Emotions











Emotions:   "An emotion is the meaning we give to our felt states of arousal. Psychologists consider emotions to be complex states involving diverse aspects. On the one hand an emotion is a physiological state of arousal; on the other, it also involves an object as having a certain significance or value to the individual. Emotions are dynamically fed by our drives and dispositions; they are also interlocked with other emotions, related to an individual's beliefs, a wide-ranging network of symbols and the "cultural ethos" of a society. " http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/desilva-p/wheel237.html



View emotions as an aspect or 'module' of human belief-systems always 'switched-on'. Emotions are constantly flowing, and always present. As opposed to some Buddhist interpretations, a contemplative, or 'spiritual' mood is just another emotional scenario, handled by the same biological and cognitive mechanisms. People are always 'feeling' something, even via mundane thoughts. The ego is always switched on, even when it's acting selflessly. What Buddhists may characterize as transcending ego and/or emotions, is in this model rather, the ego merely following different instructions cataloged in ones belief-system.





Emotions and Beliefs work together: Consider the physiological aspects of emotions (what we actually feel; our feelings) are not very varied. We perceive emotions differently based on accompanying thoughts, ideas and beliefs.



"Likewise from the point of view of physiology emotions are indistinguishable from each other. Cordelia Fine summarises some the research on this in her entertaining little book A Mind of Its Own. She points out, for instance, that the mechanism that makes our heart race with fear, exhilaration or plain physical exertion is the same in each case. The body has very limited responses to stimulation. Fine sums it up with this equation: emotion = arousal + emotional thoughts. Arousal, it turns out, comes in one flavour but differing intensities. Arousal simply prepares the body for activity. If you are shaking fear, or anger, or trembling with anticipation of reward it's all just arousal. And what makes the experience distinct is the accompanying thoughts.[2] - Now this view of emotion is quite consistent with the early Buddhist model which seems to see emotions as agitation accompanied by thoughts. ... (Jayarava's Raves) "



Physiological mechanisms of emotions do 'multiple duties', depending precisely on which thoughts precede the feelings. One example is to say that 'embarrassment' and 'guilt' are handled in precisely the same way by our biology. One mechanism, while emotions vary depending on the thoughts accompanying any particular event. I must admit, this wasn't intuitive for me. I had expected that different emotions were handled by different biological and cognitive mechanisms. This is serendipitous for me, since it simplifies describing the relationship between feelings and beliefs.



This leaves the frame of mind where self, ego, emotions and beliefs are inseparable aspects of the precise same system. If ones beliefs are not consistent with reality, it is to be expected that their emotional states will also be to some degree conflicted. Emotional balance in ones life reflects on how rational is their belief system