Sentinel Watch May 16, 2011 Issue

Changing the mental climate

Abigail Warrick

Few people would deny that we’re having to think more seriously about what kind of world we want to live in and how our actions can affect the environment. What about our thinking? Does the mental environment also have a role? Do anger, impatience, hatred, frustration, also affect the environment by influencing our thoughts and actions? 

These questions raise larger issues, such as the possibility that when we give our mental consent to something, we add to its force in the world. This can be obvious in the buying of commodities or voting for rights. But it’s also true of the thoughts we accept. Anger is a form of acquiescence to violence, which essentially pollutes the mental atmosphere around us. And like other pollutants, its influence may have consequences beyond what we see. 

Curbing anger helps resist and reduce these destructive attitudes in the mental atmosphere. Goodwill and accountability for our actions can actually uplift our own thoughts and the mental atmosphere around us. 

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