#85 April ’16

Polarisation…
I would like to expand on a couple of my recent posts to the ‘Life Skills For Now’ page on Facebook.

The Polarised state, the world in which most people live may well be ‘responsible’ for the wide range of viewpoints currently held in the world. Polarisation of consciousness arises out of judgment, which arises out of a fundamental misunderstanding we have about our ‘place’ in the world.

A greatly polarised collective allows for an incredibly broad range of experiences, from the sublime to the darkest of the dark. Without a strong degree of polarisation worldly experiences would cease to exist to the degree we currently experience them. No matter which ‘point of view’ you hold, there will be an equal and opposite point of view. The more energy you give your point of view the more energy of ‘opposition’ you will have to deal with along the way.

It is difficult to know if strongly polarised thought gives rise to a lack of humanity or the absence of humanity creates polarisation in consciousness. Either way, the lack of humanity that appears to exist in this world continues to increase because many can only find good in those that agree with their heavily polarised perceptions. This apparent lack of humanity, i.e. affections for a few people who are nearest to us is, in Albert Einsteins words, a prison we have created for ourselves based upon the fundamental misapprehension that we are separated from all other sentient beings.

Another ‘issue’ with a heavily polarised state is the need to make decisions, choices. When we choose from a polarised state there is always a price to pay. If we are not clear when we choose then the choice itself is not clear. This leads to consequences that we have to deal with forcing us to make more choices. As we consciously reduce our own polarised judgemental state the need to choose less arises, instead of believing we are choosing, the path begins to appear to choose us. I suspect that the busy, monkey, mind is also a product of polarised thought and points of view.

This could well be the result of past conditioning, conscious, but more likely, not. As we appear to be torn between good and bad, right and wrong, there will always be decisions that need to be made. Choices about this or that, here or there, good or bad..on it goes. The mind is kept busy trying to manage the polarised state, this busy mind prevents access to a higher, more balanced awareness, that of the heart. Hard to feel what is happening in the moment if the ‘mind’ is caught
up in the past always projecting an imagined future.

Failure to notice the ‘now’ not only robs us of the perfection of the moment but it prevents us from dealing effectively with whatever presents in the moment. Lots of emotions and physical feelings that arise out of our passage through time and space get stored in the body if we do not process them effectively as they show up. These emotions and physical feelings are destined to become ‘real’ problems later in life, which then create a state that requires we ‘do’ something
about them.

Processing the feelings and emotions effectively is one of the many benefits of practicing ‘clearing’ on a daily basis.

While we have any attachment to a judgement we are in a polarised state. Whilst we identify with thought, feelings and emotions we are lost in the goldfish bowl of an acted, albeit, illusory state.

Imagine, if you were to be free of judgement, how different your world would be. Most people assume that judgement is a necessary part of the human condition but this misunderstanding only arises from within the belief that the illusion that you are responsible for creating is real. It is only real to the degree that you, and many others, give it energy. You give it energy by your polarised beliefs. People operate from the fear that if they do not take sides then the ‘opposition’ will win, thus maintaining the very thing that they feel is ‘wrong.’ Yet, as your personal judgements begin to lose energy your manifesting reality changes. You are no longer confronted by such a broad range of experiences because they are no longer a part of your world. If the product of a heavily polarised society is not energised then the polarisation, to some degree, collapses. Balance is maintained but the extremes no longer arise. This, I believe, is the middle way the Buddha referred to.
Notice where and when you judge. Breathe and smile, don’t judge yourself for judging, simply acknowledge your judgement and put your attention elsewhere.

Develop your practice of non judgment by deliberately bring to mind people or situations that you have judged in the past, notice any feelings, physical or emotional, associated with the judgement and do your best to release those feelings by nor giving them anymore energy. This may take time, but that is only measured by the degree you stubbornly resist being in the moment. You may need to deliberately put your attention elsewhere in the early stages of practice. Yet, the more you practice the more you will experience the benefits of the practice…
Easy as……

 
The moment you become aware is the moment of choice.
— Eric Dowsett