Emotionalized Final Thoughts

This is the third (and hopefully final) post in a series, the topic of which is the concept of “emotionalized thoughts.” If you have not read the first and second posts, I encourage you to do so before continuing.

Having explored the affect emotionalized thoughts have on the creation of beliefs, as well as the accomplishment of goals, let us continue our exploration with a third example. In Lesson IV: Thought and Concentration, we find that thoughts which are either repeated or emotionalized have a “magnetic” affect on one's mind. The word “magnetic” is used to indicate that such thoughts appear to have a tendency to “attract” other thoughts which are of a similar or related nature to that of the original thought. A person who is worrying about the outcome of some past action, for instance, will find that if they continue “worrying” (repeating the said thought) or if their initial “worry” is accompanied by a strong feeling(s)—such as anxiety, nervousness, etc.—they will find it inevitable that other thoughts of a similar or related nature will begin appearing in their consciousness as well. Hence, an initial fear or worry that a given action (A) may produce an anticipated negative result (B), suddenly expands in their mind. They now are not merely worrying that A will result in B, but now that A may not only result in B, but potentially consequence C, D, and E, as well. In effect, the initial fear or worry has expanded through a kind of “snowball” effect in the said person's mind.

As previously stated, the affect of an “emotionalized thought” is simply that it appears to “speed up” the cognitive faculties inherent in one's mind. If thought X is accompanied by strong feelings (emotions), then additional thoughts of a similar or related nature to that of X are likely to begin appearing almost immediately. The substance of the original thought itself is irrelevant. If the thought is of a positive nature, with accompanying positive emotions/feelings, the “magnetism” of the thought will be positive as well. The word “magnetism” refers to the capacity of a given thought to attract other thoughts of a similar or related nature. Thus, positive will attract and perpetuate positive while negative will attract and perpetuate negative. If you throw strong emotions/feelings into the mix, the process occurs in less time.

Another phenomenon associated with emotionalized thoughts which may be worth noting is their apparent unreliability or fickleness. For example, let us return to the above mentioned person who is struggling with the fear or worry that action A may produce consequence B. Due to the strong feelings which accompanied their initial “worry” they now find themselves confronted with the prospect of, not only consequence B, but potential consequences C, D, E, etc. These additional potential consequences have, in effect, been produced as the result, not of careful thought or analysis, but rather of sheer emotion. Insofar as such potential consequences have been created by emotion, they are not necessarily reliable. In other words, after the said events transpire and all consequences—anticipated or otherwise—have occurred, it is likely that the majority of the said person's worries will have been unrealized and thus spent in vain.

How many of us have driven ourselves to the edge of madness through emotion, only to find such things to often be utterly baseless, unwarranted and devoid of all rationale? Our emotions absolutely have their benefits, but unless we are able to accurately discern when to employ them, we will likely deceive ourselves.