Emotion precedes thought
Zania
Explorer
I was listening to an interesting podcast today. It's a Buddhist podcast called "dharmapunx NYC". They were discussing the latest research that shows how thought comes a fraction of a second after emotion. The example given was walking through some woods and you come across a bear or tiger. You have a feeling in the body followed by an emotion and then this is followed by thought or a narrative such as "oh shit, it's a bear, I better get the hell outta here". I can understand that this may be the case in such a scenario but in my experience there are plenty of times when thought seems to come first. In meditation for example I have noticed that I might think about a particular situation or person and then I may feel sad. This podcast seemed to be saying that it feels as though thought precedes emotion but it is an illusion. I'm not sure about this. My general day to day experience is not agreeing with it.
Comments
Yes, there seems to be a difference here between the 5 physical senses and the mind base, and it is certainly true that you can prompt feelings just by thinking ( one reason to be be aware of your thought patterns ).
In any case it is useful to be aware of the conditionality involved in these processes, how one thing always arises in dependence on another. We are stuck with the basic "input" through the 5 physical senses, but we do have a lot of control over what goes on in the mind.
It probably works some both ways. I find that the way I think and what I think about depends on how I'm feeling. Take the example of getting a flat tire, if you've got someplace important to be you'll feel worried you won't make it and then think something like "Oh crap, not now", but then that thinking reinforces the feeling and its a big feedback loop. If you're just out for a Sunday drive then your thoughts might be different.
I think the Buddhist ideal is if you can maintain a feeling of equanimity, so you can think clearly about things without your thoughts being pushed around by emotions.
I don't agree with that, either @Zania. I mean, it's not some sort of Olympic event - thought vs emotions. I think all experiments can lead us to believe thought comes first or vice versa, but in the end, how much does it matter?