Section Beta  Lesson Two: The Emotional Behavior of Humanity  Emotional Motivation  Throughout human history, despite many sage offerings, the mystery of human behavior remains just that. What motivation could possibly underlie human behavior and explain the many differences as well as the similarities? What could motivate the orderly, cooperative, altruistic and moral behavior, as well as the chaotic, competitive, heinous and the evil acts of humans? Why humans do what they do seems unfathomable. This is particularly true if one believes humans to be a good and capable lot.  Maybe our problem is how we define the term 'good and capable', or rather why we should presume that it is natural and normal for humans to arrive at this state, without straying from "the path" in the process of learning the value of being in this state. Nothing in our environment is created in a perfect form. Not the clothes, the jewelry, the vehicles we drive, the children we raise. Each starts with raw, unrefined material and ends up being the consequence of much human effort.  We now have certain understandings that hint at the truth. So we shall go straight to the heart of the matter.All human behavior springs from emotional motivation.  "emotional motivation" ...These two words describe energy and direction. Both are essential ingredients of any type of progression.  The "good" behavior flows from spiritual intention. It is purposeful in pursuit of self-development and expression. It utilizes all human faculties for their intended purpose. The "bad" behavior is absent of spiritual intention, except that of basic self-preservation. It is undertaken without utilization of human ration. It is the by-product of the misunderstandings of the emotional feedback system. It is incidental, if not accidental.  One of the great puzzles is how people who pride themselves on their state of moral superiority, usually founded on attendance at a religious service with consistent regularity, can still indulge in behavior that contradicts "spiritual intention". The key might just lie in the word "pride", a sliver to the Mind of Man.  If each and every human act is examined within the framework of understanding that these Lessons impart, it shall become apparent that emotion is at the very core. It will be fairly obvious that humans approach that which brings pleasure, and avoid that which brings pain. Of course, the avoidance of pain has become the dominant motivator since very few countries even claim to afford humans the right to the "pursuit of happiness". Avoidance of pain is at the root of every act that takes humans from their intended course, it is at the root of every evil act. It can be extremely subtle in avoidant self-deception, or it can explode upon the world in atomic rage---hardly an application of a rational self-preservationary strategy.  Why do we indulge in and support military action against another group. We usually act out of fear of losing something which would cause us discomfort or "pain". It might be oil or real estate. It can even be abstract things like self-image. Whatever it turns out to be, it is it usually based on the fear of loss, which we feel emotionally, if not physically.  It is merely due to the lack of rational interpretation and rational response to the emotional signal that self-preservation has become the norm. With this understanding, humans can examine their own behavior, identify the motivational feelings, and trace them back to the gems and slivers upon which they operate. They can readily see which behaviors were motivated by self-development and expression, or those that were motivated by self-preservation. This is rational use of the emotional feedback. This is utilization of the undiscovered sixth sense. This is livingon purpose, in spiritual intention.  The development of our "sixth sense" would seem to be directly related to our "feelings". As we become more aware of the value of this capacity, we begin to see more harmony in our lives, more coordination in our relationships and activities. It can be subtle at first, but it eventually becomes more apparent, until it becomes the norm versus the exception.  Now is the time for humans to successfully live on purpose. Until now there has been relative darkness. The light that shines the way is human feeling. But in order for humans to fully embrace this newfound ability, there are further clarifications necessary. For it has become habitual to act within the system in ways that grossly misuse it. And there are many slivers within Mass Consciousness that accept, even promote such misuses. The solutions to problems inherent in human cultures can only come from within individuals as they remove the source from their own lives, inside and out. So the individual subtleties of emotion that humans face must now be examined.  This is the point of these Lessons, to examine a state of being, to define its flaws and to move toward corrective action. In the end, it is only a shift in perception that should result in growth in a more rewarding direction.  The subtleties yet to be discussed lie in the corrective response part of the feedback cycle, the behavior itself. This is where the rubber hits the road. Right use of emotional feedback can provide lifelong, moment-to moment spiritual guidance. This means that certain feelings will suggest certain behaviors. But the benefits of such guidance are contingent upon effecting the optimal corrective response. For optimal corrective responses are within spiritual intention, and all others are merely self-preservationary. Wrong use of the system is abundantly evident in certain "evil" motivations. It's easy to see how angry violent behaviors can wreak havoc. But some detrimental human motivational habits are well disguised. To expose them, we now turn to the responses as they operate in the modern world.  It would be possible to become as adept at living in a spiritually guided manner as we who drive have become adept at moving about from point to point in a vehicle, without doing harm to those around us and achieving our point of intention without incident.  