Tag: immersion

The self is imagined to be a fluid, like a puddle of water, and external circumstances are thought of as something like a sponge, sucking the self into its matrix so that the two become as one.

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

There are few survivors who can tell us what it feels like to actually drown. The feeling of drowning, however, is familiar to many. A drowning person is still conscious, still has some… more emotion Drowning

Emotionally, we contain many different kinds of lifesaving devices, the psychological equivalents of inflatable vests or floating inner tubes.

Sometimes it feels as if there isn’t enough air to breathe, and a panicky impulse to run begins to build. If you can’t get away, you might die, at least on the inside.

It doesn’t take very many years of adulthood for most people to realize that they are unlikely to achieve their greatest hopes. It isn’t because we’re incompetent, that there are limited resources, and… more emotion Daydreaming

One of the most fundamental emotions, and yet one of the most difficult to define, is presence. The therapist Richard Nicastro describes the emotional presence he witnessed being offered by one friend to… more emotion Presence

Usually, when we enter into an activity, we hold some part of ourselves back from it. We engage, but with one skeptical eye, questioning whether we’re doing the right thing, looking for signs… more emotion Abandon