Trust Your Feelings!: Why It Matters

By Dr. Robert Obol Nyeko

As part of my college education, I studied philosophy. Its focus was on intellectual training and developing my ability to explain things logically and rationally. Feelings were often considered unreliable and thus of limited value. However, in real life, my feelings have been the foundation for some of the best and most durable decisions I have ever made. My long-term commitments have my feelings written all over them.
To get in touch with one’s feelings, one could even begin by asking oneself questions such as, “Why have I woken up feeling tired this morning?” The next step would be to ask,
“When do I wake up tired?” It could be that I have a staff meeting every Friday afternoon, and this meeting is often contentious and emotionally draining. I believe this is the beginning of a person’s self-awareness and gradual development of the ability to understand the range of one’s feelings.
This is the manner in which an expert functions. An expert is a person who has a reservoir of knowledge and experience in a particular field that they can always turn to in order to be able to make the necessary associations and interpretations. People who have mastered their feelings can examine their life experiences and learn to make associations, differentiate patterns, and interpret situations to get meaning out of them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728314419

Dr. Robert Obol Nyeko

Dr. Robert Obol Nyeko was born in December 1971 in the Kitgum District of Northern Uganda. He is the firstborn of the nine children of Mary Tina Obol and Andrew P.K. Obol and is a Roman Catholic priest. Dr. Nyeko completed his training for the Catholic priesthood in his home country and was ordained a priest on August 18, 2001. After his ordination, he was immediately assigned to serve as an associate pastor at Pajule parish, located in the archdiocese of Gulu. Of the three years he served in the parish before he came to the United States, only his first five months as a newly ordained priest proved to be peaceful. The rest were marked by war and violence when the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) returned from their bases in South Sudan to Uganda to wage war and Pajule parish suddenly became the epicenter of the conflict.

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Copyright © 2019 Dr. Robert Obol Nyeko. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   07/30/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-1428-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-1427-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-1441-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019907112

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

To my

personal friends, who have never cheated on me.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1   Feelings Predict the Future

Chapter 2   Feelings Are a Reliable Basis for Life Commitment

Chapter 3   Mothers Making Health Care Decisions Based on Feelings

Chapter 4   Feelings Speak to Family Members about Other Members

Chapter 5   Feelings Warn of Life–Changing Events

Chapter 6   Feelings Communicate What May Happen at the Workplace

Chapter 7   Feelings Alert One to Possible Danger

Chapter 8   Feelings Tell When One Is Ready for a Break

Chapter 9   Feelings Reveal Hostility in the Air

Chapter 10   Feelings Provide Clarity When Faced with Tough Choices

Chapter 11   The Power of Feelings to Show Care for Others

Chapter 12   My Feelings Communicate When It Is Time to Move On

Chapter 13   Dogs Also Trust Their Feelings

Conclusion

Appendix

About the Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This is my second book. The first book I published was titled The Life and Lessons from a Warzone: A Memoir of Dr. Robert Obol Nyeko. In writing these two books, I have learned something about the personal discipline needed to be a successful writer. Anyone can be a writer, a reviewer, or an editor, but the distinguishing mark is passion and commitment.

I would like to thank my editor, William Skoluda. When working on any project, Bill gives his whole heart and all of his time. His world revolves around it. And this one has been no exception. I believe that he is among the best in the business.

I want to thank Donna Caputo for her observations. Donna always brings her wisdom and a fresh eye to what I have written. I am happy to say that she has been part of my writing projects for almost a decade now, beginning with my doctoral dissertation and then my first book and now my second.

I also wish to thank Mr. Al Henagar, the clinical pastoral education supervisor of the University of Kansas Health System. Mr. Henagar has a deep reservoir of knowledge about human behavior. Among the many things that he teaches aspiring chaplains is that they need to be in touch with their own personal feelings if they are to be effective in the profession. His observation that this work could make a significant contribution to the appreciation of human feelings and his encouragement gave me great confidence about the direction I was taking and the choices I made as I wrote.

I express my appreciation to Fr. Melvin Rusnak for his friendship and support. Fr. Melvin was the contrarian or the skeptic throughout this process. He asked many thought-provoking questions that made me think through and refine my thoughts on the subject of feelings.

I am also grateful to Jill Michaud, and I thank her for her critical analysis of this book. I particularly appreciate her suggestions to move certain sections of the book and to make additions that brought clarity and completeness.

I also thank Sr. Grace Aciro for