Page 71 - Spirit and Mind. Vol 1

Nicolai Levashov. Spirit and mind. Vol.1

This buffer zone accommodates the circulation of primary matters, the by-
products of sub-stance disintegration within the organism's cells.
Concomitantly, circulation of primary matter occurs between the spirit bodies —
etheric, astral and (when present) mental body. Much of the life of a living organism
depends upon the way the primary matter circulates between its spiritual bodies.
Sometimes life itself depends upon it.

Chapter 3. The nature of emotions and their role in the evolution of life

A flood of emotion engulfs our lives, from the first scream signaling our entry
into the world until the last gasp marking our exit. The whole gamut of feelings —
love, jealousy, exaltation — despair, pain, inspiration — weariness and

disappointment, to name a few — all are expressions of our soul.
Fair and ugly, noble and base, divine and evil — all are qualities stemming from
the evolution of human nature, and closely connected to our spirit's emotional state.
So what do these emotions represent that play so pivotal a role in all our lives?

What is their nature and what functions do they fulfill?
How can we explain this phenomenon of nature? Or are the poets right about the
origin of human feelings when they say that we cannot explain love — or, if we could
explain it, then it couldn't be love? Surely we all crave the touch of something
mystical and sacred in our lives, rare though it may be. But if we could truly
understand this miracle, there would be far more happy people in this world and far

fewer broken hearts and unfulfilled longings...
So, in essence, what is the nature of human emotion? We may properly speak of
emotions only after — in the course of its evolution — a living organism has
developed a nervous system, albeit even a single-celled organism is capable of
reacting to changes in its environment. If a noxious stimulus crosses its path, it

quickly retreats to a safer area, only to return to its normal habitat once the danger is
past.

Let us take a closer look at emotions — feelings. Emotions, feelings, are a
living organism's reaction to internal and external environmental change. They
comprise two major groups — protective reactions and reactions geared to
survival of the species . Virtually all living organ-isms, from lowest to highest on the
developmental scale, exhibit such reactions. Each new evolutionary step has led to

the creation of further emotional reactions, as well as the elaboration of existing ones.
Let us examine each group individually and begin with an analysis of the
defensive emotions. Every defensive reaction has but a single purpose — survival of
the individual. This is obvious, since only those species which survive the struggle
for life can perpetuate their kind. So let us explore how defensive emotional reactions

help them survive.
In time of peril, only those species with instantaneous responses were able to
avoid becoming fodder for predators. It is well known that fear releases adrenaline
into the bloodstream. In this state, for example, people can beat all records for speed,
physical strength and distance jumps — impressing everyone with such feats. But
subsequent attempts to beat their own records inevitably fail. How can we explain

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