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Anthem
1608 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 21 2008 : 5:40:04 PM
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I wanted to share an interesting realization that came up the other day in case others find themselves doing a similar thing. I have known that total acceptance or surrender of all things is part and parcel on the path to realization for some time, but also have seen that we human beings are not always aware of all the things we hold on to and/ or resist. Sometimes concepts we have about the way we think life ought to be or the way we think people ought to behave can cause us to hold on to erroneous ideas that can create resistance to particular circumstances in life and hence suffering.
The other day I became aware that an erroneous idea I had about realization lead me to resist my anger, (don’t ask me where these crazy ideas come from, they always seem so silly once you see past them). I got the erroneous idea that certain things in life shouldn’t make me angry and that anger in itself was a sign of lack of acceptance of reality and hence I was further away from liberation if I felt anger. Life was relentless in teaching me that this idea was incorrect and absurd situation and bizarre coincidences conspired (or so it seemed) to bring about situations that sparked the flames of anger in me. The more I resisted my anger the louder it became to the point where I was reacting to it internally and externally.
At some point, I became aware that the anger within just wanted to voice itself, to give me its message and that my anger was a great and necessary tool for me in life that gives me knowledge that something in life is happening that I don’t want or something isn’t happening that I do want. Further examination of what we think we want or don’t want can often expose other false ideas about reality, so my anger is a great tool that helps me liberate myself like all my emotions are.
I have gone down this road in the past with my fear and am very comfortable with this emotion and value its message. Anger for some reason was able to circumvent my internal radar and I didn’t like to see it manifest in myself or others.
Soon after learning to accept my anger more fully in all situations, its voice became much quieter and it can be observed and not acted upon with much more ease. The space that presents itself before and after anger can be used effectively to appreciate the source of the anger and the situations which can trigger it.
It wasn’t a big leap to go from accepting my fear and anger to then realize that all emotions including, fear, anger, hate, jealousy, guilt, greed, sadness, etc. had to be accepted within and their voices heard and their messages valued. When this occurred it became much easier to accept these in others and not to react to them with derision but to understand how and why they come up for myself and for others. So instead division and resistance within myself is replaced with acceptance and openness within and with others, a much happier way to live.
Our emotions seem to have a much quicker and more direct perception of reality than our minds and can show us the way to correct our erroneous perceptions of life if we listen. |
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emc
2072 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2008 : 01:38:36 AM
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That's wonderful, Anthem! I don't find it so strange that you had that erroneous idea about anger, though. Spiritual texts are full of suggestions that you should leave anger behind and that anger is not productive. But as usual it's often interpreted as if you are to leave it merely as a way of conduct, thus leading to a suppression of it inside. Much better to face it the way you do, and then the non-aggressive conduct will follow as a result.
I have my visual "emotional egg" to help me do what you do your way (where I see emotions as forms and shapes and from there I can track what feeling it is). I seem to need the visualization, since I have suffered from a type of alexithymia all my life - an inability to recognize what sort of feelings that are felt.
Discovering the world of emotions has been and is currently an interesting ride!
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Dec 23 2008 : 03:47:02 AM
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It wasn’t a big leap to go from accepting my fear and anger to then realize that all emotions including, fear, anger, hate, jealousy, guilt, greed, sadness, etc. had to be accepted within and their voices heard and their messages valued.
Thats exactly what happens within Time Line Therapy. Do a search. There are reckoned to be only two emotions which are fear and love with the rest being distortions of those two. When I do TLT I release the emotions around an event, part of that release is accepting the message, or what a person has learned from that event. By gaining that knowledge it effectively releases the emotion (I am simplyfying the procedure for clarity)around the event and then the subsequent events all the way back to the present.
It's interesting that you have concluded the same from a totally different angle. |
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YogaIsLife
641 Posts |
Posted - Dec 23 2008 : 10:30:59 AM
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Yes, I find them good insights Anthem.
quote:
Further examination of what we think we want or don’t want can often expose other false ideas about reality, so my anger is a great tool that helps me liberate myself like all my emotions are.
I found another powerful trap in what we think we want or don't want. Does a soul has a yearning? Is there something the soul wants to achieve? If there is and it is decided that this desire it´s worth following, can the mind be a hindrance? What is the difference between what we think we want and what we truly want?
I found I had a preconception: I thought a wise man would not follow what he/she wanted but would be content with whatever were his or hers current circumstances. I don't know if that is the case for a wise man/woman but even if it is I believe it was not always like that for him/her before they became wise. In their own path or adventure they had to make choices and follow their soul's desire. In that sense we must be able to discern what is our most inner and higher desires from what we believe or think we want or don't want. I found that, often, in what we thought are our biggest weaknesses we find our strongest qualities, and vice-versa. It takes courage to be ourselves but, like Joseph Campbell said "Follow your bliss". It is following our hearts that ultimately we will find happiness I believe. Not an easy or straightforward task, but one worth embarking on, if one fills drawn towards it. |
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