of others is harmed. Besides, often we do not ask for love, only
indulgence. Love must be given freely otherwise it is not love, it is
obligation. Therefore it is wrong to demand that certain people love
us, simply because we believe that they should love us or take care of
us, because they are family or close friends and they are obliged to do
so.
How does absorbency evolve as we advance spiritually?
In a similar way to attachment. As I say, absorbency begins in the
advanced vanity stage as a derivation of covetousness and is not
totally overcome until the end of the arrogance stage. As spirits
acquire a greater capacity to love, they are filled more with their own
feelings, becoming less emotionally dependent on others,
consequently, prior to the advance of emotional generosity,
absorbency gradually loses its strength. In the pride and arrogance
stages, absorbency diminishes progressively.
Aggressiveness (hatred, resentment, rage, anger, impotence, guilt)
In the term aggressiveness we include all those ego-feelings related to
the impulse to attack, to do harm, such as hatred, resentment, rage,
anger, impotence and guilt , whether this harm is directed towards
others or towards ourselves.
Aggressiveness is generally aroused when motivated by an external
stimulus, a circumstance which people take as an attack against
themselves or an obstacle which prevents them from satisfying their
desires or yearnings. It is a degeneration of the survival instinct.
Aggressiveness can be a manifestation of any of the defects, but the
reason why it is aroused is different in each of them. In vain spirits,
aggressiveness is manifested when they try to attract attention or be
the centre of attention and do not achieve it, or when they consider
their desires are not satisfied, or else when they try to bend someone’s
will without success. So they resort to aggressiveness as a form of
imposing on others what they are seeking. In proud and arrogant
spirits, aggressiveness is usually aroused more occasionally, but with
episodes which can be more violent. It is activated when others do not
acknowledge they are right over something that they are adamant
about, when they feel unable to solve a situation that is not resolved as
they would like, when they are repressed from doing or expressing
what they feel, or when their feelings have been hurt. They can be
more harmful in these episodes of anger than vain spirits, because they
have the tendency to build up tension and when they lose control of
themselves, they can suddenly explode. You can liken the different
aggressiveness of the vain and the proud spirit to that of a lion and a