Recall that all corrective responses can be made to either the internal or external realms. An internal change is applied to the mental landscape. An external change is a behavior acted upon the external world, the physical or social landscape. The response choice is how humans effect evolution. Internal changes are how humans acquire culture. It is how they self-develop, learn and adapt to their world. External changes are how humans create culture and express their internal contributions in the external world. Certain choices will be optimal and empowering, others will be detrimental, causing individual and social chaos and slides from the intended evolutionary tract.  Again, I would apply the metaphor of operating a vehicle in a safe and intelligent fashion. In fact, not only do humans keep refining the vehicle but expanding our technology and aiming at more distant points in our environment. Where we commit errors, we self-correct our behavior, in most cases. Our intent is always to make ourselves more safe and surviving in order to keep living and evolving.  Mistakes of response choice will create further symptomatic pain. This is the spirit's way of calling attention to mistaken choices of action and beliefs. We will now discuss the uses and abuses of all responses in both internal and external realms.  The Approach Responses Right & Light  The approach responses naturally follow positive emotional signals and are very intuitive. It is quite natural to approach that which feels good, to reinforce those ideas and strategies that satisfy the spirit. It is inherently rewarding to promote situations and relationships that are spiritually fulfilling. All optimal approach responses result in self-development and expression, as the spirit intends for them to be.  There was an expression out of California some years ago that went: "If it feels good, do it!" Moralists thought it was just a reflection of the loose life style of the times. In some ways, I suppose it was, but on a deeper level, it reflects the above paragraph as a guideline to our higher development.  Approach responses can also be in answer to painful, negative emotions. In a modern world, approach responses are often preferable to the self-preservationary avoidant responses which are hardwired. The approach responses are about acceptance. What they have in common is that each is an open approach in acceptance of a situation without resistance. Approach responses are the path of least resistance. There are two basic approaches, they are the Right and Light Responses.  There are significant points in the history of mankind when the act of non-resistance has had a greater impact for good than military action and violence has ever had. These were moments when a portion of mankind was at its finest.  We have already introduced the Right Response. These are self-developmental approach responses that are effected by the internal mental realm. Most Right Responses are approach responses---all adaptive ones are. This is when current ideas, skills and strategies are upgraded to provide maximum need fulfillment. Self development is learning, but only learning in ways that promote the needs of the spirit.  What we learn from actions that result in positive "self develop" can and does become a part of our hard wiring, to the point that the course of our lives becomes both smoother and broader.  Although the Right Response is very functional and optimal in many cases, as with any response, it can also be abused. But basically, the only mistake that can be made with the Right Response results from the misinterpretation of an emotional signal. If there is no clear boundary between the spiritual and mental realms, the person might "approach" an idea of mind as if it were a directive of spirit. This is when cultural knowledge is confused for (and is in conflict with) natural knowledge. This is learning something that is limiting to the spirit, the introduction of a sliver.  Any action that is a gem (rather than a sliver) is easily recognized by how much natural joy it brings to those involved. If it is spiritually uplifting and results in better relations between human beings, than it would likely be spiritual in origin.  Another way of thinking about it, is the misuse of the Right Response pits the Cultural Self against the Genetic Self. This is illogical and will never work, for the Genetic Self represents the embodiment of spirit and cannot---nor should not---change its essence. The specific pains of this symptom will be fear, self guilt, self blame, sadness and eventually depression. Individual mental and physical ills ultimately result when this mistake is allowed to remain.  We are burdened with many attitudes that exist in the "Cultural Self" and originated in the religious, political and economic institutions as instruments of control. To free ourselves to practice the "Right Response", we have to examine the motivation behind those attitudes.  With this error, the sliver which has been introduced into the mind further frustrates the spirit. This sliver will make its presence known through increased emotional pain. In this case, anger. Anger is indeed the signal of a frustrated spirit, stifled from its expression. But as long as the person continues to empower the belief, this in effect, turns the anger inward against the spirit, causing increasing levels of anger. Then the person must find escapes or safe ways to vent the anger.  Anger unexpressed is like hot air in a balloon that continues to get hotter. At some point, the balloon will destroy itself. By flipping our perspective (the balloon) a full 180 degrees, we can allow the anger (hot air) to escape out into the universe and refill our balloon with more stable (enlightened) air.  For example, one human culture has a truth regarding the relative inferiority of women. This belief is interwoven throughout many of the traditions of these people. This belief serves to meet the power and control needs of men (who generally lack such freedom as fringe members of a more mainstream culture), by domineering the woman of their group. This creates emotional dissonance within the women of this group, for it denies the integrity of their spirit.  There are many areas in many cultures where one group exaggerates its own importance at the expense of another group. It is only when it is accepted that each human being is a reflection of divine spirit that this attitude and this practice will fade from the current paradigm.  