131. The Power Of Reflection

A strong feeling is often short-lived. Someone harms me, and I immediately become angry. My anger is an intuitive response to what has happened to me. It’s also a signal that there is a problem that requires my attention. Once the problem has been resolved or removed, the feeling dissipates quickly.

But I might later reflect on the memory of what happened and form a concern that it could happen again. This concern is not an intuition but an intentional response. It’s a product of my reflective consciousness and it comes from my judgment of what happened and the potential I see for it to happen again in the future. If I become attached to this new intention, I will begin to suffer from anxiety, and this feeling will last for as long as I remain attached.

The fact that I form this particular intention might not be within my control. It can arise automatically from the knowledge that there is an ideal state — being free of harm and danger — that I want to maintain. What I can influence is the degree to which I identify with this intention.

If I’m able to see how my intention is connected to the suffering I feel, then there’s a chance for me to break free from attachment and the suffering that follows from it. If, on the other hand, I allow myself to remain attached, I will not only continue to suffer, I will also produce further suffering for myself and others as I try to escape from my distressing feelings.

Reflective consciousness is a powerful tool that allows me to do many things. I can distinguish between good and bad actions, perform complex reasoning, use language to communicate, plan for the future, and so on. But its power can also produce an endless cycle of suffering if I do not keep myself free from attachment to the intentions that reflection can automatically produce.