Am I saying then, that we must invite into our lives pain, sorrow, and suffering...all the negatives? No! But we must acknowledge that just as a shield has two sides (as do coins, bed-sheets, and pages) so too does the Universe have two sides. Ultimately there is really no way to say one side is better than the other, since both sides emanate from the Ultimate Reality.
Even in the language of the Christian religion, "evil" is necessary to show God's love. For example, the Father's Son is tortured and crucified on a Cross for our "sins." If there were no "sins" there would be no need for an atonement and a crucifixion.
Consider this: the Christ's message was to preach love. If Satan is Christ's enemy then it is only through a profound love of that foe that enmity is reconciled. To love someone means to accept them in their entirety.
In the Jewish religion there is no devil per se, rather Satan is the
"adversary." He is there to test the Chosen People. He enjoys audiences with Yahweh. Satan gets to frequently converse with and challenge the Almighty. Thus, through the effects of the Dark Side (in this case Satan) the individual is proven a faithful believer.
In Islam and especially Sufism, the devil "Iblis" enjoys some special attention and honor. Mohammed, May Peace Be Upon Him, said: "The throne of Iblis is upon the ocean and he sends detachments in order to put people to trial..."
It is in the very nature of physical plane existence that the Ultimate Reality must manifest in a simultaneously positive and
34
negative polarity.
First, we admit to ourselves that the dark side, the "shadow" side of life, is a reality and then, we embrace the Dark and integrate it within ourselves. The Dark is only dangerous when it is ignored and repressed! It is through the encounter with the opposite that real achievement can arise.
So, our goal is not to remove "evil," but to equilibrate unbalanced thoughts. Thoughts that remain lopsided, in other words, not confronted with their opposites, are distorted thoughts. Distorted thoughts give a false view of reality and thereby confuse any magickal working we may attempt. When we equilibrate unbalanced thoughts we achieve an integration within ourselves and we create a coherent self!
I would submit that what we term "evil" is not a lower vibration but a state of turmoil produced from damned-up energy fields inside us. When we block the free flow of sexual energy through repression, guilt and fear, the sex energy must find some outlet.
Neurosis is the result of damned-up sexual energy.
The consequence is that the sex energy expresses itself inappropriately and in twisted ways. Or else if it is so damned up that it cannot get out in any way, sex energy will begin to fester and cause all sorts of diseases and mental illnesses. Sexual energy deprived of its normal target is forced to seek fulfillment elsewhere.
It is the Magickian's task to transform his or her mind. You can transform your mind in many ways. When the teacher utters: "Wake Up!" the teacher is attempting to rouse up your Self from its lethargy.
One time-tested way of doing this is to transform your being by lightening bolt of power, transcending all contradictions. Your total power becomes greater than the sum of your parts. This is the Great Alchemical Marriage that is spoken of in the ancient texts: the annihilation of two ingredients at the birth of a third.
36
BALANCE
Everything must be balanced in this Universe. You can't go very long in one direction before the pendulum starts to swing back in the opposite direction. This isn't just a spiritual principle, it manifests every day on the physical, emotional and mental planes of existence.
A plane flying east from New York, provided it has enough fuel, will eventually end up back in New York. At a certain point on the globe it ceases going away from New York and starts heading back towards New York. That's the nature of living on a globe. It could not be otherwise. The Globe, Our Mother Earth, completely balances the forces of East-West, and North-South.
We would be wise to look to nature to learn the deepest secrets of esoteric wisdom. Night and Day, Summer and Winter, Life and Death, Male and Female, all opposites manifest and are balanced in the world.
No doubt, many of you have seen the Yin-Yang symbol ( ). This symbol perfectly expresses the divine interplay of forces of negative and positive polarity.
When meditating upon this symbol one first sees that it is a circle. All is contained within that circle. The circle represents the Ultimate Reality.
Think of a wheel. The center of the wheel is always at rest. The center balances all opposites. In fact, all the opposites in equilibrium make possible the idea of the wheel.
As you gaze at the Yin/Yang symbol, you perceive interweaved light and dark areas. These areas express the coupled nature of the
universe—the day and the night, the light and the dark, the summer and the winter—each aspect of the cosmos coupled with its opposite.