Pleasure and Pain are Like Opposites - (1221)

Introduction

Recently there have been some posts about pain, where some points to do with pain, the liberation of pain and the psychology of pain were presented.

We can take all of those points and intelligently invert them to end up with a set of valid points (truths) to do with pleasure.

This post is about doing exactly that.

The Pain Points

Here are the points to do with pain.

Point 1:                Comes from Within not from Without

Point 2:                Essentially Emotional

Point 3:                About Values and their Use

Point 4:                Loss of a Value

Point 5:                Relative and Circumstantial

The Pleasure Points

If we look at pleasure, we will see that it shares the same essential points as pain but in the opposite way. Let’s see how this is.

Points 1 and 2

There are sensations and impressions usually involved with pleasure. These sensations or impressions are usually the result of some outside factor interacting with us. This applies to pain as well. 

However, what produces pleasure in us, is how we interpret those sensations and impressions. If we interpret them in one way, we get pleasure and in the opposite we get pain. The interpretations come from inside of ourselves and they no doubt create emotions.

There really isn’t any pleasure if there is no pleasant emotion. There has to be a pleasant emotion or an emotion of some kind. Pain is exactly like this, no emotion really no pain.

The emotions of pleasure are polarised towards positive, attracting, accepting, expanding etc. and the emotions of pain are polarised towards negative, repelling, rejecting, contracting etc. See - opposites.

Points 3 and 4

Pleasure is about acquiring a certain value. Pain is about the opposite, losing a value. There is a value at the core of both pleasure and pain. With pleasure and pain the value is dear to us.

The angst with pleasure is not obtaining that value and the angst in pain is having lost that value. Both coincide in not 'having' that value.

Point 5

Pleasure depends a lot on circumstances. Two people may be excited sexually and feeling quite well, then one says something and then that pleasure is passes very quickly. One may like something one day and it brings pleasure, then the next it ceases to do so. One may find something pleasurable and another may not. Pain works in exactly the same way.

Psychology of Pleasure

The psychology of pleasure is a little different to the psychology of pain. It has some interesting elements to it.

Pleasure is very fleeting and does not return something to you practically. It is all psychological, very little tangibly results from pleasure.

These elements are that pleasure is short termed based. It always wants pleasure now. It can not wait.

It is always about sacrificing much for little really. We may sacrifice a lot of things for an hour of pleasure that gives us nothing afterwards.

Much of value is thrown away for moments of pleasure. It costs a high price.

Pain and Pleasure

They are opposites and they are related. One gives way to the other.

After lots of pleasure there is pain Master Samael says. You indulge in too much food and drink then we vomit or are sick or get a stomach ache or end up getting diabetes and acquire health problems. This is just an example but it applies to many other things as well.

After lots of pain there is some pleasure, or rather relief, where the cells of our body feel the joy of being relieved from the pain.

On a superior octave, when one liberates pain one experiences the superior octave of pleasure which is joy. On an inferior octave pain takes one to an inferior kind of pleasure. The link via a spiral.

Liberation of Pain and the Transcendence of Pleasure

We have to do two things in relation to liberation, which are to liberate pain and liberate wisdom.

We liberate wisdom by first liberating pain.

With regards to pleasure we need to transcend it rather than liberate it. With wisdom we come to transcend it.

End (1221).