Awesome Bill asks: “You say that when we are out of the physical we are all knowing energies (good/positive energies?). That is… What about the bad/negative energies? Surely these two are fighting against each other all the time? You say that we can’t wait to get back into the physical to experience all the wonders of physical existence. But you only have to look to certain areas of the world to see extreme poverty, starvation and suffering. For example, a baby born to a family of 8 children in a village in mid Africa; the mother cannot provide food or shelter, so the baby has no chance to survive, never mind experience the joys of living. I am sure that baby, if he had the choice, would not be wanting to dive back into the physical. I look forward to your response.”
Dear Awesome Bill,
Thank you for your excellent question. Even though I get asked stuff like this a lot, I don’t write about it too often. Why not? Because the answers tend to be very, very hard for most people to hear and when someone can’t, then the whole subject just becomes depressing. I tend to shy away from being a ginormous downer for people, especially on Mondays. But, I also know that the reason people keep asking these questions is because they desperately want to find better feeling answers, something better than “Shit happens”, and well, that’s pretty much what I do…
Since I’ve already addressed much of this subject in a previous post called How Does LOA Explain the Suffering of the World?, I’m going to take a different approach this time. Today, I’m going to attempt to explain the whole enchilada, the big picture, the WHY of it all. Because, if you really want to understand why the “bad” stuff happens, if you really want to shift into a better feeling perspective, you kind of have to understand how it all fits into the grand scheme of things. And, after I do that, I’m going to share something really, really awesome with you that will restore your faith in humanity. Ready?
Disclaimer: Yes, I know that this is a long ass post (longest post I’ve ever written). It’s a big ass subject. Get over it. It’s also not an easy subject. If you’re an LOA newbie, this post might be totally over your head. If that’s the case, don’t worry about it. Consider this an “advanced” post, something more akin to what you’d get from me if you and I sat in a bar one night and got deep into conversation and then suddenly looked at each other and went “Wow”. So, for those who are ready for that, you’re welcome. Also, when you get up to pee, order me another cuppa tea, would you?
What about the negative energies?
As I elaborated on recently in this post, there are no negative energies battling it out with the good, for dominion over our souls (or whatever). The idea of negative energy or “evil”, which could assert itself into our reality and make bad stuff happen, tempt us to become “sinners” (there are going to be a lot of sarcastic quote marks in this post, I can already tell), or confuse us into making the “wrong” decisions, is well, excuse my French, but Bullmerde.
There is only light and the absence of light. There is no force of darkness. As Abraham likes to put it: “When you enter a room, there’s no dark switch, no switch that will fill the room with inky, misty darkness. There is only a light switch.” You can either allow the light, or resist it. It is the resistance which blocks the light, and this absence of light looks like darkness. We can tell ourselves stories about the dark, and even convince ourselves that it has powers, a force, or an evil little mind of its own. But the fact remains that to get rid of darkness, all you have to do is to turn on the light and POOF!, the darkness is gone. Basically, in a battle between EVIL and a flashlight, the flashlight wins. Every time.
So no, the light energy of Who We Really Are is not battling it out with any dark or negative energy. I realize that this is a hard pill to swallow, mostly because so many people have done their best to convince you otherwise, and because you’ve never been presented with an alternative explanation that made sense. That’s what this mega post is here for.
Why we are eager to come here, suffering and all
Why would any of us choose to be born into extreme poverty? Why would we choose to come here and be born into a third world country, only to die three months later of starvation or disease? Why wouldn’t we all just choose to be born as the new Royal Baby? What could possibly be the fun in any of this?
I’ve written before that life is like a video game. By this, I don’t mean to diminish the importance of life. This game of ours is causing the Universe to expand, after all. No, the video game analogy is more of a tool to help us get some perspective. It’s also a way to simplify what can turn into a mind-blowingly complex subject.
So, reality is like a game which has been going since the beginning of, well, the beginning (consider the big bang like someone hitting the start button on this particular game, which isn’t entirely accurate but will do for this analogy). There have been other games before this one and there will be others after, but this is the one that counts right now, so we’re just going to focus on this one as though it’s the only one (again, this can get a bit complex, so I’m limiting the scope as much as I can). There is one player. Let’s call him Bob. Bob is a creative genius, an artist, a visionary and almost unimaginably curious. In the game, Bob is given a blank slate. He can create anything he wants and then experience it. He can actually step right into the game, temporarily forget he’s in a game, and therefore have the full experience of what he’s created. So far so great. Only, Bob soon realizes that if he’s to have any kind of really fun adventure, he’ll have to create more complex environments. And if he does that, then his limited perspective within the game (limited so that he can actually experience the perspective, not just witness it from the outside, like an observer), will automatically cause him to miss all but what he’s currently living. But Bob, in his thirst to know every little detail, isn’t satisfied just getting one perspective. He wants ALL the possible perspectives. He wants to cover every single detail. He wants the full spectrum, so to speak.
