Hello there!

There's many days, when, if not beeling 'bad', I feel totally apathetic, which forbids me to do anything. I cannot even read uplifting books that I know would put me in a better feeling place... It feels like I've lost all strength.

I'd like to know, where that emotion fits in the scale; and is there something I can do to shift me out of that uncomfortable state?

Thanks in advance!

BJ09

asked 10 Nov '10, 13:20

BridgetJones09's gravatar image

BridgetJones09
4.6k43789

edited 02 Sep '12, 18:34

Barry%20Allen's gravatar image

Barry Allen ♦♦
11411


I think this is a great question, BridgetJones09. This is a phenomenon that afflicts nearly everyone I know who is involved with spiritual subjects to some extent, including myself.

It's as though you have the knowledge, but you can't bring yourself to apply it.

It's a subject I've given some thought to over the years, especially when I've helped people out with advice and techniques and then watched them do absolutely nothing with them :)

Firstly, as far as where apathy fits on the emotional scale, I would place it down at the level of Boredom (No. 8).

alt text

Notice how Boredom and Contentment are so close to each other on the vibrational scale? And notice how both have something quite definite in common...there's not a lot going on :)

In other words, Boredom and Contentment are both indicative of a lack of energy flow through you...apathy, you could say...except Boredom is unwelcome apathy while Contentment is welcome apathy :)

Contrast those emotions with the ones at the extreme ends of the Emotional Guidance Scale i.e. Joy at one end, and Fear at the other. Notice how Joy and Fear have something quite definite in common too...there's lots going on!

With Fear, you are drawing plenty of energy through you but it's not in a way that makes you feel good while with Joy you are also drawing plenty of energy through you but it is in a way that makes you feel good.

With what I've said so far, there is actually quite a startling conclusion you can reach...Fear and Joy are (non-identical) twins :)

It is actually much easier to go from Fear straight to Joy than from Contentment to Joy, because Fear already has a lot of energy flow involved (caused by large amounts of desire) and it can really just be a minor tweaking of your vibration to shoot straight from there into powerful good-feeling emotions.

So that brings us to the question of what causes this energy flow that relates Boredom to Contentment, and Joy to Fear.

In essence, it comes down to making decisions.

Here's the basic rule...


When you make more decisions, you will feel more alive


With both Fear and Joy, you have made strong decisions already about what you want and don't want but with Boredom and Contentment, there's probably little or no decision-making going on.

And so here's another life rule I would suggest...

Decisions = Life

Notice in your own life how when you put off making a decision about something, you kind of feel lethargic and apathetic regarding it. But when you truly decide one way or the other, a surge of energy comes flooding through you.

In reality creation terms, it doesn't matter what decision you made (because you can mold any decision to be the right one), it just matters that you made a decision!

The decision drew life energy through you. Making a decision dispelled that feeling of apathy.

As for why this apathy especially affects so many involved with spiritual subjects, I think there's an additional factor as well...many who are involved with these ideas are naturally powerful focusers...because these are still leading-edge ideas that the majority of humanity will not take seriously.

But those that do take them seriously are those that have already been powerful enough focusers to summon these ideas into their lives and notice the value of them.

But I think that same powerful focusing ability can also be a trap.

Once these powerful focusers have manifested a certain degree of comfort for themselves in their lives (often as an escape from some painful experiences that led them to investigate spiritual ideas), they become so powerfully focused where they are that they either don't want to make any decisions (for fear of returning to the previous pain), or because their focus on their current manifested reality is so strong that they stifle any decision-making away from the status quo at all...they feel unable to move in a powerful way.

That's my current theory anyway.

But whatever the real cause, the outcome is the same...the decison-making stops, and then apathy takes over.

alt text

I only know of one way of out of this state...make decisions.

You can either do it proactively...or, if you let your apathy take over your life completely, you'll probably end up in a situation where the natural course of your life will force you eventually to make decisions (launch desires) but you may encounter some discomfort along the way by doing it in a reactive fashion.

So the way forward is pretty clear, I hope...make decisions!

It doesn't matter what the decisions are about, just make them. Find things in your life to decide about. Not limply prefer, not gently choose...but DECIDE!

If nothing else, get involved in activities that force you to make decisions about things...and the apathy will just quickly fall away.

One quick method that I find quite effective for making enough decisions to get out of that apathy is to make a list of everything I need or want to do right now.

And then just decide to do something (anything at all) on that list, and then do it (even if only for a few minutes). Then I give myself the reward of knowing that I've done something, perhaps by putting a checkmark on the list.

It then becomes easier to decide to do the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing...and so on...and very quickly, all your life energy has come flooding back again because of those decisions.

This is quite similar to the Manifesting Experiment 3 idea ("Vibrational Goal-Getting") and I've also found Mark Forster's free time management systems are great for this purpose of getting you going again through making decisions to take tiny bits of action. The action is actually not that important, it's the fact that you have made the decision to take some.

