Are there Only 2 Emotions?

I've been interested in the Fear/Love dynmic ever since I read A Course In Miracles in highschool.  But I still don't quite know what to make of it.  Part of me is attracted to the focus of Love, but another part of me balks at the disparaging of Fear.  Maybe I don't want to give up my Fears.  All I know is that I don't feel capable of imagining Fear as not existing.

“One is outward directed, expansive, encompassing; the other is silent, withdrawn, pulling back.”

As for that statement, I don't see that as entirely matching with Love and Fear as I understand them.  I see those attributes as having more to do with the Jungian Extraversion and Introversion and thus morally neutral.  It is true, though, that our culture idealizes Extraversion.

I've seen Icke's books around, but I don't know much about his viewpoint.  Maybe you could do a blog about his ideas sometime.

It does make sense to me that we are primarily spiritual beings.  But the quesiton then is: what is this 'spiritual' essence?  I tend towards a Gnostic view and maybe Icke does also.  I definitely agree that fear seems to block us from seeing certain things clearly.  But might not fear also show us somethings that love cannot?  Fear may not be the best response, but it may be founded in reality or at least point towards it. 

For instance, if someone has a fear of ghosts in their house, it might be easy for others to dismiss their fear as irrational.  Whether or not there is a reason to fear ghosts, there fear might be pointing to actual ghosts.  As its been said, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not actually out to get you.  :)

Love ain't everything, but it sure is important.  If I didn't believe in some essence of Goodness in the world, then the world would seem a much more horrifying place.

Hi  Wanderer 7 and Marmalade.

I'm enjoying this discourse and hope it continues.

I think that anger and sadness are two sides of the same coin; extraversion and introversion of an energy that arises in the wake of a blocked or unfulfilled desire…..that's why, as Robert Masters points out, rage has an ecstatic feel when one allows oneself to feel it fully… against these two are fear, which is concerned with an experience of invasion or overwhelming…as opposed to the outward-bounding anger/sadness mechanism engaged when I don't get what I want …

This outbound/overwhelming yinyang is, to my mind the duality that the unstruck sound of the  heartchakra'd lovingkindness seeks to wrap in a unity of cherishing and understanding…better to transcend and include these dualistically-based emotions with the One of Love.

Moving back to duality; I personally found David Icke a better snooker commentator than a mystic, god bless him.

Warmly, Jon x

My definition of emotion is energy in motion; and my experience is of as many different flavours of this as there are moments of time.However boxing them into convient common categorys does make for easier communications.

In my experience I have fear and excitement at opposite ends of the expansion/ contraction continium, both with their benifits and limitations.

And Love for me something else all together in a class all of it's own. At the heart of everything, untouched always.

Never heard of David Icke :)

Hi friends

If I put two choice 'states' together, they'd have to be fear and faith… Love seems to just exist… sitting latent unless activated. If you stir it up, probably pushing past fear and acting on faith [thus the choice I referred to], and give it away willingly, it enlarges and certainly begins a cycle of growing and multiplying and begins the karmic rounds [of returning it to you from places unknown].

And I do believe that anger, sadness, anxiety, whatever the generally termed 'negative' emotions, are of fear. One can choose to employ faith and achieve peace, joy, hope. Indeed, this has been proven sufficient times scientifically. Making that choice is probably the biggie in the whole deal…

Love to you all folks! sherri

I have a question.  I may also already know my own answer, but still wish to know yours.  They way you and others here use the word emotion and the action with it, actually implies expression of a feeling(which by its nature is inactive and simply is in a way).  Expression is an effect…with a cause.  The catalysts for this shift from inner knowing of the subconcious of a feeling/emotion is also not the thing to be focused upon when creating a label, and yet often it is.  How do you feel about this idea?

first i got the giggles so i had to wait
then i realized that i wanted to be understood…so i had to fix that
then many messages pouring in and i was stuck as to how to get them out in a manageable form

instead of doing that i will be vulnerable and say how i work and then try to answer question, if there are any :D

energy is just energy
everything is some form of energy transfer or another
when i am working with humans and i see their aura or 'read/feel' their energy generally it follows a common theme…for some it may take a bit for me to know the subtle outward shift of their expression….for example tired, bored, frustrated, angry(human labels or how the individual would define the 'outcome' of the energy to themselves may not match yours or mine…in such cases i must ask them

other times i simply see or know the cause of the feeling/energy
laughing at the autistic statement because they are often way more clear in delineating or knowing their energy…it is society that creates such need to label emotions/feelings…some actually aim to create anger or guilt or limits and measures of value onto others with them

the autistic simply seem unable to cooperate with this game :D

so back to your question..when i see aura it does tend to follow basic colors which might denote basic parameters
however the shades are infinte even past what are known to humans
as is energy
some energy is expressed seen as light some not–trying to say a lot in few words here :)

and thanks i am aware you are not concerned with being right…though sometimes i am
this not being one of those times

More than 6 years ago a wise woman told me about this truth, that not hate but fear is anti-love. I have tested and confirmed this truth ever since, on so many occasions.
Jon, I know from personal experience that anger is a replacement emotion for repressed sadness. They do not belong together. A bit like love and hate. Hate is love gone berzerk. We hate when what we love does not respond at all the way we want or expect. This kind of hate would not arise if there was no attachment or indifference in the first place. On the other hand i have started to think that anger and passion both belong in the same “red” nest.
Thx all for your interesting thoughts.

bert

Emotions are one of my favorite subjects of study; both as a student and a parent and also as a person focusing on her own energy patterns.

If we look at fear and love as ebb and flow; then we could say these are the two basic emotional patterns. I don't think we can say “ONLY”, though according to what i remember studying; those were the words used to describe the basic emotions a human child is born with; which then get differentiated into the unique range of emotions we express [or suppress] as adults.

I can't find it online, but there was a chart showing how different emotions differentiate or show up at different ages of a person's life.

I dont think that life can be simplified into simple shades of fear and love, black and white, light and darkness I think its human nature to attempt to simplify reality, could it really be that simple?

That's interesting. I guess I never thought of it like that before. But I agree with Iconx, I don't think it is that blunt, there may be shades inbetween. Very insightful though.