Emotional Self-Control & Non-Reactiveness
How to Stay Calm When the World Tests Your Patience
Happy Saturday, all! Enjoy this special Saturday post!
There is so much happening in the world. There is an abundance of change, of anger, of difference, and unrest. There are constant updates on what is happening locally, nationally, and internationally.
These headlines, stories, incidents, and events often spark a reaction in us. We usually react when we differ or take issue with what is occurring.
I am not referring to a physical reaction, although this can certainly be the case. I am referring to an emotional response.
In essence, we allow the things happening around us (outside our heads) to impact and affect our emotional well-being. We are at the will and whim of the world.
A Course in Miracles would suggest that this is evidence of our twisted thinking. Nothing outside of us can impact our emotional well-being unless we allow it to.
A theme of the Course is that we are not at the effect of the world. We can choose how we want to look upon the day's events, circumstances, and happenings. We can choose how we want to look at one another.
This means adopting an attitude of non-reactivity. It means learning to say, “No, I don’t need to respond to this emotionally. I don’t need to lose my peace of mind because of this. I don’t need to condemn myself to have a bad day because of this”.
Non-reactivity is a letting go, a release from the false idea that people, events, and things outside of me have control over me. It means my emotional, spiritual, and psychological wellness are not contingent on anyone or anything else. They are contingent on me.
One of my favorite lines in the Course is the saying in Workbook lesson #153:
In my defenselessness my safety lies.
Does this mean I let others do whatever they want to me? No.
Does this mean I martyr myself to satisfy or please others? No.
Does this mean I ignore my own emotional, spiritual, and psychological wellness because of someone or something else? Absolutely not.
It means we are not condemned to suffer emotionally or lash out at others. We can choose how we want to respond. We can lean into a posture of defenselessness, knowing that the truth of who and what we are is immutable, unalterable, and unchanging.
I do not need to defend myself because I am a child of God. My being does not require justification.
I may need to atone for my actions and misguided thoughts, but I can take joy in the everlasting sanctity of my truth.
Non-reactiveness is central to getting through the day. It could even be likened to the Course theme of forgiveness (click here to read more about A Course in Miracles and forgiveness).
So the next time you find yourself getting riled up because of the news, the events of the day, or the actions of another, take a deep breath and contemplate choosing to be emotionally non-reactive.
It might help you have a wonderful day.
Take care, everyone and enjoy the weekend.
Wonderful article thanks for posting and much needed in this world. if we are take care of what is happening inside us, with the Course, we go about our day totally differently don't we?
The wealth the Course provides to help us is stunning every time and you give wonderful examples here!
Much love to you and thanks again, Valentine💖🙏🏻
It is good to remember that all emotions are post schism. They seem to appear after I believe in separation. A Course In Miracles encourages me to wake up, to not look at many problems, many solutions, but one problem, one solution. The one perceived problem is the separation from God, which never occurred in Reality. The one solution to this is accepting the Atonement, accepting that only God is real, not the body, not the world, not my emotions, but only God and His Creation. I cannot control my emotions while holding on to a fake identity. I can only allow the Holy Spirit to wake me up. Amen.