Posted by tancu on September 25, 2002, at 6:19:17
In reply to Separating emotions from their source, posted by Dinah on September 24, 2002, at 9:08:44
Awareness of the subtleties, associations, and patterns of our emotions can be a good thing--as long as one is "comfortable" with such intimacy of self. Yes, I am "familiar" with this sort of introspection. I spent a large part of my life sifting through every real or imagined emotional nuance that I "thought" I had experienced. I even attempted to examine the emotions of other people, as if doing so would somehow help explain my own. After twenty years or so it became laborious and mind-numbing, a kind of "mental-masterbation" without any particular or useful climax. "Thinking" made it so. Then it came to me that humans are only capable of experiencing two emotions--love and fear. This realization is what helped me to "unlearn this defense mechanism"--as you have called it. If you look closely at any given situation, real or hypothetical, that leads to any particular "emotion", you will primarily find either love or fear as the impetus. Hatred and anger, for example, may arise out the fear that others are poised to do harm. Jealousy is the fear that you cannot attain what others possess. Disgust comes from the fear of that which you find repulsive or disagreeable. Letting go of your fears leaves you with nothing but "love"--the only thing you really need, the only "thing" worth your time and attention. From this frame-work my life became much simpler--no more wondering or worrying about why I "feel" and "act" like this or that, or why someone else feels and acts the way they do. Love is easily discernable from fear...gotta go to work now...look forward to hearing from you all later.
poster:tancu
thread:1126
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020829/msgs/1134.html