Righteous Indignation
You know the fire in your gut that flares up when you witness something deeply unfair or immoral. It's a cocktail of anger and disgust embittered by a strong sense of "this isn't right!" And if the injustice is committed against you or someone you care about, the rage is all the more intense.
This is righteous indignation, an impassioned stance that some form of atonement is required. Ideally with the perpetrator properly punished.
But what if our seemingly warranted wrath were found to be disconnected from cause? Then what of rationale?
Non-dualistic philosophies teach that all emotion is freely chosen, disconnected from experience. In other words, it’s not what happens that leads to our sentiment, no matter how strongly we might think otherwise. Feelings are a choice, not a consequence.
This runs so counter to belief. We most certainly contend that most, if not all of our emotions are righteously derived. But then we read a line like this from A Course in Miracles:
Anger comes from an interpretation and not a fact, it is never justified. (M-17.8)
Never justified?! That feels like such an affront to our sense of principled morality. And yet, when we transcend the words and enter the realm of mind, as the course continues, "the way is open … now it is possible to take the next step [into the welcoming arms of perfect peace]."
Join me in Thursday’s class where we’ll explore the topic of emotion, and practices we can develop to experience a state of unconditional joy, independent of all worldly drama. I look forward to seeing you then.