An Emotional Primer for Men

Chapter 4: Where the heart dwells

Where there is no resistance there is no harm.

This is the fundamental principle of healing in all portions of the human energy gestalt. It is resistance (repression, suppression, displacement, projection and so on) which creates all the myriad dis-eases which plague our lives. There is a basic distrust in the benevolent nature of life itself which spurs and fosters this resistance. By not trusting the integrity of our being, we actively plot our own destruction. Doesn't that sound dramatic?

So, why should we trust that the universe is unfolding as it should? How do we use that trust to heal ourselves? Ooooops! We might do well to take one large question at a time.

Perhaps a peek at the nature of how the "stuff" of creation interacts with itself will clear up a question or two. Though primordial "creative force" is as infinitely beyond energy in its subtlety as energy is beyond matter, its interactions with itself follow the same universal principles. Reflections of these principles (Laws?) are seen everywhere. I guess that is why they are called Universal. (Well DUH!) One such law states that LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE. This puts the principle of resonance into personal terms. Whether a simple energy construct like a photon or a wildly complex spiritual being made manifest, only energies which resonate (vibrate at similar frequency and amplitude) can be perceived and interacted with. Otherwise, dissimilar energies are repelled at the fringes of the field (or standing wave) that make up the structure of each form.

The tuning fork demonstration is a most effective illustration of this principle in action. When dissimilar frequencies are struck simultaneously, both stand alone and distinct. There is no interaction (except within a perceiver who can resonate to both tones). The tones are perceived as distinct and separate even then. When a harmonious pair of sounds is struck, there is a blending taking place both in the perceived sound and in the waves of the sounds themselves. The sound blends into an integrated whole. In fact, one tone can activate the second (of the proper resonance) without the second needing to be struck.

Obviously, in so complex a being as human, the waters get a bit muddy at times. It is rarely so straightforward in the application of this principle. Given enough experiences of synchronicity, we can eventually come to a recognition of this principle in action. The overall implication is that nothing enters our perception to which we do not resonate. There must be an answering chord struck inside us for the event to be perceived. It is virtually not possible otherwise. We create our energy structure, with which we identify, moment by moment through the projection of our beliefs onto the energetic matrix of creation. This structure is then reflected back to us by all of the experience, inner and outer, to which it resonates. Of course, our beliefs are very complex, convoluted and conflicting. Nonetheless, our life experience is the direct result of this energetic format we have cast onto the fabric of life.

What this means, simply, is that we cannot experience life objectively. All experience is subjective. Even our experience of spiritual reality is intensely personal and nothing can get through without already being already a part of our Selves. The converse implies that as the universe we perceive is our Selves, that as nothing we experience (even death) is outside our own beings, we can come to no harm in life. Perceiving our Selves from the perspective of the universe changes everything.

OK! Take a deep breath. Hope you got all that because I can't go through that again just now. However it gets stated, we own our experience in total. It is us completely, though we are not limited to it. Our experience of other people for instance shows us only ourselves reflected. Each moment perceived is completely colored by our interpretation of that event. People who do not resonate with us do not show up in our experience. Those who do show up cannot hurt us because in a very real way, they are us. We will only perceive who we are. If we expand our identities to include others, then we may see them more accurately. That supposes a greater degree of maturity as souls than most us muster on a regular basis, but it is possible. On a deeply spiritual level, we are very connected, but do we live on that level? So what, you might ask, about Opposites Attract? I was hoping you'd ask that! This is a good example of projecting our illusions into principles. Kind of like casting God into the Big Guy in the Sky. When we encounter someone or something we do not WANT to identify with, we proclaim its separateness from us. We brand it NOT ME. We refuse to embrace The Other and do not accept it as an aspect of ourselves. Its simple presence in our lives proves that not so but we persist in our delusion. When these encounters become annoyingly repetitive, we proclaim that Opposites Attract. After all, we really do want to keep them separate from ourselves. There must be a NOT ME. And it persists in following me everywhere. Eeeeeck!

The energy we expend keeping such experiences at arm's length is phenomenal. The harder we push them away from us, the more dearly they seem to cling. We can run, but we cannot hide from ourselves. It is little wonder that we are so ill in body, mind and spirit as a species.

If we have practiced any of the first three healing acts already discussed - allowing our experiences to take place without judgment, being honest in exploring them, and forgiving ourselves and others for participating in them - we will have begun to see glimmers of how large we really are as beings. Eventually we can encompass an infinity. Here in this fourth principle we have a point of balance between active creation processes and the passive acceptance of perfection in action. At this point of balance, acceptance becomes surrender. Honest self reflection also becomes a more subtle octave, discernment. Both yin and the yang activities achieve a greater depth and refinement as we near balance. The masculine attribute of discernment provides the opportunity to connect (feminine) our emotional experience with its root causes. This brings us deeper into the psyche to explore our earliest traumas and our inner spiritual awareness. The steps to follow will carry us into manifesting this growing awareness. New layers of meaning and consciousness will emerge as we progress through these steps. We will return to this point of balance many times. The practice will help us to learn to maintain it as we go through life.

Practicing non-resistance puts us into the flow of the energies to which we resonate. It is the ultimate choice of free will. Do we go along willingly with the evolution of the soul or do we go kicking and screaming? There is no other real choice to be made from moment to moment. The soul evolves; that is its nature. This practice of acceptance is the identification of ourselves with our souls. From this vantage point, we literally know we can do no wrong. No matter what happens, everything turns out right because the higher being is in ultimate charge anyway. This is a straight out fact of life in the universe. Frankly, though, how many of us actually live it?

One of the things we quickly perceive in this heart-open mode is that the universe ceases to be personal. Unconditional love is thoroughly non-attached. It is this lack of attachment to our personal selves which catapults us into awareness. Expanding into a boundless creation, we no longer need to protect parts of ourselves from other parts of ourselves. Expanding our identity toward infinity makes all aspects of self more acceptable.

To summarize, all that we CAN perceive "out there" is who we are. It comes in the form that our beliefs dictate. Embracing this experience of life into our identities makes us larger beings (in our own minds and in fact). We come to hold less and less back and become more and more free. We have long shackled ourselves by believing the universe is such and so. We have limited it and ourselves to what we can conceive it to be. If we give ourselves room to expand into the universe, by accepting its perfection and complete goodness (laying aside our habitual interpretations of good and evil) and by offering no resistance to the flow of energy through us (Thy Will Be Done) we can become who we really are; All That Is.

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