[edwardmills]

Hi everyone. Is this a good sign that my first post in the forum is going to express some strong disagreement with Steve? We'll see.

While Steve's concept of polarity clearly has very powerful applications, I believe there are some significant problems with his assertion that energy flow can only be in one direction.

Steve says that the polarity of every thought is either inward, outward or neutral. A thought can't have both an inward and outward flowing energy at the same time. I'm willing to accept this assertion.

However, he immediately shifts to a discussion of the polarity of energy, bringing the same assertion - that energy can be EITHER in-flowing or outflowing but not both.

This I do not agree with. As an energy medicine practitioner, 12-year martial arts practitioner and long-time meditator my experience and observations lead me to the exact opposite conclusion. Namely that our energy is ALWAYS flowing in both directions.

In fact, I believe that increasing consciousness takes us closer to the centerpoint where the inflowing and outflowing energy is perfectly balanced.

Some of the more obvious examples that support this belief include the Flow state experienced in creative expression, the energetic state of unity experienced in sexual practices such as Tantra and Taoist sex, and the expanded awareness states attained by martial arts masters.

I have experienced brief moments of each of these states and feel that they are reflective of a simultaneous state of inflowing and outflowing energy.

I've written a more detailed response to Steve's post on my blog. I won't link to it here since I don't want this to be considered spammy. But you can find it if you're interested.

Now, I absolutely do believe that there is much to be gained from a heightened awareness of the polarity or directionality of your energy flow. Applying this awareness with consciousness can absolutely empower your intentions.

However, I also find it very difficult to agree with the assertion that each of our intentions has just one direction. I believe that we can focus the directionality of individual steps on the path of manifesting our intentions. But each intention must include both inflowing and outflowing energy in order to manifest in this physical world.

I look forward to continuing this discussion. It certianly is a topic that is full of possibilities for exploration.