Flowing with emotions

Sometimes it's hard to know what an emotion exactly means when we are experiencing it. Emotions are always in flow, and they can be quite overwhelming at times. Better than to ask "is this good or bad, what I'm feeling?" would be to ask yourself the question "does this particular emotion hold me back, or does it give me the space to expand and reach for more?"
Anger, which is traditionally viewed as a negative emotion, can indeed give us the power to stand up for ourselves, to put an end to an intolerable situation, and therefore can actually help us to change for the better. Does it really serve us to judge our emotions as good or bad? In my opinion, we can always learn from them. They are messengers, telling us what we are struggling with, where we need more loving attention, and when it's time to act.

Your thoughts?

I fully agree. Even fear has a healthy use when it tells us of a danger ahead, to be wary. There are so many ways fear can be used unhealthily that it's easy to forget its legitimacy.

Also beware conditioned responses; those are times we react based on past reactions and not necessarily to the situation of the present, blocking us from seeing what is really going on.

Still even such responses are informative as they can point the way to inner issues that need attention and healing.

Emotions embody knowledge -- knowledge that we can and should use to our advantage.

I don't think an emotion is good or bad in the general case. It only makes sense to ask whether an emotion is good or bad in a specific situation.


Here's an explanation of emotions from a friend of mine:

> Emotions embody traditional knowledge which we don't have a full, conscious understanding of. Emotions are also fallible and possible to change.
>
> If we feel good or bad about something, we might be mistaken. But it's not irrelevant. There is, in general, some reason the tradition causes people to have that emotion in that situation. When in doubt, it's better to use traditional knowledge, which has been criticized and improved a lot, than to make something new up from scratch.
>
> Here is a rational way to use emotions in argument: "If doing that would be good, why do I feel bad about it? Do I have any ideas to change it slightly so that I'll feel good about it? If there is no way to change it to be more emotionally appealing, why isn't there?" This doesn't assume the emotion is true. It notes the violation the traditional knowledge behind the emotion and uses that as a criticism. Any proposal which does this needs to have an answer to the criticism. It's not necessarily bad in all cases, it can be OK, but it needs some reasoning to make it OK and address the concern. If it does have a satisfactory answer, then that's fine, but if it doesn't it should be thought through more.
>
> There are two main reasons not to follow an emotion. The first is if doing so would cause a problem. If you foresee a bad result then you better look for an alternative (preferably one you won't feel negatively about). The second reason is if you have extensive knowledge of a subject and have an idea which you believe is better, which you've scrutinized extensively, and now you want to use it.
>
> Sometimes we find our emotions are unhelpful or cause problems in a repetitive way. In those cases, it's important to change our emotional makeup so that stops happening.
>
> Sometimes we find we make decisions while emotional and regret them later. This is a flaw, but we can improve and fix it.
>
> Sometimes people get angry and then they assume that if they are angry the other guy must have done something to make them angry. They take their anger as justification of their own anger, which is invalid. Worse, some people believe they had no choice but to be angry. It's not their decision, it's just anger which is a natural, biological force. Thus they bear no responsibility for their angry actions, only the victim of their rage is to be blamed.

The rest of that essay is here:

http://fallibleideas.com/emotions

I opened a thread someone where else yesterday..thought I would plonk it here..

Staying with your own emotions...

---

For many of us, we have our very own
unique processing style. Each one of us use various means to feel and
deal with our emotions.

In many instances those emotions that we are unwilling to feel, can
often be used in ways that we are projecting them into the world around
us. In an empowered sense this can be very powerful, both as your own co
creative force from within and to contribute to the world around you.

When we hold onto those emotions that we are unwilling to fully address,
let go of, those emotions will often become a mirror to the world
around us in our expressive space. Often then our contribution to the
world around us, will reveal those emotions to us. If we see them
playing out.

Often even in the face of our own denial of our own emotions in that
space, we can end up in a battle of emotions with the very source
revealing to us, our own emotions. When projected in this way, they may
not be fully embraced by ourselves.

Quite often I notice, that many seekers who begin threads seeking
answers to specific problems or seeking new awareness, usually end up
revealing a layer or more of hidden emotions that begin to reveal
themselves, as the thread goes on.

When this begins to open up those emotions, we do have an opportunity to
self reflect on how we feel, when that activation occurs. This can be a
wonderful opportunity to find your own answers in what you ask. Those
emotions block your clarity, which in turn can give you full
understanding and the creative tool to utilize in an empowered way.

Honouring how you feel is important ...how you process your emotions is
important to you, your way. Denial of certain emotions, only serves to
hold you back from the very clarity you are seeking beyond the minds
questioning or self reflection..this in turn can open up your awareness
to a new level....if your willing to let go.