Emotional Control: Emptiness

Wasn't sure where to put this but the best place I thought was general. I've been thinking for a while on emotional control.

In my beliefs, I feel one should focus on keeping a clear mind and not let emotions get in the way (i.e. anger, sadness, fear). My thought process starts off with control and letting go of emotions and somewhat letting them pass through you. For example I rarely ever get angry. Many people think that I bottle it up however I do not; instead I think about it with reason and come to the conclusion that there's no point in getting angry and I'm only bothering myself. When something doesn't go your way that's just life. Worrying or getting upset about it won't do any good. In the past years I have become very good at this however sometimes I feel that I lose my emotions completely and start to lose purpose in everything.

*warning* Hehe the following may sound very uh...emo but I assure you I'm not upset or anything this is just a part of my \"logical\" thinking.

Anyways with that in mind...I focus on letting things that happen in life not bother me emotionally. The problem that happens is as I start to let go of these things that go on and start losing the purpose of anything. Things that make me upset I let pass but the same starts to happen with things that make me happy. I guess in a sense I lose the purpose of everything. All I do is continue my life how I do and just let it pass. I try not to concern myself with the things around me and devote my life to being in control, but if I let go of everything aren't I giving up the thing that we truly call living. Now I'm being very vague with this so please don't take it to heart but isn't essentially the point of living to serve a purpose or to \"do\" something with your life. But if you lose sight of purpose then why live? I'm not sure if this is going to be completely understood and it's especially hard because there's more I have to say and it's easier to explain in person.

As a summary: I let go of many things in life emotionally, however it continues to build more and more until I start letting go of everything (which I feel makes us lose the purpose of living). If you have any questions about this or want more explanation just reply or PM me. I have just been thinking this for a while now and wanted some guidance on the subject if possible.

It is not entirely sensible to 'block out' emotions as these are natural behaviours/mental processes... in my view view tho, the goal is to acknowledge these emotions but to not allow them to dominate the situation or control oneself and ones actions. We've all heard heard of acting on impulse and crimes of passion, but should 'crime of [assion' be an excuse for example serious wounding or killing... in my mind no.

It is also import (especially as Jediist) to be fully aware that not only does EVERYONE have the ame emotions (displayed or handled differently between individuals) but not everybody has the same level of control.

I for one have a very short temper, I used to be much worse but have learned to 'control' myself.

The fact you are aware of your emotions and thinking about them and how to deal with/use them is a good thing indeed, but to try and stamp them out is close to being pointless. My analogy is that doing this is like trying to stop your heart beating... its possible but is it worth the effort.

There are also times when emotions have uses, remember, that having 'bad thoughts' is one thing, doing 'bad deeds' is quite another.

As for the point of living, well on a purely biological point of view, its simply to pass on genes (replicate, breed whatever) take squid for example, what happens to squid once they achieve the point of life? they die.

Now that may be the extreme point of view and its only one point of view, but in my mind, why bother thinking about why we are here, what is the purpose of life etc, just make the best of life and try to make the most and enjoy the ride

One cannot control everything around them, it is not our place to control everything around us, if we do try to control everything, we then begun trying to control everyone and everything around us, becoming self centred.

As with many things, balance and patience is the key, be aware of what and who's around you, and whats going on, but dont ignore them or pay too much attention to them either.

MTFBWY - A

One of the greatest Buddhist quotes (or most popular, anyway) is \"This, too, shall pass.\"
It means we acknowledge that nothing is permanent; nothing lasts forever. If we are feeling \"Bad\" thoughts, or feel the need to act on our impulses, we recognize that this desire will go away, and we will be left with a clear mind and heart. If we are feeling good, we also know that this will not last, and therefore should appreciate, nay, enjoy the moment all the more.

As for purpose: the grass on the lawn gets cut over and over and over again; does the grass say to itself, \"Well the hell with this 'growing' thing; what's the point?\" No, of course not. It will keep growing. That's what it does. That's what we do. We grow, we learn, we change. If we don't, we start to die.
We all of us have a role, a destiny, even if it's just to Simply Be. When we listen with a quiet mind, and a tranquil heart, we will hear the Force telling us its will. Even if its will is just for us to go on.
And remember the words of Morpheus: There's a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.

I always find it interesting the subject of Emotional control for Jedi. (Not excluding the Sith here either.)

It alwasy as a brush with the subject of empathy in its view 99% of the time. But there is a misconception that always comes about.

