Vivian Dittmar - The Power of Feelings: A Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence

The Power of Feelings

A Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence

Vivian Dittmar

The information provided in this book is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. This book is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any psychiatric or medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any psychiatric or medical problem, consult your own physician. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged to render any type of psychological, medical, or any other kind of professional advice. The content of the book is the sole expression and opinion of its author. The author/publisher shall not be liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, financial, or commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential or other damages.

Originally Published in German under the title:

Gefhle & Emotionen, Eine Gebrauchsanweisung: Wie emotionale Intelligenz entsteht by edition est

copyright first edition 2007, fully revised and updated edition 2015, Vivian Dittmar, all Rights Reserved

Translation first edition: Vivian Dittmar, Priya Kamala Giri, Cordelia Zafiro Translation revised and updated edition: Susan Nurmi

Cover Design: Vivian Dittmar Cover Photograph: EpicStockMedia

Author Photograph: Axel Hebenstreit, www.lichtseelen.com

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

Publisher: edition est, Vivian Dittmar, Munich, Germany Printed by CreateSpace, Charleston SC, USA

ISBN 978-3-940773-16-6

For my children.

About the Author

Vivian Dittmar is a bestselling author, celebrated speaker and founder of the non-profit Be the Change Foundation.

Growing up on three continents in very different cultures gives Vivian a unique take on what it means to be human. Going back and forth between first, second and third world countries regularly, Vivian was struck by the stark contrast between peoples outer material wealth and their inner state already as a small child.

Early Career

From an early age, Vivian has worked internationally as a self-help and personal development teacher and coach. Over the years, she has worked in Germany, Indonesia, Australia, Israel, Thailand, Costa Rica, Italy, Greece and Sweden. In Bali and later in Germany she ran her own practice. Her clients have come from all walks of life and have given her countless opportunities to deepen her understanding of what works and what doesnt.

A New Focus

After extensive travels, Vivian returned to Europe to contribute to the cultural evolution currently under way. She decided to shift her focus away from personal work and has since then focused on systemic changes. This came from the realisation that as long as the system, in which an individual is embedded, is dysfunctional, the level of health and inner wealth the individual can attain is starkly limited. She set up the non-profit Be the Change Foundation for Cultural Change in her native Germany, which is a partner of the Pachamama Alliance and offers educational events to raise awareness about ecological and social justice issues.

Travelling Writing Coaching

When not travelling to hold talks or working on her next book, Vivian works as a trainer and coach. She accompanies businesses and executives in cultural change processes with a strong focus on emotional intelligence. She is the author of three successful books, the first of which has been translated into English, Italian and Spanish.

Personal Life

Besides her extensive professional and non-profit engagements, Vivian is a passionate mother of two sons. She lives with her family between Germany and Italy.

CONTENTS

The material in this book has the potential to change the way you relate to your feelings fundamentally. In the past couple of years, I have shared the insights contained in this book with a growing number of people individually, in seminars and at professional training sessions. As a result, I have observed how people have been transformed by a new clarity in relation to their feelings. I have observed how people have become more alive, more authentic and more loving, living their lives with more clarity and wisdom. I have observed how their relationships have been transformed and how they have become able to encounter life at increasingly deep levels.

Many of the changes these people make are attributable to the material collected in this book. Certain aspects of it have been passed on to me by various teachers, who in turn acquired insights from their own teachers. Other parts revealed themselves to me bit by bit, as I delved deeper into the phenomenon of feeling within myself. I gradually gained full understanding once I decided to pass this knowledge on.

It has been claimed countless times that the students teach the teacher. I can only confirm this. Students, seminar participants, apprentices, and clients have allowed me to penetrate the mystery of feeling with ever-increasing clarity. The book at hand contains a kaleidoscope of these insights, a mosaic of inner knowledge. It is a travel guide into the foreign land of feeling within you. You might be familiar with some parts of it, while others appear new and exotic. When you are ready to delve deeper, you will encounter enthralling mysteries in the regions you have shunned the most so far.

Reading this travel guide, like any other, is not a substitute for taking the actual journey. This travel guide, like any other, can give you glimpses and, as is the case with any book of this kind, it makes sense to read each part repeatedly. With each new reading, a new level of knowledge presents itself. It makes quite a difference whether you read a travel guide about London at home or after landing at London Heathrow Airport, to say nothing of perusing it while standing in front of Buckingham Palace. Suddenly the significance of certain details reveals itself, details which were barely noticed back home.

The same applies to these pages. If you feel this material is relevant to you and you wish to grasp it fully, read it again and again. And if you are ready to take the trouble of embarking on an expedition into your own self, this book will provide you with many paths towards hidden treasures within you towards feelings as keys to inner power.

Vivian Dittmar

Munich, October 2007

Almost seven years have passed since I wrote the preface to the first edition of this book. Much has happened since then. The book promoted almost exclusively by personal recommendation became an amazing success. It simply kept selling. Lots of people took the time to write to me and thank me for the book. In personal encounters, I heard time and again how helpful it has been, how much clarity it has brought and how much they like making it a gift to others.

Needless to say, this has made me very happy. I am still amazed at how the small black letters which I type on my computer manage to open up inner floodgates in the heads of other human beings. In the course of my life, I have received such gifts from other authors often enough to know how precious they are!

At the same time, such positive feedback did not exactly encourage me to revise my book. Apparently it is good, so why change anything? I was even worried that making revisions might actually detract from the text.

The insight that it was high time for a revision did not come until I realized how much more my friend Chiara Jana Greber and I had learned about the topic since this book was written. This insight came in the spring while I was writing my A Parents Guide to Emotional Intelligence . It was obvious; ever since The Power of Feelings