Meeting Circumstances

Meeting Circumstances

Non-expression of negative emotions, self-remembering and transforming suffering are three of the major pillars on which conscious evolution rests and depends upon. All three are required, not necessarily all at the same time, although because they are so interconnected with each other, the simultaneous experience of these three may occur.

The first of these, the non-expression of negative emotions, to use a contemporary expression, is non-negotiable. Higher centers and the expression of negative emotions are completely and utterly incompatible. To quote the Teacher, “Expressing a negative emotion kills higher centers.” As if to underscore this, some time ago, after confiding a difficulty in this area to one of my friends, he advised me that expressing a negative emotion is like taking a poison pill and expecting the other person to die.

It would be logical to believe that the negative half of the emotional center is where negative emotions reside. This is a false belief. The emotional center is an organ of perception. Negative emotions are, in fact, the result of identification and imagination. They originate in the instinctive and moving centers.

The photo of the statue carved by the Japanese master artist Unkei, seems to depict a demon monster, the portrayal of a negative emotion in full blast. In fact, the statue is an image of a mature steward who, when observing a negative emotion or attitude, meets it with an equal fierceness and strength and thus protects burgeoning higher centers. It is his role to meet and defeat the lower self whenever it tries to encroach on higher states.

The fact is, when expressing a negative emotion, conscious evolution ceases. Each time a negative emotions are expressed, they become stronger and self-remembering becomes weaker. It’s that critical an issue for anyone pursuing conscious evolution.

Peter Ouspensky was firm in his understanding of the importance of the non-expression of negative emotions. "If negative emotions were useful or necessary for any, even the smallest purpose, and if they were a function of a really existing part of the emotional centre, we would have no chance because no inner development is possible so long as we keep our negative emotions.”

Join the discussion