Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) is a research validated educational program designed to improve emotional well being and our relationships with others. CEB integrates modern psychology, emotion science and evidence based contemplative practices into a program of learning and practice. CEB will help you manage emotional distress, build healthy emotional boundaries and live a more balanced and compassionate life.
In March of 2000, the Dalai Lama convened a meeting with some of the worlds leading emotion scientists and other scholars at the Mind and Life Institute in Dharamsala, India to address the pervasive challenge of destructive emotions in daily life. Discussions delved into the psychobiology of destructive emotions, as well as cultural and developmental neuroplasticity and its relevance for modern education. Insights from this meeting highlighted the intersection of mindfulness and emotion science, and are documented in Daniel Goleman's book, Destructive Emotions.
At the request of the Dalai Lama Dr. Paul Ekman and Dr. Alan Wallace, with input from other prominent researchers, laid the groundwork for the initial CEB curriculum. Later discussions involving Dr. Mark Greenberg, Dr. Richard Davidson, and Dr. Eve Ekman further shaped the development of what is now CEB training, emphasizing its core principles of understanding and managing emotions through a compassionate and mindful approach.
Emotions are complex psychological and physical phenomena that influence our behavior, cognition, and social interactions. Scientific emotion research has found that regardless of age, culture or life circumstances, all human beings experience the five Universal Emotions. In CEB we explore these emotions in depth, learning their evolutionary purpose and the difficulties that arise in the modern world when powerful emotions are triggered. Participants will also learn evidence based tools for dealing with difficult emotions without suppressing or repressing the emotional experience.
In CEB, emotional balance is defined as: having awareness of our own and others’ emotional experiences, behaviors and triggers as they arise. And with this awareness, making wise choices, while fully engaging with the emotional experience. The contemplative practices and psychological tools taught in CEB are specifically designed to help you develop more balance in your emotional experiences and responses.
Emotions unfold on a timeline. The timeline begins with a trigger that initiates an emotional experience and ultimately results in a response. In the CEB training we will explore each aspect of the Emotional Episode Timeline both conceptually and experientially. In CEB you will gain a better understanding of your own unique connection to emotional episodes, improve your emotional awareness and learn constructive ways to engage with your own and others' emotional experiences.
CEB integrates emotion science with mindfulness and research-supported contemplative practices. Mindfulness practice improves your awareness and control of stress responses and improves your interoception, which is your ability to sense internal signals in the body. Interoception is a fundamental skill for developing emotional awareness and emotional balance.
CEB History
Course Overview and Expectations
Learning Outcomes
Introduction to CEB Exercises
The majority of emotion researchers throughout the world agree on these five Universal Emotions: Fear, Anger, Sadness, Disgust and Enjoyment. Emotions that all humans beings have in common, no matter where they are from or how they were raised.
Our emotions unfold on a timeline. It begins with a trigger that initiates an emotional experience and ultimately results in a response. Usually occurring in less than one second. Developing awareness if this process is one of the keys to emotional balance
All living things have a some kind of threat detection system, even living cells. Fear of danger helps us anticipate threats to our safety. For human beings the danger can be actual, imagined, anticipated, unexpected or misperceived.
Sadness is a response to loss and it often elicits the need for comfort and connection. Sadness is the longest lasting emotion, and it is the closest to a mood. Sometimes it can persist for a long time.
We get angry when something blocks us or when we think we're being treated unfairly. Anger can establish a boundary. Researcher is unclear about whether the wish to harm is built into anger, or if it is something we learn, but we know it is often part of the anger process and can lead to harm that we later regret.
The disgust response appears at around age four. We learn that the target of disgust is to be kept away from, it is unclean, dirty or socially/morally reprehensible. Feeling disgusted when someth toxic helps us avoid being poisoned, physically or socially.
Enjoyment describes the many good feelings that arise from life experiences both new and familiar. From an evolutionary perspective, enjoyable emotions encourage us to participate in activities that are necessary for the survival.