Mindful Construct isn’t an ordinary place.
Since when are emotions intelligent?
Typo, right? (How about oxymoron?!)
Yes, to the “normal” reader.
To the “weird” reader, there’s a curiosity that stirs. Maybe even an inner knowing.
That all these years we’ve been lied to. That emotion doesn’t wield a big sword, and that logic doesn’t wear full-body armor.
Well, we haven’t really been lied to. We’ve been lying to ourselves.
Emotion is not the opposite of reason. And business is pushing science to play the catch-up game fast.
A year from now, it won’t be weird to say that emotions are intelligent. Right now, it still is. But I’ll risk sounding like a broken record until that day comes. Because it’s a message this world needs right now.
Right now, most people curse their emotions, wish they would go away, conduct rescue searches for the “off” button, struggle to understand why they exist in the first place.
Right now, it’s weird to take response ability for pain, or loss, or tantrums, in a mindful way. It’s normal to off-load those responsibilities to other people, maybe professionals, or to ignore them altogether.
But guess what? The weird part makes it cool.
At least here at Mindful Construct.
Go out into the world implementing what you learn here, and people may give you funny looks. Some will judge. Some will stare.
But after a while, it won’t offend you. You’ll know they’re just afraid of themselves. Because yeah, starting to work with emotions can be scary!
You won’t worry about what others think, because you know that crass comes before class when it comes to emotional honesty and outspokenness.
And boy, when that year, or more if it takes longer, rolls around, you’ll be standing there, all classy and already in the know — when everyone else is just starting this journey.
Because it’s messy, it’s tough, it’s scary, it’s hard. But it’s worth it.
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Thank you for this article. Almost a year ago, I spent time in a DBT class after a difficult period of my life. Since then I have been trying to learn to -own- my emotions, accept them and express them constructively. It’s always helpful to hear reinforcement that the learning process is a bumpy road and those bumps are not really knocking you backward.
Fabulous site.
Jolene, thanks so much for sharing.
Yes, the first part of the journey is bumpy, full of doubts and suspicions of counter-productivity. But it’s smoother sailing once you start to trust yourself. One secret is, every step “back” means a giant leap forward. :)
Great points there. True that when you learn to deal with your emotions, it’s quite scary. Sometimes I feel like just turning it all off and run away from whatever causing it. But when I finally decided to face it, I do feel that I went out stronger than before. And yes, it’s worth every single effort since we are living in a world full of people (and yes, everyone has their own emotional bits and pieces whether they acknowledge it or not). Anyways, thanks for writing =D
Hey Monkey Magic, that’s great to hear. Good point about living in a world full of people! We do need to get our emotional acts together so we can get along better. :)
Since I started meditating and understanding just a bit better, how we are wired mentally, I have been unabashedly in touch with my emotions.
We have been taught various mechanisms (games, if you will) to NOT get in touch with our emotions. Some techniques – (1) Labelling emotions – to sadness/grief is “sissy”, pride is “bad” etc, (2) elevating logic above emotions – be “professional”, lets approach this “logically”…
It doesn’t work. Ignoring emotions – the signals our mind and body are giving us, just makes us ineffective.
Well, I am sure you feel a bit weird now talking about this in your blog. Expect many more people to join in with you in the days ahead :-).
Cheers,
Krishna
Krishna, unabashedly is the way to go! I love the way you break it down.
The weirdness has worn off for me, now it’s just fun, especially when reading comments like yours that talk about the bigger picture. :) Thanks so much for sharing your perspective Krishna!
We have desires to tell us in which direction to move
Suffering is there to tell us that something is wrong
The ego is our saviour, martyred to our cause
The ego is an organizing principal and figurehead. It doesn’t drive anything. Desires are emotional attachments. Emotions (e – motion) want to move us in the direction that makes them more comfortable. Suffering is a signal. It tells us we are out of balance. The point of suffering is not punishment but warning that you need to get your balance back.
Hi Laurie,
Yes, suffering is a signal. And yet, so many religions, cultures, and movements try to get rid of suffering, rather than listen to its message!
Yes, the Ego is so special. It’s the personification of our suffering, which means it has so many complex messages to share about how we can get our balance back…
Thanks for your comment!
Whats this year you are talking about?
“A year from now, it won’t be weird to say that emotions are intelligent. Right now, it still is. But I’ll risk sounding like a broken record until that day comes. Because it’s a message this world needs right now.”
And why after this year will it not be weird to say that emotions are intelligent?
A year from the “now” of this article would be October 28, 2010. But that’s optimistic. It won’t be as weird in the future because eventually more and more subcultures will catch on to how emotions are useful tools. :)