LAYER 6: VALENCE (The Perception Filter)

A real-time audit to detect the quality of experience (Pleasant, Unpleasant, or Neutral) before it triggers a reaction.

Accessibility

Intermediate-Advanced - Subtle but powerful

What Shows Up

Basic affective quality of ALL experience—pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. More subtle than L5 (specific emotions). The "flavour" underneath everything.

Introduction to L6 (Valence)

EMBEDDED L6 (VALENCE) VIDEO SCRIPT

Examples of L6 (Valence)

  • Pleasant tone: Warmth, ease, satisfaction.
  • Unpleasant tone: Discomfort, friction, aversion.
  • Neutral tone: The "Grey Zone." neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
    • Warning: The untrained mind calls this "Boredom" and tries to escape it.
    • The Pro mind calls this "Recharge" and rests in it.
Valence applies to everything:
  • Sensations (L1) have tone
  • Thoughts (L2) have tone
  • Emotions (L5) have tone
  • Even awareness (L8) has subtle tone

When to Use

  • After L1-L5 work is established
  • Training equanimity (non-reactivity to pleasant/unpleasant)
  • Understanding what drives push-pull (L7)
  • During meditation or contemplative practice
  • Working toward L8 (meta-awareness)

L6 (Valence) Rewire Script

NOTICE:
  • Scan current experience
  • Ask: "Is this pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?"
LABEL:
  • Mentally note: "Pleasant" / "Unpleasant" / "Neutral"
  • No judgment—just accurate observation
OBSERVE:
  • Don't try to change it or react
  • Just be with the tone as it is
  • Notice: tone changes moment to moment

The Mechanism: Intercepting the Signal

Valence (Feeling Tone) is the raw data tone of the tag your brain assigns to every experience before you even think about it: Pleasant, Unpleasant, or Neutral. This automatic tagging system drives the craving and aversion loops (Layer 7). We typically ignore this tag.
This protocol brings metacognitive awareness to that split-second tagging process. By labelling the valence ("This is unpleasant") before you react to it, you insert a wedge between the sensation and the compulsion. You realise the "tone" is just a quality of the experience, not a command to act. This weakens the neural link between "feeling good" and "grasping," or "feeling bad" and "avoiding," effectively de-conditioning the automatic "Push-Pull" code at its root.

The Outcome: Deep Equanimity & Non-Reactivity

The Shift: You stop reacting to the story of your experience and start seeing the mechanics of it. Instead of being jerked around by preferences ("I hate this," "I need that"), you simply register the feeling tone as data: Pleasant, Unpleasant, or Neutral.
The Gain: You cultivate Equanimity—not as cold indifference, but as a warm, stable presence. You can fully experience intense highs (success, joy) or lows (failure, pain) without being fused with them or tossed around by them. The emotional "weather" no longer dictates your internal climate.
The Result: Unconditional stability. Your clarity and peace of mind become independent of external conditions. You retain your centre whether the moment is difficult, delightful, or boring, giving you a distinct leadership advantage in high-stakes environments.