Feel It, Heal It: Embrace Emotional Presence - Week 5

Recognise emotions as your guide to navigate your life with clarity as we explore emotional presence and self-regulation in Week 5 of the Power of Being Experiment.

Reviewing Connecting to Guides, the Divine and Greater Purpose

Last week, Week 4, we deepened our connection to our guides, the Divine, and our Higher Self, recognising the energetic support available to us. Through daily prayer, meditation, and reflection, we strengthen our awareness of this guidance and remembered that we are not here alone.

A key practice was to distinguish between the voice of the Ego, driven by fear and distraction, and the guidance of our true self, which speaks from love and wisdom. By trusting our heart’s first inspiration and letting go of the second-guessing thoughts, we open ourselves to clearer guidance.

What did you notice? Did you catch your Ego trying to override your Heart’s desire? Did you undertake any of the optional practices to play with Oracle decks or begin to notice repeated signs? What did you learn through meditation? Take a moment to reflect on the learnings from Week 4 and record your thoughts and responses in your JOURNAL.

Hopefully, you continued to offer gratitude and love through prayer or intent. I found myself simplifying prayer to the brief lines in Hopo ono pono (I’m sorry. Please forgive me, I love you, thank you.) and this little line:

“I pray for the highest good and grace for all souls. Blessed be.”

The Purpose of Emotions

If only you knew how long you waited to come into the physical to FEEL!

Feelings. Photo by Nathan Dumlao

Emotions are a powerful force in our lives and something unique to this Earth plane. When we forget this, we allow the feelings from our experiences to shape our way of being - to define who we believe we are. This week we are remembering their true function, completely separate from our Divine being. By untangling ourselves from what we have accepted about ourselves from our experiences, we learn to manage our emotions in a healthy way.

IMPORTANT: Please note this week’s activities delve into emotions. If you have experienced significant emotional or physical abuse / trauma, please be guided by your reactions and stop immediately if you if you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed by any aspect of this article and seek professional support. Continue with the daily prayer.

What is Emotional Presence?

Being emotionally present means fully experiencing your emotions without judgment or avoidance. We came into the physical to feel as part of our guidance system. Our wide range of emotions are our reminder of what we are - unconditional love.

If we don’t know how to process emotions, we close our hearts. This helps to reduce feelings of pain, but it also reduces feelings of joy.

Our experiences are simply an opportunity to love, learn, grow, evolve, remember… When we trust that our feelings are guideposts, we can allow ourselves to remain in the moment, acknowledging what we feel, and allowing ourselves to experience fully, without letting it control our actions.

This emotional presence helps us stay grounded even in difficult moments and prevents emotions from hijacking our thoughts or behaviors.

So How Do Emotions Guide Us?

When we hold an open heart, we allow ourselves to respond to the guidance our Higher Self is offering through the life experiences we are co-creating.

If something feels wonderful, that is because we are wonderful, made of unconditional love and compassion. The activity is aligned with who and what we are. This feeling tells us we are on the right track and asks the Ego to find more activities like this.

If we feel uncomfortable emotions such as anger, guilt, or sadness, for example, it is because we are no longer aligned with our Divine beingness. The discomfort is inviting us to choose something better, whether different activities, beliefs, or simply saying ‘no’ (a tiny word we often make very difficult to say). This can be a little confusing when we first consider this so let me give you a few examples.

I feel angry because I feel hurt by another’s criticism.

• I remember only hurt people, hurt others and that other’s comments act as a mirror. It was about them, but I felt it.

• So where am I being critical and unloving to myself (hint, it sits in the body where I FELT the impact of their comment.)

• I send my hurt love and acknowledgement. I remind my Ego that I choose to love and support myself and release the need for self-criticism. I decide that I deserve healthy boundaries and can choose higher vibe company or remind the other that their words are harsh and ask if they are okay.

• I send love to the other and pray they will accept their guidance to love themselves too.

An interaction has left me feeling guilty.

• I remember I am not responsible for other’s feelings - guilt is a learned response usually passed down from one generation to the next.

• How does guilt serve me? Am I ready to let go of guilt and its colleague, conditional love?

• Each person is being guided to have certain experiences.

• Were my actions from love when words or actions were needed?

  • If yes, can I love and trust the other will be given enough experiences to resolve their need to deflect responsibility to others?

  • If no, is repair needed? And will I benefit from remembering that All are One. When I hurt another, I am really hurting myself. It is an invitation to focus on my healing.

I feel sad at the hurt so evident in the world right now.

• Can I remember that again, we are each having the experiences we need? Perhaps many need big experiences of discomfort to awaken and to choose something better.

• Is there something I can actively do to improve the situation?

  • If yes, do it!

  • If no, lowering my vibration to sadness or worse lowers the collective vibration and contributes to manifesting more misery for myself and All that Is.

  • Determine to bear witness with loving compassion for others’ learnings. You may be interested in exploring this idea further in The Art of Witnessing.

Now we have a better understanding of the guiding purpose behind emotions, let’s look at how we can regulate our feelings in a healing way.

Emotions as signposts, guiding us to joy. Photo by Benjamin Balázs

What is Self-Regulation?

Self-regulation is the ability to manage your emotional responses. When we feel overwhelmed by emotions like stress or anger, it’s easy to react impulsively, which can lead to regrets or misunderstandings. Self-regulation helps us pause, breathe, and choose how to respond in a way that aligns with our values, rather than simply reacting in the heat of the moment.

Why Does This Matter?

