A look inside The Greatest Escape

Six deadly emotions

The Judaic-Christian tradition identifies seven “deadly sins:” pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth. These “sins” are on the list of negative emotional responses that play an active role in the personal growth process. They lead your Observer to the source of your problems, which is always within. If you have an ego-centered consciousness, one of one of these emotional responses comes up most often and represents your typical response to life.

What follows is a description of these categories, beginning with the lowest level of energy, the greatest existential separation from the environment, and the most distorted map of reality. The intensity of any given emotional response will range from mild to severe.

	1. Apathy–“I don’t care.” This is the lowest level of energy, and we “feel nothing.” We are lethargic, passive, indifferent, listless, unconcerned, apathetic, unresponsive, or passionless. We have little emotional reaction to events, and we don’t much care what happens: “Do you mind being homeless?” the reporter asked the bag lady. “I don’t care,” she replied. This state has the most closed psychological system, the least interaction with the environment, and the most distorted map of reality.
	2. Grief–“Poor me.” We feel sad, dejected, gloomy, depressed, unhappy, lonely, regretful, discouraged, disappointed, shameful, pessimistic, or powerless. Grief is a step upward from apathy, because at least we feel something. This energy level is higher than apathy, but still quite low. We’re still operating with a considerably closed psychological system, and perceive a significantly distorted map of reality. We have little interaction with the environment and show little interest in anything outside of ourselves. When we don’t express our anger outward, but turn it inward (suppress or repress it), we feel sad, or get hurt feelings, which is another form of grief.
	3. Fear–“I’d better watch out.” Clearly, someone wide-eyed with fear has more energy, and interacts more with the environment, than someone who sits listlessly in a chair, uninterested in anything going on around them. Fear makes us hyper-vigilant, and we scan our surroundings, looking for potential danger, real or imagined. We feel apprehensive, frightened, uncomfortable, anxious, shy, distrustful, horrified, cowardly, panicked, nervous, tense, edgy, jumpy, uneasy, wary, concerned, guilty, or solicitous. Fear significantly distorts our perceptions of reality, we dread making mistakes, are reluctant to try anything new, and resist changes to the status quo.
	4. Anger– “You better watch out.” The energy level here is much higher, and we direct much of it outward into the environment. Sometimes, we turn our anger against someone we know, perhaps a spouse, or our children. At other times, we vent it on anyone who happens to be in the vicinity, for example, road rage. We feel impatient, frustrated, annoyed, exasperated, irritated, angry, bitter, displeased, murderous, stubborn, jealous, offended, or enraged. We often criticize others and blame them for our own problems: “It’s all your fault.”
	5. Lust– “I must have it.” At this higher energy level, we are less reactive and more proactive. We interact more with our environment because we want stuff from it. We feel an overwhelming hunger, craving, desire, longing, yearning, or appetite for something—such as sex, power, wealth, possessions, success, food, or fame. Lust brings temporary gratification, but no real satisfaction, so no matter how much we get of the thing we crave, it is never enough to satisfy us for long. Sexual lust has ruined many marriages and political careers, lust for money has led to the downfall of big corporations, and people kill for political power.
	6. Pride–“I know I am right.” Pride is the highest of the low levels of energy before self-actualization, and we have the most interaction with the environment and the least distorted map of reality. We feel arrogant, vain, haughty, disdainful, authoritarian, masterful, egotistical, self-confident, self-satisfied, proud, superior, or complacent. Experiencing ego’s certainty, we take an active role in society, and our self-confidence helps us succeed. We are likely to be perfectionists, reject criticism, and take pride in being a “good” person. Believing in the superiority of our own race, gender, religion, or nationality, we feel justified in persecuting others and starting wars.

Read another excerpt from The Greatest Escape, read about Jean Boyd’s quest, or read stories of those traveling the Quantum Path.

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