More Bobs
Bob sits down and has himself a good old think. How can he insure that he doesn’t miss anything? How can he really guarantee that he’ll cover every single possible experience there is? Well, there’s only one thing for it: Bob needs more Bobs who can go out, experience different and unique perspectives, and then bring those perspectives back to the original Bob (upload them to the mainframe, so to speak), so he can benefit from the collective experience. And so, Bob creates several avatars, or video game characters, with different levels of awareness. The first two avatars each get 50% of Bob’s awareness, meaning they can each fully comprehend, witness and even assimilate the experience of HALF of all of the possible experiences that any Bob might have. If Bob himself is Level 0, then we’ll call this first layer of awareness or perspective, Level 1. Each avatar is fully conscious and aware, but only has access to 50% of the entire possible perspective. Given the enormity of the game that Bob is about to create, this is quite a bit of information and much more than any one consciousness can fully explore. And so, Bob creates another level of avatars, splitting the original two, into two more each, while keeping Level 1 intact. This is Level 2, which contains 4 avatars, each one sentient and conscious and able to have unique experiences, which are then assimilated and fed to the avatars in Level 1, who then assimilate and upload them to Bob.
Bob then keeps on creating more and more layers, each one with a slightly smaller perspective, until he finally arrives at the layer at which each avatar can only hold one thought at any given time and therefore hold only one perspective at one time. While this is the most limited perspective of all, it allows for the maximum depth of experience, since 100% of the avatar’s focus will always be on whatever he’s directing his attention to. This is how to FULLY experience any reality.
Free Will
But Bob soon realizes that he has a couple of issues: the first is that his own perspective, grand as it is, is always going to be limited. He can only imagine so much. If he truly wants to know every perspective possible, not just those currently imaginable, he has to allow for the expansion of possible perspectives. He has to allow for creation from within the game. He has to give each avatar full control over their experience, so they can use their current environment to create and discover new possibilities. By discovering new problems, ones that Level 0 Bob can’t even fathom right now, the avatars can then also discover solutions that couldn’t have been foreseen. Each avatar therefore needs total creative control, the ability to fully and limitlessly explore their domain, and move around in it freely. In other words, each avatar needs Free Will.
An infinite spectrum
The second issue that Bob discovers is that as all his Bobs go out, create new environments within the game and experience every possible angle of them, through the sheer volume of them, there will come a time when all the possible experiences will have been lived, discovered and integrated. Even with creative control, if the spectrum of what could be experienced is limited, the point will come when the possibilities will run out. In other words, if the game was constructed in a box on a computer screen, and that box was made up of tons and tons of pixels (dots), and each pixel represented a possible experience from a possible point of view, then at some point, each pixel would be used up, clicked, activated or whatever, and the box would eventually be completely filled.
If, however, Bob created the game on a spectrum, like a line with an arrow on each end, and let each end of the spectrum run on to infinity in both directions, then the possibilities of experience would be infinite. One side of the spectrum would represent the lower, denser frequencies, while the other would represent the higher, faster frequencies. Each level of avatars (each splitting into lesser and lesser perspectives) would represent a lower, denser range of frequencies, although each level would allow for a huge range of experiences. So, each avatar, having total free will, would be able to choose to reside in the lower range of that level’s frequencies or the higher range. And this is precisely the model that Bob adopts.
The thirst for knowledge
Given that each avatar is a perfect replica of Bob (and actually is Bob), just with a more limited perspective, the limitless thirst for knowledge is a part of each character’s programming or personality, if you will. And while a severely limited point of view can cause the avatars to make some pretty weird decisions and come to some pretty bonkers conclusions, the driving force behind the game – the desire to understand and gain a bigger perspective through experiences, never goes away. What’s more, there’s the innate knowledge that a bigger perspective exists, and each avatar hungers for it. It’s kind of the point of the game – to know ALL. And all the avatars have to work together (and they are, whether they know it or not, just by being in the game) in order for that All Knowing perspective to come to fruition.
This awareness of the existence of a bigger (aka higher) perspective, is also what drives the avatars to evolve. Instead of simply gathering experience after experience, each avatar assimilates what he learns, creating a bigger and bigger picture for himself (bigger perspective), gaining more and more knowledge of what the actual picture (the BIG Picture) looks like.
The ultimate truth
One could also call this the ultimate TRUTH. Think about it this way: If you walk into a room where there are 10 children and one broken lamp, and you want to find out who broke the lamp, you’re going to need information. Now, as you gather facts, your understanding of what has happened will grow. The less facts you have, the more likely you are to come to faulty conclusions (like, the kid that looks guilty probably did it, or the kid that’s standing closest or furthest away, etc.). The more facts you have, the more likely you are to get to the truth (the freaking cat did it). The highest possible perspective would be the one where you could actually be there, or watch a video of the event.
