Emotions In Motion : Harnessing the Power Within

Paul Ekman (born February 15, 1934)[citation needed] is an American psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco who is a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions. He was ranked 59th out of the 100 most cited psychologists of the twentieth century. Paul Ekman identified six basic emotions that he believed to be universal across cultures. These are:

Happiness – characterized by feelings of joy, contentment, and pleasure. It is typically associated with a smiling facial expression.

Sadness – characterized by feelings of loss, disappointment, and grief. It is typically associated with a downward turned mouth and furrowed brows.

Anger – characterized by feelings of frustration, annoyance, and hostility. It is typically associated with a furrowed brow, clenched jaw, and a raised voice.

Fear – characterized by feelings of anxiety, apprehension, and nervousness. It is typically associated with widened eyes, raised eyebrows, and an open mouth.

Surprise – characterized by feelings of shock, amazement, and astonishment. It is typically associated with widened eyes, raised eyebrows, and an open mouth.

Disgust – characterized by feelings of revulsion, aversion, and distaste. It is typically associated with a wrinkled nose and upper lip, and averted gaze.

Ekman’s extensive research demonstrates that these emotions and their corresponding facial expressions transcend language and cultural differences, serving as universal markers of human experience.

The above mentioned emotions are a fundamental aspect of the human experience and have a profound impact on various aspects of our lives. They affect not only our mental state but also our physical well-being, personality and behavior.

One of the primary areas where emotions have a significant impact is on relationships. Positive emotions like love, affection, happiness, and gratitude strengthen our connections with others. They foster a sense of closeness, trust, and empathy, enhancing the quality of our relationships. On the other hand, negative emotions such as anger, hatred, sorrow, and grief can strain relationships and create distance between individuals. They can lead to conflicts, resentment, and a breakdown in communication.

Emotions also have a direct influence on our health. Negative emotions, particularly chronic stress, anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, restlessness, and pressure, can have detrimental effects on our physical well-being. The body’s stress response, when activated frequently and intensely, can contribute to various health problems, including cardiovascular issues, weakened immune system, digestive disorders, and sleep disturbances. Managing and regulating our emotions effectively can contribute to better overall health and well-being.

Furthermore, emotions play a crucial role in shaping our behavior and performance. The emotions we experience can affect our motivation, decision-making, and actions. Positive emotions often lead to increased motivation, optimism, and a proactive approach towards tasks and goals. They can enhance creativity, problem-solving abilities, and overall performance. Conversely, negative emotions can hinder our performance, leading to reduced focus, impaired decision-making, and decreased productivity.

The phrase “emotions mean energy in motion” is a simplified way of expressing the idea that emotions are meant to be felt and expressed, rather than being suppressed or held onto. Just like energy, emotions are dynamic and flow through us. When we experience an emotion, it’s important to acknowledge it, allow ourselves to fully feel it, and then let it go.

A helpful analogy is to think of emotions as guests visiting our house when it’s time for the guest to leave, if we close all the doors and not allow them to go, there would be a lack of peace in our house. Similarly, when we hold onto emotions and don’t allow them to flow naturally, they get trapped within us. This can lead to emotional and physical distress.

It’s normal and healthy to experience a range of emotions, including sadness, fear, and anger. However, it’s crucial to recognize that these emotions are temporary and should not be held onto indefinitely. If we cling to negative emotions, such as anger, guilt, or shame, they can accumulate and affect our well-being. They may manifest as physical symptoms, impact our mental health, and hinder our ability to fully enjoy life.

It’s important to acknowledge and process our emotions, give ourselves permission to feel them, and then find healthy ways to release them. This could involve talking to a trusted friend or therapist, practicing mindfulness and self-reflection, engaging in physical activity, or engaging in creative outlets. Remember, life is a beautiful journey, and part of that journey is experiencing and embracing our emotions. By allowing them to be in motion, we can cultivate greater peace, happiness, and overall well-being.

“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them”. (Oscar Wilde)

Body language : A gesture is worth a thousand words

While teaching Maths or making child understand the method, many times, teacher or parents use their fingers and wide open palms, folding some fingers to show how to solve the problems, fingers that have greater and lasting impacts. Body Language that doesn’t speak but can explain everything. Body language is very effective and powerful method which has a huge effect on all interactions; they carry the capacity to grasp the attention of the listener and make matters crystal clear with greater imprints – and are thus the hallmark of influencers. Just like audio-visual gives a great impact while audio have limited impressions.

