Jinn

These were the primary questions of the OP.

I only offered a discussion of my OWN mental control for explanation's sake, and to avoid having my post deleted for not offering an opinion. How you feel about my assessment of my own mental control is truly an aside and doesn't address the question of the OP. I recognize that many readers detected a tone of superiority in my post, but I said what I said and I'm stickin' to it.

You see, it's a double-edged sword. If I post just the question, it'll be locked. If I post a question and my own personal belief, my belief tends to be addressed more than the question itself.


Maybe I need to get better at boldface, or offer such a noncomittal opinion that it can't be dissected at length? I didn't (and don't) really care to discuss my own personal self control so much as get an idea of how much others cared about controlling themselves.

The thought process was something like: "I wonder if other people put as much focus on mental control as I do? And I wonder if they're interested in improving it? I certainly am."

To address any thought of hypocrisy:
I am certainly not perfect, yet I hope to increase my mental control over time. In that regard, I think any post I've made in the past is relatively insignificant to the discussion, as I'm working to improve it. Recognizing our past is only a tool for improvement, not a point to dwell on. My discussion question was directed to whether OTHERS felt the need to improve their mental control, or if they were happy with where it was.

And in regards to repression:
What I'm describing isn't repression. Repressing or supressing your emotions is quite unheathly, because you fail to address them and they eat at your pysche until they're dealt with. What I meant by mental control is having the clarity to recognize a building emotion, quickly decide on how you wish to express it (if at all) and act on that decision. For me, the decision is most often "DO NOT ACT", as I decide that the emotion is unbounded and unncessary to express. It's not a repression, but a calculated decision to accept the situation as-is and not react emotionally to the stimulus.

MEAD:
Regarding this, I'm not sure from what basis you derive this assumption. Why does art have to be an expression of emotion at all? While there are admittedly some emotional arts, such as love songs and etcetera, art is an expression of creativity more than emotion. I don't have to be sad or mad or happy or angry to create an amazing painting. I only need an idea, the skill to convey that idea, and the medium to convey it on. It's my belief that the idea is the most important, stemming from your creative faculties rather than your emotional ones. Frogza said it well:

Sultana:
There are appropriate and inappropriate times to express emotions, and society has clearly defined boundaries on when it's acceptable and when it is not. There are emotions that are HARMFUL to your well-being, and I'd certainly consider them "bad" emotions. I think it'd be silly if you tried to tell me that its only my perception of anger that tells me it's a bad emotion to have all the time. You can honestly tell me that being angry all the time is not "undesirable"? Unless you can, you have to admit that some emotions are NOT desirable, only necessary for the evolution of response and change within an individual.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel