Evil?

This is a rich topic, Pero. And, synchronistically, it is one covered in the book I mentioned to Freeform in my post in the General section about setting goals. I’ll give you my answers and then Eva Pierrakos’.

>Is it possible to differ between real evil and the one we see as evil because of our “conditioning” by the society?Is evil only defined by the society and its rules?When reading some older posts here, I remember a post from Michael Winn where he said something about his definition of evil, which he doesn`t equate with the Yin (dark) side. I think that the dark side is usually what is percieved as evil by most.So what really is evil?<

Evil is what results when we chose not to feel ourselves, our connection to each other and our connection to nature and spirit. Evil is the miscreation of closed heart-mindedness, in other words, denial.

Eva Pierrakos from "Fear No Evil":

"Evil is, or results from, numbness in the soul. Why is evil numbness? When you think of the defense mechanisms operating in the human psyche, the connection between numbness and evil becomes quite clear. Children who feel hurt, rejected and helplessly exposed to pain and deprivation often find that numbing their feelings is their only protection against suffering. This is often a useful and quite realistic protective device.
"Likewise, when children are confused because they perceive contradiction and conflict around them, equally contradictory emotions arise in their own psyche. Children cannot cope with either. Numbness is also a protection against their own contradictory responses, impulses and reactions. Under such circumstances, it might even be a salvation. But when such numbness has become second nature and is maintained long after the painful circumstances have changed and when the person is no longer a helpless child, this, in the smallest measure, is the beginning of evil.
"Numbness and insensitivity toward one's own pain in turn means numbness and insensitivity toward others."
"We might differentiate between three stages of numbness. First, numbness toward the self, as a protective mechanism. Second is the numbness toward others. In this stage, it is a passive attitude of indifference that enables one to watch others suffer without feeling discomfort oneself. Much of the world's evil is caused by this state of soul."
"The third stage is actively inflicted cruelty. This stage arises from fear of others who seem to expect such acts, or from an inability to cope with pent up rages, or from a subtle process of strengthening the protective device of numbness. At first this may appear incomprehensible. But when you think about it deeply, you will find that people may occassionally, almost consciously, find themselves on the brink of a decision: 'Either I allow my feelings to reach out in empathy with the other, or, in order to deflect this strong influx of warm feelings, I have to behave in the exact opposite way.' The next moment such reasoning is gone, the conscious decision forgotten, and what remains is a compelling force toward cruel acts.
"In all these instances, it can be seen, again and again, how all harm, all destructiveness, all evil, results from the denial of the spontaneous real self, and the substitution of secondary reactions which, in one way or another, are always connected with fear."

Whew!
Alexander

“So, if I`m getting your post right, there is A LOT of evil in the world? Not just the murders, rapes and what not?”

Yes.

It is the underlying structure of human society at this point in our evolution. It is what runs things here. That’s why 32,000 people a day starve to death when there’s plenty of food. That’s why the entire planet is polluted on every level. And, (here’s one to strech your mind…) that’s why we use money and have lack instead of sharing everything and having plenty.

This is not to blame any bad guys. It takes two to tango. It’s all a dynamic of interplaying opposites- victim/oppressor, etc. This is the outplaying of the unresolved issues within the human psyche largely comprised of the worst guilt issues imaginable and fear of ourselves. It’s been stuck at this point, brewing, for a long time. But the heat has been turned up considerably in the last two decades. And, “Nature,” as they say, “bats last.”

“(Wow, just got a dejavu of writing this post, I think I may have dreamt it once.)”

That’s a good sign! Alignment.

“Would it be right to say that even these (rapes…) are not evil by themselves, but originate from evil, or are its effects (emanations or something)?”

Yes, its manifestations. You act the way you have hypnotized yourself to act.

“And if I understand right, fear is the origin of evil?”

Yes.

“fear > denial (numbness) > evil ???”

Yes!

“Is it possible not to numb yourself when you`re a child?”

Yes. Possible, but unlikely while we are at this stage of evolution. Few do it. Some do it partially, remembering there is something else, some way to live other than as is taught here on earth by society. Remember, there are few enlightened people so there can be few enlightened parents. Most kids can’t do it on their own.

“I think that surviving without numbing would be difficult.”

Right, because the energies here have been too dense for us to stay in clear contact with the numinous, the divine. Life here now frightens us too much because we have tender young egos and so we look to stay alive in any way we can. That’s how we end up creating abberated behaviors and then get stuck with them.

