You can gauge your spiritual journey by the way you respond to a negative emotion.
Stage 1 - The Unconscious Stage
The emotion is flowing through you unconsciously.
Stage 2 - The Conscious Stage
You are now aware of the emotion as it arises and have started doing something about it.
Stage 3 - The Witnessing Stage
You now only witness the emotion with the intention of letting it go. There is seperation between you the witness and the emotion
Stage 4 - The Non-dual Stage
All seperation is lost. Only the emotion remains. There is complete and total acceptance of the emotion.