09-18-2018, 03:13 PM
(09-17-2018, 07:50 AM)Shannon Wrote: The issue is that it is not the mind, but the emotional self that you are talking about. As far as I can determine, the mind is separate from the emotional awareness. They seem to be mutually exclusive in how they cogitate and comprehend the world around them. They communicate in vastly different ways and they generally do not understand one another. The "mind" is the logical one, and the "heart" (for lack of a better term) is the emotional one. The emotional self is the one that feels fear, because fear is an emotion. The mind does not experience emotional anything in it's pure expression. Only when they are blended and/or balanced does one experience the other.
The emotional self experiences fear as a safety mechanism, and the mind experiences logic as a safety mechanism. Because fear is arising from an irrational awareness, it can become tangled and all sorts of issues arise from it when it does. Too much fear is a bad thing, just as not enough fear without any other safety mechanism in play is a bad thing. We can only remain safe when we let go of fear and replace it with the use of our other potential safety mechanism, which is our logic and ability to think and know.
So being utterly fearless and not bothering to think about what you're doing and what the potential consequences are is a bad thing; but logic tells you that if you walk on the edge of a skyscraper and you lose your balance, you may fall and die. Logic suffices perfectly well to prevent you from doing that, even if you have no fear.
Shannon, I'll add my experience on the mind being separate from the emotions, for I agree with your take on this.
Back in 7th grade, I began playing the trumpet since I joined the band. I clung to it since I could both connect to emotions in music and express them. I enjoyed this. I got good at trumpet not since I had some ego or goal to achieve, but since anytime I desired to find an emotion, I would explore while playing, and find something. I used it to minister to myself.
To this day, I recognize hundreds of songs, which is no feat. The difference is I could hum or play any song I've heard, but the words? Nope. I've never listened to words. Words mean understanding, but music, to me, means emotion. I've always connected to the emotion in music. An example is I love soundtracks. They're often loaded with emotional moments in them, and good composers often lead you right into certain moods in movies and shows. Star Wars would have completely tanked if they used classical music like they'd originally planned. John Williams wrote the music, and the movie is still popular over 40 years later. No small feat, as the plot wasn't that great. The music greatly amplified its message and impact.
An embarrassing incident happened in college, as I was talking to my girlfriend about the 80's song "Red, red wine". I always liked the relaxed feel and "let it go" message I picked up, and I shared this with her, innocently. Since she was a pastor's daughter, it shocked her since SHE knew what the song was about. And I didn't. (I still don't.)
So, from my experience, emotion is definitely separate from the mind.
I want to be FREE!