Emotional Genius: Discovering the Deepest Language of the Soul

by Karla McLaren

This book is out of print following author Karla McLaren's transition away from metaphysical and paranormal beliefs. The revised and updated new edition of this book is called The Language of What Your Feelings Are Trying To Tell You.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Relationships, New Age

382 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2001

About the author

Karla McLaren, M.Ed is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and pioneering educator whose empathic approach to emotions revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into the depths of the soul. She is the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics LLC.

Karla’s lifelong work has been focused on the creation of a grand unified theory of emotions, which she has developed through her work with survivors of dissociative trauma, through her own lifelong experience as a hyper-empath, and through extensive research into the social and biological sciences.

Reviews

[Manuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal notes:
-emotions = healing energies, they are signs that body + soul are trying to heal. only with emotions healing is possible, they provide necessary energy, insights etc
-emotions don't cause diseases, it's what we do with emotions once they come formard
-emotions are messengers from our deepest selves, soul. learn to flow with emotions + depend on them for guidance + inner wisdom
-work WITH emotions instead of repression or improper expression => channeling emotions
-quaternity/4-element model: earth=body, air=intelllect, fire=spirit, water=emotions. water+emotions need to flow and move
-water + air together: feeling the emotion + naming it
-central self as 5th element when other 4 elements are balanced, it's called nature or ether
-balancing water: any flowing + expressive activity e.g. painting, dancing,, spending time at water, tai chi
-quaternity in balance allows to make conscious decisions. 5th element can balance the different quaternities and let them work together. body is wise, mind is stable, emotions are healing, spirituality can free us
-process is about being whole, not perfect as perfect is static and emotions are flowing. balance is the goal, balance of all quaternitiy. to do this: listening to body to help them heal us, iniving mind to dialogue with other 3 elements, listening to emotions so their message can help heal us, honoring spiritual ideas visions to bring us to our center
-whenever 1 element is in unbalance, it is calling out for help!
-all trauma need to go through 3phase process and complete with validation + welcoming after initiation, if not, then trauma and phase 1-2 is sought out again and again. to move to stage 3, spirit must be in body and be reconnected+ not being dissasociated
-ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEEL WHATEVER YOU ARE FEELING
-flowing with emotions sets their energy free, otherwise not much energy because is used to repress
-our bodies can only be here in the now. if we center attention in our body, then we are automatically present and in here + now
-5 skills: 1. creating a room in head to have peaceful sanctuary and connect spirit to everyday life. 2. getting grounded to connect body to earth. 3. defining your aura to create firm energetic boundary. 4. burning contracts to channel emotions. 5. gold sun healing to rejuvenate yourself
-being whole means having all aspects i.e. all aspects are part of everyone: silly + intelligent, patient + impatient etc
-not emotions itself cause trouble and imbalance, they only do when they are ignored/repressed. if emotions can not flow freely, then it also creates imbalance in other quaternity, e.g. obsessive thoughts
-wishes + dreams are clear pointers for soul journey, daydreaming is helpful
-conscious complaining: loudly complain to a wall, tree etc about everything being foul=> restores flow
-everyday practice: 1. body: circle wrists/ankles, stretching, 2.intellectual: plan, organize, scheme freely, puzzle-solving, math games, wordplays, 3.emotional: welcoming moods + emotions, art + music, humming, 4. spirit: welcoming dreams, daydreams, visions
-why is the energy of the emotion so necessary for this person, and how is his/her refusal to feel that particular emotion may be the real issue
-anger: healthy boundaries. what must be protected, what must be restored? => channel anger in aura to strengthen boundaries and create fire wall, then sacred space in head + grounding
-apathy: inaproppriate environments
hatred: shadow (abilities + behaviors we have been taught to supress or ignore). shadow can be found when looking at who/what we adore or hate => making conscious peace of all aspects to be whole => doesn't mean you become these traits e.g. brutality, but they don't control you anymore and can stay integer when other people show those traits and react consciously
-all humans carry all human traits
-guilt + shame: forms of anger that arise when boundaries have been broken from the inside, when convinced that did something wrong. guilt is not an emotion, it's the knowledge of doing somthing wrong. shame is consequence of guilt + wrongdoing. authentic shame =living by a moral code. practice: grounding, strenghening aura boundaries, pour shame into aura
-sadness: restores fluidity + movement when you became arid + inflexibel, to soften into the flow of life. practice: set boundaries + ask "what must be released/rejuvenated"
soft people( who are sensitive + mallable): primary emotion is sadness instead of anger, anger should be first as sentry + protector
-despair: arises when sadness can not flow + is suppressed
-Grief: actual or death or death of attachments, ideas, relationships. need to get deep into the river of soul but intellect tries to get ourselves out of river before really immersed in grief. practice: grounding, centering in ehad. grief is heavy + presses you into the body (vs being dissasociated)
-depression: stop sign of the soul, interior + exterior conflicts that destabilize you. mentor vs. tormentor. depression arises when emotions have been ignored + imbalance in 5 elements. practice: find out why where energy went + what is conflict
-happiness arises when all emotions are in flow. fun, laughter, anticipation of good things, looks forward to future
-contentment: when living up to own expectations + inner moral code, accopmplished goals
-joy: when in communion with nature, love, beauty, after hard work
-exhilaration: manic side of depression, trapped in happiness to see only bright side and repress anger, fear etc
-fear: instincts + intuition, hones senses, to react efficiently to novel or changing situations. anxietiy, worry, panic etc are not fear! with fear we are very focused, brilliant, instinctive doing right thing. sensing energies is closely related to fear and it's intuitive + instinctual energy. fear is often being confused with reaction AFTER fear, like animals need to share. fear need to come forward when not strong enough boundaries by anger! practice: ground lower 3 chakras, increase boundaries, pour fear into aura boundaries + lit on fire, "what action must be taken". after fearful event: conscious replay to integrate any learnings + always end in triumph (can also change situation)
-worry + anxiety: when fear gets trapped. practice: grounding, aura boundary, conscious complaining
-confusion: masking fear, "what's your intention" (questioning each 5 elements individually)
-panic: center in head, boundary, pour energy in boundary
-jealousy + envy: mixture of anger " fear
-suicidal urge: "what needs to end now/ can not be tolreated by my soul any longer", when in lifestyle that is killing you already, soulkilling ideas / attachments / attitutes / behaviors
.love is not an emotion, it is stable + unaffected by emotions
-stress is not a feeling, it's a deckmantel for various different emotions but easier to say/acceoted than saying I'm angry, sad etc.