Now, what if each avatar had some kind of feedback mechanism that would allow them, in their quest for knowledge, to know if they were getting closer to the “truth”, that next higher perspective, that bigger, more encompassing view? What if you could somehow know if the conclusion you came to is the “right” one? Well, Bob thinks of that, too. Essentially, when each avatar gains another piece of the puzzle and assimilates it correctly, so it reveals a bigger piece of the whole (essentially, puts the puzzle piece in the right place), the avatar will gain life force. He will feel good. If the avatar fails to gain more experiences, he will stagnate and feel passionless. There will be a distinct lack of drive, like a parked car. If the avatar picks up puzzle pieces and puts them in the wrong places, so it distorts the picture of the whole, he will lose life force, feel awful and even begin to feel physically ill. The goal is to expand the picture and to discover more and more of it, even as it’s constantly made to grow bigger.
Leveling Up
Each avatar can choose to gain more and more perspective or not; again, it’s all a matter of free will. Residing in lower frequencies isn’t a bad thing, since the avatar is assimilating the experiences he’s having and using them to gain a bigger view of the whole picture. Even if he doesn’t consciously understand how the puzzle pieces he’s gathering fit together, the avatar above him, the one that the assimilated information is uploaded to, will understand. There are no “bad” experiences. There are only experiences, period.
But here’s the thing: each avatar isn’t a separate character, but a level of consciousness – Bob’s consciousness. The illusion of separation is a tool to help each avatar have the full experience of whatever he’s created. So, one avatar can change levels and gain access to not only insights from a higher perspective, but fully shift into that higher perspective, if he so chooses. If we begin to bring this into how our physical reality works (where, ahem, we are the avatars, in case you haven’t made that connection), one could say that we, in the physical, have access to several avatar layers, each one with a bigger and bigger perspective, but still only able to hold one thought at a time. Even within these limitations, we can gain a bigger and bigger view of the whole picture. Gaining the highest possible perspective available in the physical range is then referred to as “enlightenment”.
At some point, our consciousness rises to a level at which we can hold more than one perspective at a time, but this frequency range is too high to exist in the physical, so we transition to a non-physical state (most people call this “death”). We then have access to all the perspectives and experiences of all the avatars in the layer below us. We are still “us”. We are still conscious and aware. We’re simply aware of more, we have a bigger view of what’s going on, we have the ability to integrate a much bigger level of understanding. We know more of the “truth”.
The downside of leveling up, is that our experience isn’t as specific. It’s a bit like watching a football game and really getting into it, and actually playing football. As much as you might love to watch, it’s no substitute for actually getting on the field. And that’s when we decide to put on our jerseys and helmets (or cleats) and get out there.
What the hell does this have to do with dying African babies?!
Ok, ok, I’m getting to that. You see, no matter what the experience is, this is where the fun is at. This is where all the good stuff happens, the forming of experiences, the decisions, the reactions, the awareness of even the minutest differences. And each possible experience must be lived from each possible perspective. As we gain more and more perspectives, collectively, we are able to see more and more of the truth. We can then choose to focus on that truth or not. We can go with the light or resist it. We can insist on jamming a puzzle piece where it doesn’t fit or even give up trying to make it fit altogether. But even in resisting it, even in our choice to essentially remain ignorant of the big picture, we are adding to the experience of the ALL.
We choose to come into these physical experiences because we don’t consider the suffering when we do so, just as you don’t worry about your character’s well-being in a real video game. In fact, you want your character to have adventures and challenges. Otherwise, it would be boring. When you consider the whole picture, each avatar as part of a whole, you can begin to see that this African baby isn’t an isolated soul, suffering for no reason. It is an avatar, here to add to the experience of the whole, giving us the opportunity to add this experience to the bigger picture and then CHOOSE which part of that picture we want to expand. If you could experience anything in the world, and you knew that no matter what it was, the real you wouldn’t be harmed, what would you choose to experience? After a few thousand times being a rock star, you might begin to get more real and test out different scenarios.
What if you knew that taking on the lowest vibrations yet to be explored could benefit the expansion of the whole? Would you do it? I’m guessing that a lot of you helpers out there would jump at the chance. I would. And in many ways, I did. And so did many of you.
How those who suffer benefit us
Yes, I get it. This is going to be a controversial statement. I’m not saying we should rejoice in the suffering of others, ok? So stop having a hissy fit. But here’s the thing: In our quest to get an ever higher perspective, a bigger and bigger view of an ever growing picture, we want to explore every possible nook and cranny of experience we can. What’s more, each experience we have helps us to fuel the next one because it invariably leads to a decision – I like this, I want more of it, or I don’t like this, I want something else instead. Even when we like something, we fine tune it. We desire some details to be a little different. When we don’t like something, we desire the opposite. These new experiences then become available for us to have (they become part of our reality = manifesting) and the process continues.