We are human yes and in being such we are gifted with something that should be looked at as a gift. Having emotions is what is part of who we are and who we will be.

The lack of emotion is not what a Jedi should feel. Feeling emotions is what is necessary to a Jedi. It is how we handle it in our everyday life. It is when we loose control and can not function well because of emotions that we are not doing what is needed of us to help others.

With emotions come other topics. Compassion, Strength, Love, Understanding, and Peace.

Emptiness is and emotion that comes with loss... This one I know very well and am learning to live with each and everyday since my husbands passing.

When Yoda tells Anakin to let go of what we fear to loose.... it is sound advice. But, it is not something that can happen overnight. It takes time, some longer than others and it also depends on what it is that we loose.

Not all emotions carry the same feeling for things. Loss of something has it's boundries as well. (i.e: Parents, spouse, siblings, grandparents, friends and even pets.)

Each one has its own emotional life, and as Jedi we respect those boundries.

A.A., (Alcoholics Anoymous) has a few sayings that are very true.

One day at a time...

That's all anyone can do no matter how you try.....

this is a truly good thread... i want to hear more

Control is a good thing, but to place emphasis on too mcuh control is dangerouse. As Master Patty and Master Rich have stated emtions makes us some what unique. To blind or control oneself for no emtions makes us robotic, harsh, cold. Those are not living traits. The more you try to control the more things slip through your fingers and you may miss keey points to what that situation calls for or actually is.

yes, exactly. we can even use emotions to guide us, but often purely internally. It is good to sift through all your emotions sometimes, and always to do that when the emotion is anger.

BTW we as a species share emotions with many other animals and that is what we are at the end of the day.

Emotions are one of the traits associated with higher intelligence, along with learning, recall memory (not the same as learning, habits can be confused for learning) and problem solving.

We share these with (a few examples) Birds (Namely of the Parrot and Ravan families but many others) Fish (Some Sharks, certain Cichlids,) other mammals, eg Porpoises (Dolphins etc etc) Monkeys (both old and new world primates) Dogs, horses, and invertebrates (Squid/Cuttlefish)

The difference between humans and many on our list is our unfortunate habit of resorting to over reaction (violence) when emotions are stirred and to my mind, this reason alone is why we must learn to control them, not blot them, blank them, deny them or ignore them, but recognise, acknowledge but not to allow the 'daemon within' to get the upper hand.

yes and many times we can use our negative emotions as clues to find out what is truly bothering us.

trying to suppress emotion is like trying not to think its impossible. i like what was said above about anger, that you can soothe it with rationality and ethics.

I have not been able to log on really because I've been really busy however I want you all to know I greatly appreciate the feedback. I have been meditating on it throughout the past week or two and have learned multiple different things about myself thus far. One quote that stuck out, which especially helped me was...

\"My analogy is that doing this is like trying to stop your heart beating... it’s possible but is it worth the effort.\" -Kana Seiko Haruki

For some reason that just made something click in my head. I shouldn't shut out my emotions, merely keep them in check. Something Neaj Pa Bol brought up by saying...

\"The lack of emotion is not what a Jedi should feel. Feeling emotions is what is necessary to a Jedi. It is how we handle it in our everyday life. It is when we lose control and cannot function well because of emotions that we are not doing what is needed of us to help others.\"

I've been trying lately to enjoy my emotions and not shut them out. Lately the thing I have been working on is just finding that good medium. I have not known anything else but to discard my emotions and I see now that it is a wrong path to take. My usual tactic is if something bothers me I just merely stop caring, which has worked well for me the past years however I see the damage now. You cannot just \"stop caring\", because if you do you will lose everything about you that makes you who you are. As Kana said, we as species share emotions with many animals and in a sense that makes us the humans we are today.

A situation that happened recently really changed my thinking drastically and took a little while to overcome. My fiancé and I were talking about the things she did while I was away at training and to tell the truth I got really jealous of another guy. I tried my usual method to stop caring and quickly found out that I was pushing my emotions for her away in my head. I was concentrating and trying to find peace through it all, however it was hard. I know that this little situation isn't a big deal compared to some of the things many have gone through but it was enough to get my mind thinking in the right direction. I found peace in knowing that I can trust my fiancé and instead of discarding the other dwelling thoughts find the teachings that come from them. I'm not nearly close to the kind of control I want to have, but I'm taking it one day at a time and with the help of others I am definitely seeing result. I really do appreciate all the feedback and the patience; as I did not respond for so long. Just wanted to let you all know that it was very helpful.