Etymology of Emotion
To understand our emotions it can be helpful to explore the etymology of the word:
Our word "emotion" comes from Old French emouvoir "stir up" which comes from Latin emovere "move out, remove, agitate." Emovere is the sum of ex- "out" + movere "to move."
The image of emotion is of something being stirred up and moving outward rather than inward, upward, downward or any other direction.
The first recorded use of "emotion" to refer to a strong inner feeling was in the 1650s. It was used to refer to any inner feeling by 1808..
In other words, "emotion" originally referred to external movements and stirrings and was applied metaphorically to the inner up stirrings we now call our emotions. Its metaphorical use is relatively recent and modern.
What is Stirred Up and Moves Outward?
So, what exactly is moved and stirred up when we feel emotions?
Is it our mind that is stirred up? I don't think so. What gets stirred up in our mind is our thoughts.
Is it our body that is stirred up? I don't think so because we can experience the up stirring we call emotions and remain motionless.
I think it's our spirit, that which makes us alive. Our spirit is stirred up, moved, or agitated and moves from within us outward to be expressed in our words and physical movements.
Stimuli of Our Spirit
What stirs up our spirit? I suggest that our spirit responds to stimuli that either affirm or deny it.
Stimuli that affirm our spirit support and sustain our spirit, our aliveness. We welcome such stimuli and call such stirrings joy, happiness, gratitude, excitement, fear, guilt, and sorrow. When we feel such stirrings we feel more alive, more spirited.
Stimuli that deny our spirit suppress and threaten our spirit, our aliveness. We resist such stimuli and call such stirrings fear, anger, sadness, guilt, loneliness, and despair. When we feel such stirrings we feel less alive, less spirited.
So, in my view our emotions are less about our minds and psychology and more about our spirits and thumology.
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