The following was channeled from the Golden Circle of Ascended Feminine Masters, a group of illumined Beings dedicated to helping today’s Woman (and man!) reclaim True Feminine Power:

My beloved daughters, your Feelings are your soul talking to you.

You can think of your feelings as Turn Signals from your soul, urging you to turn toward this or away from that. If you honor your feelings, they will lead you to joy and away from pain.

The trick is distinguishing between Feelings, which arise from your soul, and your Emotions, which are energies generated by the thoughts imprinted upon your mind. The differences between the two are subtle, but profound.

Honoring your feelings will lead you to a life of joy and fulfillment, but acting on your emotions can create unnecessary suffering and endless re-enactments. Questioning your emotions will free you from the past, speed your spiritual growth and empower you to reclaim control of your life. But questioning your feelings—or worse, denying them—will derail your intuition and put your destiny at risk. Making decisions based upon your feelings will always take you where you need to be to do what you came to life to do. But making decisions based upon your emotions will keep you replaying the same scenes from the past over and over again.

Both feelings and emotions are felt as sensations in the body. Both are energies that urge you to move, to act, to do something in response to what’s happening in your world. But, while feelings are guidance from your soul, telling you which way to turn, which path to take to fulfill your purpose for coming to this life, your emotions are the response your body is having to the thoughts—conscious and unconscious—that fill your mind.

Emotions are created by the thoughts—the conclusions, assumptions, and beliefs—you hold in mind. A few of your thoughts are beliefs you’ve formed based on your own insight, analysis and reflection. Some of your thoughts are conclusions you’ve made as a result of your own experiences. Many of your thoughts are assumptions formed from the words you heard others say about “how the world is” and “how you are” when you were far too young to assess their accuracy. Most of your thoughts—especially the “shoulds,” “have-tos,” “can’ts” and other instructions you were given about what a “good girl” does and doesn’t do—were long ago filed away in the dim recesses of your unconscious mind.

But regardless of whether those thoughts are yours or were borrowed from someone else, and regardless of whether you are conscious of them or not, those thoughts generate emotions that feel much the same as the true Feelings sent to you by soul. But they are not the same. They are learned responses. They are automatic, programmed behaviors. They are not You.

Sadness, for example, is a feeling soul sends you when you have lost something you value, be it a relationship, residence, job, or ability. Sadness is your soul telling you that you are a being who needs that type of companionship, environment, security or activity in your life and it is urging you to mourn the loss and recreate the experience again in your life.

Grief, on the other hand, is an emotion generated by the thoughts in your mind. The outer event that triggers it—the loss of a relationship, residence, job or ability—can be exactly the same, and the message of Sadness that soul sends you may also be exactly the same. But Grief is generated from thoughts like, “I’ll never be loved like that again,” or “That was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” or “I’m too old to start over now,” or I’ll never be happy again.”

Sadness is natural after a loss, but Grief takes that Sadness and multiplies it by the attitudes, interpretations, assumptions, and expectations you hold about the world and your place in it. It is, quite literally, suffering over your suffering. The good news is that you can reduce your suffering by changing your thoughts. Your thoughts—your interpretations, beliefs, assumptions and expectations—are not facts, but opinions.

Honor your feelings and what they tell you about who you are and what you desire in your life. But if you wish to reduce your suffering, question your emotions. Look again at the interpretation, assumptions and expectations running through your mind about the situation and question whether they are really accurate. When you change your thoughts, you change your emotions.

Fear is a feeling that should never be ignored. It is a feeling sent by your soul that tells you you’re in danger. Its unmistakable sensations ripple through your body, call you to attention and urge you to act now to either remove yourself from danger or summon your strength to protect yourself. But Anxiety, Worry, Panic and Helplessness on the other hand, are emotions generated by your mind. They are born from expectations of adversity and assumptions of inadequacy. And they thrive in the presence of “What If…?” questions floating through your mind.

Always heed a feeling of fear. It is meant to save your life. But also always question your emotions. Question the assumptions underlying your anxiety or panic. Question the expectations associated with your worry. Question your conclusions about your presumed helplessness. Your emotions are just what you feel at the moment; they are not necessarily How The World Is.

My beloved daughters, do not allow yourselves to be drained by needless emotional turmoil. Learn to distinguish between your feelings and emotions. And learn to question the source of the beliefs underlying those emotions, for most are not even yours. Most were learned from others, often in your youth, before you knew enough to question the accuracy of what you heard.

My precious ones, honor your Feelings, and question your Emotions. Do this, and you will find Freedom and Peace.

Author's Bio: 

This article is excerpted from Channeled Messages From The High Mother, a collection of messages channeled from the Golden Circle of Ascended Feminine Masters. Copyright © 2007 Gayle Goldwin. All rights reserved. Published by Boudicca Publications and reprinted here with permission. Additional channeled Messages, excerpts from WomanSpirit Oracles: Wisdom of the Ancients, Solutions for Today and free Oracle Card readings are available at http://www.WomanSpiritOracles.com