Author: Jonathan

Jonathan Cook is a researcher of commercial culture, specializing in immersive interviews designed to uncover the emotions, symbols, stories and rituals that drive our behavior in unexpected directions.
jarring

Jarred

Everything seems to have been possessed by the coarse vibration, so that for at least a few moments, nothing else can be attended to.

soothed

Soothed

The new truth might be as simple as the tale told by a hand stroking our tense shoulders.

amae

Amae

Skin hunger is the desire to be touched. Amae is something more. It’s what we feel when we want nothing more than to be held in the arms of someone who loves us,… more emotion Amae

Evening

Evening

Evening is the name we give to a time of day, but it’s also a description of how we feel during that time. As the day moves forward, we become increasingly unevened. We… more emotion Evening

sunday scaries

Sunday Scaries

The Sunday scaries share something of the dreadful anticipation used in horror movies to provoke the audience.

unsettled

Unsettled

People want to find a place where they belong, a place that equally belongs to them. It feels wretched to be in exile, but few people grow up, live, and die in the… more emotion Unsettled

cave syndrome

Cave Syndrome

It feels as if we stand at the mouth of a cave that has kept us safely hidden during dangerous times, worried about what happens if we leave it behind

dreary

Dreary

Sometimes, the history of a word embodies the meaning it has taken on over time. This is the case with the word dreary. When I think of a dreary emotion, I think of… more emotion Dreary

headlong

Headlong

There are many words for emotions of hesitation. Trepidation, for instance, is the feeling of an uncertain beginning. To feel rattled, on the other hand, is to be given second thoughts upon an… more emotion Headlong

magical emotion

Magic

Magic is something that, by definition, cannot exist. Yet, people yearn for it. Why? Magic is supposed to be a power that exists outside of the structure of ordinary reality, but which can… more emotion Magic