Being female is a choice of the spirit and one that cannot, nor should not, be changed or minimized by any cultural dictate. They react to this frustration with anger toward themselves which further perpetuates the belief. This feeling is experienced as shame and is even institutionalized as "feminine shame" for their inherent "dirtiness". They have customs such as washing men's clothing in separate pots so they are not defiled by the "dirt" from female garments. They must also cover their faces when men other than their husbands enter the room.  The beliefs instilled in the minds of children are the most difficult to alter, but once looked upon from the full understanding of the reasons they were so instilled, the pace by which they can be revised can accelerate.  The women of this culture are unhappy. But instead of rejecting the belief, they have developed an outlet for the continuing frustration. They have traditional poems which they utter frequently whenever a negative feeling arises. These poems communicate their hurt as well as their sanctimonious religious standing from being such wonderful martyrs. Yet they continue to perpetuate the very ideas that keep them frustrated, for the slivers are deeply ingrained in their worldview.  There is a more common practice in our society, carried out with religious zeal. It involves the saying of repetitious prayers in the conviction that the more they are repeated the greater will be the reward in the next state of being. Unfortunately, it only tends to compartmentalize one's spirituality, while relationships with others are free to follow a less charitable course.  Placing a belief of mind above the dictates of spirit may seem like a silly and unlikely option in more mainstream cultures. But in every culture, there are ideas which ask just that of their members. For there are many perfectly acceptable ways of meeting spiritual needs that are deemed socially unacceptable or even taboo. This is why it is crucial to understand that correct use of the Right Response seeks only to change the mind to accommodate the needs of spirit. Humans should never respect or follow guidelines within any world view that rejects, or worse, defiles a perfectly right and just spiritual need.  All institutions must capture and maintain the respect of its members if they are to sustain an existence that compliments the spirit. Those which don't are doomed to ultimate failure and decay. Errors of this response are not likely, however, if the distinction is clear between spirit and mind. And for the most part, the Right Response is a very good choice of approach. In fact, it is the recommended first choice option to all emotional signals. This approach ensures that ration has been applied to the situation, that the entity has first examined the mind to see if learning is necessary. Once this has been done, if there are still negative signals within similar situations, then other responses will then be appropriate. But this cannot be known without first trying to effect these internal self-developmental changes.  Any planned course of action or any commitment to belief will need to be examined internally until the full acceptance is felt and our spiritual nature is comfortable in its being. The Light Response  The other kind of approach response seeks instead to change the external world to restore the balance. Self expressive approach responses are actions in the external world that seek to share wisdom, creativity or otherwise contribute to the outer environment. They are acts of simple communication, persuasion, compassion, altruism, or any method of creative expression. It is an act of taking who you are to the people. We shall call this approach, the Light Response. For this is the way humans offer their individual light to other spirits to which they are connected.  We all have the opportunity to do this, each time we come into contact with another human being. We can all be healers in a variety of ways. If we sense that the clerk in the check-out line looks a little tired or depressed, a kind word or a compliment can make a difference. It costs us nothing but it makes more of a difference than a "money-valued" gift.  Light responses are always offering the ideas, tools, skills perspectives and help which promote the self-development and expression of others. It is the exchange and sharing of gems. It is the spiritual expression of the innate cooperative capacity which reflects the fulfillment connection need. The underlying assumption of this choice is that this is surely a cooperative, win-win situation, where both parties can benefit from this response. It is the exchange and sharing of feedback when one person sees something in the other of which they are unaware and would benefit from understanding. This is actually an approach to a negative emotion, one vicariously experienced within another. The Light Response is offered with respect and compassion in the genuine desire to contribute to the well-being and happiness of the received.  In a world environment of too frequent violence, it is apparent that diplomacy is a "fig leaf"' upon the body of collective intelligence. We fail in our efforts to resolve problems on an international scale because we have such limited experience in communicating with each other on a local scale. The same problems that stir the planet are macrocosms of those issues that divide us as family, friends and neighbors. The above paragraph points to a way beyond this. The "exchange" possibilities mentioned above are now possible through this very median, for those who would elect to use them.  For example, a child observes another child during a baseball game. He sees this child's frustration at the fact that he cannot seem to strike the ball with the bat. The first child, who is emotionally healthy and empathetic, feels this pain. He knows he has some information that he has gained that can solve this problem. His response to the feeling is the expressive approach, the "Light Response". He feels the spiritual impetus to offer his help. Thus, he approaches the child and respectfully suggests that he can give the child some pointers if there is consent. If even one helpful idea is exchanged, both children will experience a positive emotion. This pleasure will signal that the receiver has accomplished spiritual development, and the giver has accomplished spiritual expression.  