Virtue Reality - Act 8

In the last post we began to look at desire, but I ended up writing more about its opposite, satisfaction. So today we will revisit what it is that tics our toc, and makes us rock. (so sue me lol)

"Oh do behave"
What is driving our desires, for sure a lot of it is biological instincts, but much of it is personal. Which usually means its actually "inter-personal", or largely effected by how we would like others to perceive and behave around us.

Our biological drives tend to get mixed up with our sensitivities, with what pushes our buttons or moves our needles.

Some of this is totally healthy, some of it has seriously negative impacts on ourselves and pretty much everything and everyone around us.

Captain good vibes - Receptive
If our drives, (our calls to action or motivations) are open and expansive, outwardly focused and receptive, they will carry what we call a "positive vibe". They generally synchronise well with other peoples actions and the larger flows of energy and resources. Even when conflict does arise it will usually be dominated by the most receptive and therefore perceptive.

Classic Asshat - Reactive
If our drives, ( impulses) are reactive and compulsive, inwardly focused and not open to change they will carry a different emotional charge that will clash with all but similar or like minded "movements". When a lot of strongly opinionated people get together they can create tremendous waste. Which is why great leaders will always be called upon to become involved with those who have not attained the same level of self awareness.

2 States of consciousness - Think or Feel
I am guessing there are many more, but lets keep this simple for the sake of this dialogue, (and my lack of knowledge).
The way I see it there are are two states of consciousness - we are either in memory and strategy, Thinking.
Or we are in flow and presence, Feeling.

If we are in strategy, (thinking) it is because we have an Agenda - this is the basic desire to control or apply force to alter the course of events.

If we are in Feeling, we are sensitive to what is actually happening. So long as we accept the current situation, there will be no need to enter strategy and leave our biology on auto-pilot while we re-enter the "map room" where we keep all our opinions.

The more strong opinions we have, the harder it is to remain fully awake and the more intense the on-ramp required to enter flow states, (return to feeling fully alive).

ANTS - Automatic Negative thoughts
The most powerful opinions are the ones we forget we have, they feed what Dr. Amen calls ANTS - Automatic Negative Thoughts.

A mum yells at her cheerful daughter who is singing while she has a migraine. The daughter, grows up believing her voice is ugly and gets angry when people ask her to make presentations. (belief - expression is dangerous)

A boy is shamed by an older brother or friends and tells himself, "a girl like that would not be interested in a guy like me". (belief - I am not worthy of affection)

A girl never experiences praise or acknowledgement of achievement so grows up with the assumption that her roles will always be minor or supporting at best. Or the opposite, she tries to prove at every opportunity, constantly craving acceptance, yet unable to feel it when it is offered. ( belief - I am worth less than others)

All fired up but no where to go
These emotional "wounds" drive deep and compulsive desires, yet they are all fear based. Fear changes the way we think and move, it alters the contents of our blood and where it is going. It charges us with the energy to move. Yet if no movement results, we are left wired, tense, anxious, nervous, angry, upset, irritable and find it hard to focus clearly.

Nobody stays in that state for long, they either die or they use methods to "unwind".
Healthy methods, include bringing awareness back into our biology and "checking in" to see if our situation truly matches our interpretation of it, or if we are running a story.

The more we can bring our attention back into our senses, and allow both our muscles and our opinions to soften, the more we can "dis-charge" the tension.

If we do not de-fuse the bomb or our ticking "negative" or fear causing beliefs then we will have to compensate for them with trophies and use mood altering substances and techniques.

Trophies and accessories
We will do things to Prove that we are sexy, worthy, valuable, deserving affection, respect, praise, validation, attention, approval. How much of the world economy is driven by consumption of things that simply offer a quick emotional bandaid?

On and off ramps into sensation
If we can not stand the way we are feeling we will change it an any cost.
We will either do things that make us feel more alive, or shut down our ability to feel. Often we will do both.

A person may take crazy chances just to stimulate some sensation - driving fast, one night stands, getting high, picking fights, internet trolling, even self harm. Then when the shame, guilt, doubt, pain and fear returns they shut down again which re-starts the cycle of needing to feel alive.

The problem is that they can not accept the aliveness they feel simply as it is, due to the stories that keep triggering an inappropriate biological stress response.

Physical trauma is real, but it is the stories associated with the original event that keep the trauma playing out over and over.

The shame that the rape victim carries, may go on destroying relationships, opportunities and even mis-colouring basic communications until the stories of shame, unworthiness, and vulnerability are "dis-spelled".

Flow state
In flow state we can both think, feel and move, but there will be nothing egotistical about it, it will be totally devoid of vanity or its flip side, insecurity. Its devoid of trauma, because there is nothing personal about it. A person may express themselves in unique ways during flow states, but they will not be doing to "sell" themselves or any other opinion based "story".

We may use Fear to grab our attention, but it is impossible to stay in flow if we are concerned about our "self" as a seperate and threatened individual. Flow state is all about relationship or even non-seperation.

The reason we enter flow is because we have ceased to see everything in a state of relationship with our personal opinions and values. We see everything minus the mental noise and filtering, just as it is, we stop taking it personally because we are filled with just the sensations, just the information without the inflammations.

Emotion can be seen as a quality of our tension, or our ability to both resonate and project force. Those who do this well, are among the most highly paid people, those who master it have entire schools, cults or religions built around them.

In our next chapter, lets take an deeper look into tension.

Thank you for reading.

=8-P

Wisdom as Action Series
Act 1 - Do you remember?
Act 2 - What is Love?
Act 3 - Feeling Swell
Act 4 - Bound to be Free
Act 5 - Trust Issues
Act 6 - Knowledge
Act 7 - All you Desire