Find your way to inner peace and calm no matter what is going on outside of you. It’s the only way to stay stable and sane. It’s not selfish but necessary in times of turmoil. And yet, do not be so inward turned as to miss the important things in life, especially the call to make changes that are beneficial, to move on when necessary, and to grow beyond where you are now. For even in inward turning, changes are expected if the inner process is to have impact. Otherwise it’s just another cover for not doing what needs to be done, for not facing what must be faced, and that will benefit no one. The charge of life is always to grow and change. It’s what the world is doing all the time, especially in times of turmoil, pushing for change. Let the self be still but never asleep. Let the self be calm but never inert. Let the self be inward turned but stay alert and aware, and never stop growing. For growth is the creative urge in all of life and that’s exactly what’s called for now!
Love it all, the dark and the light… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
If we are truly to understand where we are, we must face the fact that the ego, with its capacity for reason, is the reigning god of now. The notion of an all-powerful god behind the scenes may still hold a sentimental attachment, a hope or belief, but reason reigns as that which gives order to life and the world. I pass no judgment nor support for this fact, I simply state the obvious.
The Christian notion of an all-loving god is the precursor to this god of reason. An all-loving god suggested a fair god, a reasonable god, a forgiving god, a god of order. And though this loving god still embraced the irrational—spirit life—it shed its dark side. Older notions of god, such as Yahweh or Allah, depict a far more bipolar god, a god of love but also a god of rage, a god of chaos. This god showed his dark side, torturing Job and drowning all who missed Noah’s boat.
The current god of reason has lost this ancient bipolar quality. I would submit that the current world crisis reflects the return of the disowned dark side of god, which is now in power, leveling the playing field of reason and order. We are currently facing chaos and the exercise of evil in control.
What I suggest here is that life is bipolar. We are both good and evil. Evil is not simply the absence of good, evil is part of the essence of everything. America has always stood for the highest values of goodness and caring, the most reasonable values on earth. But in so being, as we set out to save the world, we disowned our dark side, which has now visited itself upon us, and the rest of the world, in a caricature of abuse of power, an infantile, instinctual ego lacking reason.
Nonetheless, this startling state of affairs is so attractive and refreshing to the suppressed shadow, or inherent dark side of the populace, that it is lavishly having its day with all its drama and danger. This is the law of compensation: if we embrace one pole of our bipolar being too rigidly, the repressed side will eventually return with a vengeance.
This vengeance of the dark side is so intense that it threatens, like Noah’s flood, to wipe out all the goodness of civilization, in fact all of life itself. This instinctually driven, dominating power drive is completely self-serving, incapable of reasonable sacrifice to ensure a future beyond itself.
Yes, we must judge it; we must attempt to forestall its shortsighted, narcissistic stance that invites apocalypse, but we must also address the issue at its core: reconciling our bipolar being. We are all a composition of light and dark, good and evil, male and female. We must know all sides of ourselves; we must live all sides of ourselves. If we cling to a one-sided ideal of reason, we end up overturned by the irrational, chaotic side of our nature.
When I suggest that love is all, I mean that love includes evil, the dark side. Love can love its evil side. When the Dalai Lama states that yes, he could kill to defend his life, this does not make him hate his attacker. To the contrary, love reigns in that moment for he who must be killed. With the decision to kill, the Dalai Lama reconciles his instinctual, killing, “evil” nature with loving acceptance of all that is, even the ruthless, even the psychopathic.
Our evolving god image, that which we model ourselves upon, must return to its bipolar roots. That is where we are being led now. This is not merely an aberration being acted out on the world stage. That perspective is a hold out of the god of reason. No, what is being abundantly lived now is the breadth and potential of the dark side of humanity.
Of course, we hope that reason and the light side will prevail, but this can only happen if we embrace and find a place for the irrational, instinctual dark side of our beings. This is how each individual currently walking upon this earth is challenged and empowered to steer the course of our world.
Face your dark side, learn to love it. To love does not mean to give it free reign but to respect its knowledge and contribution to our wholeness. To acknowledge and accept our own darkness is the love that will ensure our survival and evolution upon this planet.
Sit calmly. Breathe. Let your mind be still. Let your body rest. Let your energy flow naturally throughout your body, bringing loving kindness to yourself. Let your brain be silent, your thoughts cease, your worries titrate down to nothing more than a simmering breeze. In this manner temper your suffering, reduce your anxiety, turn down your inner patter, your judgments, your condemnations of self and other. None of these things really exist; they are mere inventions of your mind seeking resolution, but you will not find resolution there. The mind is a dead end street. Instead let your spirit find you once again in the house of your physical body where it has been wandering and waiting. Let it greet you and take you down the streets of calmness, even as you become active again. Let yourself be whole in this way, in companionable silence within the quiet self!
Be responsible. Hold yourself accountable for your actions, but do not be so harsh and restrained that you do not relax and enjoy life. There is a time and a place for everything and sometimes it’s time to play, even with abandon. Sometimes it’s just time to relieve yourself of all the restrictions you place upon yourself, all the demands you make of yourself, all the ideas you have constellated about yourself. Sometimes life calls out to you and asks: “What are you holding onto so hard and why?” The time will come when life will ask you to be different, do different, accept different, to let go and live anew with a new attitude and a new state of mind. Are you ready? Is it time?
Tend to your body as much as you tend to your soul, for it is the temple that houses you, the residence of your being and your life upon the earth. Tend likewise, in equal measure, to your soul, for it is the bringer of life and knowledge, the basis of your being and your life upon that earth. In balance of these two find peace and contentment, as well as the vital connection that allows them to communicate with each other, keeping you attuned to all that you are, for it is the meshing of these two that you seek. Forget one and you might as well forget the other, for they are inseparable, friends for life! Get to know these two vital parts of yourself and work with them. It’s all you need to continue your journey through life in companionable company. Your full potential lies always within, in the two of you!
