- an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness.
- a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life.
- any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value.
My gold wedding ring, seen in the picture above, is an example. It was able to be shaped into the form desired and I wear it every day with no concern of tarnishing or rusting. Twenty years from now, it will retain its pure beauty.
Would that I could experience an emotional state like that, eh? It would be an emotional state that was beautiful and retained that beauty through the day regardless of the corrosive efforts of events and interactions with others. It would be malleable and formed to fit my core, my individuality, my world experience.
So, this would be the quest of emotional alchemy, the transmutation of base emotions to emotional gold. It would be a mood elixir, a universal solvent for experienced problems. There are two fundamental aspects that would need to be answered to find this emotional gold:
- What emotional state is this gold?
- If we can define that, how do we get there, especially since we said the emotional was not volitional?
Well, I propose that these are two questions that individuals have been trying to answer for themselves since time immemorial. Selling the answers in various ways has become quite a thriving cottage industry. Some say the answers are to be found in religion and giving oneself to God. Some say the answers are in meditation, some in philosophy, some in wealth and acquisition, some in competition, some in withdrawal ...
If you came here for an answer, I fear you'll be disappointed. I don't think there is a universal answer that can be defined. But ... every so often ... ah, there it is. Oh, that golden moment!
How does it appear for you? Do you have a path of return?
My good friend and fellow Loose Blogger, Ramana Rajgopaul encouraged me to come back and write a piece, something I haven't found motivation to do for a while. Good news! I enjoyed it and that is part of the path to return, so we shall see ... Go visit the members of our consortium to see what they came up with, Ashok, gaelikaa, Maxi, and Shackman, good eggs and dear friends all!