The subject is passion including the much reviled “passions”. They usually speak of them in right hand and left hand paths.
One school of thought is that passions are only stumbling blocks preventing peace. The teachings of the right hand path are very popular, and you can get material written on it at any book store in a hundred different ways. Mostly saying that the secret of happiness is to live in constant meditative calm. What no one seems to encourage is seeing the paths from your own life experience. They invalidate the paths that seem less “holy”. When you experience the passions, like anger or lust, how often do we truly experience them? Mostly, people don’t and when the passion passes they say, “I don’t know what I was thinking.” or “Why did I do that.” Why is this?
They shrink away from the fires within and just say fire is bad because it burns. There is a path that goes the other way. That doesn’t seek “purity”. I am not trying to aggrandize misconduct. Misconduct isn’t necessary and really creates more trouble than anyone needs. Defeats the purpose of anyone’s understanding, but life can be lived with passion.
A passion to save the world is a passion. But some schools would say that it’s a mistaken stance, which is a half truth as far as criticisms go.
Guilt is largely overused, or misunderstood, associated with many things passionate. Guilt guts passion. It is great for making followers. Remorse can be valid. You can make errors and repent, this is valid. Guilt is worthless. Just a chain to “save” souls with.
But to whom does one repent? Would it just be the higher “self”? It would be the higher self, the true inner self. This is where the passion of remorse is motivated from. When you embrace the passions you embrace instinct. You embrace an inner guidance that has always been there, but we are all taught to ignore. What happens when you truly experience lust? What would happen if you let it fill your consciousness? They say the passions feed the ego, but do they? I would offer that the idea that you “control” passions feeds the ego. The élan vital, the libido, are our very life force and we are not the source.
Anyone ever get so angry they couldn’t speak or act? I know I have, and then something collapsed and I was engulfed in a deep peace. I became detached from the anger, but it doesn’t work if anger is not given place. There is all of this rhetoric on self control, but what self are you controlling? How many people know “my self”? What is self? Just your style of thinking? Your goals are your self?
I would offer that the passions are closer to a consistent element of self than any pattern of thought or any goal reached or failed. But since that inner wild vortex is supposedly bad …
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~