Even though this nervous system functions independently of our conscious or voluntary control or direction, yet all the nerve fibres of the autonomic nervous system “”-a:re ultimately derived as an outflow from the cerebrospinal axis itself. With the result that our conscious or subconscious moods and emotions – be they negative or positive – have strong influence on the autonomic nervous system, and hence on the activities of the viscera (i.e. the heart, liver, kidneys, intestines, etc.) and blood vessels. Conversely, the autonomic nervous system, in its functioning, also has st~ong influence on the cerebrospinal system of nerves. In other words, there is a constant interaction between the two systems of nerves, which can in due course develop into a vicious or a virtuous circle.
Now, man’s negative emotions, which we have previously noted, can be grouped into five, namely: anger, hate, fear, jealously, and selfishness.
The literal meaning, emotional significance, and objective identity of these words are well known. What is not well known is the danger which each of these emotions constitutes to our health and our physical well-being. Some illustrations will now be given to demonstrate that a negative emotion is a real danger to health and physical well-being.
A man cannot, by an act of his will-power, and without any physical exertion, cause his heart to beat faster. But when a man becomes violently angry, his heart will immediately begin to beat much faster. The suprarenal glands will become unduly active and will pour into his blood an excessive amount of adrenaliri fluid. At the same time, the liver will pour into the blood an excessive supply of sugar, whilst the lungs will have to work faster than normal in order to provide the extra oxygen which is required forburning the excessive sugar and converting it into energy for violent physical action.
Thus in the fit of anger, the adrenal in glands, the liver, and the lungs are unduly overworked and are made to supply, to the nerves and tissues, an excess of energy-supplying substances which become poisonous to the body as a whole. When the whole thing is over, there is tiredness in the limbs, and fatigue in the brain. All for being angry, and for no constructive end. It has been wisely said, and can be easily discerned, that hate is anger which has crystallized into permanent form. No wonder then that it is popularly believed – and quite rightly so – that hate is much more dangerous, and much more insidious in its deleterious effects, than occasional fits of anger. At the mere sight of the object of hate, or on a mere remembrance of him and the attendant circumstances, a strong emotion of anger wells up in the mind of the hater, and the nervous processes which we have described are at once set in motion. When this emotion becomes chronic, it has a way of ordering one or more of the visceral organs into action without any specific relation to the object of anger or hate. When
this stage is reached, one or more of the sense organs, including parts of the brain, which is the seat of these organs, may be seriously and permanently injured. Because as we have noted, the autonomic system of nerves Goes influence the cerebrospinal system of nerves as effectively as the latter do the former.
Fear is the worst enemy of man. Says Shakespeare: ‘Fear is a traitor and makes us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.’
An eminent psychologist has likened intense fear to violent anger, except that the message which the cerebrospinal nervous system sends to the autonomic nervous system in the case of fear is, ‘Prepare for fast running’, instead of ‘Prepare for a fight’ which is the message of anger. The effect of fearing on the body as a whole is the same as the effect of being angry, because the action which the autonomic nervous system takes on receiving a message of fear is the same as it takes on receiving that of anger. While on the subject of fear, it is pertinent to deal with the perennial and popular topic of worry. There are many people who are given or prone to worry, but who claim or appear to be brave.
Such people should stop kidding themselves, and we should not ,be deceived by them either. Just as hate is chronic anger, so worry is fear in permanent form.
Jealousy is a more subtle manifestation of fear. You fear that someone has deprived you or may deprive. you of something which you believe or fancy properly belongs to you. This ‘something’ may be a job, a loved one, or a privilege. You become jealous and envious because of the actual or fancied deprivation of one of these things. We have already noted the injurious effect which fear has on a man’s health. And it is enough to ‘reiterate here with emphasis that jealousy or envy is a manifestation of fear which has been sup-pressed or repressed.
Selfishness, on the other hand, is an extremely refined manifestation of hate and fear combined. The selfish person holds ‘ very tight to what he has because he believes consciously or unconsciously that if he parts with all or part of what he has, the actual or fancied object of his hate or fear may benefit as a result. In this connection, we would like to stress the point that the effect of hate and fear, and hence of selfishness, on the body and on the nervous system is the same, whether we are conscious of these negative emotions or not.
The positive emotions, which are the diametrical opposites of the negative emotions we have been discussing, are equally well known. They too can be grouped into five as follows: calm, love, courage, charity, and altruism.
In order to dislodge the negative emotions, the positive emotions must be consciously and sedulously cultivated with unflagging persistence, There is no other way of going about it. It is plain commonsense that the surest and indeed the only way of driving out darkness is by bringing in light. There is no other way of doing it. It follows, therefore, that to cultivate the positive emotions, we
must be prepared to meet every occasion of anger with calm, of hate with love, of fear with courage, of jealously with charity, and of selfishness with altruism. It will not be an easy matter to start with. But since practice makes perfect, the more we persist in the cultivation of these positive emotions, the more we will succeed. And the more we succeed, the more we will diminish the injurious effects of negative emotions, and the greater shall be our chances
of living a healthy and happy life. Now, let us have another look at the 14 instincts at page 212. We will find that none of them, per se, is bad or ugly. Indeed, we are bound to admit, on careful examination, that homo sapiens needs all of them to survive as well as to procreate and perpetuate his species. But we know for a fact that these innate dispositions are being over-expressed or perverted or abused all over the place; so much so that there are many who dedicate themselves to condemning them out of hand, or who see virtue in repressing them – that is, denying them any expression at all. These are
extreme standpoints to take, and they are as dangerous as, if not more dangerous than, the evils and perversions condemned and repressed.
We have already dealt with the negative emotions of anger and fear together with their concomitant manifestations. We must, however, point out that the motions of anger and fear are the offspring of the instincts of combat and escape respectively. In other words, it is the instincts of combat and escape which give rise to the emotions of anger and fear. If you suddenly come face to face with a wild animal like a lion, for instance, both of your instincts of combat and escape will be automatically aroused. If you are well armed as well as being a good shot, you will in all probability allow your instinct of combat full expression, and bring that of escape under control, by attacking and killing the lion, keeping calm and cool while the operation lasts. If you have nothing on you with which you can subdue the wild animal, your instinct of combat will be controlled while that of escape is given full expression; again keeping calm and cool in the process. But if in spite of your lethal weapon and skill in marksmanship, you panic in the face of the lion and take to your heels, then you will have allowed the emotion of fear to get the better of you with the consequences which we have previously described.
If you are gratuitously insulted by your employer, your instincts of repulsion with a disposition to retaliation, and that of submission will be aroused. If you are fairly well-off and can afford to lose your job, you will probably allow the instinct of repulsion to prevail.
Otherwise, you will control it and give expression to the instinct of submission, and thereby save yourself from unemployment, and your family from penury and starvation. Several other illustrations can be given to demonstrate that it is well within the capacity of a man or woman to control or sublimate
his or her instincts. There are two steps to the control and sublimation of an instinct.
The first is to recognize it as a natural and inseparable part of your being. There is nothing to be ashamed of about an instinct. And to condemn or repress it is tantamount to denying the existence of what is inborn and ordained to give you powerful motivation as . long as you live. The second is to cultivate the habit of reflecting on and rationalizing the circumstance which gives rise to the display.
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