Good and Evil
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Image via Pixabay
This turned out to be one of the hardest chapters to write and the one that many people might disagree with. Bear with me as I wander around the topic as there are so many aspects to a simple question. What is good vs evil?
As a human society, we are locked in a system of judging others or situations as good or evil. It is not likely that anyone would claim that the Holocaust was not evil, although a few claim it didn't happen. Also, the use of humans as slaves to produce a product or take care of their master is a horrible part of history that dehumanized and tortured millions of people.
We can name many more examples of "evil" in our world. Rape, murder, stealing, dealing drugs, torture, corruption, racism, the list goes on. Do Satan and demons exist? Are there sorcerers and practitioners of black magic, or any magic for that matter? I followed a Wiccan path for 20 years and was often told I was going to Hell. I state here that I do not believe in hell nor in an entity called Satan. But more about that later.
Let us instead return to a general discussion of good and evil. You cannot have one without the other. They are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have white without the contrast of black as symbolized in the Chinese symbol of Yin Yang.
The Yin/Yang philosophy is a Taoist belief which describes the concept that opposite forces are seen as interconnected and counterbalancing. It views the universe as complimentary forces of dark and light, of male and female. Thus we have day and night, winter and summer, old and young, cold and hot. You cannot have one without the other. Neither the yin or the yang are evil. The yin-yang symbol represents complete wholeness.
As a human society, we are locked in a system of judging others or situations as good or evil. It is not likely that anyone would claim that the Holocaust was not evil, although a few claim it didn't happen. Also, the use of humans as slaves to produce a product or take care of their master is a horrible part of history that dehumanized and tortured millions of people.
We can name many more examples of "evil" in our world. Rape, murder, stealing, dealing drugs, torture, corruption, racism, the list goes on. Do Satan and demons exist? Are there sorcerers and practitioners of black magic, or any magic for that matter? I followed a Wiccan path for 20 years and was often told I was going to Hell. I state here that I do not believe in hell nor in an entity called Satan. But more about that later.
Let us instead return to a general discussion of good and evil. You cannot have one without the other. They are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have white without the contrast of black as symbolized in the Chinese symbol of Yin Yang.
The Yin/Yang philosophy is a Taoist belief which describes the concept that opposite forces are seen as interconnected and counterbalancing. It views the universe as complimentary forces of dark and light, of male and female. Thus we have day and night, winter and summer, old and young, cold and hot. You cannot have one without the other. Neither the yin or the yang are evil. The yin-yang symbol represents complete wholeness.
“All things that we perceive as positive, negative, good, or bad are simply parts of the perfect, balanced Whole.” Anita Moorjani, Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing (ad)
Image via Pixabay
We All Have a Shadow Side
Before we point fingers at others as being “bad” or “evil,” we have to accept that we all have what psychiatrist Carl Jung referred to as a shadow side. The Shadow refers to those aspects of our personalities that we reject and repress. We all have one, yet in order to be a “good” person, we deny that we have judgmental attitudes, dark thoughts, hatred, or impulsive behaviors. Behaviors that we dislike in others is a sign that there exists those qualities within yourself, although most of time they are unconscious.
“Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected....
...If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He has become a serious problem to himself, as he is now unable to say that they do this or that, they are wrong, and they must be fought against… Such a man knows that whatever is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own shadow he has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic, unsolved social problems of our day.” Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion (ad)
Nothing demonstrates this concept more than this clip from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back, where Luke Skywalker goes into the cave and finds out that what he thought he was fighting, evil, was really himself.
Before we point fingers at others as being “bad” or “evil,” we have to accept that we all have what psychiatrist Carl Jung referred to as a shadow side. The Shadow refers to those aspects of our personalities that we reject and repress. We all have one, yet in order to be a “good” person, we deny that we have judgmental attitudes, dark thoughts, hatred, or impulsive behaviors. Behaviors that we dislike in others is a sign that there exists those qualities within yourself, although most of time they are unconscious.
“Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected....
...If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He has become a serious problem to himself, as he is now unable to say that they do this or that, they are wrong, and they must be fought against… Such a man knows that whatever is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own shadow he has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic, unsolved social problems of our day.” Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion (ad)
Nothing demonstrates this concept more than this clip from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back, where Luke Skywalker goes into the cave and finds out that what he thought he was fighting, evil, was really himself.
"Remember, When You Forgive, You Heal" Inspirational Quotes Wall Sign - ad
Forgiveness
"Father forgive them for they know not what they do," Jesus said while he hung on the cross. A very puzzling statement, for of course they knew they were hanging a person up there to die, usually a slow and tortuous process.
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings and anger and resentment toward a person or a group that has harmed you, or caused you pain. It is not pretending it didn't happen. It does not mean that you need to allow that person back into your life to continue hurting you. It may happen, but you release the hope that what has happened in the past will somehow change. Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself, that allows you to let go of the burden of negativity and feelings of being a victim, and experience inner peace.
Eckhart Tolle interprets it to mean, “There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and your true power emerges--the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring in the light.” Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (ad)
"Father forgive them for they know not what they do," Jesus said while he hung on the cross. A very puzzling statement, for of course they knew they were hanging a person up there to die, usually a slow and tortuous process.
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings and anger and resentment toward a person or a group that has harmed you, or caused you pain. It is not pretending it didn't happen. It does not mean that you need to allow that person back into your life to continue hurting you. It may happen, but you release the hope that what has happened in the past will somehow change. Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself, that allows you to let go of the burden of negativity and feelings of being a victim, and experience inner peace.
Eckhart Tolle interprets it to mean, “There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and your true power emerges--the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring in the light.” Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (ad)
“In a universe that’s an intelligent system with a divine creative force supporting it, there simply can be no accidents. As tough as it is to acknowledge, you had to go through what you went through in order to get to where you are today, and the evidence is that you did. Every spiritual advance that you will make in your life will very likely be preceded by some kind of fall or seeming disaster. Those dark times, accidents, tough episodes, break ups, periods of impoverishment, illnesses, abuses, and broken dreams were all in order. They happened, so you can assume they had to and you can’t unhappen them.” Wayne Dyer, How To Forgive Someone Who Has Hurt You: In 15 Steps
Read more about Dyer's life changing experience of finding the grave of his father who suffered from alcoholism and abandoned his wife and three sons when they were quite young. His story of releasing the rage and anger he had held on to for all his life led to this remarkable change after he forgave his father and released his anger and hate can be found on his Facebook page dated May 7, 2014
Chapter 5: Near-Death Experiences