While our current social paradigm emphasizes the importance of professional image, brand, and “appearance management,” our everyday experience of life is highly affected by moods—our own and those of others, nearby and in the collective. Oddly, we often give little attention to the power moods have upon us, yet they significantly impact everything we do, think and say…or try not to do, think, and say!

Moods arise from feelings and emotions that are triggered by numerus stimuli, to include empathic sensitivity to other people’s moods, relational exchanges, diet, physical illness, beliefs, past experiences and traumas, and thoughts. They inevitably attract our attention, sometimes to the point that we lose focus regarding our own sense of self and personal mission in life. And yet they also contain important information. Whether we see ourselves as victims of our moods or as co-creators who influence emotional shifts depends in part upon the state of our ego functioning and our level of consciousness. Choosing to take an active role in our “mood management’ can have social and spiritual implications as our own moods also impact other individuals and the larger human family.

This seven-week series will use myth and story to explore the triggers for our moods, their purpose in our lives, the psychodynamics that maintain them, their effects upon self and others, alternatives for coping with them, the spiritual implications of our moods, and ways to transform them if we choose. Energy medicine techniques will be shared when applicable. A syllabus and list of references will be provided during the first class along with handouts as needed.