Free to shine
Shiny & Free
Yes, I agree, each individual should decide for themselves about emotions, Don't take Hubbard's word for it about the relative value of them. Release them and see how you feel!
It is the resistence to them that causes the "pain" experienced, not the emotions themselves. This is a subtle but vital point. Hubbard educated us to avoid, or resist "low-toned" emotions. Poor old Ron was too enturbulated by his case to appreciate that they are simply energy in motion and pass like clouds across the sky!
I have really found the value of this since I first started reading your posts.
It's the resistance to fully experiencing the emotion that causes problems.
After leaving, I had to learn to cry. Crying was not acceptable, done in private and hidden. (And also not fully experienced as there usually wasn't time! ) The same for any of the "lower emotions". There is so much inherent in the doctine to stop you experiencing emotions, unless in the sanctioned and controlled environment of a session. ie No case on post/no HE&R/ don't dramatise/don't be a DB/don't be downtone and pull others down and on and on.
I have posted this before - when I first allowed myself to experience grief fully, I cried on and off for 3 weeks, no kidding. I walked around with a towel over my shoulder as I ran out of tissues. I allowed myself the freedom to feel, on my own terms, without supervision or judgement. It changed my life.
I have found it's the same for any emotion - higher or lower. FEEL IT, experience it in the moment, don't resist it and voila! Life flows in a totally different way. Strange as it may seem, the word "magnificent" does apply indeed.
It can take practice. A few days ago I was terribly upset about something and cried and cried. After 24 hours I wondered when it would ever end and doubted it would. Thankfully I knew from past experience to not resist and try to block it all off, keep observing and experiencing - and suddenly it was all gone. I can barely remember what on earth was so upsetting! By removing the stigma of "lower" then grief or whatever is just something else to be experienced.
(I've found it advisable to also warn anyone in my environment of what I am doing so they don't take it personally or worry too much. Now they don't get upset if I have an angry spat or crying binge because they know I will be my usual sunny self again soon, and sometimes a tad wiser as well. )