As all possibilities are explored, we continue to create more and more experiences. But because of our thirst to get a bigger and better view of the whole, we keep on expanding outward. Even though we’ve done a good job of exploring the lower, denser frequencies, the ones that offer the most twisted versions of the truth and therefore suck the life force right out of us (Dark Ages anyone), because of that pain response, our willingness to take these explorations of the dark side to infinity will always be inherently limited. But no such limitation exists on the “light” side of the spectrum. And so, over time, we evolve. The whole game keeps on moving along the spectrum, expanding towards more and more knowledge, more and more integration, more and more unity, with Bob, split into and yet still part of an infinite number of avatars, exploring his ever growing Universe to the tiniest detail.
So, what does this have to do with the African babies, already?
Well, here it is: Those African Babies have just as much right to their experience as you do. They are here, exploring that possibility, because they want to and we all want them to, not because we want them to suffer, but because the knowledge of suffering allows us all to choose something else instead. And since we are all part of the whole, one could argue (and I will) that YOU are that African baby. You are both having the experience of suffering as well as observing that suffering, so that you can add those experiences to the higher perspective, one that includes the knowledge of how to transcend these types of experiences. How you choose to experience that baby’s plight is your perspective. If the point of view you’re choosing is giving you life, making you feel light and happy and hopeful and causes energy to surge through you, then you’ve found a part of the bigger picture. You’ve assimilated this experience and put it in the “correct” place, the one that shows you where it actually fits, allowing you to choose whatever experience in your reality that you want. It’s by putting together the puzzle and understanding how the pieces fit together and then looking at the whole picture, that we begin to transcend the need to specifically experience what we don’t want. When we gather the puzzle pieces but twist them so they don’t fit correctly, we fail to see the bigger picture and continue sit there, all thumbs, trying to put the damn puzzle together.
What’s really interesting is that the person you’re pitying often has an easier time seeing the big picture than you do. In this way, you are creating your own form of suffering, and adding that to the experience of the whole. In transcending that suffering, you add to the understanding of how all of us can do the same. It really is uncanny that the people who suffer on behalf of others, often suffer more than the people they’re suffering for. 😉
A better feeling perspective
Ok, so I know I’ve filled your head with a massive metaphor, one you might need some time to get your head around. I’ve also explained why bad stuff happens and why it’s not really bad, but I’ll bet that you’re not yet feeling a whole lot better. This is because I haven’t yet offered you a solution that allows you to feel better about the dying African babies. That’s about to change.
My big message so far has been that we can’t take suffering so seriously. It’s not necessary or obligatory, and it’s not virtuous, but in as much as every experience serves a purpose, it does, too. It’s only through our willingness to see how the suffering fits into the big picture, that we can transcend it and by doing so, pave the way for everyone to do so, continuously adding to the evolution of the Universe.
Another, much shorter way to say this is: Don’t focus on the problem. Focus on the solution. If what you want is dying babies, then keep focusing on them dying. But if what you want is to happy, shiny babies, then focus on that. Don’t think that works? Think again.
Let me introduce you to a powerful, wonderful, awesome example of a charity that has recognized the power of focusing on the version we want more of: It’s called Mama Hope, and they’ve started the Stop the Pity Campaign. While most charities try to guilt us into giving money by showing us starving babies with huge stomachs and flies on their faces, portraying these wonderful people as helpless, destitute and unable to help themselves, this charity inspires us with videos of happy, joyful women, men and children who have a very good idea of how to help themselves and are doing so. They don’t NEED our help, they will survive and even thrive without it. But, if we feel inspired to play with them, to help them grow, to give them resources which assist them in joyfully and passionately moving forward, we can do so. Watch this video a 9 year old boy to get inspired!
This amazing organization asks communities what they need, instead of bulldozing over them with cookie cutter solutions. They don’t just drop bags of nutrition-less grain in the town square. They approach these communities with dignity and respect, honoring their wisdom to know exactly what they need. And it’s working. I don’t know about you, but I’m much more likely to support a project I’m personally inspired by, rather than one that tries to make me feel guilty for going to a restaurant (quite honestly, those types of campaigns are much more likely to illicit a “Oh, screw you!” than a check from me).
We are all ONE
We may have been taught to feel guilty for what we have when others have less. We may have been taught to feel pity for those we judge to be less fortunate or less capable (which, quite frankly is just arrogant and pity never helped feed anyone). But what we really love, what gets us off our feet, is passion, creativity, people helping themselves, people fighting for their joy. Because that’s what WE want to do, and we’re all ONE. When we look at some other avatar and say “You are powerless”, we are saying “We are powerless”. Now we’re both powerless and nothing changes. But when we look at them and say “You can do it! We believe in you!”, that turns into “We can do it! We believe in Us!!”, and suddenly we’re all working together. We focus on what we want and we achieve it. Collectively.