I hope all of this gives you some ideas :)

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answered 10 Nov '10, 15:12

Stingray's gravatar image

Stingray
93.6k22130369

edited 05 Oct '14, 01:44

1

Thank you, Stingray! I have a master on 'list-making' so that won't be a problem at all. Let's see how well I do with the decision-making step :) Feeling apathetic is really awful... And thanks for adding humour to such a thorough answer! :)

(10 Nov '10, 15:30) BridgetJones09

WOW...Great answer!! and it read me like a book. Thank you!

I needed to read this right at this very moment. I recently "Rebooted my brain" so I'll get back to working on my Master To-Do list. :)

(15 Nov '10, 05:17) Chris 2
5

I really think this is one of your most brilliant answers, at least for me. I find myself seeing this one come up for me when randomly browsing again and again.

(28 Aug '12, 18:22) Liam
1

Of course not making a decision is a decision in itself.

(15 Mar '13, 22:37) ele
1

This answer is simply brilliant!

(16 Mar '13, 00:44) releaser99
1

Thanks Stingray , you are always an inspiration and have just this moment contacted the local Archery club , been interested for a long time , just been A ... Pathetic ;-)

(16 Mar '13, 00:47) Starlight

I'm sorry but I think that's a lot of nonsense and you are reaching. If you reduce your practical advice to "pay attention to what choices you are making", you'll get all its benefits and none of the nonsense.

Apathy is when you are not aware of options that matter so you choose by default. Joy is when you are choosing between wonderful options. Fear is when you are choosing between horrible options. Anxiety is when you are conscious of not being conscious of what you are choosing in some area.

(16 Mar '13, 04:28) flowsurfer
3

@Flowsurfer - A lot of these ideas are going to seem like "nonsense" to you as long as your trying to understand them "mentally". The thinking mind is a tiny aspect of intelligence. Don't let it tell you who you are or that it thinks it knows something. It knows nothing really. As long as your going to play the game of "mental-physics" please be open about being "wrong."It's liberating.

(16 Mar '13, 08:51) Satori

@Satori I am not "trying to understand them mentally", I know exactly what Stingray means from experience. I have to exercise considerable effort to translate that into the "mental" language above so I can share my own experience in a way that might be understandable.

(16 Mar '13, 17:47) flowsurfer

This comment is really interesting to me. I think I used to be pretty awesome at focusing, but had so much resistance that it often felt bad. So part of my learning has been to go much more general and get much more relaxed and unattached to outcomes. ("My current car is fine and when the time is right I'll think about an alternative." vs. "I must have a new red car.") But right now I'm finding myself often feeling kind of stagnated, and I had wondered if it was a marker of having now gone...

(30 Oct '13, 00:28) corduroypower

...general enough, for now, and that it would be good to start focusing more clearly once again. But in an odd way I find that I'm now kind of out of the habit, so much so that the idea of "just making decisions" kind of startles me! I wonder if, ultimately, an enjoyable life state would have a person sort of surfing the peaks and valleys of focus? You know, focus in to get the energy moving, pull way back to release resistance, focus in, etc.? Thanks, @Stingray, for the food for thought!

(30 Oct '13, 00:31) corduroypower

@ Stringray, this is soo good! I remember reading this a couple years ago, but now it makes much more sense than it did in the past. I "get" it now in a way i had no idea about in the past. Thanks for the wonderful answer.

(23 Feb '17, 05:23) ismile

@ismile ...and everyone else - You're welcome :)

(21 Mar '17, 12:36) Stingray

@corduroypower - I don't know if you still drop by our old IQ stomping grounds, but if you do, just wanted to say hi and your comments above so precisely describe my life at this point, it's a little creepy. ;) I'd love to hear how everything went after you read and applied this advice. I'm next, and after seeing your post, it's starting to get exciting again! So thanks! :D

(23 Feb '20, 00:11) Grace
showing 2 of 14 show 12 more comments

I think it would rate somewhere in the lower end of the scale. When you're feeling apathetic, you're caught up in a "what's the point?" kind of energy which is often both physically and mentally draining. The first thing I would suggest is that you force yourself to move ( Go for a brisk walk or dance around the house ). Apathy has very stagnant energy attached to it so just by moving physically, you'll get your energy moving which will hopefully give you a little relief to maybe pick up that book or look at one of the processes that may help.

The important thing to remember is that before the apathy takes a complete hold, you have to set the intention that you will move, no matter how strong the pull is to do nothing. Intention combined with your desire to overcome this will help you take that first step. And the more often you do this, the less of a stranglehold that apathy will have on you, until you'll reach a stage where it will eventually not come calling anymore. Good luck - you can do this, just remember intention combined with your desire will do the trick:)

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answered 10 Nov '10, 14:59

Michaela's gravatar image

Michaela
35.0k22277

Michaela, that was an answer from the Source itself right out of you. I love it, How good is intention combined with desire? I would only add a check up with a good doctor. I vote you up! Thank you!