However, things are changing in the planetary field. That’s why a lot of us have chosen to be born here now. We are holding the vision for the lifeforce to act on.

“How could you “remove” this numbness?”

There are many ways to work with it. Daoist alchemy is a very powerful one. I consider deep meditation absolutely essential for healing. And there are all the modern energy psychology techniques like tapping and emdr, and there’s rebirthing, etc, etc…

But everything that happens starts with intention. Intention sparks energy and then solutions come. We have to learn how to communicate properly with the lifeforce, the universe, ourselves.

One of the most important things to remember is what I heard Jeffrey Yuen (88 geneation daoist priest and wonderful teacher) encapsulate in a lecture: “When you ask ‘how’ you put yourself into a state of doubt.” So the answer is to stay focussed on the “what” and forget about the “how.” “How” is the universe’s job. We have to attune, choose and follow.

“Hmmm, I think that would be all for now lol. I will look into Eva Pierrakos, it looks like it could be very interesting.”

That’s all there is to it! You got the whole thing. Now just take it to your next step, whatever that may be. I can’t recommend Eva’s book highly enough as a means to clarifying what is otherwise an unbelievably complex and web-ridden thing going on inside of us.

Blessings, Alexander

HI Alexander

The issue of evil for me is a confusing one…at least on a global level…a lot of people do “evil” things believing what they are doing is “good” – a highly subjective judgment call.

I keep it small otherwise I get overwhelmed…I try to act with consciousness and clarity and I find I often have that reciprocated in return, even when people aren’t immediately conscious of the consciousness and clarity of their reply(!). I try to extract it out without them feeling taxed or intimidated by the process.

How this applies on the broader global scale, I couldn’t say but hopefully if people start small then the wave will build and there will be some balance brought back to the equation.

some people believe they are warriors
for the act they can commit
yet are they really?

would you still do it, even if that meant that all in the world that you hold dear would be crushed in the most delightful manner
and then if your life that you know would be slowly crushed
one strand at a time

the death of ten thousand deaths for all that you care for
the death of ten thousand deaths for you

(in the muslim warrior case, if all humans bound to allah would be most slowly lead to death, he watching, and then he would be most slowly lead to death, and if such would happen because of his act, does he still want it)
(remember: if you still live, you like it)

such is the saturn judgement

some people are attached to light
‘bright, but not smart’, as don croft written
and as such make nice food
but many just fake their will
for
compared to the above standard, how many do really have a will

The ACT of conditioning someone can be evil. It can come from such deliberate unconsciousness, meaning the refusal to see where your premises are faulty and dangerous, that evil is caused, as in a “Hitler.”

We are asking if the thinking AND the results of that thinking are evil as if the two are different things.

The question, “What do you feel about it?” may prove to answer the question better in the long run. A relaxed, open mind can intuit better than it can figure out.

At this point, I am starting to ask myself my “return-to-center” question: “When I have this answer, what will that really give me?”

-Alexander

The conventinal use of the word evil usually carries many connotations, mainly from a formalised religious and or srtuctured moral framework.
I think much of this type of definition is fundamentally based on an initial judjment.
A judjment is made, which when comming from an already polarised attitude, further polarises a duality.
Then lables are attatched to the polarites : ‘good ‘bad’ rightous evil right wrong etc.

To me, these types of definitions and judjment based attitudes, whether cause or effect, usually further entrench extremes of opposites. The opposites feed off each other within a persons’ mind, then sometimes manifest as extremes of action.
Then it’s so easy to justify any act as ‘good’ or condem something as ‘bad’. What results on a global scale is ………..watch the news tonight.

Of course then there’s a definition of evil which Alexander raised. I see this definition , not so much based on an attitude of judjment, but rather as a generic term for the disharmony or distortion on an individual and collective level.

With this definition, it’s much easier to see and understand why we act in (self) destructive ways.

I gotta agree with you Alex, that the basis for much of this evil is fear.

It may be fear of lack (aka desire), fear of the ‘unknown’, fear of loss, etc.
With this basic fear in place, then the mulitiplicity of manifestions arise which we typically reconise as evil.
This definition has no judjment, so we don’t condem the manifestations of any sort.

From this approach, it’s much aesier to resolve the distortion, because with the judgememt taken out, we can then see clearlly the cause of our behaviour.

hhmmmmmmm………….I MIGHT have spelt judjement correctly once?