Emotional Contagion - why we limit our contact with the world

[BenJepthah]

Have you ever come into work and just the moment you stepped through the door you felt that something was “ off” or “ wrong”? Have you ever “ just known” that something was not right about a person ? A friend, spouse, brother or sister?

    That feeling is what is scientifically termed as Emotional Contagion. A documented psychological phenomenon in which the emotions of one person can spread throughout an entire group by various means . I myself am a strong transmitter of my personal emotions according to many around me. If ever you were in a building with me , not even knowing I was their you might have the experience of sensing either my cheerfulness or an “ ominous “ ( per one of my managers at work ) feeling on an “ off” day. This is why I make a practice of singing at work to counteract this effect personally. 

    What do you do to project or counter “ Emotional Contagion”? 

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by Dismal_Bliss
Edited title. Moved to General Discussion

[tekmantwo]

I never knew that this was a 'thing'..  I have experienced this, I just figured it was an internal sensing on my part, not a broadcast capability of someone else...interesting. 

[Brother_Bliss]

3 hours ago, BenJepthah said:

Have you ever come into work and just the moment you stepped through the door you felt that something was “ off” or “ wrong”? Have you ever “ just known” that something was not right about a person ? A friend, spouse, brother or sister?

 

I can usually tell when someone is feeling down, or can recognize that someone might be up to no good. 

 

3 hours ago, BenJepthah said:

That feeling is what is scientifically termed as Emotional Contagion. A documented psychological phenomenon in which the emotions of one person can spread throughout an entire group by various means .

 

"Bad associations spoile useful habits?" - "The one walking with wise persons will become wise". "Smile - it's contagious!"

 

3 hours ago, BenJepthah said:

What do you do to project or counter “ Emotional Contagion”? 

 

Well, if I am feeling positive and upbeat, it's pretty easy to wear that on me so that everyone sees it. 

 

If I am down and out, it's a struggle to fake being positive and upbeat, but I will try my best anyway

[Brandon]

3 hours ago, BenJepthah said:

What do you do to project or counter “ Emotional Contagion”? 

I've long thought that what people today often refer to as "good energy" or "bad energy" is simply the spirit of the person.

 

The Bible makes clear we all have spirit, or energy, which Jehovah gives us. If we do good deeds, try to have good thoughts, and limit our bad associations (contact with 'bad energy'), then our spirit becomes "holy" in the sense of "in line with the Holy Spirit" (and I guess the fruitages of the Spirit are a proof of this).

 

Likewise, Satan has a strong spirit but it is anathema to Jehovah's Spirit.  So negative "emotional contagion" is just the spirit of the world, often via worldly people but it could also be from contact with actual demons directly, while "positive emotional contagion" is when we are in being influenced by Jehovah and/or those who are 'aglow with His spirit.'

[EccentricM]

I've felt this too. I once went to a gathering in a family member's home, and I felt very stressed in the room, like something in the air was "wrong", though there were no arguments, no bad looks, eye contact or awkward silences, things were going "normal" as far as the "eye" could see.

 

But I later learned after they left, there was a bit of interpersonal drama and stress with a couple of people in the room, that it happened not long before I arrived. Now I of course get anxiety when I go out anyway, but this felt "augmented" by something external, which at first I thought it was just "me" and my mental health, but it turned out what I felt was right. It's like the saying "you can cut the atmosphere with a knife".

 

Now whether this is because of the fact that we give off "energy" as we are "electrical" beings on a molecular level, or if it's "pheromones" given off (as animals also smell it). I recently learned that 12% of people actually have an "extra sense" known as "magnetoreception", it was found out in tests that revealed they could tell when an magnetic field in the room was turned on and off, where most other people didn't feel anything whatsoever. 

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-humans-detect-magnetic-fields-180971760/

 

It's also like when you know someoneis behind you without looking too. So there are most likely many untapped potentials in the human body we are yet fully knowledgeable of.

Edited March 21, 2019 by EccentricM

[kejedo]

Scientists invested time and were paid to form this conclusion. Not sure if it is faulty or not. The question was, "why do do dogs circle around when they defecate?" in my observation, not all dogs do the circle dance, and I have not observed that my two dogs orient them selves in the same direction when they assume position. From the above quoted Smithsonian article:   (Dogs will orient themselves along the north-south axis of Earth's magnetic field when they poop.) Finding out just how that magnetic field sense works on a biological level has been more of a challenge.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-humans-detect-magnetic-fields-180971760/#SPYI5ZFHO0ZXlh5J.99
 

[BenJepthah]

33 minutes ago, kejedo said:

Scientists invested time and were paid to form this conclusion. Not sure if it is faulty or not. The question was, "why do do dogs circle around when they defecate?" in my observation, not all dogs do the circle dance, and I have not observed that my two dogs orient them selves in the same direction when they assume position. From the above quoted Smithsonian article:   (Dogs will orient themselves along the north-south axis of Earth's magnetic field when they poop.) Finding out just how that magnetic field sense works on a biological level has been more of a challenge.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-humans-detect-magnetic-fields-180971760/#SPYI5ZFHO0ZXlh5J.99
 

Deer have been observed to lay down in orientation with magnetic lines and fields also. 

[kejedo]

11 minutes ago, BenJepthah said:

Deer have been observed to lay down in orientation with magnetic lines and fields also. 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/dogs-poop-in-alignment-with-earths-magnetic-field-study-finds   I'm pretty sure when I first read about this, that it was conducted by paid German scientists. I haven't seen the deer one, yet, but am also wondering about the usefulness of this info.

