Emotional states are a key driver for action and provide the fuel for success. I’m sure you’ve had days when you felt really good, achieved so much and were on top of the world! Days when it seemed so easy to get things done.

Then on other days, you felt flat, frustrated, confused or lacking in energy. Your mind is busy but with many conflicting thoughts. You just can’t seem to get anything done.

So how do you change these emotional states?  Well, the first step is knowing what they are, so you can pinpoint which one you are in right now.

In the Sedona Method book by Hale Dwoskin, he identifies the 9 key emotional states. These emotional states are on a gradient scale of energy to action. The lowest state has the smallest amount of energy and external action whilst the highest has unlimited energy, mental clarity and if required, massive external action.

During each day, you will experience several of these emotional states. This article will help you identify the emotional state you’re in right now.  That might be enough in itself to change your state.  If not, then I cover how to release unwanted emotions using the Sedona questioning technique here.

Watch the video below:

Click here to watch on YouTube

Listen to the Podcast  

1. Apathy

When you experience apathy, you feel that desire is dead and you wonder what’s the point. You feel like you can’t do anything and that no one else can help and that there is no way out.

You may withdraw from life and play weak because you are afraid of getting hurt. The mind and imagination are very busy but limiting. You see failure and what you can’t do.  You have many conflicting thoughts that leave you with little energy to act.

Words that describe apathy include feeling bored, hopeless, powerless, indecisive, lazy, stuck or overwhelmed.  If you maintain this state for a long time, this can lead to symptoms of depression.

2. Grief

With grief, like apathy, you feel that you can’t get out of a situation yourself, but you could with someone else’s help. Or you could be grieving for someone or something that you’ve lost in the past or something in the future that you don’t have now.  It’s a yearning for someone else to help and fix the problem for you.

There is a little more energy and your mind is slightly less cluttered, but still very noisy with thoughts and images of pain and loss.

Words that describe grief include feeling abandoned, guilty, betrayed, vulnerable, nostalgic (about good times in the past), rejected, cheated, hurt, or sad.

3. Fear

When feeling fear, you want to act, strike out or reach out, but you don’t because you feel the risk is too great or that you’ll get hurt.

Your body has more energy and feelings can change rapidly from positive to negative. Your mind is busy and focuses on getting hurt, losing out, and how to protect yourself and loved ones.

Words that describe fear include feeling anxious, scared, skeptical, nervous, terrified, vulnerable, worried, or cautious.

4. Lust

Lust is about wanting possession or wanting something. It’s a hunger for money, power, sex, people, places, and things, but the hunger comes with hesitation. There are underlying thoughts and beliefs that say we cannot or should not have what we are desiring.

There is more energy and the sensations can be pleasurable and intense as the mind creates positive fantasies. However, these fantasies are about what we don’t have yet. They are in the future. Thoughts are about what we need to get. You’re never completely satisfied and tend not to enjoy what you already have.

Words that describe lust include anticipation, craving, impatience, obsessed, compulsive, envy or pushy.

5. Anger

Anger is where you have a desire to hurt and stop others, but it comes with hesitation. You may or may not act on the anger.

There is more energy and it’s quite intense and explosive. Your mind is less cluttered. However, it’s noisy, stubborn and obsessive. You may have thoughts of getting even or making others pay. The energy you get from this anger feeling can be quite frightening for yourself and possibly lead you back to the previous emotional states described earlier in this article.  The actions you take are mostly destructive to you and to those around you.

Words that describe anger include aggressive, annoyed, furious, hate, outrage, resentment, jealousy, and impatience.

6. Pride

Pride is about maintaining the status quo. You don’t want to change, so instead, you try and stop others so that they don’t get ahead of you. The mind is very rigid and self-involved with thoughts and images about what we already have and know. When you’re with others, it’s about others noticing how great you are, because inside, you’re trying to hide your own shortcomings.

Over time, you start to ignore your own shortcomings and as a result, you’re not open to receiving help and support from others, because you don’t believe you have any shortcomings!

Words and phrases that describe pride include narrow-minded, arrogant, patronizing, clever, judgmental, being a know-it-all, critical, overbearing, and complacent.

As you can see, the six emotional states covered so far are negative or limiting. They form a crust over the next three more positive emotional states.  One way to access the next 3 positive or empowering emotional states is to release or let go of these limiting emotional states.  I cover how to do this using the Sedona Method here.

The last 6 emotional states were about what you can’t do.  The next 3 are about what you can do.  Here they are:

7. Courageousness

Courageousness is having a willingness to act without hesitation. It’s the feeling that you can do whatever needs doing, It’s being able to let go (when you need to), and move on. You are flexible, resilient, and open. Thoughts and images are about what you can do and what you can learn. You also think much more about how to help others. As a result, you’re self-motivated, self-reliant, and okay with other people succeeding. Making mistakes is cool (you might laugh at them) and life is fun.

Your body continues to gain energy and it’s available to take positive action. Energy levels are high and clear.

Words that describe courageousness include resilience, visionary, decisive, certainty, enthusiastic, motivated, competent, and confident.

8. Acceptance

Acceptance is having and enjoying everything as it is. There is no need to change anything.  Life is okay just as it is.

Your body has a lot more energy, and that energy is mainly at rest, available if required. The mind is mostly quiet and content. Images and thoughts are of love, joy and an acceptance of what is.

Words that describe acceptance include abundance, beauty, delight, belonging, enrichment, fullness, harmony, and joy.

9. Peace

The final and highest emotional state is peace. When you experience peace, you feel whole and complete. Everyone and everything is part of you. Everything is perfect.

You have a lot more energy than in acceptance, but that energy is totally at rest. The energy is totally still, quiet and calm. Your mind is clear, empty, yet totally aware. There is no need for any pictures or thoughts. Life is as is and all is well. The mind is not planning the future or worrying about the past. It’s just resting in the now. It’s a state of being rather than doing. You experience life as a human being rather than a human doing!

Words and phrases that describe peace include wholeness, awareness, oneness, perfection, pure, completeness, serenity, feeling free and fulfilled.

In closing, I wonder which of these 9 emotional states resonated with you the most?   Which emotional state were you experiencing as you read this article right now?  As you go through your day, I invite you to notice which emotional states you experience.

In closing

To learn how to release or let go of the lower emotional states when they occur, so you can experience greater courageousness, acceptance, and peace, click the link below.  This will take you to another video blog article that covers this in detail.

How to release emotions using the Sedona Method questions.

The information about the 9 emotional states came from The Sedona Method book by Hale Dwoskins.  It’s available on Amazon and I highly recommend getting a copy if you’re interested in further understanding and changing your emotional states.  Click the link below to check it out.

The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskins

If you really want to go deep with this, then visit the official Sedona Method website here.

Thank you for reading this article.  If you enjoyed it and found it useful, then please share it with other people, or on social media.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Paul