POLARITY

It is what defines this reality. Black, White. Right, Wrong. Love, Hate. God, Devil. Good, Bad. This plane is filled with duality. Everything can be defined in terms of this duality - or polarity, where everything is either end of a pole. Polarity is what causes us to see in terms of good and bad, right and wrong, this and that. Our initial reaction upon interpreting our experiences in this world is through a dualistic nature. However, dualism is a condition that we have allowed to formulate the very structure of our consciousness - and it holds us back. Duality traps us into the perception that there is only a good and bad outcome to every situation, that there is only a winner and a loser. This will always leave someone feeling down and another up - more duality. However, spirituality teaches us to open up to a whole new level of awareness - one that actually encompasses both aspects of duality. This level represents a new path - Compassion.

Compassion sees the positive in all situations. Whilst positive may seem to be another aspect of duality, with its polar opposite being 'negative', it is a way for us to understand that there is greatness is everything. The Dark is often seen as the 'bad', things that we don't like. Throughout our lives, we are constantly running away from what we don't like or don't like feeling - fear, hatred, anger, jealousy, envy, pain. We label it as bad and due to our dualistic nature, we deny it or suppress it. However, the Dark is just a part of us as the Light. The Dark has just as much purpose as the Light. When you stand in the sun, you cannot run away from your shadow. Your shadow defines the Light. It is the Light that we seek, yet the Light can only emerge from understanding and embracing the Dark. The Dark represents ignorance whilst the Light represents wisdom. Hate is often seen as the opposite of Love, yet it is fear that is the opposite of Love. When we do not have Love in our lives, we harbour fear and it is this fear that creates the insecurities and pains in our lives. This is the Dark and represents our ignorance - we simply do not understand why or what is happening because we are following and using the logic of fear - a very limiting philosophy that tells you to run away and hide from anything painful!

Unconditional Love, on the other hand, is the most powerful force in existence because it has the power to see the purpose, meaning and growth in everything. Let us take an example and look at a painful experience in a man's life. Let us say that Lee was abandoned by his mother very early on in childhood. Now as a result, Lee goes into the world feeling deeply hurt about his abandonment, betrayal by his mother. His pain defines his reality. He acts accordingly based on what he knows - according to him, women leave you. According to Lee, the one female who ever knew him disliked him that much she left him. This undoubtedly causes Lee pain and causes Lee to act in accordance with that pain - he will treat other women with this insecurity in mind. Duality defines his experience as bad. Pain = bad. However, spirituality teaches us to see the positive in everything to see the Light in everything - to see the Light in the Dark. So instead of allowing his experience to define his reality, Lee instead transmutes it and sees that his experience can actually allow him to be more independent. Lee now looks at the situation from the eyes of Compassion. Using unconditional love, Lee asks why would a woman feel so desperate that she felt she couldn't' deal with raising a child? Lee then turns to himself and asks - what has this situation taught me? Has it taught me independence? Has it taught me to strive for myself? Has it taught me to understand women further? Has it made me investigate how I feel about myself more than others have to? Ultimately, as Lee works on himself, he sees that his experience has actually given him an incredible amount of growth and wisdom if he is willing to take it. Lee learns from his pain and turns it into wisdom and in the end he is actually stronger (through wisdom) than the Lee that wasn't abandoned by his mother! There is growth in everything. If we see the purpose of all situations then we allow Every situation to work for us. The Dark always serves the Light. Everything serves the Light! When you turn on a Light in a Dark room, what happens to the Dark? It is transmuted into Light.

Unconditional love means to love without conditions. It is the ultimate freedom, where nothing harms us and we are totally free in who we are. This is where total freedom and total happiness resides. Unconditional Love also means to love ourselves and this is what the next section is about.

(see Embracing Your Dark Side for more refined insights into bringing Light into all areas of your life)