Emotion is not a biochemical byproduct or irrational interference. It is a semiotic, energetic, and neurophysiological signal — the felt guidance system through which life senses and aligns itself. This white paper presents the Neurobiosemiotic Architecture of Life-Functioning, a holofractal model that integrates emotion, mitochondria, structured water, vagal tone, affective systems, brain networks, and social participation as layered expressions of coherence.
Grounded in seven universal life-functions — Pulse, Boundary, Perception, Integration, Nourishment, Transformation, and Participation — the model draws from affective neuroscience (Panksepp, Solms), polyvagal theory (Porges), constructed emotion theory (Barrett), biosemiotics, analytic idealism, and life-value axiology. Emotion emerges as the semiotic signal of layered alignment or incoherence, bridging biology and meaning.
This architecture informs new approaches to healing, education, governance, and cultural renewal — inviting us to reframe feeling as a trustworthy compass, coherence as the ground of health, and grace as life remembering itself.
