I am speaking in approximate terms, just as OrphanWilde was. That does not mean never ever having a single negative emotion, just as I presume that he was not speaking of never having any emotions of any kind.
There is plenty of devotional literature which promotes refusing negative emotions and keeping the positive ones. And while I'm sure that it does not work for some people (as in OrphanWilde's experience), it does work for others. One reason I know it works for some people is that it did work for me for many years, when I was still religious.
That does not mean never ever having a single negative emotion, just as I presume that he was not speaking of never having any emotions of any kind.
I was, indeed, speaking of not having any emotions of any kind. Or rather, not qualitatively experiencing them; I'd get angry, for example, but I'd notice I was angry because my hands would start clenching of their own accord, not because I'd experience anything resembling an "anger" qualia, or have my thoughts actually influenced by my emotions. To such an extent that, because I didn't experience either lust or love or any of the variations on those two themes as an internal emotive force, I assumed for many years I was asexual.
What do LWers think about this concept? What do you think is the main rationale for this idea, and do you think it is a good policy?