Throughout each given day, we feel a variety of emotions as we face whatever life throws at us at that moment. We may start the day off happy, only to feel angry during the morning commute and more agitated as the day progresses.

Certain emotions, like anger especially, can trigger reactions that can have harmful consequences. Not only do you risk getting socked in the face for yelling at someone, but all the stress and negativity can cause harm to your body and your mind in different ways.

What you really need is to learn how to "woosa" and channel your inner Dalai Lama.

Now, you will be able to better learn and be more aware of your emotions to help you find peace with this new interactive website called Atlas of Emotions.

Backed by funding from the Dalai Lama Trust, the Atlas of Emotions was created by Dr. Paul Ekman and daughter Dr. Eve Ekman, with help from Stamen Design. The site maps how our emotions influence our lives, and where the user can navigate to better understand and cope in their quest toward inner peace.

To start this visual journey, click on one of the five emotions that are presented, which include: enjoyment, anger, fear, sadness and disgust. The emotions are displayed as moving circles to represent their own continent of feeling, while the movement showcases how this emotion varies among people.

Once the user taps on an emotion or selects from the drop-down menu to the right, they can view the various "States" of said emotion from the least to most intense. Click on a state, such as "grief" to read a blurb about that level of sadness, for example. Not every level of emotion in "States" will have a blurb, but it is pretty awesome to know that schadenfreude, or the enjoyment of the misfortunes of another person, like a rival, is actually a state of enjoyment.

This feature is probably the coolest aspect of the interactive map, because you get to learn about the strength of your emotions. You may think having an aversion to something is bad, but loathing it is the worst. This can help you monitor how strongly you feel and assess your need to practice more tolerance and patience to feel zen.

Click on the down arrow or use the right sidebar to go to the next part of this emotional experience. This will be "Actions," which can be intrinsic or intentional, depending on the state.

It may seem obvious that the more furious you are, the more likely you are to use physical force, but actually visualizing these stages of anger, for example, puts things a bit into perspective.

Hover over the chart to see how the associated emotional state to its corresponding action, such as ecstasy, can cause withdrawal or joy and can cause you to seek more or savor it. This helps the user be more conscious when it comes to acting based on feelings.

Next up is "Triggers," which includes those situations or events that will spark that particular emotion they are following. There is a tab for responses associated with the triggers, but it's not clear which exact state of emotion corresponds. However, the user can still get the general idea that something like losing a treasured belonging can cause sadness or public speaking can cause fear.

One of the best parts of this interactive emotion app is finding the specific mood that is associated with that specific feeling. This slide, like the rest, allows the user to click on it to read what that mood means. While this is the only thing "Moods" does, it is really interesting and informative to learn that dysphoria is really the term for "feeling blue."

The journey through the specific emotion ends here, and the user can go on to the next one. Make sure to also check out the Annex to find additional information, like personality traits linked to the emotions, as well the psychopathology of them.

It's easy to feel more grounded and self-aware after using this map to explore one's emotions. Check it out for yourself and get ready to "ommm."

Source: Atlas of Emotions

Photo: Christopher Michel | Flickr

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