Experiencing physical pain is pretty much a given; experiencing emotional pain is optional. When pain receptors in the body are stimulated, we suffer, plain and simple. However, we are much more in control of our emotional reactions. The mind’s emotional responses are governed by a belief system, which we can consciously choose. Once installed, it becomes the mind’s de facto operating system.
To show how it works, imagine your son is joining the military. Now imagine your emotional response, which could be happy, distraught, or neutral, depending on your convictions or lack thereof. Now imagine someone showing interest in your lover. Perhaps you feel insanely jealous—a common response for people in our culture. Yet if you were a member of a native culture patterned after the gifting way, you might feel honored and glad to share.
Dealing with emotional pain directly is akin to taking aspirin for a headache: it might help you feel better, but the source of your comfort goes unaddressed. Fortunately, emotional pain can be greatly reduced, even eliminated, by going to its source and eliminating it. I’ve watched vegetarians who got sick at the smell of meat grow to savor it, and seemingly heartless soldiers become caring pacifists, simply by changing their belief systems.
The solution may be simple, but not necessarily the process. It most often takes time and tremendous dedication, although it could be miraculously quick. We like to think we are conscious beings, but the vast majority of what we feel, think, and do is just knee-jerk reactions. The usual evolution to a new belief system occurs not as a steady progression, but in fits and starts. The stronger your vision and supportive community, and the more trust you have in them, the faster your transformation. But no matter what the speed, the release from emotional bondage is truly a miracle.
O.K.So not helpful. Thanks a bunch