The Origin of Negative Emotions
The Origin of Negative Emotions
Question: "Where do negative emotions come from? Do they have some physical or spiritual location? Where does the energy behind them come from?”
This is one of the most important and practical subjects we can address. Rather than turning to books for an answer, we can simply observe what happens to us during the day.
Energy is constantly passing through the machine, going in, coming out. Food brings energy. So does the air we breathe and a good night's sleep. Impressions or people bring emotional energy. Each moment of presence creates a form of energy, too, that is more rarefied.
We're not used to managing the energy circulating in our bodies, though, especially if it is abundant. It starts to feel uncomfortable. A kind of nervous restlessness runs through us. At some point in the day, things start to go wrong. There are intervals. An unpleasant colleague torments us. The symptoms of a cold emerge. We're falsely accused. We realize we forgot to buy bread. None of the shirts are ironed and now we have to go out and there's no time. Our perception of the situation gets darker and darker.
Something happens that we know about intellectually, but which still traps us. Our emotional center (which, in most cases, is poorly educated) begins to bring up chains of associated episodes, both recent and quite old, and to reenact old attitudes of resentment, anger, frustration, self-pity—emotions that were generated mechanically during childhood.
We return to that childhood, in the worst way. Although a moment ago we asserted the importance of never expressing negative emotions for any reason, this understanding stops at the intellectual center and has not permeated our being.
The chain of emotional associations comes from long ago—from before we started spiritual work, from when we had no reason not to express negativity. And now these old 'I's give negative emotions permission to manifest.
We slam a door. We shout. Or we retreat into hostile silence and sulk.
Two main factors are at work here: energy that we can't handle and negative emotions that we have allowed to manifest. Ouspensky emphasized that behind every negative emotion lies our permission. The work to deconstruct this chain of associations and reactions is long and sometimes painful.
We must strive to keep our eyes open when we feel a negative emotion approaching. We need to think about why it comes, and under what circumstances. We need to understand, beyond the individual episode, what makes us lose our heads. Is it vanity? Envy? Jealousy? Fear? Insecurity?
We need to set goals for the next time a similar situation occurs.
Finally, we must have the strength when the situation recurs and the fire burns, not to express negativity in that moment.
And then we shall notice something else.
This essay, written by our friend Sergio Antonio, appears in his book, ‘A Question Presence.’ Available on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Question-Presence.../dp/8894546977
Portrait of Bindo Altoviti, Jacopino del Conte, 1550s
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