Introduction
If you’ve ever experienced a gut feeling or noticed your body reacting to an emotion before your mind can catch up, you’ve encountered something known as the felt-sense. This concept, developed by philosopher and psychologist Eugene Gendlin, has had a profound impact on how I understand my emotions and bodily sensations. By learning to tune into the felt-sense, I’ve discovered a deeper connection between my body and mind, helping me navigate emotions, make better decisions, and find a sense of inner peace. Let me share what the felt-sense is, why it matters, and how it can help you too.
The Felt-Sense: A Simple Definition
The felt-sense, as Gendlin described it, is a bodily awareness or physical sensation that accompanies an emotional experience. It’s that subtle, internal sense you feel in your body when you’re processing emotions, thoughts, or memories. This could be anything from the flutter in your stomach when you’re excited to a tightness in your chest when you’re stressed.
What’s fascinating about the felt-sense is that it’s not just about identifying an emotion intellectually, but about connecting to how that emotion manifests physically. When I first started paying attention to the felt-sense, I was amazed at how much my body was telling me about my emotional state—long before my mind could fully process what I was feeling.
The Connection Between Mind and Body
For many of us, there’s often a tendency to separate the mind and body. We think of emotions as something mental, while physical sensations are seen as separate. However, Gendlin’s work emphasises the powerful link between the two. He proposed that our bodily sensations don’t just respond to emotions—they carry them.
When I started exploring the felt-sense more intentionally, I noticed how much my body was offering me in terms of emotional insights. For example, when I’m anxious, I often feel a tightening in my chest, or when I’m happy, there’s a warmth that spreads through my chest and shoulders. These physical sensations often appear before my mind fully understands what I’m experiencing. The more I tuned into these sensations, the clearer it became that the body holds a wealth of information about what’s happening in my emotional world.
A Powerful Tool for Emotional Awareness
The felt-sense is incredibly useful for gaining deeper emotional awareness. Often, when I’m feeling overwhelmed or confused by my emotions, it can be difficult to articulate exactly what’s going on. But by focusing on my body’s physical sensations, I’ve found that I can get more in touch with what I’m truly feeling.
Instead of overthinking or getting lost in my thoughts, I’ve learned to just feel and explore the bodily sensations. I ask myself questions like, “Where do I feel this emotion in my body?” or “What is the quality of this sensation—is it tight, open, light, or heavy?” This simple practice has helped me better understand the emotions I’m experiencing. Eugene Gendlin’s approach encourages us to sit with these sensations, allowing them to unfold rather than trying to rationalise or immediately label them. This process can provide profound insights into our internal world.
The Felt-Sense and Decision-Making
Another powerful aspect of the felt-sense is how it can guide us in decision-making. When we’re faced with tough choices, our minds can become clouded by overthinking, but our bodies often have a clearer sense of what feels right. Gendlin’s work suggests that the body’s sensations can act as a kind of internal compass, guiding us toward decisions that align with our true feelings.
I’ve started checking in with my body whenever I’m faced with a decision, whether it’s something big or small. For instance, when I’m unsure about a decision, I notice how my body reacts. If I feel tightness in my stomach or discomfort in my chest, I take that as a sign to pause and reconsider. On the other hand, if my body feels light and open, it often signals that I’m on the right track. By learning to trust these bodily cues, I’ve found it easier to make decisions that feel more authentic and aligned with my deeper sense of self.
Using the Felt-Sense in Practice
If you’re wondering how to start connecting to your own felt-sense, Gendlin’s practice offers a useful approach. Here’s how I’ve used his techniques to tune in to my body:
- Find a quiet space: Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes if that feels right for you.
- Notice physical sensations: Begin to focus on your body and notice any sensations that stand out—tension, warmth, lightness, heaviness, etc. Don’t try to label or analyse these sensations, simply notice what’s there.
- Explore the sensation: When you feel a sensation, ask yourself what it feels like. Is it sharp, dull, light, or tight? Gendlin’s method encourages you to sit with this sensation, allowing it to evolve and unfold.
- Connect to your emotions: Once you’ve identified the sensation, ask yourself what emotion or memory might be tied to it. What’s the story behind the feeling? The more you practice, the more you’ll start to recognise how the body’s sensations relate to your inner emotional world.
Through this practice, I’ve found that my body often holds the answers to emotional questions I didn’t even know I had. It’s a process of deepening self-awareness and learning to trust the body’s wisdom.
The Benefits of Connecting to the Felt-Sense
By regularly tuning into the felt-sense, I’ve noticed several benefits. First, it has deepened my emotional awareness, allowing me to process feelings more effectively. It’s also helped me to make better decisions, since I’m now more attuned to the cues my body provides.
Most importantly, I’ve learned to respond to my emotions in a way that’s more compassionate and thoughtful. Instead of pushing feelings away or ignoring them, I now have a healthier way of exploring them through the lens of bodily sensations. This has brought me a greater sense of balance and peace in my life.
Final Thoughts
The felt-sense is a powerful tool for connecting with your emotions and navigating life with more clarity and self-awareness. Eugene Gendlin’s work offers an insightful way of understanding how our bodies are constantly sending us messages about our inner emotional state. By learning to listen to and explore these bodily sensations, we can deepen our emotional understanding, make better decisions, and live more authentically. So the next time you experience a physical sensation tied to an emotion, take a moment to explore it—your body might be offering you a valuable insight.
