Promoting emotional agility
is the aim of the Emotatude children’s book series. The
science of Emotatudology is purely fictional, although many of the concepts
proposed by the fictional character Dr. Kich are based on the science of
emotion and recent discoveries by scientists, energy healers, psychologists,
and psychiatrists. Even though we have no evidence to support the notion that we can concretely touch, see, feel, hear, smell, and taste feelings, this concept helps children contemplate how feelings operate in their lives. Dr. Kich has been
invented to personify the scientist in all of us who learns how to make sense
of our emotional world through hypothesis testing, observation, theorizing, and
drawing conclusions about the world around us.
While Emotatudology as a revered
established science is fictional, the concepts of how to deal with emotions are
based on research. There has been growing research in the past decade by teams
of scientists that is promoting scientific inquiry around emotions. This is evident in the list of publications
and organizations that are emerging in this field. The stories depicted in the
Emotatude series may be lightly based on real events. The names of the characters have been changed
to protect the innocent. I have used
artistic license to explore how emotions appear, feel, smell, move, and even
sometimes taste. I invite all people to
do the same. Often in our society we
tell each other how to feel, or what to feel, or what the experience should
look like. These books are designed to
give the reader an artistic license to explore their own feelings in their very
own way. So below we include an artistic
license that can be cut out and used whenever you feel you need permission to
feel the way you feel. These books help children develop the “ability to accurately recognize one’s
own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior.” As [art pf
the CASEL social emotional competancies ( CASEL The Collaborative for Academic Social Emotional Learning, 2017 Core
Competencies http://www.casel.org/core-competencies/)
is an organization that is working to building SEL (social emotional learning)
in school systems around the country. It
is my hope that children who read this series with their parents will have fun
discovering how different characters in these books deal with their emotions or
‘emotatudes’ as they are described as in this series.
The Emotatude series demonstrates coping skills to guide young readers
through difficult moments. In the series Emotatudes are vibratory beings that reside within all of us. They help children 'show up' as Susan David Ph.D. the visionary behind Emotional
Agility explains. She says "When we show up fully, with awareness and acceptance, even the worst
demons back down. Simply by facing up to the scary things and giving them a
name, we often strip them of their power." This is the core of what my
Emotatude series is about. By giving our feelings names and paintin
pictures of what they might look like the journey of coping has begun. The
emotatude series gives children and parents space to ask questions about
feelings outside of our every day experience. Do we hold things in?
Do we go over them in our mind over and over again? Or, do we accept
situations and embrace them with all our being. It is my hope these books will promote what Susan David calls
"showing up." Hopefully this book will give you ideas on how you
process your emotions. So after you read this book, I give you permission to
think about what your feelings look like.
Close your eyes, and imagine what they look like. Give yourself the freedom to paint, draw, or
sketch a feeling. When you do that, I hope
you are empowered to think about how this emotion moves in your in your life.
You now have a license! Keep it in your
pocket to always remember you have a license to express your feelings through
art.
Below is a list of books that I have referred
to as I have written my series and my blog. http://emotatude.blogspot.com/2016/10/acknowledging-feelings-and-emotional.html
Of all of
these books my favorite was : Emotional Agility, by Susan David,
Phd
The Emotion Code by Dr, Bradley Nelson
Why You Feel the Way You Feel Molecules of
Emotion, by Candace B. Pert, Ph.D.
Opening Up by Writing it Down, by Dr. James Pennebaker
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Achieving Emotional Literacy by Claude Steiner, PhD
One Mind at a Time by Mel Levine, M.D.
Mindfulness for Teachers, Simple Skills for
Peace and Productivity in the Classroom, by
Patrica A. Jennings
Promoting
Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators by Dr Maurice J Elias PhD (1997-09-15) by (Author)
Building
Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does the Research Say?
The
Educator's Guide to Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement:
Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom 1st
Editionby (Editor), Harriett A.
Arnold (Editor)
Emotional Agility,
by Susan David, Phd
Why We Feel the Science of Human Emotions written byVictor S.
Johnston
Soothing Angels, by Gloria Wilcox
Emotional Equations by Chip Conley
