June 4, 2025 • 9 mins
In this episode of #FeelingsMatter, hosts Heather Hampton, Michelle Stinson Ross, and Tina Schweiger explore the emotion of feeling enlightened - that sudden feeling of understanding, awareness, or wisdom about something or someone. The conversation delves into the difference between learning and enlightenment, how enlightenment drives innovation and creativity, and the role this emotion can play in professional settings. The hosts share personal experiences of enlightenment and discuss how it connects to empathy and holding space for others.
Episode Highlights:
This episode of the #FeelingsMatter Podcast was recorded and produced at MSR Studios in Saint Paul, MN.Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
This episode is sponsored by
FeelWise - bridging the gap between reflection and resilience, offering practical tools to help people overcome obstacles, embrace change, and grow stronger emotionally. https://www.feel-wise.com/
Don’t miss a moment of the conversation, subscribe to the show on your favorite podcasting platform
Podcast theme music by Dubush Miaw from Pixabay
This episode of the #FeelingsMatter Podcast was recorded and produced at MSR Studios in Saint Paul, MN. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
This episode is sponsored by
FeelWise - bridging the gap between reflection and resilience, offering practical tools to help people overcome obstacles, embrace change, and grow stronger emotionally. https://www.feel-wise.com/
Don’t miss a moment of the conversation, subscribe to the show on your favorite podcasting platform
Episode Highlights:
- Heather describes enlightenment as those magical moments when "several things that you know or have learned come together in a way that you've never thought about," creating connections that no one has ever explained to you before
- Michelle distinguishes enlightenment from regular learning, noting that while you can't force enlightenment, you can create conditions for it by actively working toward learning new skills and pulling different aspects of your life together
- Tina describes enlightenment as "finding the light from inside yourself," contrasting it with inspiration which typically comes from external sources, and shares how she often wakes up with new viewpoints or ideas that seem to arrive unexpectedly
- The hosts connect enlightenment to workplace innovation, with Tina explaining how Feel Wise came from moments of enlightenment and describing these moments as "shoots" in a game of shoots and ladders that propel innovation forward faster
- The conversation concludes with insights about how enlightenment connects to empathy - when you're truly in tune with yourself through enlightenment, you're better positioned to hold space for others and honor their experiences respectfully
This episode of the #FeelingsMatter Podcast was recorded and produced at MSR Studios in Saint Paul, MN.Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
This episode is sponsored by
FeelWise - bridging the gap between reflection and resilience, offering practical tools to help people overcome obstacles, embrace change, and grow stronger emotionally. https://www.feel-wise.com/
Don’t miss a moment of the conversation, subscribe to the show on your favorite podcasting platform
Podcast theme music by Dubush Miaw from Pixabay
This episode of the #FeelingsMatter Podcast was recorded and produced at MSR Studios in Saint Paul, MN. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
This episode is sponsored by
FeelWise - bridging the gap between reflection and resilience, offering practical tools to help people overcome obstacles, embrace change, and grow stronger emotionally. https://www.feel-wise.com/
Don’t miss a moment of the conversation, subscribe to the show on your favorite podcasting platform
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Do you have trouble talking about your feelings. You're not alone.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
It's a topic that can make even the most powerful
people somewhat squeamish. You're listening to Feelings Matter, where our
mission is to demystify everything about emotions so that we
can all get more comfortable in talking about them. Join Heather,
(00:28):
Tina and Michelle as we unpack a new angle on
emotions and the psychology of human nature.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Feelings Matter.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hello everyone, and welcome to Feelings Matter. I'm Michelle Stinson Ross.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And I'm Tedishweger and I'm Heather Hampton. All right, so
this week the card that I picked suppressingly not a
negative emotion. I picked enlightened this week, which falls into
the interest category. And the definition of enlightened is a
sudden feeling of understanding, awareness, or wisdom about something or someone.
(01:15):
And some of the questions you could ask yourself is
do you feel a sense of clarity and understanding about
a specific subject, a concept, or an aspect of life?
Like that would be the aha moment? Right, that makes
perfect sense. I get it. Neville. Are you experiencing a
shift in perspective or a newfound awareness that brings a
(01:36):
sense of insight and wisdom, or do you find yourself
seeking knowledge, wisdom, or spiritual growth to enhance your understanding
of yourself and the world around you. I think that
we are all three Ladies' lifelong learners, were driven by curiosity,
and so we're always trying to learn new things. But
(02:00):
learning is very different from me than enlightenment. For me,
enlightenment is that moment when several things that you know
or have learned come together in a way that you've
never thought about, no one's ever explained to you, and
the connections. It's like a magical, mystical thing where like
(02:23):
everything coalesces and makes sense to you in a way
that you had never previously been able to understand it.
