We perceive life as opposites: positive – negative; black – white; up – down. Let’s look at positive and negative. The apparently healthy mind moves away from the negative towards the positive. We are engaged in a war fighting negativity with positivity. This is the reflection of our lives as we live it on the Newtonian level of cause and effect. However a deeper perception of life ends the positive/negative war in lasting peace. The perception of wholeness accepts and integrates opposites without the need of one to dominate over the other. It really is most remarkable what a simple shift in perception can mean to us in terms of health, harmony, creativity, productivity, and prosperity. I mean it, a simple shift in perception from dichotomy to unity naturally releases us from the lifelong struggle imposed upon us by our dual perception of opposites.
Positivity and negativity are not universally agreed upon. One man’s positive is another man’s negative. All you have to do is visit a foreign culture and you will find this to be true. For instance, I grew up in a culture that allowed you to wear the same shoes inside the house as you do out. There are many advantages to this and I never thought much about it until I married a woman whose culture feels that wearing your outside shoes in the house is “dirty” and as close to a mortal sin as you can achieve. And, from a cultural perspective I see her point. But it also got me to wondering why I had to remove my shoes while the dog, after tromping around in his own excrement, was allowed to pad around the house with perfect immunity. While she never really came out and said that she likes the dog more than me I think it’s quite suspicious that I am often served a bowl of kibble while the dog dines on roast beef. Ah, but I digress. Let us return to the discussion at hand…
It is your mind which decides what is negative or positive in your life. In actuality opposites like positive and negative are two sides of the same coin. Let’s say that you mint a coin with a P (positive) on one side and an N (negative) on the other. Normally we focus on either one side of the coin or the other. We might even choose sides, “I like N better than P.” Choosing what works and doesn’t work are the necessary nuts and bolts of life. But be leaving one is better than the other leaves us with the feeling that life is not complete. That is, we feel that we cannot really rest until we can eliminate the negative and allow the positive to thrive. There is little room for acceptance of what is in this formula. So let’s return to the coin and this question: If positive and negative are two sides of the same coin then what is the coin?
(For the conclusion to The Coin Reality see The Coin Reality – Part Two)
K. Sam Szeto says:
Similiar concept expressed by C.G. Jung
and also in some ancient classical books of Chinese Medicine.
Bunny Bullock says:
Without negative we would be incapable of appreciating or even
defining positive. I find a back and forth flow of negative to positive
is soothing as I weigh the relationship to love and the effect on myself and others as a way of analyzing what is truly positive ……
that which Is not ego driven!
joanne turano says:
Hi I’m just looking around on healing.came across you’re blog
Hello I haven’t read part two so..?
Peace and Blessings Be
Joanne
Eduardo Homem says:
When we read Genesis, we learn that Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Before they lived in Paradise. I guess Paradise is Pure Awareness: the complete coin.