<p>A common idea in the west is that our feelings or emotions should be viewed with suspicion, superseded or overridden by rational thought, and that your mind is a battleground between emotions and rationality. But on the show today, guests Lisa Feldman Barrett and John Dunne are going to offer a very compelling science backed argument that disputes the notion that thinking and feeling are distinct. Furthermore, they argue that understanding how emotions are actually made can be a life or death matter. </p> <p><br /></p> <p>Lisa Feldman Barrett is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Barrett is among the top 1% most-cited scientists, having published over 270 peer-reviewed scientific papers. She has written several books, including <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/lisa-feldman-barrett/how-emotions-are-made" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain</em></a>, and <a href="https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/seven-and-a-half-lessons-about-the-brain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Seven And A Half Lessons About The Brain</a>. Her <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_feldman_barrett_you_aren_t_at_the_mercy_of_your_emotions_your_brain_creates_them?language=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TED talk</a> has been viewed more than 6.5 million times.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>John Dunne holds the Distinguished Chair in Contemplative Humanities at the Center for Healthy Minds of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focuses on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially in dialog with Cognitive Science and Psychology. He earned his PhD from Harvard. </p> <p><br /></p> <p>This is part two in a series we're calling <em>The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together</em>. In each episode we bring together a meditative adept or Buddhist scholar and a respected scientist. The idea is to give you the best of both worlds to arm you with both modern and ancient tools for regulating your emotions. </p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lisa's scientific definition of emotions</li> <li>John's Buddhist contention that emotions, as a category, do not exist in Buddhism </li> <li>The difference between suffering and discomfort</li> <li>What we can do to master our emotions including understanding what Lisa terms as our "body budget" </li> <li>Becoming more emotionally intelligent</li> <li>Mastering our feelings in the moment</li> <li>Whether or not pain is an emotion and how it works</li> <li>How and why to be present in the here and now</li> <li>The upside of unpleasant feelings</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lisa-feldman-barrett-john-dunne-520" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lisa-feldman-barrett-john-dunne-520</a></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Deconstruct Pain & Suffering
Separate physical discomfort from the added layer of suffering (e.g., ‘it’s my fault,’ ‘I’m a bad person’). Focus solely on the raw sensations of discomfort and try to pick them apart into different sensations to reduce intensity, avoid chronic stress, and potentially lessen opioid dependence.
2. Cultivate Emotional Flexibility
Actively expand your repertoire for making sense of sense data, allowing you to construct different emotions from the same physical sensations and tailor your responses to situations. This helps your brain prepare for more effective actions.
3. Manage Your Body Budget
Consciously make ‘deposits’ (sleep, healthy food, water) and be aware of ‘withdrawals’ (learning, persistent uncertainty, exercise) to maintain your body’s metabolic resources. This prevents chronic stress, which can lead to metabolic diseases and depression.
4. Practice Present Moment Awareness
When you find yourself conceptualizing emotions (e.g., ’this is anger’) and feeling compelled to act, recognize that this pulls you into the past or future. Instead, attend to the present moment, suspending conceptualization and the urge to fix things, which can lessen emotional intensity.
5. Reframe Unpleasant Feelings
Recognize that unpleasant affect or discomfort doesn’t always signal something is wrong; it can mean you’re engaged in a difficult but beneficial activity (e.g., exercise, learning, curiosity). Attempt to understand what these feelings truly signify to avoid constructing narratives that lead to longer-term suffering.
6. Expand Emotional Vocabulary
Learn more emotion words and concepts, including those from other cultures, and expose yourself to diverse people. This practice increases your flexibility in constructing experiences and tailoring them more specifically to situations, enhancing emotional intelligence.
7. Cultivate Granular Awareness
When you categorize an experience (e.g., ’that’s hunger,’ ’that’s anxiety’), pause and investigate if there’s more to it, rather than stopping attention. This granular awareness helps you avoid automatic pilot, notice exaggerations, and opens new interpretations of your experience.
8. Shift Attention, Change Affect
When feeling unpleasant, change what you’re paying attention to. Physically move your body or change your context (e.g., go for a walk). If unable, practice mindfulness by focusing on different internal or external sensations (e.g., stomach, back against chair) to alter your brain’s regulatory efforts and shift your affective state.
9. Question Others’ Emotional Assumptions
Recognize that your perception of others’ emotions (from facial movements, voice, posture) is a guess, not an objective reading. Dissolve false confidence in your ability to know their inner state, fostering more accurate and less biased interactions.
10. Investigate Emotion’s True Nature
Practice formal meditation by intentionally recalling an intense emotional memory and allowing the emotion to arise. Then, investigate the emotion itself, asking ‘What is this truly?’ to gain insight into the true nature of experience.