You Can't Beat the Darkness With a Stick
Dear friends,
It is easy to see something that is "off" and allow a desire to blot it out to well up within us. This is of course understandable, but when it comes to dealing with ourselves, often not the right idea. It is not, of course, that discipline and will power have no value—they obviously have great value—but using our will to prevent a negative tendency can be exhausting and somewhat self-defeating.
Suppose you have a paper clip situated exactly between two magnets of equal size and strength. The paper clip would remain stationary. If you wanted it to move in a given direction, you could decrease the strength of one magnet or increase the strength of the other.
So too within ourselves. We can repress the negative trait, or increase the other, positive offsetting trait until the negative part has much less pull on us.
An example might make this clearer: Suppose you struggle with judgment of others (not that anyone reading this ever judges anyone, right? :-) ). You can work hard to try to tamp down those feelings via affirmations, telling yourself it is not good for them or you, self-chastisement, fear of retribution, etc. Or you can focus on compassion, sympathy, and love. If someone is doing something inappropriate, it is because on some level they do not know better. Love them as a child of Spirit trying to make their way Home and stumbling—perhaps quite badly—along the way. Love and judgment cannot really coexist simultaneously.
Yogananda astutely pointed out that a room can be in darkness for a thousand years, but the instant a light is brought into it, the darkness vanishes as though it had never been.
Focusing on what is negative in others (or us!) can often give those qualities more reality and power rather than less. Identifying ourselves with our negative qualities is not helpful. You are a child of Spirit trying to peck your way out of a hard eggshell. Hang in there and don't resent the shell. The struggle is what strengthens us to finally get free.
May we dwell ever increasingly in feelings of love and uplifted thoughts. In such soil, negativity simply cannot flourish.
Blessings,
David G., manager
For the staff at East West