Mood

Mood has a dominant influence on mind and body. Mood is easier to influence than expected. Body and language influence mood, just as mood influences body and language. Mood--Wikipedia

Moods and Emotions come in two flavors: opening and closing moods. The lower line in the graph, from fear to resignation, shows common closing moods which tend to preserve the status quo or make things worse. The ascending line from love to ambition are common opening moods which allow experimentation, learning and adaptation.

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Love and curiosity are in a life and death struggle with fear and resentment.

Of all the shifts listed above, it may be easiest for a person to shift from fear to love, from self interest to other interest. It certainly has the largest effect. This shift is almost physical--turn your eyes and your body, look outward toward other people that you can care deeply for, look outward at the world that you find beautiful, that shift begins to shift all of the dynamics. It is the root.

The further you move to the right along the lower line the more difficult you may find it to make the shift to the upper line. I personally find Resentment to be a particular trap where stories and my body align to reinforce this mood. It has a dampening effect on my curiosity and ambition. You will discover your own relationships between these moods, your stories, and your body.

To shift mood and emotion one can enlist mind (language, narrative, stories we live in) and body (motion, activity and configuration) that enact our moods and emotions.

Moods, when left to themselves, often amplify fear and capture attention. Fear amplifies emotion with more force than love.

An ongoing adventure involving our mind, moods and body beckons each of us. Consider how any two can influence the third.

See Barbara Fredrickson See Konrad Lorenz--Wikipedia John Bowlby--Wikipedia on emotions and attachment theory.