A different perspective on the sin of Pride

[johnz123]

A long time ago when I was getting psychotherapy, I read an interesting section of the book ( I forget which one) that my therapist gave me regarding the sin of pride. My therapist always encouraged me to identify psychosomatic feelings.
This particular section of the book said that pride is actually an inflating feeling of excitement, or “dopamine high” felt in the chest and stomach area of the body that occurs any time one thinks a prideful thought, or is praised by others, or thinks any sort of thought that builds the ego. And it said people get addicted to this feeling which weakens the will. (Recent science has called the gut the “second brain”). Even the bible refers to pride as being “puffed up”, not to mention the expression about being “full of hot air”.
The book asks, so who or what does this inflating? It never gave an answer, but I always thought to myself that someone or something is doing this. Maybe a demon or something? Who knows. After all, CS Lewis said that the sin of pride comes straight from hell.
Anybody have thoughts on this? I noticed during the rare times of my life when I was actually humble this feeling and thought pattern is absent, and instead replaced by joy and peace. And I am no longer in my head, addicted to my prideful thoughts but fully present in the moment.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

This is very interesting to me, although I don’t have much to add. Thank you for posting it.

I agree that pride is stressful and humility gives more joy and peace. I think when one is humble, one has much lower expectations, and it kind of takes the pressure off. Puffing up is like blowing up a balloon; you’re always in a state of either needing to eventually deflate or else involuntarily deflating through a leak or a “pop”. Like if you’re proud because you’re rich or beautiful, then you’re always worrying about losing those things or being surpassed by another. But if you’re humble, you don’t have those worries.

It’s like the song “Me and Bobby McGee”: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.”