It is a startling truth that each time we come into contact with something through sight, sound, smell, touch, taste or thought a feeling tone registers. And, feeling tone has only three flavors: Pleasant, unpleasant, or neither pleasant nor unpleasant (neither/nor). That’s it.
Feeling tone precedes emotion and thought. We commonly use the word feeling to describe emotional state; in this instance, we use feeling tone to describe the quality of valence that arises before emotion. When we are aware of feeling tone, we have the opportunity to allow it to be as it is. This pausing allows us to consider what a wise action might be. Most often that wise action is no action.
Feeling tone arises before we construct a story around our contact with experience. Many stories that we construct are self-absorbed—are about injustices and misunderstandings. Or they are about opinions and beliefs about ourselves and others. When we’re in the middle of a story running around in our head, we might discover that it actually doesn’t feel very good and is not satisfying. Being with the feeling tone gives us the opportunity to just be with each moment of experience without creating a story around it.
Feeling tone arises the moment we come into contact with something through the senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, and thought. In the context of mindfulness, thought is a sense. We sense thoughts just as we sense smells, sounds, tastes, sights or touch. Whenever we come into contact with a thought—we’re aware of it— and a feeling tone arises.
Feeling tone is not implicit in the thing with which we come into contact; it is in us; and it is always changing given the context of experience. Eating a spoon of ice cream is pleasant if it is the first and unpleasant if it is the twentieth and we are full.
I invite you to know the feeling tone of each moment—pleasant, unpleasant, or neither/nor.
Then to be aware of how you react—the instantaneous not liking it like and pushing it away or liking it and wanting more of it or becoming indifferent or bored.
Rather than react, just let it be. If it is pleasant let it be there; if it is unpleasant just let it be there. If neither/nor let it be there.
I hope you enjoyed the show. I invite you to listen, subscribe, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen.
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As always I am grateful for you, my listeners. And, I am grateful for the people behind the scenes that make this podcast possible.
Allie Allen in San Francisco, California for logo and podcast cover design;
Gorgias Romero in Santiago, Chile for original music, audio engineering, and production;
Bill Rafferty in Sydney, Australia for technical web support, and
Margaret Haas in Los Angeles, California for announcing the show.
May you enjoy exploring the feeling tone of each moment of experience.
Be well. Be mindful.
DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, dia
Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful.
