Emotions are perhaps the most talked about and least understood aspect of human experience.  This is due to emotions being more than just thoughts; they are chemical, hormonal, and serve as the communication system between mind, body, and immune system.

A relatively new branch of medical science known as psychoneuroimmunology is beginning to decipher the exact bio-chemical component of emotion which was first discovered by Dr. Candace Pert. She refers to these chemicals (called peptides) as the "Molecules of Emotion".

These breakthroughs however simply reveal what we have always known; that emotions are extraordinarily powerful influences in our lives. They come from deep within us both psychologically and physiologically. This physiological component revealed by modern research, again shows what we have always felt; that the primary areas in the body which generate peptides are deep within the limbic center of the brain (also referred to as the mammalian brain) and the abdomen and the guts (hence the “gut” response).

But what are they and what is their purpose?

Our opinion is that emotions are nature’s built in motivational system.

The model we use to describe this system has evolved from various different traditions from the east as well as the west, specifically the models of chakras and the psychologist Abraham Maslow’s model of the hierarchy of needs.

Emotions reflect the most basic and instinctual drives within the human psyche and are present in almost everyone regardless of age, race, ethnicity, social conditioning etc. While those things are powerful influences to be sure, they merely cover or shape the drives which are inherent to our biology.

Those drives are:

Transcendence

Insight

Creativity

Social Connection

Power

Procreation

Survival

These basic drives give rise to every emotional response we have.

Each drive has its own need and emotion associated with it which can be either positive or negative.

The chart at the top of the page represents these different drives with words describing the emotional dichotomy at each level and attempts to describe how each drive can show up in the different areas of your life physically, mentally, and environmentally/socially.

It is by learning to navigate these drives by first understanding them and then learning to consciously create a life which works to have your needs met that emotional friction can be turned into tremendous amounts of emotional energy and enthusiasm for your goals and life in general.

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