Post by Laurasia on Nov 5, 2005 19:15:50 GMT -5
Past-Life Recollection - Lesson 5: Analyzing Your Emotional Reactions
Our emotional reactions to conditions in the world around us vary greatly from person to person. This suggests the question: Why do different people react so differently to the same thing? Why is one person deathly afraid of heights, for example, while another loves skydiving, & a 3rd is completely indifferent to flying or being in high places? Why is one person a dog-lover, while another has a great fear of or aversion to these animals? A basic assumption is that there is some cause behind such individual differences, something in each person's past experiences that makes them tend to respond in the specific way that they do.
Of course, it is possible for these response-shaping experiences to have occured during the present lifetime. Perhaps our dog-lover spent their early years in a happy home in which the presence of a beloved canine pet was an important element of the caring, supportive atmosphere. And maybe the person who fears dogs was threatened or attacked by a large member of the species when they were young. Similar explanantions, operating through just a single lifetime, could no doubt be found for a number of the emotional reactions that everyone displays.
And yet, as valid as these current-lifetime explanations may be in specific instances, they are not the only ones available to us once we have accepted the theory of reincarnation. It is most probabale that each of us exhibits certain emotional responses that cannot easily be traced to earlier experiences during this lifetime. Such reactions must have come from somewhere, & we are presented with the likelihood that many of them originated in the events of our previous incarnations. If this is true, our emotional responses, being inmany cases the reflection of past-life memories, are among the most important clues we can investigate in our effort to discover what our experiences in former lifetimes might have been.
We are now going to take a close look at some of your emotional reactions to see what they can reveal about your previous incarnations. When we are finished with the following exercises, the clues you gather from your positive & negative responses to various conditions around you will be added to the ones you obtained in our earlier lessons - those discovered through your examination of your home & physical surroundings, your reactions to different areas of the world, your body & your early childhood experiences. As we shall see in future chapters, each of these types of clues can be a valuable aid in piecing together theories about our past lives.
**********************************************
Exercise A
Certain conditions evoke strong emotional responses in many people. In this exercise, you'll be identifying your own reactions to a number of these stimuli. Start by consulting the rating chart which lists possible responses ranging from extreme fear or distaste to great enjoyment. Choose the number from 1 to 5 that best describes your reaction to the condition named, & note any comments you would like to make regarding each entry. thus for each item your answer will consist of the name of the stimulus or condition, the number rating of your response to it, & any comments you feel are relevent.
Just to give you some ideas, it would be appropriate to put down as a comment any qualifying statement you might have regarding your reaction to each item. For example, one person wrote of feeling great fear in lake or ocean water, but enjoying a swimming pool immensely.
Another type of comment would be suggested if you can think of a possible explanation for any of your reactions related to your earlier experiences in this lifetime. (For example, if you have a fear of water & nearly drowned as a child you should make note of that.)
On the other hand, if you have no present-lifetime explanation for one of your responses but discover that it seems to fit in with one of your past-life theories , this too would be worth noting.
these possibilities are given only as examples, & you shouldn't limit yourself to similar comments. Don't hesitate to make any sort of observation you yourself feel will be helpful.
In filling out this self-analysis survey, consider your childhoos reactions to the stimuli listed as well as your current feelings about them. And remember, it's your emotional responses we are looking for, not your intellectual responses. If, for example, you realize logically that racial prejudice is foolish, & yet you find that you feel very uncomfortable when among members of a certain ethnic group, do make note of this reaction. It came from somewhere, & if you omit it you could be depriving yourself of a piece of information that may prove very useful in your search for self-understanding & knowledge of your former lives.
Here is the scale to be used in rating your emotional reaction to each item listed below:
1) It gives me great fear, distaste, or discomfort.
2) It gives some anxiety or discomfort.
3) I have a neutral response to it.
4) I find it rather pleasant or comfortable.
5) I greatly enjoy it or feel totally comfortable with it.
And here is the list od stimuli to which you should note your responses, along with any relevent comments:
1) Being in water.
2) Being in high places.
3) Being in enclosed places.
4) Being in wide-open spaces.
5) Being alone outdoors.
6) Being abandoned.
7) Crowds.
8) Solitude.
9) Loud noises.
10) Silence.
11) Books & reading.
12) Wearing heavy clothing.
13) Wearing high collars.
14) Wearing hats.
15) People of certain ethnic groups or nationalities. (Specify)
16) People with certain foreign or regional accents. (Specify)
17) People of certain religions. (Specify)
18) People with certain physical traits. (Specify)
19) People of certain age groups. (Specify)
20) People of certain political orientation. (Specify)
21) People of certain professions. (Specify)
22) Authority figures.
23) People of the same sex as you.
24) People of the opposite sex.
25) People who are early.
26) People who are late.
27) Mice.
28) Birds.
29) Snakes.
30) Other animals. (Specify)
31) Sunlight.
32) Darkness.
33) Heat.
34) Cold.
35) Humid climates.
36) Arid climates.
37) Wind.
38) Lightning.
39) Fire.
40) Death.
41) Hunger.
42) Preganancy & childbirth.
43) Traveling at high speed.
44) Flying.
45) Bridges.
46) Tunnels.
47) Stairs.
48) Guns.