Edited March 21, 2019 by kejedo

[BenJepthah]

2 minutes ago, kejedo said:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/dogs-poop-in-alignment-with-earths-magnetic-field-study-finds   I'm pretty sure when I first read about this, that it was conducted by paid German scientists. I haven't seen the deer one, yet, but am also wondering about the usefulness of this info.

Well, if it’s a cloudy day and your lost in the woods and need to find magnetic north and their is no moss on the trees ( or no trees) but your dog is with you ..then.

[Cushi]

I remember the first time I came across an apostate. I was at a convention with my mother and we were walking outside during lunchtime. I was in a excellent mood. There was a man with a twisted look on his face shouting crazy things at us through a bull horn. I asked my mom why he was doing that and she explained that he was an apostate. As I was walking back towards the convention site, I passed the man with only a few feet between us. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. The feeling lasted for an hour or so. My mom said the two spirits can’t mix, but I wonder if it could have been some kind of emotional contagion.

[kejedo]

7 hours ago, BenJepthah said:

Well, if it’s a cloudy day and your lost in the woods and need to find magnetic north and their is no moss on the trees ( or no trees) but your dog is with you ..then.

Not useful in the tropics or at high noon, but on a sunny day, I can find my direction using an analog watch face and the sun. Works on land or sea; I would still like my dog with.  

Whoops, not trying to go OT, I will read more about emotional contagion, and try to digest its message and application.   

Edited March 21, 2019 by kejedo

[Wren]

I was at door with a sister years ago. She was presenting a book. The feeling to get away was very strong. It was a respectable house and respectable looking householder but as the conversation between the sister and the householder was going on in my head I was saying "don't give her the book, don't give her the book, let's go, let's go!" The householder took the book. I felt something awful and asked the sister if she felt it too but nope, only me. 

[Ludwika]

This happened to me just last week. A brother visited from Australia, last time he was here my mother was dying and I didn't notice anything untoward. This time however,  something seemed wrong. So I decided to test him out and started talking about the annual general meeting broadcast, I could tell he hadn't a clue what I was talking about. So on the day he was leaving I told him straight out that I could tell he wasn't right spiritually. He admitted it and said he didn't think I'd pick it up. In the mean time, one of our elders had also cottoned on to him and told me he thought he was dodgy. I haven't heard from him since.  Either he will eventually contact me having righted himself, or that's the last we'll see of him now he knows I saw through him. 

[Old]

On 3/21/2019 at 9:14 AM, Brother Jack said:

I remember the first time I came across an apostate. I was at a convention with my mother and we were walking outside during lunchtime. I was in a excellent mood. There was a man with a twisted look on his face shouting crazy things at us through a bull horn. I asked my mom why he was doing that and she explained that he was an apostate. As I was walking back towards the convention site, I passed the man with only a few feet between us. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. The feeling lasted for an hour or so. My mom said the two spirits can’t mix, but I wonder if it could have been some kind of emotional contagion.

For many, many years that was the evil slave class and then we found out there was no evil slave class, now they are just the pain in the neck class. 

[EccentricM]

On 3/21/2019 at 4:14 PM, Brother Jack said:

twisted look on his face shouting crazy things at us through a bull horn

Shows what they are. They have an unhealthy obsession with us. They should just leave and if they think they have the truth, show it by preaching the Good News in their own way, and show they truly have Jehovah's support. What other group of people can you think of, who convert from one faith to another, become utterly obsessed with their former group to such a degree, with hatred and abuse? I can't think of any. It reminds me of an old article written by either Russel or Rutherford I read last year, who used the expression "demonic hydrophobia" (rabies), and it's so true, even today.

 

Once they get you out the truth, they leave you, they don't discuss the Bible, they are not interested in serving Jehovah, but rather continue to obsess over getting people out the truth, you either become nothing to them, or they want to you join their crusade, but nothing Christian is ever discussed,they don't try "preaching the Bible" (as they'd have you believe) to any other group, they get nowhere, Jehovah does not bless their work. 

 

Usually their associations are of the lowest of the low. Disfellowshipped ones who are not reptentant (and all because they were caught doing something immoral or alike), agressive athiests, and so on. Some are sly and come off as genuine at first on the outside, until you investigate their private life, social media and what not, to see how unchristian their lives are, their associations and so on. They can wear masks, but the fruitage doesn't lie.

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by EccentricM

[Cushi]

9 hours ago, EccentricM said:

Shows what they are. They have an unhealthy obsession with us. They should just leave and if they think they have the truth, show it by preaching the Good News in their own way, and show they truly have Jehovah's support. What other group of people can you think of, who convert from one faith to another, become utterly obsessed with their former group to such a degree, with hatred and abuse? I can't think of any. It reminds me of an old article written by either Russel or Rutherford I read last year, who used the expression "demonic hydrophobia" (rabies), and it's so true, even today.

 

Once they get you out the truth, they leave you, they don't discuss the Bible, they are not interested in serving Jehovah, but rather continue to obsess over getting people out the truth, you either become nothing to them, or they want to you join their crusade, but nothing Christian is ever discussed,they don't try "preaching the Bible" (as they'd have you believe) to any other group, they get nowhere, Jehovah does not bless their work. 

 

Usually their associations are of the lowest of the low. Disfellowshipped ones who are not reptentant (and all because they were caught doing something immoral or alike), agressive athiests, and so on. Some are sly and come off as genuine at first on the outside, until you investigate their private life, social media and what not, to see how unchristian their lives are, their associations and so on. They can wear masks, but the fruitage doesn't lie.

 

 

 

So true!