So ‘body-language’ is considered an inevitable part of a communication, but on a regular basis, this is definitely not given the importance it deserves. This could be either due to neglect or unawareness of its impact – a study at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Cognitive Neuro imaging discovered that it takes the brain just 200 milliseconds to gather most of the information it needs to judge a person just from the initial facial expression.

The study and theory of body language has become popular in recent years because people have come to realize its significance while countless leaders of the past have used this far-reaching tool to express feelings and convey messages.
While words by time can be forgotten, actions or body language depicted to explain the same remain in cognizance for a longer phase or probably forever.

Great speakers or ideologists of times possess an inbuilt ability of flawless communication; both verbal and undeniably non-verbal communication – Body language is reflected to send signals stronger than words; facial expressions and eye movements are very important while conveying feelings; a simple smile on the face is said to open ample ways. At times, actions are said to enlighten the same subject on a better scale than words could have ever done.

Though the research and study on communication and the reach of body-language has been a recent issue, our beloved Prophet Muhammad pbuh has always been an epitome in this matter. Irrespective of whom he met when and wherever, his impression on the other person has always been extremely positive and impressive for life long. Today, though many sign, thumb and smiley to convey our feelings. That carry no words but convey our feelings isn’t it?

In an era of ignorance where arrogance and ill mannerism was the only way to influence others.The Prophet Muhammad pbuh nurtured great impression on the people around him. Throughout his life he practiced well-versed body language which has made the message he preached vibrant and is recorded as it is till to-date – When explaining the virtue of looking after an orphan, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “If anyone strokes an orphan’s head, doing so only for Allah’s sake, he will have blessings for every hair over which his hand passes; and if anyone treats well an orphan girl or boy under his care, he and I (Prophet (pbuh)) shall be like these two in Paradise (putting two of his fingers together). [Tirmidhi]

Although the ‘action’ could have been literally clarified in simple words, but Prophet pbuh opted for body language in this case. There are many more narrations which have recorded the Prophet’s non-verbal communication – While explaining the togetherness of his Ummah, he said, “Faithful believers are to each other as the bricks of a wall, supporting and reinforcing each other. (So saying, the Prophet Muhammad clasped his hands by interlocking his fingers.)[Al-Bukhari]

Prophet’s facial expression on various occasions have also been recorded; how he greeted the people – his manners, etiquettes, habits and what not.

Jabir b. Abdullah reported that Prophet Muhammad pbuh happened to walk through the bazaar coming from the side of ‘Aliya and people were on both sides of him. There he found a dead lamb with very short ears. He took hold of its ear and said: ‘Who amongst you would like to have this for a dirham?’ They said: ‘We would not like to have it even for less than that as it is of no use to us.’ He said: ‘Do you wish to have it (free of any cost)?’ They said: ‘By Allah, even if it were alive (we would not have liked to possess it), for there is defect in it, as its ear is very short; on top of that it is dead now.’ Thereupon, Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: ‘By Allah, this world is more insignificant in the eyes of Allah than (this dead lamb) is in your eyes.[Muslim]

This hadith also illustrates what an exceptional teacher Prophet pbub was. We know what impact visual aids have. The more theoretical the words, the less of an impact they have, the more the thoughts can be translated into visuals or experiential, the more lasting its impact. Now we have educationists teaching us to use the same techniques that were employed by Prophet Muhammad pbuh as a teacher.

It’s quite a noteworthy fact that, although Prophet Muhammad pbuh knew he was the seal to Prophethood and no other Prophet will be appointed after, he didn’t struggle to put all the teachings in the form of words but used the finest methodology of communication – actions aided with words.

Prophet Muhammad pbuh was selected to enlighten the mankind as a Messenger; in fulfilling this responsibility of his, he left no aspect of communication untouched. He practiced supreme skills that magnetized every person around him to listen to him and never did his words contradict his body language. While it’s true that minds dominate our body but it’s equally factual that body language changes the minds too – tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.