And I don't feel like that's a frequent emotion that
I experience. While I certainly would seek it out, I
don't think it comes naturally. I don't think it's something
that you can really cultivate. But it's very moving and
(02:47):
powerful when it happens.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
It would tend to agree with that description.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
I think for me that is how I also it's
experience enlightened where I've been working towards something I've been
learning about this thing and learning about that thing, And yes,
I know I'm trying to pull all these things together
for a particular reason, but that moment that it just
coalesces and finally synthesizes in my own mind in a
(03:19):
way that I can turn around and explain that to
somebody else, that that definitely is when I experience that
sense of enlightenment.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And while you can't force it, I do agree with you.
I think that there are ways.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
To set yourself up for success.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
If I could say it that way, that yes, if
you're in the process.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Of learning a new skill or adopting a new mindset
or something like that, that if you're actually working toward that,
and you're really trying to pull different things in from
different aspects of your life, that you're definitely setting yourself
up to experience enlightenment. Now it's not guaranteed that you will,
(04:09):
but the conditions are right for enlightenment at that point,
I would say, I go back.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
To the word enlightened, and it's like in inside, the
light inside, and that feely image of enlightened is glowing
coming from the inside, and enlightenment is just that it's
finding the light from inside yourself. Sometimes I think it's
different from inspired, because inspired usually are inspired by something
(04:41):
outside of yourself, but enlightened is like being inspired by
something inside yourself. And I don't know what it is,
because I think just I'm a crazy person that's obsessed
with creativity and doing things. I get a lot of
inspired from within myself, like a feeling of enlightenment. Like
(05:01):
sometimes just in the middle of the night, I wake
up and I've got a viewpoint on something that's different,
or I get an idea that just arrives and I
can't explain that. I love to be enlightened, and I go.
I try to get there as often as I can.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Oh, I was just gonna Tina if feel wise, all
the feelings came from a moment of enlightenment for you,
this whole project came from enlightenment.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
The process of innovation and creativity is so iterative, and
it's almost like the moments of enlightenment, or the moments
when things spring forward a lot farther, a lot faster,
and it's a like shoots and ladders. Enlightenment is like
a shoot for innovation and progress.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Next, tllme, I'm glad that you bring up innervation in
the context of this because I know we got asked
a lot what good is this feeling or any type
of feeling in the workplace?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
How does that work?
Speaker 4 (06:06):
As we've discussed together several times that, particularly in the
American workplace, it seems like a lot of places want
to tell you, yeah, just check those feelings at the door.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Come be a little robot for us for a while.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
And I know we get questioned a lot about how
is this actually useful at work?
Speaker 3 (06:26):
And this.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Connection between enlightenment and innovation is why this is useful
because there are a lot of workplaces that value innovation.
They try to cultivate innovation, but if they're not working
on the emotional experience that goes along with innovation, you're
not going to get there. Or am I talking out
(06:51):
the side of my mouth right now?
Speaker 5 (06:54):
I think what you're saying is that the value is innovation,
but let's not forget enlightenment that drives that pushes innovation
farther faster.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I would agree with that, Tina. Why would you say
that empathy as a mindset is so important for an
emotion like enlightened, which doesn't necessarily make an automatic connection
between the two.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
That's a good question. I think the empathy enlightenment is
really you are in tune with yourself and the moments
are really in tune with yourself. Is a really healthy
space to hold space for another person by you're in
a place where you can hold their experience honorably and
(07:40):
respectfully with empathy. When you're in a place of enlightenment, feelings.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Matter is brought to you by feel wise. Most people
can identify three emotions sad, mad, and glad.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
There are over one hundred and fifty six ways to
truly express how you feel. Fuel Wise tools help.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
You build your emotional vocabulary and transform understanding into action.
Discover the language of emotions on the fuel Wise website
at bitley slash fuel wise. That's b I T dot
l y slash f e E.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
L WI s E. Feel wise. Turn emotional awareness into
your superpower
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Downst
Do you have trouble talking about your feelings. You're not alone.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
It's a topic that can make even the most powerful
people somewhat squeamish. You're listening to Feelings Matter, where our
mission is to demystify everything about emotions so that we
can all get more comfortable in talking about them. Join Heather,
(00:28):
Tina and Michelle as we unpack a new angle on
emotions and the psychology of human nature.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Feelings Matter.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hello everyone, and welcome to Feelings Matter. I'm Michelle Stinson Ross.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And I'm Tedishweger and I'm Heather Hampton. All right, so
this week the card that I picked suppressingly not a
negative emotion. I picked enlightened this week, which falls into
the interest category. And the definition of enlightened is a
sudden feeling of understanding, awareness, or wisdom about something or someone.
(01:15):
And some of the questions you could ask yourself is
do you feel a sense of clarity and understanding about
a specific subject, a concept, or an aspect of life?
