1 Topic by wandering1 (edited by wandering1 2005-08-05 16:37:35)

  • Registered: 2004-04-01

Topic: Understanding Negative Polarity

The following is from “The Law of One: Book II"  and the session is from May 6, 1981.

Questioner: Could you give an example of negative polarization sharing love of self? It would seem to me that that would deplete negative polarization. Could you expand on the concept?

Ra: I am Ra. We may not use examples of known beings due to the infringement this would cause. Thus we must be general.

The negatively oriented being will be one who feels that it has found power that gives meaning to its existence precisely as the positive polarization does feel. This negative entity will strive to offer these understandings to other-selves, most usually by the process of forming the elite, the disciples, and teaching the need and rightness of the enslavement of other-selves for their own good. These otherselves are conceived to be dependent upon the self and in need of the guidance and the wisdom of the self.

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For me, a key phrase is: "The negatively oriented being will be one who feels that it has found power that gives meaning to its existence precisely as the positive polarization does feel."

Now imagine that!  I'm not advocating the negative path, simply seeking to understand it better.  It may be that those people and entities who are on the negative path really feel that they are right.  They are correct.

Particularly for those further along the path, they may have an clear understanding of the effects of their actions.  They may feel that what they are doing is best not only for themselves, but also for the other people that they have an effect on.

They may see lies, secrecy, deception, and ultimately enslavement as necessary for what they perceive to be the "greater good".  And once they are part of a power structure, results in the form of greater perceived power and influence may be manifest and readily apparent to them - thus seemingly providing evidence and even justification that they are doing "the right thing."

2 Reply by Sowelu (edited by Sowelu 2005-08-05 17:16:06)

  • Registered: 2005-06-26

Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

Indeed. Some may be surprised to realize the many ways this world reflects what you point out. We see it even in small reflections all the time:

One invests in fears thinking it is "smart" or "common sense" to do so; all means of "protection" investments against the many criminals, natural disasters, etc. existent at this level, shoring away money against a questionable and potentially destitute future, etc. They purchase insurance to stave off their fears, and then they are robbed and are so grateful they had that insurance to replenish the funds for what was taken from them.

Never realizing that the entire thing is an illusion they choose to invest in, based in fear that skews their ability to see life more clearly. So that it truly seems "right" to live this way, and then life here (the mirror effect) "proves" to them that they are correct, again and again by generating experiences that reinforce their fear and the "need" for the protective mechanisms they put in place against those fears.

And if one hasn't an "open" mind or greater awareness, "wishful thinking" (fear-based, narrowed or blinded perspective) skews their ability to ever really see that the entire thing is a set up based in an inherent distrust of life, nature, spirit origins, etc.

Just extrapolate on these small examples - in both the thinking behind them as well as the generation of experience that "proves" that thinking - and you get the picture.

hmm

Of course, if one never works to eradicate the fears within, living in protection mode is somewhat wise, because the fears within are the source of the experiences that seem to prove those fears valid. A bit of a catch-22. But... that's the learning environment we're in.

"The most important decision you have to make is whether you live in a hostile or friendly universe."
~ Albert Einstein

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ~Marcel Proust

The evolution of humanity is an evolution of the heart. The path is through the heart.
  • Registered: 2004-04-10

Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

Do you think that on some level they either chose to forget their REALNESS, and got sidetracked into investing and defending "unrealness?"  That is to say, unrealness mascarades so often as the truth, only to be discovered later on that it was all a test?   Maybe that particular test is why they're here on this playground/learning environment  wink

If there is no time
      Then you have time for everything.
   You're never in a hurry.
That's true freedom.

4 Reply by Jen

  • Jen
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Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

Here's an excerpt from a communication from Laura KJ to a friend of mine, which may relate to this discussion...

The great Sufi Shaykh Ibn al-'Arabi explains that "imperfection" exists in
Creation because "were there no imperfection, the perfection of existence
would be imperfect." From the point of view of Sheer Being, there is
nothing but good. But Infinite Potential to BE includes - by definition of
the word "infinite" - the potential to not be. And so, Infinite Potential
"splits" into Thought Centers of Creation and Thought Centers of non-being.
It can be said that Infinite Potential is fundamentally Binary - on or off -
to be or not to be. That is the first "division."

Since absolute non-being is an impossible paradox in terms of the source of
Infinite Potential to BE, the half of the consciousness of Infinite
Potential that constitute the IDEAS of non-being - for every idea of
manifestation, there is a corresponding idea for that item of creation to
NOT manifest - "falls asleep" for lack of a better term. Its "self
observation" is predicated upon consciousness that can only "mimic" death.
Consciousness that mimics death then "falls" and becomes Primal Matter. What
this means is that the "self observing self" at the level of the Master of
the Universe is constituted of this initial division between Being and Non-
being which is, again, only the initial division - the on/off, the yes/no -
of creation. You could picture this as an open eye observing a closed eye.
It has been represented for millennia in the yin-yang symbol, which, even on
the black half that represents "sleeping consciousness that is matter," you
can see the small white dot of "being" that represents to us that absolute
non-existence is not possible. There is only "relative" non-existence. 

These "thoughts of being and non-being" interact with one another - the
observer and the observed - like a viewer looking into a mirror. Creation
manifests between the viewer and the mirror. It is at once real - because it
consists of matter informed by consciousness - and unreal because it is
ultimately composed of only consciousness acting on consciousness. 