For them.
For us.
For Bob.
thanks Melody
I actually realised the other day, that we all have a different jigsaw puzzle and how nuts it is to get annoyed if someone else doesn’t have the same piece as us and vice versa. I think thats called freedom x
I LOVE this:
“In transcending that suffering, you add to the understanding of how all of us can do the same. ”
And omg at the Stop the Pity campaign – I FINALLY manifested this, after pretty much complaining for ages on how charities play on pity. And I can say this as someone who has lived in Africa, and although there is a lot of poverty, yes, there is also a lot of hope and a lot of growth and a lot of kindness and a lot of awesomeness to be found there!
That charity campaign gave me the shivers.. I’d definitely support them on the regular and spread the word. Off to check out the website now!!
This is somewhat unrelated, but I find it really interesting how people sometimes pretend to be suffering in order to make their lives look slightly more interesting to others. Some do it for the pity party, the ‘poor you’s, the attention, but it’s interesting to me how living a life regarded as ‘general’, ‘average’ or ‘normal’ is considered boring to outsiders, making the person in the ‘normal’ existence feel that their life is somewhat mediocre, and that their thinking about the parts of their life that kind of suck and bitching about them make them feel more empowered to some degree. And by now, we all know that if you feel that a negative experience seems to serve you in some way (gaining attention you seek, for example) then it will reoccur more and more, but in the case of the Boy Who Cried Wolf, if you keep bitching about the same sh*t, the desired effect will water down, so to speak, ie people will stop wanting to be around that person, because they become a buzz kill xD And without the conditioned response being satisfied by reward (of attention) leaves only disappointment, where in all that time the person could have been feeling gratitude for their ‘mediocre’ life with their family, their home, their cars etc. instead of losing people who were willing to help them and be close to them in their ‘false’ sadness, all for the sake of gaining a little fuss from other people. Instead of making others feel guilty for one’s sucky moments, we should be trying to help others realise what they have and give others a constant stream of love, attention, care and support.
We all do it of course, fake our feelings about a non-issue for the sake of interesting conversation, but it has just occurred to me how meaningless it is to do so… M’yes…
Sorry, please feel free to skip my musings~ *sips tea nonchalantly*
Oops, sorry about the the name, Melody.
Great post Melanie. What kind of tea do you want and how do you take it 🙂
Thanks for all the info you share!
Thanks awesome Mel. Hugs!! xo
Why don’t we make a computer game just like that ?
It’s funny I have been thinking a lot about the meaning of life and why we are here. I’m so glad you posted this because I pretty much came to the same conclusion. We are simply the universe’s way of exploring itself and different possibilities. And I even thought about those starving children in Africa. And I wondered why the universe would choose such an existance. I couldn’t figure that part out and I just thought “Well the universe works in mysterious ways sometimes I guess”. But once again, you brought me some clarity. I guess I would get tired of experiencing nothing but wealth after a while too. Eventually you would probably want to experience the complete opposite. Oh how I wish I had an “enlightened” friend to have these conversations with. *sigh* Anyway, awesome as usual! Namaste! 🙂
Dear Melody,
I am so used to thinking that there is darkness, dark forces, demons etc that might get me if I am not careful that it’s a relief to know that there are no dark forces and there is no evil. I don’t know what perspective is the absolute truth because that’s my truth–I just don’t know. What I know with one hundred percent certainty is that yours feels good to me. It feels good to know that nothing can actually get me. It feels good to know that the babies in Africa will always be okay and that I will always be okay and that everything is really okay. We’re all just playing a game. Sometimes, the thought that we are all just playing a game makes me feel that life is so transient and staged and then it gets all confusing because life is not meant to be that way. So, I really need to re read your blog posts like a million times but I feel that one day it will all make sense.
I also think the Mama Hope organization has such a clean, fresh, unique, inviting perspective. I am truly amazed with these innovative, inspiring, joyful perspectives and I will strive to be a better student because I really want to. I can’t wait to read your next post! Every time your post arrives, I simply can’t wait to open it and read it. I know that I might have to read them tons of times but I devour them and I think you’re just amazing.
Your posts are like direct messages from a Fairy Godmother, or Bob, or the source of Light, or the spirit guides or angels with wings. You are actually helping so many people eliminate so many fears and live fearlessly. Even if this perspective is not the truth, it is a perspective which helps me live fearlessly and simply knowing that just helps dissipate the many many stubborn layers I am hiding under. Thank you, precious Melody! I love your perspective and you are the MOST insightful person I have ever come across and I am so grateful for having access to such truly thought-provoking thoughts.
