Masked Emotions

I was about 16 years old when I heard something from my Mother for the first time... I was in the middle of growing up, and dealing with emotions that I just didn't understand at the time. My Father was never around during a time when a boy needs guidance and direction to find his way...and I didn't understand what it meant to take responsibility for who and what I was. It was easier to be angry and blame what I felt on others or the situations that surrounded me. I was angry...very angry...and I didn't even really know why. Then my Mother said it... She asked me..."What are you afraid of?" Of course I didn't understand and sometimes we don't want to understand. We would rather just be angry and left alone. She pried her way through my barrier, and struggled to keep my attention, but persisted and held my attention. "Really Matt, What are you afraid of?... Anger is a form of fear. So what is it?" That was the first time I had even thought about what and how we deal with things. I've always been intrigued by objective thought, and the way my Mother seemed to be able to deal with things. Cause and effect. I felt angry, but what was the cause?... What was I afraid of? Could it be that I was afraid of having to take responsibility for myself? That I could no longer blame my life on what my Father did, or did not do? Did I have to actually face myself, and that is what I was afraid of? As I have experienced life and it's many emotions that come with it, I've often thought of that experience... Stopping and trying to analyze what is the root or cause of how I'm feelings.

There is always cause and effect, in everything in life... However the interesting part is our own tendency to not accept that we might be causing the emotions that we experience. Most emotions are reactionary to protect ourselves to avoid blame. We naturally don't like thinking that we are in error, so we react with emotions that are designed to self protect. For example..."hate"... A very insightful quote that was submitted just recently via this blog was:
"Dissect hate and you'll find that it's nothing more than love wearing shields and armor..."

(Tiyu Zafu)

Think about that... Hate is the protective emotion. Jealousy is really fear of losing someone. Anger is really fear, masked to protect and divert blame. Hate is only love wearing a shield.

I often hear..."I can't help it... it's just the way I feel." That is a simple choice to ignore our own responsibility. We really can be in control of our emotions... in fact it's better to not feel the emotion at all, than to have to force one's self to "control" something that is a reaction to...what? Negative thinking! It has been said that "thoughts are things"...and that "every negative thought is something bad we put into our bodies"...We are what we think about..."As a man thinketh...so is he".

Thoughts CAN be controlled...negative emotions can be what I like to think of as "red flags" or warning signals that our thoughts need attention. It is much easier...when one feels anger, fear, anxiety or some other negative emotion...to examine what one is thinking to generate that emotion...and change one's thoughts...or, as some would say, "change the channel to a different frequency". It is our thoughts, and the emotion generated by those thoughts, that trigger the Law of Attraction and attract more like thoughts.

"All stress is caused by one negative thought...gone unchecked...and then another and another..." That can be altered by just one positive thought...again...change the frequency.

Thanks Mum :)