What is the reality you know?
Reality is the limits of the world through the eyes of an observer. What are the parameters that set the limits of reality for a person? Consciousness. But, contrary to popular belief, consciousness is not only thoughts, but also feelings. Feelings and everything that surrounds them are linked to thoughts. Feelings, on the other hand, give you new wings. While emotions create impenetrable walls against reality, feelings broaden your perception.
Emotions, or passions, are reactions driven by shadows, which in turn are fueled by instincts, conditioning, uncontrolled desires, immature aspirations, painful memories, and deep-seated prejudices. Emotions are associated with virtues, with calm, balanced and educated feelings. They are emanations of light; they are love in all its multiple fruits. Joy is the most important indicator. Emotions put us in harmony with life, while passions make us euphoric or fearful.
How do I know if I am happy or excited?
Pay attention to the basis and depth of what you feel. Joy comes to us when we understand the evolutionary movements of life and all its beauty. Euphoria envelops us when we feel pleasure, whether purely sensory or mundane. Only when the emotions, which are always virtuous, are engaged does thought acquire the freedom to break through the limiting walls set by the passions, which are always somber, and expand the known reality.
Is it not possible to separate emotion from free thought?
Thought is an indispensable tool for transforming feelings into emotions; the mind fulfills a didactic function for the heart. The same is true in the opposite direction. By the time one settles down, the other has acquired the necessary skills to help the being develop. They grow in perfect symbiosis. The mind must be strong enough to bring the emotions to the surface. After enlightenment, they reach adulthood and transform into emotions. Emotions are a powerful springboard for thought activity because they provide the impetus. Until this equation is clarified, reality falls short.
Power resides in the mind, but the heart is capable of unbalancing it at the slightest carelessness.
Is a cold person, a person who stays away from feelings and emotions, better at perceiving reality?
Definitely not. Such a person will not shudder at evil, nor will he enjoy good. Do not confuse a calm person who knows how to balance his emotions and feelings with someone who represses them; they are different situations. Emotions should be nurtured and illuminated, not denied. When repressed or ignored, they accumulate energy to explode in the other person or provoke an explosion in him or her. Conversely, when emotions are transformed into feelings, they become the impetus for clearer and broader thinking. Giving up emotions means giving up the transformative power they contain; it means giving up one of the best parts of our being.
On the other hand, a man who is driven by emotions alone, without the anchor, rudder and compass of reason, is prone to disorientation and slight imbalance; he becomes a drifting ship that will crash against the rocks of existence in the face of the inevitable storms. It has survived several shipwrecks. No ship reaches its destination by simply opening its sails to the winds of life.
Imagine, for example, that you observe a particular situation through a destructive emotion such as anger. Undoubtedly the world would take on a dark and gray shape, nothing and no one would be good, the boundaries of relationships would diminish. Choice would be followed by alienation, pain and punishment in the same tone. There would be no progress. On the other hand, turning anger and allowing compassion to embrace us to understand that all evil is the result of ignorance and fear, in any of its various manifestations, moves us forward.
Consider the same event from both perspectives; observe how the vision and reality change. Remember that awareness is about perceiving yourself and your surroundings. The more deeply we understand ourselves, the more clarity we will have about life.
Why do we practice evil to a greater or lesser extent, whether it is a serious crime or an ordinary action that is not always perceived, such as indifference, contempt or sarcasm? You will realize that evil is only done by those who suffer.
A person suffers when he moves away from his virtuous self and the ethical axis that guides him. He suffers because he cannot be and live all that is within him. This happens when love, even in childhood, cannot blossom in the face of a concrete fact; the gaze becomes numb, the intellect narrows and life shortens.
Emotions are like nebulous galaxies that suck the best out of the traveler. Emotions are portals of light that elevate the journey to other levels of existence through the transformations they bring. Emotions narrow reality, reducing the clarity of thought and, therefore, the ability of consciousness to perceive who we are and all that surrounds us. But are there other factors that limit reality?
The greatest danger is when we think we will not be touched by the tricks of irresistible passions. Any attention will always be too little. Emotions are convenient bait for moral traps. They are often the best alternative.
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Love, Johnny 🤍
The images in this article belong to: @kattycrochet