Thus, the first Divine Command is BE! And that includes Being and Non-being
instantaneously. Therefore, the second law is "follow Being or Non-being
according to your choice and your inherent nature." All creation is a result
of the engendering command. So, in this respect, there is no Evil. But the
second, prescriptive law determines to which "Face of God" one will return:
Life or Death. 

If the engendering command alone is considered, there is no imperfection in
the cosmos, since all creatures follow what God desires for them. In this
respect, what is normally called "imperfection" is in fact perfection, since
it allows for the actualization of the various levels of existence and
knowledge. In other words, were there no imperfections - in the sense of
diminishment, decrease, and lack - there would be no creation. Were there no
creation, the Hidden Treasure would remain hidden. Hence Being would be
unseen in every respect. There would be no self-disclosure of the Divine
Reality, Light would not shine, and God would be the Nonmanifest but not the
Manifest. But all this is absurd, since it demands the imperfection of Being
Itself, which by definition is nondelimited perfection. Being's perfection
requires the manifestation of Its properties. The effects of the Names and
Attributes must be displayed for God to be God. [...] In other words,
Imperfection is demanded by existence itself. To be "other than God" is to
be imperfect. ...But it is precisely the "otherness" which allows the cosmos
and all the creatures within it to exist. If things were perfect in every
respect, they would be identical with God Himself, and there would be
nothing "other than God." But then we could not even speak about the cosmos,
since there would be no cosmos and no speakers. ...So, imperfection is a
kind of perfection. [Chittick] 

At the particular stage of existence in which man finds himself, he is
equally "receptive" toward the Two primary Faces of God: Being and Non-
being. The Shaykh tells us that whatever property, or trait, any human being
ultimately "chooses" is what it originally possessed in its state of
immutability. The task of the Seeker is to discover what is immutable
within, and to purify and amplify it. This is the development of Will. Will
is a relationship, which follows knowledge while knowledge follows the
object of knowledge. In the process of "ascension," the object of knowledge
is YOU. Knowledge, in and of itself, has no effects. YOU, however, the
seeker, can give to knowledge what you actually are, in yourself, thereby
displaying YOURSELF in knowledge by your actions in concert with your
knowledge.

5 Reply by Jen (edited by Jen 2005-08-29 21:08:56)

  • Jen
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Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

More thought for food on this subject: Mephistopheles declares in Goethe's Faust:  I am a part of that power which always wills the bad and always works the good.

thots, anyone?

6 Reply by Eagle Red (edited by Eagle Red 2005-08-29 21:29:55)

  • Registered: 2005-08-18

Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

Nietsche went beyond good and evil to the ultimate human who judges not but takes responsibility for all his actions and thoughts and never buckles before the courage of his principles (or 'her' as the case may be).
Truth, to Nietsche, was women and I always liked him for that reason.

  • morningsun76
  • morningsun76
  • the answer has been with you the whole time
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  • From: In two worlds
  • Registered: 2004-09-10

Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

Eagle Red wrote:

Truth, to Nietsche, was women and I always liked him for that reason.

That's interesting.  I just got done watching a video which mentioned Boethius, who had dedicated himself to the pursuit of truth while imprisoned, and after years was visited by the truth itself, in the form of a female being which appeared to him.

8 Reply by Jen

  • Jen
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Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

Interesting about Nietszche.

Anyone have any ideas what old Mephisto's words meant?

  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2004-12-06

Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

Some ideas on the quote from “¾Faust“:
As mentioned before, the existence of the negative in creation depends on the existence of the positive and vice versa. Every effort of the negative polarity to increase its power will result in a natural balancing process that brings the forces back to its state of balance. That may take a while but it will happen because it is some kind of natural law. So the negative polarity struggles and fights just to recognize afterwards that it has seemingly created “the good”  – because the universe has balanced itself.
In more practical terms: Being confronted with the products of negativity, that is stagnation, limitation, rigidity will cause one to suffer. The suffering drives one to find solutions to his suffering, providing one with lessons that lead to knowledge and maturity – that is a good thing.
I don’t know if Goethe had that in mind...

A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.

10 Reply by Jen

  • Jen
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Re: Understanding Negative Polarity

heandras wrote:

Some ideas on the quote from “¾Faust“:
As mentioned before, the existence of the negative in creation depends on the existence of the positive and vice versa. Every effort of the negative polarity to increase its power will result in a natural balancing process that brings the forces back to its state of balance. That may take a while but it will happen because it is some kind of natural law. So the negative polarity struggles and fights just to recognize afterwards that it has seemingly created “the good�  – because the universe has balanced itself.
In more practical terms: Being confronted with the products of negativity, that is stagnation, limitation, rigidity will cause one to suffer. The suffering drives one to find solutions to his suffering, providing one with lessons that lead to knowledge and maturity – that is a good thing.
I don’t know if Goethe had that in mind...

Very good!  I read that quote in a book titled The Challenge Of Fate by Thorwald Dethlefsen.  In the context of the Faust quote, Dethlefsen points out:  "If I take away the negative pole of a magnet the positive pole disappears as well.  In the same way peace determines war, good enforces bad, and bad fertilizes good." 
So yes, I do think Goethe had your point of view in mind there.

Dethlefsen goes on to say that this was "in no way a justification for people to act in an arbitrary manner but only a reminder that we should guard against the notion of opposites when we are looking at the world of manifestation...It makes no sense to refuse to accept the murder that has happened, unless we want to set ourselves against the universal order.  But this does not mean that we should judge the murder as right and good, let alone commit one ourselves."