Eckhart Tolle said it best:
Question: "But if you call some emotions negative, aren't you really saying that they shouldn't be
there, that it's not okay to have those emotions? My understanding is that we should
give ourselves permission to have whatever feelings come up, rather than judge them
as bad or say that we shouldn't have them. It's okay to feel resentful; it's okay to be
angry, irritated, moody, or whatever - otherwise, we get into repression, inner
conflict, or denial. Everything is okay as it is. "
Eckhart: "Of course. Once a mind pattern, an emotion or a reaction is there, accept it. You were
not conscious enough to have a choice in the matter. That's not a judgment, just a
fact. If you had a choice, or realized that you do have a choice, would you choose
suffering or joy, ease or unease, peace or conflict? Would you choose a thought or
feeling that cuts you off from your natural state of well-being, the joy of life within?
Any such feeling 1 call negative, which simply means bad. Not in the sense that "You
shouldn't have done that" but just plain factual bad, like feeling sick in the stomach. "