© 2009 Marvin Gawryn
© 2009 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
Emotions are feeling reactions to reality that impact all parts of the personality. Some emotions initiate an instinctive psychological reaction in our body. When we experience positive emotions such as love or joy, our body is invigorated, our mind purified and our soul fulfilled. On the other hand, negative emotions such as anger or fear degrade our body, poison our mind, diminish our soul and obstruct any spiritual intake. In the mature personality, the will and the spirit direct the march, while the emotions are channeled towards higher objectives.
Whenever an emotion arises, it originates in a distinct part of the personality. There are thus three distinct types of emotions; those that originate in the body, those that come from the mind, and those that originate in the higher parts of the personality, the soul and the spirit.
We can deliberately determine the course of our emotional lives. When our emotions drift in a harmful direction, we can call upon higher emotional discernment. We have the ability to shift the source of our emotional perspective from the body or mind to the spirit within. If our negative emotions are wreaking havoc within us, they can be replaced by deliberately opening the way for the spirit to inspire higher emotions in us instead.
With weak will, we allow our personalities to be tossed about and damaged by emotional cross-currents. If we use our will firmly and intelligently, we can harness our emotional impulses for the advancement of the whole personality.
We can seek mastery of our emotions in three steps.
Prayer is one of the most powerful forces for emotional self-transformation. We can pray sincerely for the insight and courage to do God’s Will in a difficult emotional situation. By praying, we expand the avenue of love, strength, and wisdom that can then flow into us through the indwelling Spirit of the Father. When we initiate such sincere prayer, powerful emotional transformations can occur.
The role of the will is crucial in our emotional life. We can deliberately guide our emotions in a higher and real direction, even in the midst of a bad situation. Our inner state does not have to depend directly on external circumstances and events. However, having recognized the existence of these “natural” feelings, it is the proper function of the will to seek a higher spiritual perspective on the situation. We can evolve our inner emotions in response to this higher perspective.
We can do more than passively react to an external situation. We can actively choose what is emotionally desirable and thus reach a higher conception. We can actively determine our inner emotional state according to the directions of the spirit.
Emotions that originate at the usual levels of our personality, such as those of the mind and body, arise more or less automatically in response to external events. Such emotions arise “naturally” or spontaneously since their origin is not the result of conscious choice. Will plays only a small role in such emotions.
In contrast to such “natural” emotions, we can consciously choose higher emotions that originate in the mind and soul. We recognize as desirable emotions such as hope, love, courage, and joy, and we must deliberately cultivate them.
If the will is inactive in the emotional life, our search is weak for higher emotions. The “natural” emotions then tend to dominate us, resulting in relative chaos and lack of coordination in our inner lives. A person with weak will is at the mercy of his own emotional impulses and desires, often having an irrational character.
However, if we take charge and open our personalities to the guidance of spirit, a wide range of higher emotions can begin to reign in our inner lives. Of course, the “natural” emotions still occur, but over time we can begin to more consciously guide the general course of our emotions. Spirit can then begin to stabilize and then elevate our inner lives.
Marvin Gawryn