08-05-2011, 12:00 AM
Good and bad are concepts and exist only in the minds. The lines are arbitrary...bending to suit the holder and the current context. And what is positive to one is negative to another.
And the hold such mental creations have over us is powerful, perhaps even all-powerful, and not at all easy to break free from...you might think that you have broken free of some pardigmal concept in performing some act of magic only to find yourself trapped by yet another paradigmal concept of black or white magic...and you just about work yourself free of that one and then you fall smack dab into the concept of good and bad. There is no escape...or, there is escape only for the precious few who are willing to put their unbending effort to the relentless task. These precious few, for reference, would not be any of those who worry about titles for what is a title but yet one more concept. The trap is deep for the whole human world...indeed, the whole human experience broad as that may be, is based entirely on these mental creations...and experience happens in the heads rather than in the world...and so deluded are we that this is what each calls "life." Yet, until one is free of the hold of conceptual thinking...free from life inside one's mental creations...one has only ever tasted their mind.
Kaomea wrote:
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Interesting theme I've been noticing lately, the concept of black vs white, good vs evil, positive vs negative. Is it really this simple? Can we divide and split sides so equally? Is there really no spectrum in our colorful world?
From the shoplifter who steals so that their child can have an apple for dinner, for the soon to be father who gets a speeding ticket while driving his in-labor wife to the hospital, or for the 18 year old soldier who must either kill or be killed. Where is that fine line that determines who is good and who is bad? Some may say this is karma or their own doing ... which sometimes it is or sometimes isn't. Somethings are lent to chance, what about killing a pedestrian in the crosswalk while we were rushing on our way to work? We shouldn't have been rushing? I don't know if the line in the sand is as clear as the one drawn on the blackboard.
I admit, it would be nice to live in a world where everything were that simple. Where rules offer the final say and it's us vs them. Reminds me of the good ol days where I was chasing down the ice cream truck. Ok, I didn't REALLY chase him down. He was parked so I walked.
Now here is where it gets tricky. Where do those imperfect people fall on the black and white grid? Into the void or limbo? I've done some pretty petty things and I'm sure others have done worse... but they've turned their lives around and are at the exact opposite end of where they were. Reminds me of becoming a better person. If we were all born perfect, there would be no lessons to be learned. So the question is, where is the line?
Black magick is just at the end of the spectrum. Yes, I've decided it's a spectrum. You're either with or against me, like it or not. Haha, just kidding, that would be dualistic wouldn't it. I'm not saying I agree with it or not, everyone has their reasons for practicing whatever it is they practice. For those that do, maybe that's the most efficient way they've learned to work with power. That doesn't make them 'bad' ... possibly ill-guided or not very creative ... but if shown alternative ways, I'm sure there'd be at least a small percentage who would be willing to take a walk on the white side for a brief while. Visa versa. Noone is perfect... well ok, noone LIVING
On a side note, if I had a family history of cancer (which I do in fact), I wouldn't consider it negative thinking if my doctor informs me I have a higher chance of being afflicted with it. I mean, I'm all for the teammate who screams at me, "Kao! Heads up! You're about to get crushed!" I agree though, negative thoughts aren't worth entertaining. In the end, to me it seems like it would be useful to know how to differentiate between black, white, roygbiv, and to possibly erase the line. Lines are meant to be crossed.
And the hold such mental creations have over us is powerful, perhaps even all-powerful, and not at all easy to break free from...you might think that you have broken free of some pardigmal concept in performing some act of magic only to find yourself trapped by yet another paradigmal concept of black or white magic...and you just about work yourself free of that one and then you fall smack dab into the concept of good and bad. There is no escape...or, there is escape only for the precious few who are willing to put their unbending effort to the relentless task. These precious few, for reference, would not be any of those who worry about titles for what is a title but yet one more concept. The trap is deep for the whole human world...indeed, the whole human experience broad as that may be, is based entirely on these mental creations...and experience happens in the heads rather than in the world...and so deluded are we that this is what each calls "life." Yet, until one is free of the hold of conceptual thinking...free from life inside one's mental creations...one has only ever tasted their mind.
Kaomea wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting theme I've been noticing lately, the concept of black vs white, good vs evil, positive vs negative. Is it really this simple? Can we divide and split sides so equally? Is there really no spectrum in our colorful world?
From the shoplifter who steals so that their child can have an apple for dinner, for the soon to be father who gets a speeding ticket while driving his in-labor wife to the hospital, or for the 18 year old soldier who must either kill or be killed. Where is that fine line that determines who is good and who is bad? Some may say this is karma or their own doing ... which sometimes it is or sometimes isn't. Somethings are lent to chance, what about killing a pedestrian in the crosswalk while we were rushing on our way to work? We shouldn't have been rushing? I don't know if the line in the sand is as clear as the one drawn on the blackboard.
I admit, it would be nice to live in a world where everything were that simple. Where rules offer the final say and it's us vs them. Reminds me of the good ol days where I was chasing down the ice cream truck. Ok, I didn't REALLY chase him down. He was parked so I walked.
Now here is where it gets tricky. Where do those imperfect people fall on the black and white grid? Into the void or limbo? I've done some pretty petty things and I'm sure others have done worse... but they've turned their lives around and are at the exact opposite end of where they were. Reminds me of becoming a better person. If we were all born perfect, there would be no lessons to be learned. So the question is, where is the line?
Black magick is just at the end of the spectrum. Yes, I've decided it's a spectrum. You're either with or against me, like it or not. Haha, just kidding, that would be dualistic wouldn't it. I'm not saying I agree with it or not, everyone has their reasons for practicing whatever it is they practice. For those that do, maybe that's the most efficient way they've learned to work with power. That doesn't make them 'bad' ... possibly ill-guided or not very creative ... but if shown alternative ways, I'm sure there'd be at least a small percentage who would be willing to take a walk on the white side for a brief while. Visa versa. Noone is perfect... well ok, noone LIVING
On a side note, if I had a family history of cancer (which I do in fact), I wouldn't consider it negative thinking if my doctor informs me I have a higher chance of being afflicted with it. I mean, I'm all for the teammate who screams at me, "Kao! Heads up! You're about to get crushed!" I agree though, negative thoughts aren't worth entertaining. In the end, to me it seems like it would be useful to know how to differentiate between black, white, roygbiv, and to possibly erase the line. Lines are meant to be crossed.