I know you said empathy only adds to the sufferer’s pain and I apologize that I am about to make a contradictory statement and I’m sorry if I sound confusing but I think your perspectives are as far as empathy can go. In my perspective, I don’t think empathy and/or true compassion can take it any further. Truly, they are the most empathetic, darling perspectives ever. I wonder if this perspective is adding to the suffering because truly it is the most empathetic perspective I have ever come across. Perhaps empathy in it’s sympathetic version adds to pain but when it’s in it’s ‘being truly there for someone’ version, your perspective is simply the furthest it can go.
Simply WOW!
-Rose
Why do bad things happen? I think the real question is what makes something seem bad to you? The answer to that question is your perspective. Everything is a matter of perspective. Each and every person’s entire reality is shaped by their personal perspective. Take the dying babies in Africa for example. What makes this bad? For starters, it is about death and most people fear death. Second, this is about poverty and most people fear poverty. Third, this is about babies dying. Most people who have children fear something bad happening to their children. So really, the image of dying babies in Africa is labeled as bad because it illicits fear to those with limited perspectives. I am not saying I am in favor of dying babies in Africa or anywhere else for that matter. What I am saying is our fear of these things is what makes them seem bad. If you have a very limited perspective about life, you will not be able to see yourself and others as separate from yours and there experiences and instead, you will become incredibly immersed in them and you will only see yourself and others as the characters you are in this life fighting to keep hold of everything and everyone you have in this life. And when you lose anything or anyone close to you, you suffer because you believe it all to be real. Those dying babies in Africa are only an illusion. The spirits inhabiting those bodies are infinately powerful beings just like you who are simply having an experience of being a dying baby in Africa. They are not those dying babies, they are God. The key to life is not becoming attached to it. We are collecting experiences to further our personal growth and evolution. If we can live life from this perspective, then everything becomes so much easier. It is when we believe this life is real and nothing exists beyond it that we imprison ourselves in fear, pain, and suffering. But even this is necessary for our personal growth and evolution. At some point whether in this life or the next, we will grow tired of all this fear, pain, and suffering and we will take on a higer perspective. Jesus said we enter the Kingdom of God through much trial and tribulation. How true. The real kicker is we cause ourselves all of that trial and tribulation because of our limited perspective. The bottom line is, there is no beginning or end to who we truly are. We are consciousness and as consciousness, we will continue to expand further and further with no end and each new life will bring with it and expanded awareness of our true nature and a perspective to match our current level of awareness. There will be no end to this because there is no end to God. We cannot even begin to fathom what awesomely beautiful realities lie ahead of us. Our current realities are beautiful as well it is just that most cannot see that beauty because of their limited perspective
Fantastic summary Scott 🙂
Wonderful post with your usual great clarity! I will likely end up reading this many times!
Thank you!
Hugs,
John
Good job, Mel. Truly, there is no struggle between good and evil. Truly, light exists everywhere. In fact physics has shown us in actual experiments that photons, light, can and does emerge from what has been considered total darkness, total nothingness. In fact, energy, light, is all there really is.
Absolutely fantastic post. This is so comforting and useful. My suffering, your suffering, anyone’s suffering is part of our collective experience of everything that is possible. Thank you to the brave ‘avatars’ who have volunteered for the worst experiences.
It also helps to make so much more sense of the choices we make in our own lives. I never was very good at puzzles so this metaphor really works for me. Trying to do the sky with all the blue pieces that are only slightly differently shaped – no wonder I get it wrong sometimes! And seeing it as a puzzle just takes all the drama out of it. ‘Oh well, I put the piece in the wrong place, I can fix that when I find the right piece…there – done.’ No need for hysterics. I am simply experiencing this part of the game and if I get it wrong it doesn’t matter. It is ok. Wow!
Thank you Melody, from now on I intend to see myself as Lara Croft, jumping and dodging my way through this level in order to reach the next one. And, of course, complete with perfectly shaped long legs, a tight butt and really cool energy ray guns.
Awesome post Melody – very, very awesome indeed – perspective-shifting awesome. Thank you 🙂 X
I think Bobby is a fruitcake – kind of like the god in the old testament. After all who, or what, would want to experience what it is like to be gang-raped / what it feels like to kill your entire family / or the joys of burning to death, for example! Oh, and this is the same Bob who is all about love and joy? Me thinks someone has been playing the “stick-your-head-in-the-microwave” game for too long.
@Joe.
LOL…. what’s with all the screaming Caps. (could be a troll)
Joe, your words didn’t carry as much weight as you hope they would.
anyway, we’ll be adding your perspective experience and will upload that to Bob.
🙂
@ Melody.
interesting view on the grand design (the big truth).
I feel comfortable with most of what you wrote.
