Theos-Talk Archives (December 1997 Message tt00031)

Krishnamurti:  A state of awareness is observation "without justification,
without condemnation and without identification".  It is observation of
truth and false, as opposed to good or bad.  It doesn't mean that you have
to give up your morals, etc., but it means subordinating it to pure
observation.  The mind has several weaknesses that creates conflict.
Firstly, it divides the totality into pieces where we often see only a very
tiny part of the picture.  Secondly, it is often not in the present.
Relying on our past prejudices and conditioning makes us generalize a
situation instead of seeing it for its freshness.  Lastly, it is strong in
"I".  "I" is inevitable because fragmentizing forces us to side with a
particular piece.  It takes ego and "I" to take up a cause.

Jung:  We need to know our total self, shadow and light, in order to be
aware of evil.  We need to know ourselves at our very best, and at our very
worst.  We have to realize that both are realities, both shadow and light,
both are a part of us, and both require loving.  In this way, we will not
delude ourselves.  In this way, we will become more moral.  Working with
our shadow forces us to be responsible for our actions, to be aware of
them, to realize our duality, to rid ourselves of our perfect ideals, and,
in getting rid of them, we judge less and open our hearts more.

Hegel:  In dialectic, an idea (thesis) will cause its opposite
(antithesis), and yet they mutually interpenetrate.  The more extreme an
idea, the more extreme its antithesis.  For example, a nation of extreme
conservatism will eventually cause a nation of extreme liberalism.

Unless we're arhats or been lobotomized, we each have plenty of
opportunities to observe conflicts within ourselves and others.  In each of
those observations, condemnation for an idea will only cause a greater
defending of an opposing idea.  We become separated, our shadow from the
light.  As light forces itself, so will shadow rear its head in opposition.


Thoa :o)