I recently heard, in audio precepts, a book I had long sought in my adolescence called Harnessing Your Emotions by Andrew Wommack. Although this is a Christian take on psychology, it did help me realize that our emotions are controled by our thoughts not the other way around. This in turn has aliviated me of social anxieties, personality disorders and psychological ailments. The populous runs with the idea of psychology that our cirumstances dictate how we should feel and act which becomes our excuse for destructive behaviour.
For those who struggle to smile or get out of bed, hearing that “you choose to be happy or sad,” is like hearing “finnish your plate, or don’t you know there are starving children in Africa.” The immediate reaction typically is “what do you mean I chose this? Who on Earth would choose these feelings?” And “Yes I know there are but that’s them and this is me, I’m full.” Truth is the ungrateful are byproducts of a soul-less society bent on systematically turning us into the infamous Epsilom of Huxley. Ayn Rand argued what many philosophies teach, that selfishness is a neccesary evil that helps society evolve. I suppose if you are selfishly working to stop devolution then yes it does help but otherwise it is a false doctrine which many of us have fallen for.
I remember a documentary on an orangutan that was raised at a school and learned sign language. When put in a zoo his “mother” asked him if he recognized the animals with him, to which he replied were orange dogs. Knowledge is power and the more you know the better person you become by leaving the old brash reactions and harnessing your emotions. We are not different from plant and animal life in our feelings but our thoughts.
When you let society’s bombardments construct your personality such as holding back on doing something or keeping silent and dressing particularly so as to not have judgment passed on you, what ends up happening is our emotions are harnessed by society and not ourselves which is dangerous because society is over-ruled by megalomaniacs and we in turn become like them too.
We are taught not to compare ourselves to others, in looks, situations and otherwise. I understand it may be to avoid coveting but we are eluding the truth as well and sugar-coating our selfish ways through the notion that we shouldn’t put ourselves in another person’s shoes unless it’s out of piety. Such as with the comment of starving children, we wisp that picture away to go back to our own problems but truth be told if we really did get to thinking we probably would have a problem with all the food we let go to waste. When we see another person we shouldn’t make ourselves feel bad for not being like them in their physique but can better our health by remembering you would like to be as well off too.
This is the kind of selfish wavering of community and global issues that has us all drawn on ourselves. Instead of extending our hand to others we are using that hand to self harm because society has raised children whose parents didn’t and they are the over-sexualized degraders of others who arn’t sex symbols, the desensitized bullies who push people to commite suicide or crimes due to so much harassment.
The public who ignorantly bypasses these events is to blame as much as our media and lack of parenting in society. We should all work to get schools to teach differently, that way our emotions will be harnesses by us alone. Anti bully programs exist but no programs that teach of the propaganda used to oversexualize women into objects, not how media is molding boys and girls negatively, not how circumstances don’t define us or how we choose the way we feel. With this taught to our children because most parents don’t I’m certain there would be less problems emotional and physical in the world that is raising people to listen to their reptilian brain instead of their conscious.
Sometimes people need to see the girl with no arms who writes with her feet or the boy with burn scars who isn’t emberasses by them to realize that life is too short to be self-conscious, when we try our best it doesn’t matter if we arn’t good enough it’s only when you are brain washed or not actually caring enough about yourself that we let other people’s comments get to us.
Andrew Wommack said emotions are like a horse, super strong and fast. Once it runs off with you it’s hard to catch up to it for you to be safe again which is why it must be harnessed at all times because a horse cannot get up or turn nor even run without the use of it’s head and we also can do nothing without using ours.
This song combined with the video speaks volumes about society’s hold on us which we should learn to cut the cord with. VNV Nation Illusion/DollFace
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Two people, Person A and Person B. Person A was taught from the moment they were born that the sky is blue. Person B was taught from the moment they were born that the sky is red. One day, Person A and Person B meet one another, and they start to argue about what color the sky is. Eventually, they decide that they are unable to convince each other. The truth is that they see the same color in the sky, but call it different things because of their different perspectives. The point is, yes–our thoughts have a lot to do with our emotions. But our early development has a lot to do with how our thoughts formulate. Put a Christian and a Muslim in the same room and tell them to convert each other. It most likely won’t work out too well. Their perceptions are deeply held and very strong. I thank you for posting, because there were a lot of good things in there. But I don’t think, for a lot of people, it’s as simple as saying, “change your thoughts”. I appreciate what you did though, because I know you did it out of genuine concern and love 🙂
While l i completely get that everyone experience same stimuli differently, the fact remains as in an example told by said Author that person A and B after going through horrific abuse by a relative only one suffered great mental anguish. This is because socially we are taught of steps (of grief) we must go through to be sane again after trauma sometimes taking years to complete. We see it as normal that he/she now hate the other sex or that it’s normal they have agoraphoe. But we don’t need to go through it. What we really need is to fake it till we make it, smiling when you don’t want to does change your mood, getting out there to ensure Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs met and that you are where you are celebrated instead of tolerated is what most matters when you are at the point of breaking otherwise we covince ourselves that we are how we are because so and so said this or I am what I am because look at where I live.
Although obviously it’s been proven in a study that those who eat gold and have flying ponies are prone to more bouts of happiness than those who otherwise scavenge its also true that those who excessively work to get that money are prone to depression and even the poorest who work in the rickshaw buisness are happier than the rich. Why, because their society doesn’t teach them to be hardwired on enviorment for personality. Culturally speaking we need to be different. I wouldn’t tell antone they are selfish deep down we know our acts are tearing our relationships, are endangering us, are xrippling other’s faith. It’s what waiting too long to get on your feet does. I know what work for one can’t for all but it’s our indoctination that keeps us from healing not what happened to us. Maybe I’ve gotten to spiritual lol but lane man walk, mind over body is my motto. Whatever works for you but know you control you not anything else.