Good job Melody.
overall, giving you 9.5/10
Lovely posting Melody. Thank you. <3 🙂
>Since you work with energies, let’s break this down to the biological. There are those who are shiny, pretty and desirable to mate with. They maybe bat shit crazy, who cares they are just wanted for one purpose. There are others who are pretty, shiny and yet not desirable to mate with. They maybe sane, but the spark is not there. What does this have to do with good and evil? One is not more evil than the other. It is the pheromones, the antibody agreement and other chemical factors which make one person more desirable than the other.
This is a materialistic explanation combined with aesthetics. I’d argue the spark is to be had at the spiritual level. Preference is not enough to make something evil, and isn’t my argument.
>With energies, it is the same. How much of the energies are something that doesn’t gel with you? Is it evil or is it just not the direction you need to go? They are probably not on the same level as you.
No, it isn’t the same–not in the situation to which I’m referring.
>What is your work telling you then? Is it telling you, you need to get out? Is it telling you that you need to look within yourself and recognize your fear/discomfort/angst with this situation? When you look at what you are feeling, seeing, sensing, look without the evil label. You might find you don’t like this because there is something in your past that has been brought to the fore front. Or you may find the reason you are uncomfortable because the person was casing your joint.
It usually tells me that this person went through something where they felt they needed to reach for something evil. I’m there to give them some other opportunity if they wish.
>Cross off the obvious, psychological (does this remind you of a bad situation years ago), chemical (they just don’t gel with your biology) or your amygdala (the part of your brain that warns you of danger, did you unconsciously notice the guy checking where you keep your money)
At the level of serious energy work, you are dealing with a gnostic state–it’s not about subconscious cues and so on. It just is.
We are actually looking at the same problem. What you call a darkness or evil within, I call an aberrant or irrational though pattern. Why is it there? Who knows, maybe because their mom sucked or video games really do cause damage. The fact is it is there.
“It usually tells me that this person went through something where they felt they needed to reach for something evil. I’m there to give them some other opportunity if they wish.”
The same conclusion you have drawn about a person is pretty close to the one I would draw with different terminology. This person went through a trauma. What are the effects of expressed emotion. Is there a way to help them understand neurobiological mechanisms? Would the person be able to express themselves well enough that a cathartic process of problem resolution, positive psychological growth could emerge in the absence of serious negative effects. (Basically, is this just a coping mechanism and if so what would happen if the coping mechanism was removed? Would they be fine or climb a bell tower and take pot shots at passers by)
What you see as evil. I see as an illness. No more than cancer, certainly as destructive.
Your job is to equalize the energy, right? Open it up, like a circuit removing the resisters. You feel another person’s energy. Isn’t energy just energy? I am not asking to be a smart arse.
>Your job is to equalize the energy, right? Open it up, like a circuit removing the resisters. You feel another person’s energy. Isn’t energy just energy? I am not asking to be a smart arse.
Depends. Sometimes that’s my job, sometimes it isn’t. If you place your hand on a cool surface the energy is cool. If you place your hand on a hot surface, it is hot. Energy is not just energy in the sense it has qualities. Hopefully that helps.
Since you work with energies, let’s break this down to the biological. There are those who are shiny, pretty and desirable to mate with. They maybe bat shit crazy, who cares they are just wanted for one purpose. There are others who are pretty, shiny and yet not desirable to mate with. They maybe sane, but the spark is not there. What does this have to do with good and evil? One is not more evil than the other. It is the pheromones, the antibody agreement and other chemical factors which make one person more desirable than the other.
With energies, it is the same. How much of the energies are something that doesn’t gel with you? Is it evil or is it just not the direction you need to go? They are probably not on the same level as you.
What is your work telling you then? Is it telling you, you need to get out? Is it telling you that you need to look within yourself and recognize your fear/discomfort/angst with this situation? When you look at what you are feeling, seeing, sensing, look without the evil label. You might find you don’t like this because there is something in your past that has been brought to the fore front. Or you may find the reason you are uncomfortable because the person was casing your joint.
Cross off the obvious, psychological (does this remind you of a bad situation years ago), chemical (they just don’t gel with your biology) or your amygdala (the part of your brain that warns you of danger, did you unconsciously notice the guy checking where you keep your money)
Life is suffering. That’s buddhism 101. However, there is suffering “part of life suffering” and suffering “artificial suffering”. When we see babies dying in Africa, that’s usually “artificial suffering” that needn’t be the case but is because somewhere along the way, we’ve dropped out of oneness. “THOSE” babies are dying, but not “MINE”. “Sucks to be them!”
So, I see it more as a failing of oneness and the compassion that comes along for them and ourselves.
Oh yeah, and I still maintain that evil exists and is a force. That’s just to say that when you have an adversary of light, you might as well call it evil. Think about it. I HATE YOU AND HOPE YOU DIE! Not light. YOU SUCK AND YOUR FACE IS STUPID! Also not light. YOU SUCK AND I MURDERED YOUR UNBORN CHILD! Not light, getting evil. YOU SUCK AND I MURDERED YOUR UNBORN CHILD AND RAPED IT! Well, now we are getting into so not light that its evil since it keeps violating spiritual rules at such a high level.
