A thought on Emotion

[Karmoh]

I read somewhere that an emotion is but a chemical reaction to a certain situation (fight or flight). Once released by the brain or other organs it will only course our bodies for 90 seconds, unless we allow the feeling or emotion to continue......

During meditation I have experienced this and by letting go it does evaporate. So for me personally meditation allows me to experience these emotions and learn to let go……………….after time this begins to happen naturally during the day.......

Meditation is the lesson; during the day is the practice, and sleep is possibly the preparation..........

Just having a ponder

[Panthau]

Yup, thats how it is. Gotta go with the flow and open up to life.

[GilesC]

I read a scientific research article that showed that physical action (i.e. the movement of muscles) starts to occur before (literally fractions of fractions of seconds before) the synapses in the brain have fired, which is somewhat the opposite of popular understanding that the synapses fire to cause the muscles to move.

That being the case, I wonder if an emotion rises first as a pattern of memory from sense recognition, thus causing the chemical reaction to take place in the brain, such that the chemical reaction is created to hold onto the emotional pattern and stimulate futher the emotional physical response. Thus perhaps by stilling the mind and being aware of the patterns arising we can just let them go and not let the chemical reaction take place.

Bit confusing, but I know what I mean hehe! Just need to get my head around it and see if I can relocate that research again.

Thanks for reminding me to go back and find that.

Hugs

Giles

[aeonakin]

E motion is energy in motion (you attatching "things" to feelings and feeding it). Feelings are part of the reception in sensitivity. Meditation is the method. There are many bio chemical "reactions" that occur (ie change in brainwaves) in "deep" meditation. Use the method to recieve, you can't let go of something you're not recieving (or really aware of).

[Karmoh]

Hi Giles,

Yes, good point. Instant reaction in a crisis, then the flood of emotional chemicals after. If you scale it down, way down you point makes perfect sense.

[Salem Temple]

Fascinating points, though I must add, music and art are examples of emotional reactions that are not based on fight or flight mechanics. As we develope, our access to higher states of counsciousness are achieved. Its true that chemical reactions take place to command the body, but as Giles suggests, there is a bit more to it. If we start with the first available states of consciousness we have instincts, fight or flight reactions. But as human development continued we discoved, eventually, morals and ethics, art and philosophy, industrialization and standardized education. Though fight or flight is still a back up, and is exposed in high stress environments, we have developed other abilities and uses for emotional responces. For example remote viewing is a way of fine tuning your sensitivity, as Aeonakin hit on, to recieve "impressons" that paint a picture. Meditation is often used to simulate mental states that produce desired emotional reactions, whether the emotional state is relaxed like a clear lake, or active and focused like an arrow. The difference in meditating or not, is in that by meditation we take command of our mind and its emotional reactions as a tool, and without meditation most drift along being used as a tool by thier own undirected emotional energy. Alot of the methodology that is used to begin meditation is way of artifitially sending signals to the brain as to what atate it should be in. For example if you are in a high stress situation and are about to overload, take off your shoes, or take slow deep breaths. You are over ridding your brain by physically doing activites that tell it you are entering, or about to enter a different state of mind. Again, great points and stimulating topic, thankyou

[olmate]

Pema Chodron often talks of "Shenpa" - which is a little difficult to describe... but is in the area of the space just before physical response. She often refers to it as the hook that attaches to reaction. Some responses are small while other envelope us.

As a practice she often talks of noticing the shenpa as a presencing practice.

I thought it was an interesting perspective.

Olmate

[Tom and Kathy]

What if the energy of us is separate from the burdens of the physical bodies? The physical bodies have to go through the synapses... but through meditation we can access the larger cosmic self and thereby the emotions can flow through rather than attaching to us. We can acknowledge happiness, joy, anger etc. and it is our brain, our human experience, that decides how to interpret these feelings.

If indeed there is a biochemical release that runs through our body then our question is, “Can you control the thought that prescribes the specific biochemical pattern the same way you can release the emotion?”

[Itlandm]

Olmate, thanks for the mention of Shenpa. It looks interesting. We Christian mystics have roughly the same experience, but I don't think I have heard a generic name for it before.