Too often, the Little League parents will be so obsessed with making sure that their own child stands out in performance of the needed skills that they will fail to encourage their child to adopt this more charitable type of conduct. With the monetary rewards of success in sport skills being so large, a child that is particularly skilled at something is rather encouraged to center upon himself and thus regard his teammates as possible threats to his own success. What's wrong with this picture?  A key understanding is that the Light Response must only offer ideas which remove existing limits. They must be consensual and respectful of the existing emotional boundaries. This type of approach basically communicates: "I feel your pain, can I offer some light?" Although this may sound schmaltzy to the modern mind, it communicates connection, respect, compassion and an invitation for growth, without provoking the defenses. For specific words to use, some alternative suggestions: "I hate to see you struggling, can I offer some help?" Or even, "Can I help here?  These are not complicated suggestions, and the consequences of such a simple act can have exponential effects. It is akin to the metaphor of lighting a single candle and the flame from that "candle" being passed along until we have enlightened the whole world. There is no sacrifice on the part of any "candle" which passes its flame along. Like the journey of a thousand miles that begins with a single step, we each have an opportunity on a daily basis to take that "step".  Of course, if the receiver does not desire your "light" and permission is not granted, then your job is done. Whether or not the receiver is in a ready, receptive state, you have achieved your needed spiritual expression. Emotional boundaries which create the defensive, self-preservationary responses must be compassionately respected. Regardless of the receptivity, the gesture itself is spiritually desirable. At minimum, it gives the person pause for thought and bolsters the idea that humans are good and caring. A person who initially rejects such offerings of light, will be all the more receptive to the next expressive gesture. Each such gesture wears away at maladaptive beliefs that hold humans to be less than compassionate, caring, connected, trustworthy and "good".  In our initial efforts to step beyond ourselves and offer help to those around us, we might be met with a non-response or, sometimes, open rejection. This can be used as our excuse to refrain from further efforts. Maybe such a gesture on our part, might be deemed by those who know us as being out of character. (Trying it on a stranger may be safer.) But with time and persistence, the other person, if not accepting of our offer of help, might be a little more open to the effort of someone else. The response we get from those who know us might be a more enlightening lesson than we are prepared for, but it could be the most valuable lesson we need because it gives us a valuable insight on how we are perceived by those who know us best. The Light Response also works in the reverse. It is often highly desirable to ask others to share their light, to seek advise and counsel which can precede a Right Response. This is an optimal combination of internal and external self expressive and developmental response to emotional signals. Of course, respect, consent and cooperation are still required.  God protect us from presuming that we have all the answers to everyone else's problems. Who among us would presume to be so perfect. Those who care about us (or even those who don't) could well have insights about our habits and character that could end up being valuable gems in the crown of our behavior. Also, it can be conceived as a compliment to someone when you ask them for their help.  There are also mistakes made when choosing the Light Response. There are rampant examples of those offering "light" when it is not desired, and when it, in fact, adds limitation. Any true act of light broadens opportunity and expands emotional boundaries. Many religious proselytizers seek to change the world to meet their mental portrait instead of the reverse. There is often an arrogant and self-righteous attitude that lacks compassion, is disrespectful and downright backward. The same is true for political parties. Humans should always ensure that they take in as much light as they seek to give out, lest they simply be maintaining their own emotional boundaries rather than expanding them. This is the reason why the world experiences social and political gridlock and holy wars continue to be fought.  In a sense, this is why all wars are "religious" wars because they result from a difference in belief systems, whether they be based on an interpretation of the nature of God, or an economic philosophy, or a political style of government or even a perceived threat to any of the above. The above paragraph, when truly understood and accepted, could probably avert most of the military confrontations on this planet.  We have only discussed the approach responses, and have already encountered the source of many human ills. But for the most part, approach responses are still fairly easy to use appropriately. It is a good rule of thumb to go ahead and act upon positive feelings, as well as compassionate negative ones. For those approach impulses will lead to learning, whether or not the road may be bumpy along the way. With honest evaluation of the feelings, the feedback they provide, and a timely corrective response, diversions from the intended path can be quickly rectified.  There are times when the only way we are able to learn the lessons we need to learn is to experience the consequences of a negative act. It is the higher part of ourselves that must lead us to polluted waters, so to speak, in order for us to appreciate the "pure". This might seem cruel at times, but it is intended to give us that experience necessary to correct our course. We know this is true of children and certainly nearly all adults carry remnants of childish behavior.  The more ominous aspect of the approach response is when humans approach in order to avoid. If certain needs are not met to an adequate level, it often becomes an automatic tendency for humans to approach to create pleasure to escape pain. When this is the case, we are no longer in the realm of approach responses. We are no longer in self-developmental mode, we are in the realm of self-preservation.  