Can we choose our emotions or do they just happen?

[Altair]

Originally Posted by lemex

Emotions are a program and biochemical by nature. Emotions are automatic. The mind is powerful. All of this is happening at the speed of energy.

Yes, it's fast and automatic. I'm not against it ((it makes us developed beings)) and I recognize the validity of it but at the same time they can potentially bring suffering. So how do you 'manage' that, Lemex?

[lemex]

Originally Posted by Altair

So how do you 'manage' that, Lemex?

First by understanding you can imo. It is even a choice. By understanding mind can change energy again consciously. For me often it takes effort but is becoming easier. Emotions are really responses and mind and body are linked so it is mind imo one works to change change, not body. Body makes it feel right. Body follows mind. Every once in a while I am able to change mind. I have always found this present in spirituality, it has has always been and taught about mind. There are (spiritual) techniques and practices and wisdom that already talk about the subject all will probably experience at some time and it takes practice. Personally I think there is knowledge in spiritual to (I) use even if I don't know the experience which always follows last, sometimes using the guidance of others, teachers for example. For me it is not immediate. It is about training the mind and we know people can consciously experience change energy. Emotional energy and emotions are habits that work that we attach conscious thought to but the energy is already there. It is that energy to change. For me, the attachment was the energy not the thought. The conscious mind works very slowly, it is not as quick but it (mind) can also learn to how change energy. As a friend once told me it is not important one change but how quickly the change takes.

No, we can’t choose them. They just happen. I didn’t choose to "fall in love" with this new person that appeared in my life when I wasn’t looking for it, but I can choose my actions and what I do with what I feel. What did I do so far? Nothing. That’s exactly what my life lesson is: not to go with my emotions the way I did before. Just observe them from a distance. It will pass. All the others did.

[FallingLeaves]

funny thing is, lots of people think emotions CAN be changed. This as evidenced by watching people forever running around either trying to be happy, or at least using their energy to pay to guard against the possibility of an upcoming bad moment.

OTOH there is always a desire to change emotions in a specific way, and another desire if one succeeds in lining them up 'properly' to make them stay the same after that so one doesn't have to leave whatever place they think they've found. For example for some, once they are happy they want to always remain happy so they get into a cycle of using their energy to alternately reinforce that state and beat down any competing states. So then whatever one is doing, one gets into a state, where one decides they can't change emotions, but it is more a matter of 'choosing not to' than 'cant'. Cant sounds better though because if you believe that you feel like you won't be tempted to turn around and try.
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IMO if you want to know how to change emotions, you have to experience something other than whatever you've already decided you want to experience so that you know things to look for and have experience about how one might go about changing things. Because simply talking about things one knows nothing about can't go anywhere, by definition. One needs real experience before one can even understand what the words used for the experience really mean and one doesn't get experience if one chooses not to accept experiences other than the ones one already desires.

Anyway by definition not immediately following whatever one supposes one's heart's path is leads to suffering, because if one isn't getting what one told oneself one wants and the sooner the better (which for 'good' people usually translates to: what one settled for as ones goals when society gave him/her the list of things one is allowed to want) one will be unhappy with ones lot.

All of which is part of the cage... people choose not to deviate from what they have decided they want and will definitely not venture into the realm of things they decided they don't want. And it is used as nice bars to keep us from getting loose from our cage and dieing in the wild. (I've just obliquely touched on both the topic of good and evil and the topic of free will, all this stuff goes together to form a cohesive whole)

For those who get tired of the normal behaviors one is told to have and do step out, there are always the silver linings to keep one going, but, for the most part, such pales in comparison to playing with the other children and so one will only go so far.