You make some pretty good points, and in the end society does try to “fix” as all to fit into it’s ridiculous standards. Try to go against it, and even if you are right, you are considered mentally ill or just alienated all together.
I agree with you specially in what you say about using comparison to better ourselves (and it should be used to help others as well), but there’s something about that, where does that line becomes an unhealthy comparison and turns into self hatred? i say this because (and i’m talking only about myself here) whenever i tell to someone “don’t compare yourself to others” i do so because we all in fact have different situations and abilities/characteristics, but i make it a point that you should try doing your best, and i always assumed most people saw it that way as well (which now i’m guessing is completely wrong on my part). Like you say, for some it might be just a sugar coating justification to justify their behavior.
I also (i’m guessing wrongly as well) always assumed that not comparing to others had nothing to do with empathy, and that you can comprehend and empathize with someone just by judging the magnitude of their circumstances, preferably in the most neutral way possible, considering how it affects them, not how it would affect you. Regarding that, psychology does make it a point to separate yourself from the situation in order to better judge it, but most human beings don’t operate like that.
That last thing makes me wonder, isn’t there a possibility for both theories to be right depending on people and circumstances? you say that thoughts control emotions and psychology in a way claims the opposite, but if we all comprehend the same concepts in different ways, could we not have differences in the methods in which we process emotion and thought? i ask this because i never heard about the author you mention, but in a way i have tried to do that (thought over emotions) a good portion of my life, and while it works there are times when it just doesn’t work for me, and when it does, it takes a toll as well (wearing me out). I know it’s a longshot but i’ve heard strangest things.
Sorry for the long reply by the way, and i’m guessing most of it made no sense, but i really enjoyed your post.
I agree with this–I’m also trying to change the way I think, and it’s very difficult. There are times for me when it doesn’t work either.
I think it’s possible that both perspectives are right, depending upon the circumstances. There are some who wallow, and there are some who get stuck in destructive mental cycles. Depression is different for everyone.
I’ll let the man in question answer your two theories co-existing question. Here’s the link to the podcast I heard:
http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1005
In it the author mentions how when describing someone to another person we have to be honest for them to be recognized. You say, oh he’s the tubby blonde in black shorts or she’s the women with a limp. I wouldn’t go as far as the author in calling someone fat though, but maybe he’s right and I’m super sensitive too. There are fight words which should be avoided of course. We soothe words so as not to hurt feelings, I say what you wouldn’t call someone to their face you shouldn’t say behind their back. But we have to be prepared to be recognized as the “over-weight guy”, the “short lady,” ect. And if that’s offensive for someone it’s because they arn’t being honest with themselves. We have to get use to our imperfections and that everyone can see them and will refer to us by them. Or we have to live with it and be “yeah, I’m the short pudgy one April mentioned to you,” or we could try and change it. I know its unfair to say “she’s the one with crooked teeth” or how she should get Lumineers if she’s so troubled to be recognized that way. I recall my teacher said that was her problem and would hold back on smiling. I say that’s societies problem, we shouldn’t be afraid to be judged on what we can’t control only what we do control, like our perspectives and thoughts. It’s terrible sad how we let society dictate us and we must learn to reverse this fear of judgment to be happy again.
I kinda agree with you that we should accept our imperfections, but my guess is that few people could be recognized by them without feeling offended, because whenever someone calls someone “the over weight guy” or “short lady” (even if it’s in a polite way) it usually wakes up a whole baggage that the person brings with them (i.e.: a whole life of dealing with being overweight or short). I agree that it is society’s fault, so my guess is that changing that might be kinda impossible on others, but not so on oneself. Thanks for sharing your opinion (pretty interesting to read a different one) and the link to the podcast, will listen to it when i can (hopefully soon).
Also, the Brain is an organ. Just like any other organ in the body, it is susceptible to disease. Clinical Depression is caused by a misfiring of neurotransmitters traveling along the synapses in your brain. To say that this is selfish, In my opinion, does a great disservice for these people, because it really isn their fault. Telling them that they’re selfish gives them another thing to judge themselves about and be depressed over. Tell the depressed that they’re worthy of love instead. Filling negativity with negativity creates more negativity. Try being positive with these people instead–trust me, it works 🙂
It’s an organ we havn’t figured out yet, we theorize about how it works majorily yet treat everyone as if theirs work the same, conclusively giving out the same meds. Not that I’d ever tell anyone “get off those meds or don’t you know It’s all in your head.” If the side effects are minimal and there is progress I say go for it, I totally get that we do need pick me ups, or fast relief. I’ve been there but I’m only saying these things because what I suffered with years on end went away in hours. No medication worked to benifit me and when that’s the case it can be dangerous when finding alternatives to aliviate inner turmoil. I’m just promoting this excersize if “harnessing our emotions.” I’m not at all saying to anyone “quit your lollygagging and reverse your brainwashed ego with the proper doctrines.” Maybe I put it more nicely than that. Nothing is as simple as being well off the next day, it’s been for me years of hearing the same thing but only just listening to it. As Opera Winfrey would put it I had an “Ah-hah moment.” We all wait to have it put into words we’ll understand, for me it was in the said book that I didn’t for once roll my eyes at hearing “but you’ve got two eyes, two ears…ect.” like our parents would say if they heard us complain about the way we look. I myself did get swept up in the whole “I’m a victum, I’m this way because of these events and I’ll try to be how society and the media think I ought to be.” These things only make things worse, although they are brought on it doesn’t mean it should be left that way but we are led to believe we should let her cry it out for months on end, we should let him skip meals untill he forgets…ect. And that isn’t the way to let someone heal. It’s like the author put it, we are “putting a bandaid on an amputated arm.”