This could be akin to the all-too-well-known "one night stand". Seeking pleasure on a momentary basis in order to avoid the emotional pain of being unconnected. It is the equivalent of taking a drug to quell a physical or mental need, be it an aspirin for a headache, caffeine for a boost, or something stronger and taken to an uncontrollable degree.  We have just learned how mistakes in approach responses can cause certain individual and social ills. But these mistakes of self-development and expression are relatively harmless in comparison to the mistakes of self-preservationary responses. We can now turn to the most insidious of the response choices, the avoidant response.  I can hardly wait!  The Avoidant Responses  We have briefly introduced the Fight and Flight Responses, but now we shall delve into their complexities. They are still valid responses to specific circumstances at particular times. But for the most part they are grossly over-used, resulting in nearly every remaining individual and social ill experienced by human beings.  To that degree, we are limited. But this limitation is by choice. We have creative capabilities that are yet to be tapped and this material is designed to do just that.  Avoidant responses are about resistance. They refuse to accept a situation as reported by the emotional signal. Resistance to objectionable ideas which defile or reject human needs is a good and necessary response. Resistance is still a useful tool, but one with a sharp double edge. In learning situations, avoidant responses can wreak havoc and throw humans from their evolutionary path.  There are ways to avoid "learning situations". It begins by avoiding human contact wherever possible. Or one can be so self-absorbed that adverse experiences have little impact on our personal growth. We all know people like this and some of us have seen them in our mirrors.  In receiving the Light Responses from others, avoidance closes doors to opportunity. But avoidance also fosters more sinister and nearly universal human ills. Avoidance (not money) is perhaps the root of all evil.  We can not experience what we choose to avoid.  Take particular note of this information, for recognizing and consciously controlling these responses in your behavior will be tremendously liberating and greatly rewarding.  What follows are the particulars to the above admonition. It could carry us to levels we haven't even considered before now.  The Flight Response  The Flight Response is that innate urge to run away from danger. When humans experience fear, the body is filled with arousal energy for movement away from the dangerous situation. The underlying assumption for choosing this response is that something very threatening must be avoided, for this is a win-lose competition and the self would surely be the loser. This is a very adaptive strategy when there is clear and present physical danger. This was particularly true before the advent of mind. For as we know, along with the mind came the need to self-develop and the challenge of achieving spiritual expression through its filter. We know now that even a signal for self-development feels like one for self-preservation, prompting avoidance and escape.  When we meet that bear in the woods, taking flight is still a very practical course to follow. However, in modern life, we tend to avoid that experience for less physically threatening ones. More often, our "bears" are the mentally and emotionally threatening. How we relate to them requires a different tactic.  Therefore, there are some particular sticky results from these constraints upon the Flight Response. First, running away is rarely appropriate. In fact, it should be a last ditch response only when all other options have met with failure. This Flight Response now takes the form of physically leaving an environment that does not accommodate need-meeting efforts. This can be the retreat from a relationship, a marriage, a job, a club, a religion, a country or even a life, if needs cannot truly be met due to immovable obstacles. It can be a temporary retreat to cool off, to regroup, to restrategize; or it can be a permanent retreat to more free and opportune systems, relationships or geographic locales. This is the only appropriate form, and is a final option.  The action of "last resort" is often selected before other options have been considered. It's the old proverb of the grass looking greener on the other side of the fence. It's only after we spend some time in that other "grass" that we come to perceive that it wasn't all that much greener. A "retreat" is a less emotional action if it includes an intent to review and reconsider. The final departure from a situation, in a certain sense, can be premature and a lesson-avoiding experience.  The Flight Response is very automatic and shows up in very subtle, yet insidious, ways. For example, with the advent of mind there came the option of internal retreats---internal flights from perceived danger. The word perceived is used because this perception may or may not have an external validity, of which we know the mind does not know or care. It operates as if every content is actual and real, as is its job. Worse, whenever a learning experience is necessary and a growing pain is experienced, the first automatic and easiest response is one of avoidant defense.  This is one of our tougher challenges in life, i.e. accepting unpleasant "experiences" for their educational value. At the very moment we are in them, they may likely seem of little value, but once completed and reflected upon, they turn out to be pure gold in the economy of spiritual growth.  All mental flight responses are maladaptive, nonproductive and hurtful. They are rationalizations, placing blame, scapegoating or otherwise finding alternative explanations for deficiencies. They allow virtually anything except entertaining the possibility that problems lie within the self. Each mental flight is a psychological retreat---an act of self-deception. Such escapism always slows or stops self-development and can be quite damaging, yet such reactions are extremely common.  In a society where materialism is encouraged, we are conditioned to believe that acquiring some "thing" will automatically bring us a greater level of happiness. Why fix it when you can replace it. Just as this tends to rob us of the opportunity to exercise our personal ingenuity, the flight from unpleasant emotional situations tends to rob us of our ability to relate to our fellow beings in more human terms.  