emotional awareness of others in jihad

So today I went for a drink with friends. And I found out that a lot of the stuff I worrk about, well, honestly I'm not alone in it. I think anyone who pays a bit of attention to trends realises that on quite a lot of fronts life can be a bit unpleasant, but I guess what irks me... and I'm sure irks a lot of other folk as well... is when it's made deliberately worse by others out of thoughlessness, selfishness, and at times outright malice.

I've been thinking a lot recently about emotion as affect. I know the traditional view is that emotions are responses to things which happen in our world, internal and external.. but i find that they tend to go beyond that in ways that seem initially counterintuitive.

For example, laughter is infectious, so is contempt, grief, and some forms of fear. There are countless other examples, but I'm sure we're all familiar with the feeling of walking into a group and being carried up into a better mood by them, or being dragged down. 9 times out of ten when I smile at someone then look at me, blink, relax and smile back. I guess this is an inbuilt thing, perhaps an offshoot of our empathy, a psychological defence mechanism to allow us to understand how other people are looking at the world right now and so adapt ourselves to say and do things they understand. There is an odd link here to dominance/submissive tendencies here as well.

A powerful personality projects a world view in which they are superior, and they are comfortable in the knowledge they are in control, in charge... I'm sure you've heard of, if not personally been around people who exude 'an aura of power' or 'sense of presence'. I think they may be emoting as well, in a subtle way they are projecting a social order field amongst those who are around them, who are behaving as if they are in charge, and who eventually become passive and accepting as a result.

I mean social order is very important. We don't generally want to mess it up because even the thought of it leaves us anxious, frustrated, and sometimes confused. But oddly you can punch a whole right through that sense of puffed up power that some people carry around with them, and the way to do that is to tune into your own emotional sense. Become aware of your feelings, and you'll suddenly be free of their spell, test the limits of their knowledge with searching questions, as them if they were always like this, if they understand they have limits, if they are comfortable with their humanity, and whether they truly show respect for others... this sort of gentle inquiry done with proper emotional contact dissolves the aura of authority and often prevents people using language as a weapon against you.

This should free you up to really get on with your life and not have to worry so much.

Best to think smart,

Jaez