For Love of Evil (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

For Love of Evil

[takkaria]

Do I sense some influence from "Stranger In A Strange Land" by Heinlein, here?

[demk]

Why not just surrender and serve whatever is best in the moment to moment situation?

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by takkaria

Do I sense some influence from "Stranger In A Strange Land" by Heinlein, here?

10 points for you.

10 more points for whovever can identify the other still-incarnated and well-known fiction writer that co-inspired this article.

[takkaria]

For what it's worth, I'm at least one of the people who emailed you saying you should read that book, so I'm glad you did.

No idea who the other writer is, though.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by demk

Why not just surrender and serve whatever is best in the moment to moment situation?

Polarization is the process by which you come to understand what "best" truly means.

How do we define best? Best for whom? For you personally? For me? For your immediate family? For your comany? For your country? For all human beings? For all life? For consciousness itself?

And best from what positional perspective? From your own perspective? From mine? From that of an impartial observer? From God's?

And best from what time perspective? Best for this moment? For today? For this year? For this lifetime? For a millenium? For all human existence? For eternity?

And best from what state? From a depressed state? From a calm and rational state? From a loving state? From an angry state? From a generous state?

And best from what level of consciousness? From fear? From courage? From neutrality? From reason? From peace? From enlightenment?

And surrender to what? To your present emotional state? To your current impulse? To your parents' expectations? To your boss' demands? To higher reason? To the collective will? To your current conditioning? To your beliefs? To your religion? To God?

Try to define what best really is -- I mean really make a serious effort of it -- and you'll run smack dab into the heart of the issues that polarization deals with.

How can we possibly do what is best until we've defined what best really means?

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by demk

Why not just surrender and serve whatever is best in the moment to moment situation?

I fullheartedly agree. I also contest that it's a "faster" path than pre-selecting one direction only.

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Surrender to what? To your present emotional state? To your parents? To your boss? To higher reason? To the collective will? To your current conditioning? To God?

To your inner voice, your soul, your higher spirit which will guide you. It's not just about trusting your intellect, but rather getting comfortable with trusting your true self.

How can we possibly do what is best until we've defined what best really means?

Best, based not on some intellectual model, but best based on whatever fills you up with joy from spirit in that moment. If you trully connect to true self, it's not difficult to know what "best" is in that moment, without even having to engage your intellectual (ego) self.

[confused]

Spider Robinson?

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by impaul99

Best, based not on some intellectual model, but best based on whatever fills you up with joy from spirit in that moment. If you trully connect to true self, it's not difficult to know what "best" is in that moment, without even having to engage your intellectual (ego) self.

So if I understand you correctly, you are saying that your definition of "best" is:

• that what serves you personally (whether it serves or doesn't serve anyone else isn't significant as long as it makes YOU feel good)
• from the perspective of your current mental/emotional state (not mine or anyone else's or your own past states)
• in the present moment (other time perspectives aren't as important as right now)
• for the purpose of making you feel more joyful (as compared to other possible states)

Is that correct?

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by confused

Spider Robinson?

Nope, fraid not.

[Algernon]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

10 more points for whovever can identify the other still-incarnated and well-known fiction writer that co-inspired this article.

Piers Anthony!

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Algernon

Piers Anthony!

Ding ding!

For Love of Evil is book six of Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, which is a story of a man who basically inherits the job of Satan. A fun read for any aspiring darkworker.

[demk]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

How can we possibly do what is best until we've defined what best really means?

We can't define what is best and thats the point of surrender...

Luckily there's an infinite amount of intelligence out there to know what is best for us. We just won't "know" conceptually.

Polarization seems to massively oversimplify life into two categories - is this best for me or everybody else? In every situation we can never know which is best, or what balance of each is best. No matter how we "define" best we will never know what best is. Its like defining God. Minds can't comprehend it.

Polarization seems like an attempt for your intellect to create system of thought to govern your life. Maybe it's time to ask whether your mind has taken you as far as it can take you?

[Seth]

Demk, I really like that explanation. Maybe if Steve transcended the concept of polarization he would jump up to the level of Joy? I agree that polarization is an attempt for your intellect to create a system of thought to govern your life. But to reach Joy, your life must be "fully guided by synchronicity and intuition."

Just for writing that, I'm obviously stuck in Reason or lower.

[Froste]

Steve wrote: Darkworkers, on the other hand, would read the last two paragraphs and say, “Blech! Who cares about that lovey-dovey crap?” For a darkworker the outward expression of love feels phony and insincere. Such a person would say, “We only help other people because it helps us in some way.” A darkworker experiences love very differently than a lightworker.

I disagree, Steve.

Suppose I am embracing the path of enlightened self-interets. Is it necessary that I cannot also love sincerely, savoring the joy and fullfillment it brings to my life? If an outward expression of love feels phony and insincere, then it should be avoided, I'll agree. But if the love is heartfelt and sincere, is that not beneficial, and to be embraced?

I don't think darkworker is synonymous with callousness. Who says enlightened self-interest isn't also open-hearted and loving? I think, for me, it is. At least it feels right, and is at its core: ultimately selfish... but not in a bad way.

Froste

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

So if I understand you correctly, you are saying that your definition of "best" is:[list][*]that what serves you personally (whether it serves or doesn't serve anyone else isn't significant as long as it makes YOU feel good)

Nope, I'm not saying whatever serves me personally, I'm saying whatever serves me AND the greater good of all. You are saying to pick ONE or the other, I am saying both.

