The language of emotions : what your feelings are trying to tell you /
Karla McLaren.
- 2nd Edition ; Revsied and updated
- xii, 427 pages ; 23 cm
Revised edition of the author's The language of emotions, 2010.
Includes acknowledgements, notes, further resources, and index.
Part I. Restoring your native language, Introduction: creating a conscious life, My empathic journey: the difficult beginnings of empathy, Troubled waters: how we got so confused, It takes a village: surrounding your emotions with support, Reviving your essential nature: making room for your central self, Avoidance, addiction, and awakening: understanding the need for distractions, Unintentional shamans: the role of trauma in soul-making and culture-building, The role of emotions in the resolution of trauma: water will carry you home, Why love is not an emotion: the steadfast promise, Building your raft: the five empathic skills, Part II. Embracing your emotions., Wading into the water: awakening all of your emotions, The anger family: boundaries, rules, and behavioral guidelines, Anger: the honorable sentry, Apathy and boredom: the protective mask for anger, Shame and guilt: restoring integrity, Hatred: the profound mirror, The fear family: instincts, intuition, and orienting, Fear: intuition and action, Confusion: the healing mask for fear and anxiety, Jealousy: relational radar, Loneliness: the drive for connection, Envy: interactional radar, Panic, immediate and frozen: the powerful protector and the healing witness, The sadness family: stopping, letting go, and recovering, Sadness: the water bearer, Grief: the deep river of the soul, Situational depression: ingenious stagnation, The suicidal urges: the darkness before dawn, The happiness family: hope, confidence, and inspiration, Happiness: amusement and possibilities, Contentment: appreciation and recognition, Joy: affinity and communion, Stress and resistance: understanding emotional physics, Emotions are your native language: the fine art of a life well lived,
"What if every feeling-even shame and anxiety-brought you vital information and wisdom? Emotions-especially the unwanted and dishonored ones-hold a tremendous amount of energy. We've all seen what happens when we repress or recklessly express them. In this new edition of The Language of Emotions, researcher and educator Karla McLaren takes readers much deeper than naming or managing our feelings-she teaches us to honor them, reflect on their questions, and incorporate their wisdom into our lives. Enhanced through more than ten years of research and teaching, this edition offers a time-tested emotional guidebook. The first part teaches readers how to safely feel and identify emotions; practices for working with feelings, including setting boundaries, grounding, and conscious complaining; and four keys to emotional genius-new to this edition. The second part of the book features a chapter on each emotion-sharing its unique messages, its questions, and practices for understanding its insights. This edition features a new chapter on anxiety, a new exploration of loneliness, and much more. Learning the language of our emotions can deepen our self-understanding, improve our intuition, and enhance our relationships. As the book makes clear, "emotions don't cause problems-they arise to help us deal with our problems. Learn their language and you can change your life.""--
"Karen McLaren's unique, empathic view of emotion surprisingly revalues even the most 'negative' emotions and opens pathways to understanding the depths of the human soul." Michael Meade, author of The Water of Life "This book changed the way I relate to others, and to myself, forever." Gavin De Becker, author of The Gift of Fear "Karla McLaren's knowledge of how to understand emotions and engage with them in a positive and healing way is an invaluable resource." Janja Lalich, PhD, author of Take Back Your Life