I’ve been reading a book on Manifesting, and while it’s not the most accessible read I got to a part that just blew me away.  First here’s some background from the book:

The Universe wants to give you what you desire and there’s plenty to go around.  But you aren’t connected to the stream of Wellbeing if you’re in a crappy mood.  If your emotions are in a lousy place you’re resisting and you’re not open to receive the good stuff.  If you’re in a good place then you’re open to accepting the good stuff that’s headed your way.  So when you’re in a lousy place your job is to find a way to get back to *something* better so that you can be open. 

I’ve been working on this lately and the part I have an issue with is when I’m drowning in despair how do I make the leap to happy?  When i’m in despair I’m lucky if I can leap to a healthy lunch choice.  When I’m in a lousy place I think - what buddha belly do i need to rub here to transform my “just wanna die” feeling to Bunnies and Kittens with a shot of Bliss?

The book says that you can’t think about it in terms of simply good vs. bad emotions.  That all the emotions have their place in a heirarchy.  So for example, we might feel like anger is bad and we shouldn’t feel mad at stuff.  We should just let it go and magically move to the Bunny and Kittens part.  But the book says that anger is valuable because it’s a step up from depression and despair.  Think about how totally useless and powerless you feel when you’re despairing.  You’re in total victim mode, you’re in a slump, you can’t move off the couch.  With anger you’re energized.  You’re not in victim-mode.  You’re acting against the stuff that bugs you or at least having a darn good rant.  So here’s the heirarchy of emotions they lay out.

Rage gives you a feeling of relief from depression, grief, despair, fear, guilt or powerlessness.

Revenge gives you a feeling of relief from rage.

Anger gives you a feeling of relief from revenge. 

Blame gives you a feeling of relief from anger.

Overwhelment gives you a feeling of relief from blame.

Irritation gives you a feeling of relief from overwhelment.

Pessimism gives you a feeling of relief from irritation.

Hopefulness gives you a feeling of relief from pessimism.

Optimism gives you a feeling of relief from hopefulness

Positive Expectation gives you a feeling of relief from Optimism

Joy gives you a felling of relief from positive expectation.

“Overwhelment” makes me chuckle.  I didn’t know it was a word but man, have I spent some serious time there.  I have a vacation home there.  Anyhow.  Our job is just to reach for a better-feeling thought.  A thought that will lead us to a better emotional state.  We’re not jumping straight to joy.  We’re simply plotting a path to hopefullness.  It’s a journey.  The bunnies will be there when we arrive.