[*]from the perspective of your current mental/emotional state (not mine or anyone else's or your own past states)

Uhh, I don't quite understand this one. What do you mean from my perspective? EVERYTHING is from my perspective because I create my own subjective reality. Even when I'm thinking of others, I am only thinking of others from MY perspective.

[*]in the present moment (other time perspectives aren't as important as right now)

There IS nothing else but now. Yes there is my PRESENT moment memory of the past and my PRESENT moment guess of the future, but they are both the the NOW. Your subjective reality article states this as well. So, in the sense that there is a memory of the past in my NOW, and there are future hopes of the future in my NOW, yes I do take them into account.

[*]for the purpose of making you feel more joyful (as compared to other possible states)Is that correct?

Sorry, JOY is not the right word. INSPIRED is probably a better word. Whatever my inner spirit, my intuition makes me FEEL is the best thing, as opposed to listening to some intellectually (ego) created plan of what's best for the world.

A simple example for this would be driving down the street in the left lane and then having a deep intuitive feeling to get into the right lane and then 3 seconds later avoiding a major accident that would have left me in a wheelchair or worst. That's listening to your intuition which knows what's best, even if my intellect has absolutely NO REASON to get into the right lane.

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by demk

We can't define what is best and thats the point of surrender...

Luckily there's an infinite amount of intelligence out there to know what is best for us. We just won't "know" conceptually.

Polarization seems to massively oversimplify life into two categories - is this best for me or everybody else? In every situation we can never know which is best, or what balance of each is best. No matter how we "define" best we will never know what best is. Its like defining God. Minds can't comprehend it.

Polarization seems like an attempt for your intellect to create system of thought to govern your life. Maybe it's time to ask whether your mind has taken you as far as it can take you?

You're absolutely right. The reason I know this is because I've been working with a spiritual coach on exactly this point. Intellect only takes you so far (Level of Reason). Now comes the time to start trusting your feelings and your spirit Steve, not just your intellect.

I've been making really good progress with my coach over the last 2 months and that's basically what we've been working on - teaching me to really trust my true self, my spirit and my feelings.

On the path towards enlightenment, there comes a time where the intellect has to be left at the door. It doesn't happen overnight, but it is the process of starting to really trust "source" to guide you, even if you don't intellectually understand what's happening yet.

[mattsonn]

Steve, you've become so engrossed with this theory........but remember to tie it in with concrete reality. Always remember to do that.

[shant121]

Originally Posted by impaul99

Intellect only takes you so far (Level of Reason). Now comes the time to start trusting your feelings and your spirit Steve, not just your intellect.

Ok, when we talk of polarization, we are talking of emotions aka feelings and spirit, aren't we?

[Shindra]

Thank you Shant121, that is right on.

Originally Posted by demk

Why not just surrender and serve whatever is best in the moment to moment situation?

Originally Posted by impaul99

To your inner voice, your soul, your higher spirit which will guide you. It's not just about trusting your intellect, but rather getting comfortable with trusting your true self.



Best, based not on some intellectual model, but best based on whatever fills you up with joy from spirit in that moment. If you trully connect to true self, it's not difficult to know what "best" is in that moment, without even having to engage your intellectual (ego) self.

"surrender and serve" sounds like love-polarized. "Joy from spirit" also sounds like a description of a feeling of love.

I've discovered that the feelings of the two polarities tell me more than my intellect. For example, when I first tried imagining myself as darkworker, intellectually, I had darkworker syndrome. So I didn't understand why I felt motivated as darkworker to share my ideas, to tell others how to become good darkworkers, and why I liked seeing power in others. The intellectual understanding came later - they more power they have, the greater I make them, the more they can give to me. Think business partners.

Love-polarized works with inner feelings of gratitude, love, and a kind of humbleness. When someone leaning towards love fills themselves up with those feelings, and act and think in accordance with them and in what makes them stronger, they are being more and more givingly loving, giving to themselves too. Filling themselves up with Spirit and service.

It's true, when you are connected, you don't need to use your intellect - the mind *is* smaller. You naturally feel motivated *and* guided, beyond what your intellect now comprehends, as I gave an example of with my darkworker motivation. Both polarities have this, it just feels different.

[Shindra]

Originally Posted by impaul99

Nope, I'm not saying whatever serves me personally, I'm saying whatever serves me AND the greater good of all. You are saying to pick ONE or the other, I am saying both.

A lightworker does serve both. A darkworker does serve both. A lightworker gives love to self too, and realises their own ego's wellbeing's importance in serving the greatest good of all. A darkworker realises others' importance in achieving what is best for them. It's the primary intentions, the main motivations, behind these acts that are different.

Originally Posted by impaul99

Uhh, I don't quite understand this one. What do you mean from my perspective? EVERYTHING is from my perspective because I create my own subjective reality. Even when I'm thinking of others, I am only thinking of others from MY perspective.

"[*]from the perspective of your current mental/emotional state (not mine or anyone else's or your own past states)"

I think I know what Steve means. Try taking the word perspective out - "from your current emotional state. From your current mental state." perhaps the words 'your current mental/emotional outlook on life' would fit. Your 'perspective' can be intellectually and emotionally different form your perspective during another 'time' - your states change.