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Better Angels

“The splintered personality is not content.  The contentment or envy that it feels in one moment is replaced by anger or fear or envy in the next moment as conflicting aspects of itself struggle with each other.  Your responses to the struggle between the conflicting aspects of yourself determine the way that you will evolve, consciously or unconsciously, through the experience of negative karma or positive, through fear and doubt or through wisdom.  Your struggles themselves do not create karma or determine the way that you will evolve, only your responses to them.”

                                  Gary Zukav (Seat of the Soul)

         A few days ago, I wrote about the voices inside me that argue with one another.  Those two struggling foes represent two sides of my psyche that clash on a regular basis.  One side wants to be creative and constructive, the other wants to diminish and denigrate.  One wants to get on with the business of imaginative endeavor (evolving positively), the other wants to stop it and even reverse it.

There are two very important pieces of information that one should know about those voices, because everybody has them.  The first is to be aware (conscious) that both sides of the argument belong to you—it used to be depicted in cartoons as an angel and a devil sitting on one’s shoulders.  The second is to understand that the choice of direction is yours to make.  You can listen to the fear voice and shut down, feel ashamed and discouraged, or you can tell that voice to shut-up and get on with the business at hand.  Consciousness is first, choice of action is second. 

         Fear, with all its voices will dominate the psyche if it can, but it doesn’t have to.  It is not stronger or truer, it is simply there. When we choose to listen to the voice of fear, it is as though we pull a dark cloud over our heads and no matter how sunny the day, we can’t appreciate it.  When we refuse to listen to fear, our troubles may not go away, but our ability to cope with them will be greatly enhanced.  Moving forward in the face of adversity creates strength (positive karma). The more we push forward, the stronger and better we feel.

         Today, tell those fear voices to take a hike, and listen to your better angels.  They alone know which path is right for you. 

                                  Shalom,

                                  Jane