Escapist actions are apparent everywhere. Humans seek mental retreats from emotional pain through defense mechanisms, withdrawal, avoidant tendencies, distractions, and compulsive behaviors. Such mental escapism is all captured within the umbrella concept of denial.  How many times have we heard the comment, "Oh. He's in denial." Or "She isn't facing the reality of their relationship." Sometimes we tend to maintain the status quo by mentally avoiding the obvious. This, too, is a form of "retreat" from reality.  Denial is the tendency to avoid that which is staring one right in the face. The information is avoided because its acknowledgment would be painful. Denial can be a subtle escape from (or avoidance of) any situation which could cause the emotional signal. This includes even the minor anxiety of growing pains. This means that learning experiences would be avoided. This is not spiritually desirable, but the human defenses are prone to do just that, without rational understanding of the feeling.  Our society is one that is founded on the Anglo-Saxon code of relationships. We tend to maintain a certain distance from each other, a restraint seen in most European countries such as England, Germany and the Scandinavian cultures. Southern European countries have much less difficulty expressing emotional relationships and, in fact, tend to be quite vulnerable to each other, when carried to an extreme. This, too, can be a handicap.  In our baseball example, if the struggling child would not admit his own need for assistance, a mental escape would allow him to "save face". He could come up with any number of ideas that would explain his lack of success at hitting the ball. This is self-deception, but it offers relief from the emotional signal by adopting an avoidant idea.  We suffer from the illusion that to "ask for" or "accept" an offer of help, is an admittance of weakness. We males are more prone to this condition. After all, what do we do when we're lost? First, we don't admit it and then we avoid asking for directions as long as possible. Adults are often nothing more than oversized children.  Humans are extremely resourceful in their denial. It is a subtle, even subconscious, habit that must be guarded against. But denial is not a lone avoidant strategy. For humans also have many other creative diversions that successfully avoid and quiet unpleasant feelings.  After all, with our physical, mental and emotional components, we are rather complex beings. Complexity can be a plus, but only if the parts work in unison toward a positive end.  Distraction is also a handy Flight Response. Humans distract themselves from bad feelings by behaving in ways that bring pleasure. They can escape into safe and fantastic imagined realms through books, television, films, or other entertainment; they can focus intently on distracting or thrilling tasks, they can eat, socialize, work or make love. Certain of these diversions are harmless, even quite rewarding, in moderation.  It is when a "distraction" becomes an obsession to the point of shielding us from our overall areas of growth, that it needs to be examined from a more detached perspective.  But any such activity in direct response to (or avoidance of) emotional pain, does nothing to resolve the imbalance. In excess, they can even become neurotic compulsions and the feelings will only get stronger. They will linger continuously, smoldering just beneath the surface of consciousness, prompting further mindless, non-productive, compulsive, bizarre, or unhealthy actions. This cycle can continue indefinitely until the basic underlying sliver is removed, or the body wears out. This avoidant strategy would yield a painful, hellish (and perhaps short) existence.  In a way, when a Flight Response becomes a clear avoidance from a reality we should be facing, and becomes a sliver in need of removal, it has gone beyond merely an educational experience. It has become a threat to our natural progression. As we become more sensitive to the internal signals designed to keep us on our intended course, we will also experience declines in our tendency to digress from our intended path. An analogy might be our experience when first learning to drive a car. Unsure of ourselves, we might have over-corrected when steering our way down the road. In time, we felt more comfortable and found that we hardly had to move the steering wheel at all, much less focus all our mental powers on that specific act. A practice once learned, is not forgotten. This is equally true of the creative thinking process.  Another psychological Flight Response is the human practice of actually altering the physical chemistry to relieve emotional dissonance through medicating the body with alcohol, nicotine and other drugs. Of course, chemical manipulation of a healthy emotional system can only rob humans of its advantages and indeed, can cause irreparable harm.  There is a difference between taking a drink to relax and guzzling an excessive amount in order to put a troubling reality out of one's mind. The former can possibly enhance our health while the latter is a direct threat to it.  One need not look far to see liberal, reckless use of the Flight Response. But optimally it should be chosen with foresight and exercised with caution. It does not resolve the conflict, nor restore the balance, and it can desensitize one from their own emotional signals, to the point where they deny the feelings themselves.  We need not look far to find examples in our surroundings. Sometimes, no farther than our bathroom mirror. But a great deal of our limitations were planted in us at an early age by those well-meaning people who suffered from the same type of programming. In fact, we too have done the same. We need not expand that pattern. Free will is still our heritage.  In short, the Flight Response should be saved for a last-ditch corrective option, and diligent efforts should be expended to avoid this particularly tenacious, hardwired, avoidant response.  If the above material doesn't make that point - then experience will.  