A post from Aplusk

That's what I just read from Ashton Kutcher. It's a bit long but it is kind of meaningful. Never know he could write like this. It makes me admire him more. :) The title is called Roller Coaster to Happiness.

"Last week I shared a lesson from my teacher and had an amazing response from you all.  So, I decided I would share my latest lesson.  It’s about controlling you own state of happiness.  My goal in life is to find infinite happiness and this lesson helps me get closer to that every day.  It’s about jumping off of the roller coaster of emotional ups and downs and creating your own new ride.  I hope you enjoy.

Often we think that emotions, feelings, experiences are much more powerful than a thought.  A thought, an idea, is something that is very not tangible, is not something that necessarily we will feel its energy, its power.  We feel much more personal with emotion – an emotion of love or hate, of good or bad – that seems to be a much more real experience, physical experience, meaningful experience, deeper experience.  But thought?  There are many thoughts!  It is remote.  It is in the air.  It is imagination.  It is not something tangible and physical.

However could thoughts be bigger than heart?  Thoughts are bigger than feelings?  Higher more Powerful?  Do we give too much power to feelings and emotions?  

If we desire to be the creators of our own happiness we must exit our reactive existence.  Reactivity is anytime we allow our environment to control our state.  The whole concept of reactivity is being ruled by emotions.  How do we run the show?  

We need to be ruled by consciousness – which will help us effect the right emotions.  Not to say that we shouldn’t have emotions.  But who is running the emotions?  Us or our environment? The thought should run the emotions, and not the emotions run the thoughts.  It is like, who is in charge?  The master of the dog, or the dog?  Who is taking whom for a walk?

In life, unfortunately, the reason people experience the ups and downs is because our emotions—which are our subjective way of seeing reality, and that is usually the typical emotion we are ruled by—are running our life.  As a result, there is no way we will end up being positive, because if we are not injecting consciousness and intention and thoughts into whatever we are doing, it will never work out.  But life will always will make sure to inject the emotion that will lead us astray other wise we can never earn true happiness.  And if we don’t earn it we will never appreciate it.  It’s like someone giving you a jig saw puzzle that’s already put together.  There is no sense of accomplishment.

When we do not have a thought and consciousness and intention before any process, we let emotion to run the show.  So we need to initiate, to pause – even though we may be doing something for somebody we love.  We really want to do something for them.  It is natural, we love it.  We have emotion, we feel.  But we have to stop and pause just one second, “What is my consciousness?”  If it is really to help without agenda, to reveal Happiness in the world, to effect change in their life, to change our own selfish inclination, then we have to inject thought and consciousness into it.  Of course we would love to have that natural positive emotion within us to carry on, but we have to make sure that thought will override it.

Emotion without the consciousness prior to it … is like an airplane without a pilot: sooner or later it will crash.  Initially it will be great – a great ride.  The airplane is pretty high.  That is what happens with emotions.  The only problem is, it does not feel like thoughts are stronger than emotions, and that is what strong consciousness is about.

Imagine you feel terrible today, and certain things happen that you do not like.  But in your thoughts you are saying, “I know it is an opportunity, I know it is for the best,” but nevertheless, you do feel bad.  It is a major conflict: Emotions versus your thoughts, your consciousness.  What do you do about it?  “I do not want to lie to myself; I really feel bad.”  And that is the test.  Are you going to allow your feelings to control your consciousness and believe it is a negative experience … or are you going to decide, “One second, I am not in denial – my feelings I do feel bad, but I have the certainty and the consciousness that it is for the good, and I will create good out of it, and I will transform that situation to the good.”  

If we hold on to that thought in spite of the feeling that is pulling us down and pulling our thoughts down and awakening doubts of “Is it really going to be good?” … if we do not let it happen, then sooner or later the emotion will rise, as well.  The good feeling will come, as well.  And that is true accomplishment.

When we are able through thoughts – because we believe thoughts are a much stronger power, to transform feelings, then that is an indication of transformation.  We will feel great because we think great.  "