Getting In Touch With And Understanding Emotions; The Fear Factor

I was told many years ago that humans are as easy to program as computers. I laughed because I thought this idea bordered on insanity. To me, it was ridiculous to entertain the thought of humans being easily deceived or brainwashed. I have grown up with the idea that we are the masters of the universe and that humans not only win at the game of life, but we also create the games that are being played. It wasn’t until I had the fortune of taking a class in my undergrad that caused me to reevaluate and dissect my whole outlook on the inner workings of life. It was during this pivotal moment in my life that I learned that all humans are controlled by one and only one emotion. During my epiphany I became acquainted with the knowledge that the majority of the stresses and tensions that are created by the human mind can find its origins in this one emotion. In my studies and in my investigation, I’ve come to the conclusion that this one emotion is the most powerful force known to the development of mankind.

            Now I’m not delusional enough to believe that my Ideas will be accepted by all of my readers however the purpose of this article is to impregnate you with an optional mental alternative. As I look at current affairs and the status of our well-being I am concerned that the harvest will not yield an expected crop. This concern motivates and encourages me to continue my quest for enlightenment. However I am troubled with the possibility that throughout human history we may have all been duped and that proverbial happiness is only a smoke screen that operates as a divisional tactic. My mind began to foster these feelings after I experience consciousness of this one “emotion”. I became knowledgeable of the fact that we cannot trust our emotions and when we do this is when we are led astray. To understand this fully we must understand that there is no complex matrix of emotions. We must subscribe to the idea that everything in life is defined by human interpretation and without that interpretation nothing would exist. It is the entanglement of physical and mental along with our interpretation that creates the images and the world in which we live. This propaganda is created by humans to justify their self appointed superiority over other animals. And it all begins, with this one emotion.

            So what is this emotion? In order for me to explain this theory I must first define what an emotion is and how it is created. I must trace its history and then reveal its goals and motivation. Webster’s dictionary defines the word emotion as “a conscious mental reaction (as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by psychological and behavior changes in the body” (An Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 2013). This tells us that we must first have a consciousness of its existence which means that we cannot experience any emotion passively; it requires that we are active participants. Also this definition lets us know that emotions are subjectively experienced, meaning that, by definition emotions are our own creations. Wow!!

That is powerful because what that tells us is that the emotions that we experience our products of our own imagination. So there is only one emotion, we consciously and unconsciously label these “feelings” according to our surroundings. For example, if as a child you felt uneasiness in your stomach when you watched a certain horror movie; you might be inclined to label that feeling as fear. Now if we take the same feeling and put it in a different scenario for example, those same butterfly feelings only this time you’re face-to-face with someone that you are infatuated with, now that same emotion will be characterized as love. It is at this point the reader must understand that it is only one emotion and this one emotion is being called different things according to different scenarios and circumstances. So there is no love, hate, fear or any other emotion without our presence and our interpretation of what we are feeling.

An Encyclopedia Britannica Company. (2013). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from emotion: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emotion

 

 

Today I figured out what I do for a living

Karl Marx’s theory of alienation states that “within the capitalist mode of production is that the worker invariably loses the ability to determine his or her life and destiny, when deprived of the right to think (conceive) of himself as the director of his actions; to determine the character of said actions; to define his relationship with other people; and to own the things and use the value of the goods and services, produced with his labor.” (Schacht, 1970).

Today, I meet my first hospice patient after working for this company for three months. This was a heartwarming and soul defining experience. It all started when; I walked into the hospital room of a potential client and presented the family with the services that I had to offer. To my surprise, I was met with a person who had prepared himself for life’s greatest journey, a journey home. In the above statement Karl Marx states that our identity lies in the product that we produce and when we are disconnected from the end result of our daily efforts, we are disconnected from life. Tonight I feel that I have been reconnected, this was the moment that I understood the value of what I really do for a living. Today my job became my calling.

As I began to speak, this man’s wife’s eyes met mine with tears. She said “I cannot do this by myself”, I responded by saying “you don’t have too, and you will never have to worry about paying for any of our services, we are here for you let us take care of you” This was the first time in my professional existence that I could make a claim that I knew would come true... I left the room knowing that today I made a difference, today was the day that I realized that I am employed by a company that was gracious enough to see my talents and then give me the power to grant a wish, a wish that could transcend the limited forces of a terminal diagnosis.  Today, I was human again.