[Lychee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book is brilliant. This is the book on emotions and handling all kinds of emotions that I have been looking for all my life. McLaren welcomes all emotions (including anger, hate, sadness), finds gifts in each of them, and suggests practices for channeling the energy of all emotions in ways that supports one's growth and healing while simultaneously respecting the boundaries of others. She doesn't shy away from any emotion, looks at each directly, and suggests what each has to teach us. I don't completely agree with everything she writes, but the overall philosophy and tools she offers are 100% on-target. I also wholeheartedly agree with her stance on forgiveness (ultimately in favor of it but not in a rush to get to it if it means repressing the healing offered by a difficult emotion). She also makes an interesting distinction between the meaning and act of forgiveness of when faced with healing from childhood traumas versus healing from adult traumas. Her approach includes attention to visualizations and auras so has a new-age aspect to it that may not appeal to all. However, I think her overall philosophy of the role of emotions is very useful and life-affirming. If you struggle with long-standing anger or sadness, you may find this worth looking at. I've long worked to honor my emotions and she is giving me the best understanding of them and tools for working with the challenging aspects that I've ever run across. [She has a more recent edition called The Language of Emotions, I'm finding that I prefer some of her distinctions from this earlier version. Ultimately I may end up with both volumes.]

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I'm using some of the tactics, but some of the stuff is a little bit over the top. Mixed feelings.

[Ian Spier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a pivotal work that expanded my paradigms and affirmed my value as a sensitive being born into a hetero male body, and it's okay to celebrate. I very much needed the wisdom and validation I found in these pages. It was so valuable, I began a discussion group. [one-time class that ran 8 weeks, in an agency that no longer exists]

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find that she could have said a lot of this in less words, and i find myself suspeicious of her data, now that I know she's turned away from her energy work life and is very deragatory about it. It'd be one thing if she shifted towards a more scientific approach and still honored her work before, but what I've read doesn't sound like that, and that makes me want to through this book out. But there is some good information here. You just have to wade through a lot of words.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book that has helped me tremendously with finding out the message of certain emotions that come up and how to get through them. I love how she explains how emotions and their messages to our souls. Instead of us trying to avoid feeling what we feel, we must breathe, understand and get through it. It's a beautiful and powerful book!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intense and takes a while to get through, but deep and thought provoking.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

[April]

she's cool