MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from  A Guide to Blis s - Your First Step into Expansion, part 2 We will focus our consciousness on one object and then carry out an expansion. We will break through limits and realize new possibilities/ways of experiencing and feeling.  We shall begin with a very simple expansion, the expansion of a positive emotion. Of course, we are not used to expanding positive emotions as they seem to be more than enough on their own. The very suggestion indicates that there is something beyond a positive emotion’s borders that we ought to find. Why would we expect this? After all, if it were up to us, we would rather abide in positivity as much as possible before sorrowfully collapsing into some negative emotion, pain or even the daily existential tension that follows too many of us! Well, the thing is that, in actuality, positive emotions in their expanded states can lead us to truly sublime experiences, overflowing bliss, and an existence beyond sorrow, beyon...

  We often use feelings and emotions interchangeably, but they aren’t quite the same. And both are shaped — sometimes quietly, sometimes fiercely — by what we believe. 🧠 Beliefs: The Lens Beliefs are the mental frameworks through which we interpret experience. They tell us what matters, what’s safe, what’s true, and what’s possible. They’re not facts — they’re filters. When a belief is strong, it colors every emotional response that follows. Example: If you believe “I must always be in control,” then uncertainty feels threatening. If you believe “Life unfolds as it should,” uncertainty may feel like curiosity instead. 💓 Emotions: The Body’s Language Emotions are physiological — they rise and fall like tides. They are the body’s immediate response to perception. Fear, joy, anger, sadness, surprise — each is a signal, not a verdict. Emotions tell us something is happening , but not always why . They’re raw data. Beliefs interpret that data. 🌿 Feelings: The Story We Tell About Em...

  The emotional toll of Agent Orange began long before the first diagnosis. For many soldiers, it started with confusion — a sense that something invisible had followed them home. The chemical itself was unseen, odorless, and forgotten by the time its effects appeared. But the emotions it left behind were immediate and lasting. 1. The First Emotion: Betrayal When symptoms began to surface — rashes, fatigue, unexplained illnesses — many veterans felt betrayed. They had trusted their government, their commanders, and the systems meant to protect them. The realization that the danger came from their own side, not the enemy, was devastating. “We thought it was just weed killer,” one veteran said. “Nobody told us it could kill us too.” That sense of betrayal became a defining emotional thread. It wasn’t just about exposure; it was about abandonment. 2. The Second Emotion: Isolation Agent Orange created a kind of loneliness that medicine couldn’t treat. Veterans often found themselves di...

  You’ve mastered the vocabulary of emotion. You can say “I’m sorry,” “I’m thrilled,” “I’m worried,” in your second language. You know how to express joy, grief, gratitude, and frustration. But do you know how much to express? When to express it? To whom ? 🎚️ The Volume Dial of Emotion Emotional calibration is the ability to adjust your emotional expression to match cultural expectations. It’s not just about what you feel—it’s about how you signal that feeling. In some cultures, grief is public and loud. In others, it’s private and restrained. Joy might be exuberant or quietly dignified. Anger might be direct or veiled in irony. At Level 3, you may express emotion clearly—but not appropriately . You might apologize too profusely, celebrate too loudly, or offer comfort too intimately. Your words are fluent, but your emotional timing is off. 🕰️ Emotion Is a Cultural Clock Every culture has its own rhythm for emotional expression. Some cultures value immediacy—say what you...