Like that would be the aha moment? Right, that makes
perfect sense. I get it. Neville. Are you experiencing a
shift in perspective or a newfound awareness that brings a
(01:36):
sense of insight and wisdom, or do you find yourself
seeking knowledge, wisdom, or spiritual growth to enhance your understanding
of yourself and the world around you. I think that
we are all three Ladies' lifelong learners, were driven by curiosity,
and so we're always trying to learn new things. But
(02:00):
learning is very different from me than enlightenment. For me,
enlightenment is that moment when several things that you know
or have learned come together in a way that you've
never thought about, no one's ever explained to you, and
the connections. It's like a magical, mystical thing where like
(02:23):
everything coalesces and makes sense to you in a way
that you had never previously been able to understand it.
And I don't feel like that's a frequent emotion that
I experience. While I certainly would seek it out, I
don't think it comes naturally. I don't think it's something
that you can really cultivate. But it's very moving and
(02:47):
powerful when it happens.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
It would tend to agree with that description.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
I think for me that is how I also it's
experience enlightened where I've been working towards something I've been
learning about this thing and learning about that thing, And yes,
I know I'm trying to pull all these things together
for a particular reason, but that moment that it just
coalesces and finally synthesizes in my own mind in a
(03:19):
way that I can turn around and explain that to
somebody else, that that definitely is when I experience that
sense of enlightenment.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And while you can't force it, I do agree with you.
I think that there are ways.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
To set yourself up for success.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
If I could say it that way, that yes, if
you're in the process.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Of learning a new skill or adopting a new mindset
or something like that, that if you're actually working toward that,
and you're really trying to pull different things in from
different aspects of your life, that you're definitely setting yourself
up to experience enlightenment. Now it's not guaranteed that you will,
(04:09):
but the conditions are right for enlightenment at that point,
I would say, I go back.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
To the word enlightened, and it's like in inside, the
light inside, and that feely image of enlightened is glowing
coming from the inside, and enlightenment is just that it's
finding the light from inside yourself. Sometimes I think it's
different from inspired, because inspired usually are inspired by something
(04:41):
outside of yourself, but enlightened is like being inspired by
something inside yourself. And I don't know what it is,
because I think just I'm a crazy person that's obsessed
with creativity and doing things. I get a lot of
inspired from within myself, like a feeling of enlightenment. Like
(05:01):
sometimes just in the middle of the night, I wake
up and I've got a viewpoint on something that's different,
or I get an idea that just arrives and I
can't explain that. I love to be enlightened, and I go.
I try to get there as often as I can.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Oh, I was just gonna Tina if feel wise, all
the feelings came from a moment of enlightenment for you,
this whole project came from enlightenment.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
The process of innovation and creativity is so iterative, and
it's almost like the moments of enlightenment, or the moments
when things spring forward a lot farther, a lot faster,
and it's a like shoots and ladders. Enlightenment is like
a shoot for innovation and progress.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Next, tllme, I'm glad that you bring up innervation in
the context of this because I know we got asked
a lot what good is this feeling or any type
of feeling in the workplace?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
How does that work?
Speaker 4 (06:06):
As we've discussed together several times that, particularly in the
American workplace, it seems like a lot of places want
to tell you, yeah, just check those feelings at the door.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Come be a little robot for us for a while.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
And I know we get questioned a lot about how
is this actually useful at work?
Speaker 3 (06:26):
And this.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Connection between enlightenment and innovation is why this is useful
because there are a lot of workplaces that value innovation.
They try to cultivate innovation, but if they're not working
on the emotional experience that goes along with innovation, you're
not going to get there. Or am I talking out
(06:51):
the side of my mouth right now?
Speaker 5 (06:54):
I think what you're saying is that the value is innovation,
but let's not forget enlightenment that drives that pushes innovation
farther faster.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I would agree with that, Tina. Why would you say
that empathy as a mindset is so important for an
emotion like enlightened, which doesn't necessarily make an automatic connection
between the two.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
That's a good question. I think the empathy enlightenment is
really you are in tune with yourself and the moments
are really in tune with yourself. Is a really healthy
space to hold space for another person by you're in
a place where you can hold their experience honorably and
(07:40):
respectfully with empathy. When you're in a place of enlightenment, feelings.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Matter is brought to you by feel wise. Most people
can identify three emotions sad, mad, and glad.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
There are over one hundred and fifty six ways to
truly express how you feel. Fuel Wise tools help.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
You build your emotional vocabulary and transform understanding into action.
Discover the language of emotions on the fuel Wise website
at bitley slash fuel wise. That's b I T dot
l y slash f e E.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
L WI s E. Feel wise. Turn emotional awareness into
your superpower
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Downst
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