shimmy, and even hum as they bend and change from one shape to another in a rhythmic, vibrating way.”
The receptor cells transmit the information back to the cell, and effect changes in the cell. These changes can affect our behavior, physical activity, or even mood.
Think of blushing. This happens without conscious control, but it is an example of how the brain and nervous system respond seamlessly to produce a chemical reaction in the body in response to a thought. We do not consciously think to blush, it happens automatically. This is the same way our thoughts create our emotions. We have a thought and then we feel and emotion.
Joe Dispenza says that thoughts create matter. A thought creates a physical manifestation of matter- vibrating matter. Our thoughts are powerful. Our thoughts create vibrations in our bodies – they create energy.
“Feelings, such as happiness, contentment, anger, shame, or judgment all come from chemical combinations at the neural level. They occur when we interpret outside input through our existing framework of thinking and beliefs we have created based on our past.“
Sometimes it’s hard to grasp that circumstances do not create our thoughts. Most of us want to blame our circumstances for making us feel the way we do. So, what about someone dying? That circumstance creates sadness or grief, right? But if we do not know that someone has yet died, we do not feel sad at their passing. We might even be laughing at the moment someone has died if we do not yet know about it. We only feel sadness or grief when we find out that someone has died and have a thought about it. And, the thoughts we have about grief are normal as well as the feeling those thoughts create.
The more we realize the power we have in creating our emotions, the more empowering life becomes.
If you’re curious about how Life Coaching can improve your life, contact us today!