Okay guys, have fun working on your lists. I'll have part 2 of Lesson 5 up ASAP.
Sincerely,
Laurasia
Our emotional reactions to conditions in the world around us vary greatly from person to person. This suggests the question: Why do different people react so differently to the same thing? Why is one person deathly afraid of heights, for example, while another loves skydiving, & a 3rd is completely indifferent to flying or being in high places? Why is one person a dog-lover, while another has a great fear of or aversion to these animals? A basic assumption is that there is some cause behind such individual differences, something in each person's past experiences that makes them tend to respond in the specific way that they do.
Of course, it is possible for these response-shaping experiences to have occured during the present lifetime. Perhaps our dog-lover spent their early years in a happy home in which the presence of a beloved canine pet was an important element of the caring, supportive atmosphere. And maybe the person who fears dogs was threatened or attacked by a large member of the species when they were young. Similar explanantions, operating through just a single lifetime, could no doubt be found for a number of the emotional reactions that everyone displays.
And yet, as valid as these current-lifetime explanations may be in specific instances, they are not the only ones available to us once we have accepted the theory of reincarnation. It is most probabale that each of us exhibits certain emotional responses that cannot easily be traced to earlier experiences during this lifetime. Such reactions must have come from somewhere, & we are presented with the likelihood that many of them originated in the events of our previous incarnations. If this is true, our emotional responses, being inmany cases the reflection of past-life memories, are among the most important clues we can investigate in our effort to discover what our experiences in former lifetimes might have been.
We are now going to take a close look at some of your emotional reactions to see what they can reveal about your previous incarnations. When we are finished with the following exercises, the clues you gather from your positive & negative responses to various conditions around you will be added to the ones you obtained in our earlier lessons - those discovered through your examination of your home & physical surroundings, your reactions to different areas of the world, your body & your early childhood experiences. As we shall see in future chapters, each of these types of clues can be a valuable aid in piecing together theories about our past lives.
**********************************************
Exercise A
Certain conditions evoke strong emotional responses in many people. In this exercise, you'll be identifying your own reactions to a number of these stimuli. Start by consulting the rating chart which lists possible responses ranging from extreme fear or distaste to great enjoyment. Choose the number from 1 to 5 that best describes your reaction to the condition named, & note any comments you would like to make regarding each entry. thus for each item your answer will consist of the name of the stimulus or condition, the number rating of your response to it, & any comments you feel are relevent.
Just to give you some ideas, it would be appropriate to put down as a comment any qualifying statement you might have regarding your reaction to each item. For example, one person wrote of feeling great fear in lake or ocean water, but enjoying a swimming pool immensely.
Another type of comment would be suggested if you can think of a possible explanation for any of your reactions related to your earlier experiences in this lifetime. (For example, if you have a fear of water & nearly drowned as a child you should make note of that.)
On the other hand, if you have no present-lifetime explanation for one of your responses but discover that it seems to fit in with one of your past-life theories , this too would be worth noting.
these possibilities are given only as examples, & you shouldn't limit yourself to similar comments. Don't hesitate to make any sort of observation you yourself feel will be helpful.
In filling out this self-analysis survey, consider your childhoos reactions to the stimuli listed as well as your current feelings about them. And remember, it's your emotional responses we are looking for, not your intellectual responses. If, for example, you realize logically that racial prejudice is foolish, & yet you find that you feel very uncomfortable when among members of a certain ethnic group, do make note of this reaction. It came from somewhere, & if you omit it you could be depriving yourself of a piece of information that may prove very useful in your search for self-understanding & knowledge of your former lives.
Here is the scale to be used in rating your emotional reaction to each item listed below:
1) It gives me great fear, distaste, or discomfort.
2) It gives some anxiety or discomfort.
3) I have a neutral response to it.
4) I find it rather pleasant or comfortable.
5) I greatly enjoy it or feel totally comfortable with it.
And here is the list od stimuli to which you should note your responses, along with any relevent comments:
1) Being in water.
2) Being in high places.
3) Being in enclosed places.
4) Being in wide-open spaces.
5) Being alone outdoors.
6) Being abandoned.
7) Crowds.
8) Solitude.
9) Loud noises.
10) Silence.
11) Books & reading.
12) Wearing heavy clothing.
13) Wearing high collars.
14) Wearing hats.
15) People of certain ethnic groups or nationalities. (Specify)
16) People with certain foreign or regional accents. (Specify)
17) People of certain religions. (Specify)
18) People with certain physical traits. (Specify)
19) People of certain age groups. (Specify)
20) People of certain political orientation. (Specify)
21) People of certain professions. (Specify)
22) Authority figures.
23) People of the same sex as you.
24) People of the opposite sex.
25) People who are early.
26) People who are late.
27) Mice.
28) Birds.
29) Snakes.
30) Other animals. (Specify)
31) Sunlight.
32) Darkness.
33) Heat.
34) Cold.
35) Humid climates.
36) Arid climates.
37) Wind.
38) Lightning.
39) Fire.
40) Death.
41) Hunger.
42) Preganancy & childbirth.
43) Traveling at high speed.
44) Flying.
45) Bridges.
46) Tunnels.
47) Stairs.
48) Guns.
Okay guys, have fun working on your lists. I'll have part 2 of Lesson 5 up ASAP.
Sincerely,
Laurasia