Good News Monday: Dalai Lama Project Explores Atlas of Emotions

 PINIMAGE

Dear Wellness Seekers,

Good News Monday: Dalai Lama Project Explores Atlas of Emotions is welcome news for all of humanity. You may have read one of my previous posts about my fascination with the inspiring philosophy of the Dalia Lama.

As an avid student of the magical place where physiology meets psychology – the intersection where rational drivers meet emotional drivers and how they affect on our bodies, hearts and mind, I believe understanding the effects of this collision can help us conduct ourselves better through life’s journey. But to this point we know so little. Therefore we may not realize the potential for a happier life left untapped because we do not know what we do not know. His mission is simple: he sees his role as helping to turn secular audiences into more self-aware, compassionate human beings.

I had a privilege to see the Dalia Lama in person a few years ago and to briefly meet him. He exudes a calmness of spirit PINIMAGEunlike anyone I have ever met any where in the world. When I discovered this article in the New York Times, ” A Dalai Lama Website Explores Feelings (without Emoticons)” reported by Kevin Randall on his project called ‘Atlas of Emotions’, I was immediately drawn in. It seems a few years ago the Dalai Lama reached out to psychologist Dr. Paul Edman who recently helped advise the creators of Pixar’s “Inside Out” an animated film which is set inside a girls head ( BTW, I also wrote about after seeing it ) – to map out the range of human emotions depicted in the movie, from anger to enjoyment. The Dalai Lama paid Dr. Ekman at least $750,000 to develop the project, which started several years ago.

The Dalai Lama says it is his duty to publish such work like the Atlas of Emotions. “We have, by nature or biologically, this destructive emotion, also constructive emotion. This innerness, people should pay more attention to, from kindergarten level up to university level, in order to create a happy human being. Happy family, happy community and, finally happy humanity.”

Dr. Ekmans shares in the article his conclusion after much research amongst other scientists is there were five broad categories of emotions – anger fear, disgust, sadness and enjoyment and each has a subset of elaborate states, triggers, actions and moods. But there is not consensus in this field of science on the exact emotions. There is a section in the website that outlines 9 other emotions being explores – from love to guilt.

When I visited the AtlasofEmotions.com website, I got lost in it for hours – it is so interesting and applicable to life right now! Do check it out.

Good News Monday: Dalai Lama Project Explores Atlas of Emotions focuses on something we should all be obsessed with. I love this subject of scientific exploratory. There is so much we do not know and should be more curious about especially in line with the pursuit of happiness as this is what our country was founded upon.   Yet our priorities in America are far from this based upon recently reported  surveys – for us the priority is ‘financial security’. By comparison in Australia the priority is a ‘happy life’. Certainly something worth pondering. Which do you think is more important?

To Your Self Care Journey To Joy,

Ginny