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Happiness is a Choice - Hope and Faith Give Us Power

Why do I sometimes lack "empathy" (I don't).

You will see in my responses to a lot of negative emotion posts (well the non-political ones) an attempt to draw someone away from emotional thinking to logical thinking. Emotion is somewhat uncontrollable and if destructive you need to control it. Just let it sit and move on top of it with the superego.

If it is good..you just go with it. But if it is bad, you have to logically pull yourself out. You have to alter your thinking from inside. With this in mind, I do not necessarily attempt to respond back to your emotions, I try to get you to become stoic about them, to try to master them. Logically, you can analyze your emotions and place "hope or faith" over top of them. Or at the very least, decrease your ego suffering by realizing how little you mean with your insignificant suffering compared to the universe (but at the same time you mean so much as part of an amazing universe).

Reading Buddhism is really helpful in learning how to do this. One of the best books I have read is "The Art of Happiness". For depression a book called "The Depression Cure".

Remember, you have to take responsibility for your own happiness. You need to control what you think. For what you think is the sum of your existence. Every function of your body and what it registers is a receptacle to your brain. Your brain (thinking) is you, master it.

If you have a Borderline Personality Disorder. Self talk is one of your more important weapons. If you brain is broken chemically, you have not choice but to correct it with chemicals. However...personal understanding and control will help with every situation.
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Carissimi · 70-79, F
From a different Buddhist perspective, I see things differently. The emotions should never be negated (or dismissed), they will fester in store consciousness, and express themselves in other (damaging ways) at a future time. An emotion is an aspect of being. It is the “hurt” part that cry’s for loving kindness and attention. Think of it as you would your child (or friend) who needs comfort and reassurance. Listen to what it has to say, and feel. As Herman Hesse said, it is not the emotion that causes the most pain, but our resistance to it. I’m paraphrasing. 🙏
okaybut · 56-60, M
@Carissimi Oh...I agree with you. I need to edit my story if this is not coming through. I am not saying negate, deal with them; but do not allow them to consume you. All pain must heal, but the path in my view is not always directly with the pain. Sometimes you can heal around it (the pain is a symptom) and the pain will heal as well.
okaybut · 56-60, M
@Carissimi Altered to the word "analyze"...