The Fight Response  The other avoidant response is, of course, the Fight Response. This is the active, expressive form of resistance in which external force is used to overcome the danger or to change it in some way. It is a relative (perhaps the evil twin) of the Light Response, but without the acceptance of the situation nor the spirit of cooperation. It is the competitive response to limitation, obstacles, lack of resources or opportunity.  This is the glorified 'Response', the one we most often honor with statues and speeches. For many, it is a sport - for others, it is an enterprise. Nations rise and fall on the success or failure of this 'Response' and we build our economy and culture around it.  The Fight Response seeks to correct or reshape the external world so that it can better accommodate a need-meeting effort. Initially, the Fight Response ensured that humans would survive by meeting their needs through competitive brute force when necessary. The assumption justifying this response is that only one winner can emerge, that this is surely a competitive win-lose proposition and a win is necessary to self protect.  Today, that mentality is used as a justification for working long hours, putting up with treatment that humans should not have to tolerate. It maintains the fear of being without as a result of not having a source of income. We reward and glorify the winners and curse or forget the losers. But there is a balance in nature that guarantees that all winners eventually become losers.  Until societies fully acknowledge human nature and accommodate the need-meeting choices of their citizens, this response will still be appropriate, for resistance to any ideas or codes which deny needs of spirit is what the Creator desires. If this were not true, humans would not experience anger, the self-preservationary aggressive response. Political resistance, even revolutionary actions, which stand up for human rights are historically evident and understandably beneficial. If the oppression is mighty, even war can be beneficial.  Differences that escalate from the opportunity to reason to the state of combat, whether it be on the battlefield or the court room, are ultimate proof that reasonable effort has failed. The final value of extreme consequences is, hopefully, the lessons learned from the experience. That should be why we study history.  However, this is merely due to the misunderstanding of human nature and needs, and the miscommunication between spirit, mind and body. Such limits continue to exist within societies, but in an enlightened society, Light Responses are received and assimilated which continuously expand freedoms and opportunities. They ultimately evolve away from the need for spiritual resistance.  Just as computers can be taught not to make the same mistake a second time, so we can learn the value of a broadened approach to the normal frictions of life. Someone once said that the words"Please", Thank You", and "Excuse Me", were the lubricants of social interaction.  When such limitation still exists, the Fight Response is a necessary choice. Of course, a modern version would be to communicate the problem and your non-acceptance of it. Doing this in a peaceful manner, within the acceptable avenues of change already in place within ones society, is the best method. This is why there are social, judicial or political processes in the more enlightened societies for the resolution of such conflicts. Usually, however, by the time a Fight Response is necessary, the limitation is firmly entrenched and accepted within the social order.  When so-called "more enlightened societies" practice the use of these "social, judicial or political processes" within their respective societies, but revert to the "fight response" in dealing with other societies they have differences with, they set an example that makes it more difficult for those societies with less history and tradition in using the social, judicial and political process, to follow the "enlightened" path. Example is the most effective form of leadership. There still exist many societies on earth wherein the credo is "severity for those who resist". Such countries fail to recognize the individual needs and the fact that they take priority over the group needs within its members. There is much institutionalized suffering as a result. Any country that feels it needs a wall to contain its members has mistaken operational directives, clearly not aligned with spiritual intention.  Of course, the walls are starting to come down. But when a physical wall falls, it is only a metaphor for the intellectual and emotional walls that can follow. But, if the mental attitude is still one of winner over loser, (or one system claiming its superiority over another) then the struggle/conflict atmosphere will remain in place.  Fortunately, the world has now evolved to the point that there are countries that do provide escape from oppression, which ensures that Flight Responses, when necessary, can be effective. Eventually, those ideas that perpetuate the spirit will win out, if enough interaction between cultures is allowed. But progress could be increased exponentially with the understandings which restore spiritual intention to the process.  The communication technology is expanding "exponentially" and making the above more possible every day. This web/e-mail process is its own example. Although these Lessons may not be traveling across borders, the potential for them to do so is present. Of course, "borders" is also a term that can be applied to each individual mind, as well as to geography.  The United States is an excellent training ground for such an exchange of ideas, through promoting values of freedom, equitable opportunity and happiness. This country recognizes both the individual and the group needs, in a world where it has been traditional for societies to choose one over the other. Although they have yet to attain the optimal balance between the two, this is evolving well. With the worldwide communication and mobility, many American ideals are rapidly being spread throughout the world, some of which are beneficial to global evolution.  It would be comforting to believe that our more spiritually oriented ideals are spreading into other portions of the planet with the same zeal as our economic practices, i.e. NAFTA and GATT. The success of the former would be tied to a more enlightened motivation.  