Controlling our emotional state . . .
I have my doubts that we do not think our way into emotional states. I say this because of my observations of other people. I understand how hormones can affect the emotional state. I am wondering whether there is a method that we can choose to think our way into an emotional state, given my observations of other people and even despite the interaction of hormones within our bodies. I do believe that culture and social interactions would play a big part here. I also wonder whether when we suffer a physiological affect that can change our emotional state, whether it can be identified internally to avoid negative after affects.
I have noticed that emotions are easy enough to over-ride but I need to consider the benefit of such a decision as well as any possible detriment. On the physical side it is not good to overstimulate any neural receptor for too long as damage can result. Given that emotions can affect receptors then there must be an acceptable threshold that one can enter that keeps one functioning optimally and causes no damage to the nervous system. On the mental side there is always the danger of bad internal programming and corrupting internal processes with extreme emotional thinking - there are emotional releases and I have also experienced something similar with logic that I would refer to as a rational release.
I think it is safe to say that our own responsibilities and intentions can guide us through a potentially treacherous path whereby we are able to be betrayed by our emotions. I think back to a time when I hit my thumb with a hammer while attempting to drive a nail into a piece of wood - quickly the pain was overtaken with anger and much profanity. So now I have to contrast my statement: I have my doubts that we do not think our way into emotions; Now I have to say at the very least there are some emotional events that can not be avoided - these emotional events are the events that need the previously mentioned emotional releases.
To what length can these emotional events be avoided? I can imagine the “nicest” person still experiencing anger internally even if they are not showing it externally. Does anger have a seed? I have had the experience where because of another person being around, I did not lose my cool and quickly adrenaline and possibly endorphins were able to extinguish any outburst that may have occurred. Thus the seed became infertile or thrown back into the seed “packet”.
How much control we have over our emotional state will lead to how much we are able to confine ourselves from what we perceive to be bad. Then there is also the problem of free will which I will also mention in rationality. Does free will exist? That would depend on your definition I suppose - I think of free will as you being able to choose whatever you want - I do not think this is possible at all. Do we have any will? I believe so - I think our will is confined to causal situations that apply pressure to our mind and body, and decision making(if performed correctly) can lighten this pressure and extend the amount of freedom we have.
So where does that leave us with emotions? I would say that we have enough mental power to lighten the pressure of our emotions too - that we are able to lessen the confinement of the causal situation we are in, and in turn relatively free ourselves of the bondage of confining emotions(ones that we do not want to be confined by in particular) - while I still believe it is impossible to escape emotional confinement(or an emotional state) entirely - life can still be made more pleasant mentally. This takes discipline however, and the giving over to, the power of rationality.
When I speak of confinements I am speaking of a perimeter of sorts or an end or even a beginning and of course a voluminous entity contain within its on space. And emotion has a beginning and an end so it must be driven and also must drive - id est it is driven by another emotion or thought or stimulus and the result drives another emotion or thought or stimulus - the pattern here should be clear enough to apply to sociological, neurological, political and et cetera relations.
Like perception I am going to have to consider whether emotions are expressions of events that happen in the past. What calculus is being used - stone in the pond - makes ripples. Emotions like logic are going to boil down to information programming information - updates - new strategies - new beliefs - new methods - passions, desires, new emotions, new thoughts . . .
. . . new views of reality . . .