If you’re someone who feels deeply—who walks through the world attuned to the subtle shifts of emotion, to beauty, melancholy, longing, and awe—then you likely already know that emotions are powerful guides. They tell us when something matters.
But what happens when we begin a presence practice like The Presence Process or any form of inner work that invites us not just to observe or name our emotions, but to feel them—in the body and without the story?
For many emotionally attuned people (and if you know the Enneagram, I am writing this specifically with Enneagram type 4s in mind), there’s a subtle but significant shift that can make all the difference: learning to move through the emotion into the felt sense, rather than staying caught in the emotional narrative.
Emotion as a Doorway, Not a Destination
It’s easy—and sometimes comforting—to linger in the emotion itself. To feel deeply is a superpower, but often, our identity gets wrapped up in that capacity. To wield this superpower and not be consumed by it, we need to let go of the story of the emotion, its label—and to sink into the raw, wordless sensation of it.
I liken this sensation to a vast inner landscape with areas that you may associate with the belly, heart, shoulders, jaw, etc, , but in the gut, the chest, the shoulders, the jaw, etc, but . It might be heat, tightness, a swirl, a shimmer, a numb patch. It may not even have a name. That’s okay. That’s actually the point.
Ways to Deepen into the Felt Sense
Here are a few invitations that may help if you find yourself looping in the emotion without quite landing in the body:
Reframe the Journey
You’re not leaving your depth behind. You’re going deeper. Feeling the body is not a betrayal of your emotional wisdom—it’s a deepening into truth beyond the drama. It’s the poetry that hasn’t been written yet.
Shift From Story to Sensation
When strong emotion arises, gently ask:
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Where do I feel this in my body?
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What’s the texture—tight, heavy, spacious, hot, numb?
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Can I stay with the physical sensation, without needing to name the emotion or explain it?
This takes us out of mental processing and into somatic presence.
Let Go of the “Why”
You might find that the mind wants to loop around why you feel this way—who said what, what memory it stirs, what it means. That’s natural. But when you’re practicing presence, you’re invited to drop the “why” and just feel what is.
Ground in Neutral Awareness
Presence isn’t a mood. It’s not about feeling peaceful or blissful or even emotionally clear. It’s about being with what’s here, just as it is. Presence is open, grounded awareness—neutral, stable, kind. Let that be your anchor.
Use the Breath
Breath can help guide us below the surface of emotion. Try:
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Breathing into the lower belly or soles of your feet
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Letting your exhale be longer than your inhale
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Feeling the breath as a gentle wave that moves under the emotion, not through it
Notice When You’re “Hovering”
If you feel like you’re circling a familiar emotional space—again and again—pause. Ask yourself: Am I actually feeling this fully, or am I orbiting it? Then gently drop the story, and come back to breath and body.
Emotions are valuable. But they are not the final stop. When we learn to stay with them—beyond identification, beyond narrative—we open into a deeper kind of healing. One that isn’t about fixing or explaining, but simply about being here, now, in this, unconditionally.
And that, quietly and without drama, can change everything.
(If you are ready to commit to this practice and learn to use your emotions as a superpower, and not be overpowered by them, join our next Presence Process group.)
