Self-Ownership: What Role Do Our Emotions Play?
"Your emotional response transfers power to your opponent." Scott Bolan
Emotional Ownership
I have been intrigued by the concept of self-ownership for a long time, and have read deeply into the subject from many authors. These writers tend to tackle the topic from a political philosophy perspective, as generally speaking, this is the obvious starting point. And in a sense it's logical end point. However, there are other angles one can take in the pursuit of furthering their understanding of the subject of self-ownership.
One of these is emotions. Specifically, what role do our emotions play when it comes to self-ownership? The quote above comes from martial artist Scott Bolan. However, his martial arts training incorporates more than just physical training. He embraces the need for mental and emotional strength, which I feel are at the core of any sense of true self-ownership.
From the mundane aspects of advertising tricking us into desiring a product, believing that it will complete us in some way, through to the person trained in Hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming, who skillfully observes us and implants and triggers us as necessary, at the heart of this game play is our emotions. Or more specifically, our lack of emotional control.
Cult Deceptions
The Church of Scientology built a cult and an empire based on a rudimentary understanding of the mind, and a simple communication technique. These communication techniques, or Training Routines as they are called (TR's for short) are constructed around communication building blocks, with TR0 holding the fundamentals of what we are discussing here. The ability to be with what is, no matter what is being said or done to you, and not give an emotional response. Clearly, to those who have knowledge of the organisation, they took this too far, and became very robotic in their application of it. At the heart of all cults is a form of mind control. But that is a discussion for another time.
The point I am making here is that at the very core of all the complexity that is the Church of Scientology, is a technique to observe and be with what is, without reacting. But what this group, or any others that have similar teachings wont tell you, is through your non reaction, you give back to the other what they were trying to give to you. Doubt, fear, uncertainty, confusion, whatever it was that your opponent sought to implant into your mind stays with them. And that is a way to turn the tables on an opponent.
But for what we are discussing here today, it is a core truth to understand when discussing self-ownership. How can one claim ownership over their own body if they lack ownership over their own emotional response? If you can be controlled physically through your emotions, do you really have physical ownership of your self? If you can be triggered, "keyed-in" to a past traumatic event, or manipulated through the deliberate creation of emotional responses, how much self autonomy do you really possess?
Self Mastery
I believe one can have mastery over their own emotions. I just notice that it is an issue rarely discussed within this field. It ties in with our need for gurus, with our desire for external leadership and authority to lead the way. Are we not transferring ownership of the self over to another when we pursue another to lead us to the promised land? To seek advice is one thing, but to not weigh that advice against personal experience and wisdom, that just leads to more slavery.
If nothing else, observe your emotional responses, become aware of how you react. Take responsibility for your feelings. And make a decision to start the self-ownership process from within.
Great content I featured you on my TOP 5 Psychology posts. HERE
Emotions can be so slippery! CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) - and you! - are helpful in slowing down the automatic reactions most people have. If I can notice an emotion, identify it without sugar-coating (i.e. 'mad' is more accurate but less PC than 'frustrated'), acknowledge it, and then make a decision about what to do, it's so much better than slipping into automatic and winding up a victim of emotions. Great post!
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree, emotions can be very slippery, becoming aware of them is not an easy task, but the therapies you listed can be beneficial for people to learn how to have more control in that area.
Honestly I consider myself lucky and even 'fated' in regards to my emotions and self-ownership. I grew up with O.D.D.(one of the few times I think the diagnosis was right) and never grew out. If you know enough about the 'disorder' you know that not growing out of it exacerbates it and it develops into an ASPD. Having been surveryed many times, I have strong inclinations for sociopathy and so I say I am a 'borderline' sociopath.
The reason I am actually glad for this is that it makes it extraordinarily easy to control my emotions when I wish and to resist any form of authority that doesn't present a valid case for its jurisdiction in my life.
Though I will admit it can make it very difficult to make it in this world of sheep and slaves, I would rather be seen as a failure and not having given in to thugs and warmongers than to be a success and never having had made my own decisions and lived my life the way I believed was best.
Great piece, I love the idea that in order to self-own we must be able to own ourselves(our emotions).
KDude im ADHD bipolar, clinically depressed suffer anxiesty and countless other mental health disorders. You not a psychopath. I was worried i was one but a simple reason niether of us are is this... A psychpath would never ask nor wonder if he were a psychpath. They dont look at their behaviour and wonder if its right or acceptable. There is a certain amount of ego there.
A. I never said I was a psychopath.
B. I don't wonder.
I appreciate the sentiment but I am aware of who and what I am and I am fine with it. My point above is that I feel blessed to be wired such that I immediately dismiss any claims to authority over me without having to question it. There are definite drawbacks to my 'ASPD', narcissism and associated psychological 'quirks' but I have come to learn how to live with them and how to live with others despite them.
I wish I could explain this in a way that you would be able to fully understand but the problem with ASPD categories such as sociopathy and even psychopathy is that there is no true 'definition' of either. It's why they aren't diagnosed. They can survey you and give you a probability, but there is currently no such thing as a 'certifiable' sociopath or psyhcopath because the pathos can be so varied and the persons with such pathos are so fluid that they can avoid such diagnosis.
While I may not be a 'full blown sociopath' it is more than obvious to myself and those I've went to and talked with that I am, as I said, borderline with how it seems I can detach and my tendency to be narcissistic and manipulative. But the very fact that I can and am willing to try to work on those things, at least the negatives of them, is evidence of my not being a slave to my ASPD.
But again, I appreciate the sentiment.
Thanks for the post. Mindfulness and being able to stand apart from our emotional responses is a critical art in acheiving a peaceful life. We can watch our emotions like a small child having a tantrum, without being engaged. Takes practice but it works.
It is a critical art, isn't it? I agree, it takes practice, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. Inner peace and inner strength are so important for coping in this world. Thank you for your comment.
Here is where you can find your article being featured:
https://steemit.com/psychology/@aleksandraz/daily-psychology-it-s-a-lucky-find-10-today-s-top-5
Impressive article, thank you for writing it!
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.
Emotions are the nearest we get to predicting our future. Use them to understand yourself and your surroundings
This is true. There is a lot of power in knowing this aspect of ourselves.
It's true that it's very necessary to learn to control our emotions, which is not an easy task at all, unfortunately.
I'm including your post in my TOP5 Lucky Find Psychology articles for today.
Good luck!
Your support is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading and sharing.
if you offer someone a gift and they do not accept it, who does it belong to? Forced against ones will, is of the same oppinion still. The question seems to be how far from center are we starting?