Joe Bill,
I’m not quite as Zen as Melody but I thought I would give this a shot.
I HATE YOU AND HOPE YOU DIE! (Your hate only hurts you, letting it go frees you because your emotion towards me has no effect.)
YOU SUCK AND YOUR FACE IS STUPID! (Com’on, at least come up with something worth talking about – try syphilis infected cum bubble)
YOU SUCK AND I MURDERED YOUR UNBORN CHILD! YOU SUCK AND I MURDERED YOUR UNBORN CHILD AND RAPED IT! (The how, verses the what is what you are trying to state is evil. Death is the what. Everyone dies. The how, you killed it and raped it, is what is so shocking.)
I have survived the death of a child, not unborn, breathing, laughing, cooing and a husband who committed suicide a year after. The what, their deaths were a surprise. The how I found bone breaking, gut wrenching, thought twistingly disturbing until I let it go. I stopped fighting myself. I got out of the could’ve, would’ve, should’ve loop of what I wanted verse what had happened. I accepted what happened, I saw it without the emotion. I let go of the anger, pain, wishful, hopeful, why me, anguish, the labeling (this is good, this is bad)… I quit being selfish. I thanked them for their time and lived.
Evil is just a label for what you did not want. Is it evil to rape, disfigure, torture and anything else you can think of? No one in their right mind would think it’s all in good fun! Look at John Walsh, his son was kidnapped and worse. Because of this, he made it his mission to help others. What happened to his son is horrific yet it was what propelled him into his life’s work. Some times the worst things in life, shake you to your very foundation. It is what could cause dramatic change within a person.
If you like the idea of evil, the Christian ideals, let’s look at Judas. Judas was evil because he turned Jesus in. Who would Jesus be without Judas? His message wouldn’t have spread far and wide if he had not died. Let’s be honest, who turned Jesus in was never important, it could have Seth the cart mechanic. The story only becomes like some juice bit of gossip when you say “Jesus was sold out”… “By Judas that evil punk”.
Let’s go one step further, Judas was probably Jesus’s best friend. You have to get your message out, to do this, you have to be turned in and die. Would you trust just anyone and hope they could get the job done?
Finishing the though… Was Judas evil, possessed of evil or was he someone who was trusted to do a very important job? It is easy to point at things, call things evil.
Tricky with Judas. Gnostic traditions see him in a more favorable light.
It’s not that I don’t want babies being raped that makes it evil–it’s that if they die and then are raped it disgraces life itself. Who wants to disgrace life and make mankind craptastic? Dark forces. Why? It makes mankind sink into despair. Why is that important? Because then more dark junk can come in and do more of it. Why is that evil? Well, because it is. Why is love good? Also because it is.
In your instance, you went through a lot of hard things. I wouldn’t call any of them evil, just unpleasant. (unless of course you had demon claws doing these things, then I’d call it evil)
In my day-to-day work, I’m exposed from time to time to people that have entities that are less than friendly at work inside them. I recently read tarot for a client that apparently had invited some sort of demonic thing inside of him. The reading wasn’t pretty, his eyes kept doing weird things, and many people quickly fled the shop when he entered in a fluster.
The reading wasn’t pleasant, and pretty much displayed someone who was what I’d call a vessel of wrath. Likewise, I’ve run into such things doing reiki.
I guess I’d say it is easy to philosophize about the lack of evil, but like so many other things, when you see it, you know what it is, and you aren’t confused about it. Being dark isn’t a guarantee that you are evil. It just might be that you are dark. However, there is a certain level of malignancy that you simply will say because no other word fits “Hey, you know what? That is evil over there.”
Sorry, I should have replied directly instead of just in the thread.
Joe, sounds like you’re new to Buddhism
from what I understand, Buddha’s statement was closer to “life is full of self inflicted suffering” (then it got over simplified over the years)
He reconised how powerful the mind and emotions can be but they are only part of you. Your mind is not you and your emotions are not you. You mind and emotion can tricked and they can be wrong.
Most suffering came from a combination of a cloudy mind and the focus on a single emotion at the expense of other emotions.
what he offered to teach his follower were how to overcome these self inflicted sufferings.
He taught them how to achive mental clarity neutral emotion.
He was teaching lifestyle
He didn’t promise divinity.
over the centuries, some messages are lost in translations. There are many branches buddhism now. His followers have turned it to a religion, somehow added karma to the teachings, added reincarnation theory and other exotic bits.
Excellent, thank you for a wonderful point of view and the truth, that makes sense…
Excellent!! The final paragraphs really inspired me:)