Rejection of resistance is also the basic premise within most religions. Their method of oppression is through introducing further slivers when any conflicts are exposed. They offer bribes and threats to talk humans out of their basic needs, rather than accommodate them The confessional booth for example, often brings to light conflicts between human need and religious dictate. Although it is unlikely that the priest will take certain suggestions to the Pope, this is exactly what the spirit---The Creator---is requesting.  It is suggested that individuals within any religious organization, make Right Responses to reject any limiting dictate and keep only those which satisfy the spirit, so that they can enjoy the benefits of religion and without suffering the grossly misleading costs.  This may sound like the source is picking on organized religion and, in a sense, it is. But spiritual institutions which represent spiritual ideals must be willing to risk an alteration of the status quo in order to experience growth. If these "institutions" fail to grow, the whole process is handicapped. Then, what growth does take place, has to come about in the form of Fight Response types of action, more commonly known as revolution . This "r" word is too often a "last resort" course of expansion.  Summary Of Behavioral Corrective Response  Each and every human behavior, be it thought or action, falls into one of these categories. Each is motivated by a feeling. Although many such feelings are subtle, there is a constantly available, yet changing emotional energy underlying every human motive to act. If each action is analyzed, it shall become apparent that without exception, it will be motivated by either a Right, Light, Flight or Fight Response. Within the feedback paradigm, emotion is exposed as the crucial communicative tie which either unites or separates, mind, body and spirit.  This suggests that "emotion" or feelings, not reason or logic, are the primary motivators of action. How we feel about things and people governs how we relate to them. Ultimately, it is probable that our perspective is strongly influenced by our emotions and we conduct ourselves accordingly.  With this crucial information at the disposal of humans, they can begin to monitor and utilize the essential messages of the spirit. They can understand their behaviors by finding the underlying feelings. They can identify the gems and slivers by following them to their source. They can make reasoned choices for their corrective responses to imbalances. These can be optimal choices which contribute to individual and mass evolution. They can even make plenty of human mistakes, but they will be far ahead of the game with such a strategy. For this inner gift will always be present to guide them even from the darkest, most painful moments back into the light.  When it becomes particularly obvious that some action we took has led to less than positive consequences, we can now analyze it from a state of detachment and determine what our original thought was that led us to where we are and where we are going to be, if we continue along the same direction:  Watch your thoughts, they become your words.  Watch your words, they become your actions.  Watch your actions, they become your habits.  Watch your habits, they become your character.  Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.  WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS, THEY BECOME YOUR DESTINY.  Each such soldier of light can contribute to the wave of consciousness expansion which shall soon crash upon human shores. Even with minimal understanding of the subtleties of the emotional sense, anyone can join this effort. They can do so simply by following some elementary behavioral guidelines. All it takes is a genuine commitment to self-development and expression, honest self-analysis and logical order in the choice of corrective response.  If we think of emotion as the power source and logic as the decision making process, we can relate our actions to that of driving an automobile, again. The fuel (emotion) drives the engine that propels us forward (or backward) and is controlled by the accelerator and the brake (self discipline). The steering wheel (reasoning mind) is used to make the necessary course corrections as we proceed on our path of destiny. So much of our life is a reflection of these simple principles of activity, without which societies would not be able to function.  Many scourges upon humanity are the direct result of humans choosing the response choices in the wrong order. There are certainly notable exceptions, but for the most part self-preservation creates the "normal" urge to action in the following order:  1. Deny feelings, take Flight from pain, (even growing pain)  2. Fight to maintain emotional boundaries  3. Right if unavoidable  4. Light when possible  Changing this pattern alone can create enormous and immediate growth.  When we first begin to drive, we are more preoccupied with operating the automobile than with getting from point A to point B. Eventually, we develop more faith in ourselves and our vehicle, and the pleasure of the trip increases. We move from fear and lack of confidence to joy and fulfillment, as this new experience becomes a natural part of our living process.  Although there are more understandings to come, anyone wishing to join the forces of light can simply follow this simple strategy to guide their behavior and to experience tremendous progress. To live within spiritual intention from this moment forth:  1. Listen to feelings; resist denial of emotional messages.  2. Right first.  3. If obstacles persist, cooperate and offer Light.  4. If obstacles persist, resist, compete and Fight.  5. If obstacles persist, take Flight.  It is amazing what a little focus and caring can do to smooth out the bumps in life. As stated earlier, just as the words "please, thank you and excuse me" can lubricate the communication between people. We all tend to respond positively to being treated with respect, once we come to respect ourselves and all those around us.  Each successful day of living within spiritual intention will allow evermore complete understandings to unfold. With this simple behavioral guidance, the spirit can begin to sing.  Not much can be added to that statement!  We can now press on to examine the specific feelings themselves. Each understanding will assist in the full restoration of the innate emotional sense, understanding of the Language of Spirit---The Language of God.  Table of Contents