(10 Nov '10, 15:18) Tom

Excelent answer. You've hit the nail on the head! Thank you!!!

(10 Nov '10, 15:25) BridgetJones09

Thank you guys :)

(10 Nov '10, 20:15) Michaela
showing 2 of 3 show 1 more comments

I agree with Michaela; in my experience, apathy is at the bottom of the emotional guidance scale. Apathy is very similar to depression where one lacks energy, life force, drive, desire, motivation & generally doesn't have the ambition to give a dang one way or another about their self or anyone or anything else for that matter..

Dr David Hawkins, MD, PhD & author rates apathy at the bottom of the consciousness scale; right above shame & blame. He states "Apathy is The level of hopelessness and despair; this is the common consciousness found among those who are homeless or living in poverty. At this level, one has abdicated themselves to their current situation and feels numb to life around them."

Like Bridgett, I would have chose Stingrays answer as best due to his simple yet brilliant decision making solution. As usual, his answer offers 'light' & a 'way' out. Like Liam, I often refer to this answer. I tend to procrastinate. Stingray's answer speaks to me; clear & loud. "Just make a DECISION , ele!" You can create whatever you imagine; but you have to make a decision to do so first.

Stingray said it Best Decision = Life

If I dared to add - I would add the word Force after Life.

Hawkins doesn't use an emotional scale because the levels of enlightenment aren't emotions. The highest levels have to do with awareness/consciousness identification itself, something which is said transcends emotions and even thought.

http://happy-firewalker.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/dr-david-hawkins-map-of-consciousness.html

To sum up - apathy is at the bottom of the EGS & "how do you get out of the feeling?" First step would be by making a choice (decision) to do so.

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This answer is marked "community wiki".

answered 15 Mar '13, 22:36

ele's gravatar image

ele
379713

edited 08 Oct '13, 00:47

too good of an answer to be a wiki @ele may the Force be with you

(07 Oct '13, 12:13) ursixx

Thanks @ursixx. I made it wiki when I edited it the other day. I was only parroting what Michaela & Stingray said & repeating what Dr David Hawkins said.

(08 Oct '13, 00:44) ele

Here's an angle on apathy that certainly fits into my own personal experience. Apathy is a symptom of depression and I mean depression that's active for days, weeks, months, a very painful state and in this state there's no longer consciousness of being depressed. The way I moved out of it was through psychotherapy. Hiding within apathy are very strong energies and holding all the energies within takes a great deal of inner force, like a self constructed dam.

The definition of apathy in the Free Dictionary; lack of interest or concern especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal: indifference.

However this apparent indifference hides an inner whirlwind.

An extreme case is shown by the crash of the Germanwings Flight 9525, the plane was deliberately destroyed by Andreas Lubitz killing himself and 149 passengers, he seemed oblivious to the desperate signs of panic by the crew and passengers.

He deliberately programmed the aircraft to crash.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/world/europe/germanwings-crash.html?_r=1

http://natashatracy.com/bipolar-disorder/depression-worse-sadness-apathy/

Epilogue, my personal observations; all this lines up with recent questions, answers and comments here on IQ. Making decisions, burning bridges, strong motivations, "The Scream", desire for "supernatural" powers, characteristic inner movements of vibrational energies often judged and labeled "positive" "negative", "fear", "boredom" "joy" "depression", "suffering" ... the concept of obtaining supernatural powers is delusional and a paradox, once experienced they can only be considered as natural. Two hundred years ago TV would have been considered by humans living at that time to be out of this world, extraterrestrial ...

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This answer is marked "community wiki".

answered 13 Aug '15, 13:54

jaz's gravatar image

jaz
2.4k312

edited 14 Aug '15, 02:32

I find that resisting emotional energy tends to send it into storage only to be re-ignited at a later time. So what has worked for me is to first affirm that I know that this emotion is just a cloud passing through me, then I set a timer (5 or 10 minutes) and commit to really fully feeling the emotion in all of its color and nuance. Usually after only a few seconds it dissipates so much that it's hard to feel at all. Then I visually send the rest of it into the ground. For really intense emotions, I agree that physical motion is also helpful. And I love @stingray suggestion to make decisions. Feels right.

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answered 17 Aug '15, 23:50

imaginesue's gravatar image

imaginesue
9144

For those of us who have concluded that we're between 7 & 8 on Abe's Emotional Guidance Scale (Boredom & Contentment) . . . This is a great post. Thank you (Sincerely . . . My deepest appreciation for YOU) to everyone who offered your insights. . . . Marcus B

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answered 26 Feb '20, 19:11

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MarcusB
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