By becoming emotionally present and practicing self-regulation, not only do we develop greater emotional resilience, but we ascend in our consciousness. This means we can handle challenging emotions without getting stuck in them or letting them derail our day. We learn to observe our feelings, heal our triggers, and choose healthier ways of being. Emotional presence and self-regulation allow us to remain grounded, compassionate, and more connected with ourselves and others.

Key Techniques for Emotional Presence and Self-Regulation

IMPORTANT: If you feel overwhelmed by any of the activities, stop immediately and seek professional support.

1. Breathing Through Intense Feelings
   When emotions become intense, our bodies can go into “fight or flight” mode, making it harder to think clearly. One of the simplest and most effective ways to regulate your emotions in these moments is to focus on your breath. Try this:

• Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4.

• Hold your breath for a count of 4.

• Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 6.
  Repeat this cycle a few times. This breathing technique helps calm your nervous system and gives you space to process your emotions before reacting.

2. Grounding Exercises
   Grounding techniques are a great way to reconnect with the present moment and regain a sense of stability. One powerful grounding technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 method:

• Identify 5 things you can see around you.

• Notice 4 things you can touch or feel.

• Listen for 3 things you can hear.

• Smell 2 things around you, if possible.

• Focus on 1 thing you can taste.
  This helps you center yourself and return to the present moment when emotions are running high.

3. Reflect on Emotional Triggers and Do the Work of Change
   Understanding what triggers your emotional reactions is key to managing them. Spend time this week reflecting on situations where your emotions felt intense. Ask yourself:

• What triggered the emotion?

• How did I respond in the moment?

• Where did I feel it in my body?

• What is the belief I hold about this situation? Examine the trigger. Eg, When I notice other’s criticism impacting me, I am being invited to heal something - what is their action showing me? Do I feel manipulated into saying ‘yes’ when I want to say ‘no’, has a boundary been crossed, did I need to make a better choice?

• What might have been a healthier way to respond?
  By identifying patterns in your emotional responses, you can anticipate and better manage your reactions moving forward.

Let go of any self-criticism about how you responded to any given situation. Every experience is merely an opportunity. As we cannot know how to tie a shoelace without practice, neither can we expect other learnings to be instant. Forgive yourself for being a learner!

4. Forgiveness is a most powerful balm for the heart.

Sometimes we can’t ask another for forgiveness. Even if it isn’t possible or you resist it, ask for forgiveness anyway and allow the words to raise your vibration. Use the Hopo ono pono prayer regularly. Not sure? All are One. We collectively manifest our experiences. Can we forgive ourselves for manifesting this experience?

Release Trapped Emotions

There is no benefit to holding onto the emotions that are created by our experiences. If we don’t get the learning the first time, our Higher Self will co-create another similar experience. If we still don’t understand why we are experiencing discomfort, it will continue to create a pattern until we do ‘get it’. You can recollect the experiences to discover the pattern without having to hold onto punishing and toxic emotions. Let them go.

This meditation supports the release of trapped emotions.

Release Trapped Emotions

Outcome for Week 5

By practicing emotional presence and self-regulation, you’ll notice an increase in emotional resilience. You’ll become more aware of your feelings without being overwhelmed by them, and you’ll gain more control over how you respond to emotional challenges. Warning, this work can be - emotional. Look after yourself, seek support if you need it, get plenty of rest and drink 2 litres of filtered water daily.

IMPORTANT: If you feel overwhelmed by any of the activities, stop immediately and seek professional support from your doctor or mental health provider.

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Worksheet: Emotional Presence and Self-Regulation

Use this worksheet throughout the week to deepen your practice and reflect on your progress.

1. Breathing Practice
   Each day, take a few moments to practice the breathing technique mentioned above. How do you feel before and after the exercise?

• Before: ______________________________________

• After: ______________________________________

2. Grounding Exercise
   Next time you feel emotionally overwhelmed, use the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique. How did it help you reconnect with the present moment?

• What did you see, feel, hear, smell, and taste?

• How did you feel after completing the exercise?

3. Emotional Trigger Reflection
   Think of a time this week when you experienced a strong emotional reaction.

• What was the trigger?

• How did you respond?

• When you examine the trigger, what belief did it mirror within you? Eg, consider the reasons why you didn’t speak up, choose a more aligned response, or create a healthy boundary. Some of the unhealed beliefs we hold look like this:

  • It is not okay to put my needs first.

  • I need to work hard to succeed, or, Life isn’t meant to be easy.

  • I don’t deserve…

  • I am limited because of my childhood.

  • I am responsible for how others feel.

  • I have to prove myself to be worthy of…

• We are not our stories. In this moment, do you deserve something better?

• What new belief will you choose?

• What might have been a more regulated response?

• What will you do differently next time?

4. Daily Emotional Check-In
   At the end of each day, take a few minutes to journal about your emotions.

• What emotions did I experience today?

• Did I feel emotionally present and regulated? Why or why not?

• Have I identified and/or addressed the unhealed underlying belief? Sometimes, just recognising it can be enough to let it go.

• What can I do tomorrow to improve my emotional presence?

Finally

Please continue creating space for stillness through 15 minutes of meditation or prayer. Together we have the power to raise the collective.

And so, this week is all about acknowledging your emotions, understanding what triggers them, taking time to dig deeper into where and why you feel it, and learning how to respond in a more balanced way. By practicing emotional presence, creating space to recognise and heal triggers, and managing self-regulation, you create space for greater peace and resilience in your life.

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Blessed be

Michelle Cowles

Spiritual Healer, Energy Therapist

Copyright © Michelle Cowles 2025

You can also find me at www.michellecowles.com

Disclaimer: The information on this page is general, lifestyle information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. If this article raises mental health issues, please contact your General Practitioner, mental health worker, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia) OR find support by country at www.helpguide.org.