In western society it is not a given to show oneself authentically with all emotional states. Depending on the particular culture you share with your current counterpart or different groups, it is more or less safe to share emotions. In addition, our own personal experiences in the family of origin and other previously experienced social contexts strongly influence our feelings and behaviour. This makes sense insofar as we do not potentially expose ourselves again to a situation that has led to injuries in the past in this or a similar way.
A lot of the potential for relationship depth and quality remains unlived due to limited communication about feelings. This applies to relationships between adults as well as to relationships with and between children.
Because of the often missing possibility of expression, we sometimes find feelings disturbing, similar to monsters. A collection of such colorful Gefühlsmonster©s repeatedly attracted my attention on the occasion of the conference Focus Empathy 2013. On small and large cards, the carefully illustrated figures each represent different emotions. I got into conversation with the Höch-Corona family (which, by the way, is also a common name with beautiful meanings such as "crown", "wreath" or "mountain range"), which offers a variety of training courses on the various application possibilities, in addition to various Gefühlsmoster© formats formats. In one of their seminars, I learned how to use the cards in mediations in order to be able to show your own feelings more easily and to be able to grasp those of others. Seven years later, I learned in an one-hour online format how children can use the cards to practice empathy and creative conflict resolution.
What I liked most about the methodology is that it is easy to learn and implement for both the adult and small users. It also offers the potential to involve the whole group when a child is struggling with his or her emotions. This not only allows for learning empathy and emotional support , but also to better handle the child's shame who is currentry in the focus of attention, as one of the seminar participants noted.
I have encountered the Gefühlsmonster© Cards again and again in various contexts over the last years. In my last job, I was initially hesitant to use the child-friendly figures with teenagers and young adults. I was afraid that the participants would reject them because they were "too cool" for the characters or talking about feelings. Fortunately, my colleague had fewer reservations than I did, which paid off in the form of beautiful opening rounds, easier reflections and the integration of what had been experienced.
Whether for private or professional use - I can only warmly recommend the spirited work of this Berlin family business*. My hope is that their tools will spread so that more emotional perception, communication and thus authentic relationships become possible.
In this sense: Have fun discovering and sharing!
*This is a personal recommendation, not paid advertising.
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