Thanks Fateh, to you and your direct correspondent for sharing this
wisdom and interesting discussion with us.

The wisdom referred to by your correspondent as "impartiality" [of
life/the universe] has been an important learning for me. I first
came across it as an answer to that perennial (spiritual) question we
ask when disaster strikes us (loss, illness, abuse, trauma etc)...

"Why ME??" "What have I done to deserve this!!"

The question arises I guess from our childhood training at home and
school which says "Good behaviour will be rewarded and bad behaviour
will be punished". This idea gets extended into the idea that a benevolent
creator will operate the same way - looking after us and keeping us safe is we
are "good".

In some religious groups there is also the belief that "God" will punish if we
are "bad". Many people have become disaffected from religion after experiences
where these rules/promises have apparently not been applied i.e. bad people have
apparently not been punished or - even worse! - have done very well out of
breaking the spiritual rules, while "good people" have apparently been given a
very hard time.

WHY BOTHER BEING GOOD?
------------------------
So how come bad things [illness, loss, hardship] happen to us even
when we have not been "naughty"?

In adult life we encounter that awfully shocking reality that "Bad
experiences can, and do, happen to very nice people!"

The sage's answer to "Why ME??" is of course the seemingly painful
and unhelpful "Why NOT??"...

..."What makes you so special that you can avoid the basic YinYang
creative polarity of the universe?"

This provokes the sufferer's next question...

"Well, what's the point in being good then? - I might as well be an
absolute b*st*rd/b*tch/sinner!"

This is why some religions and cults have preferred to emphasise that
other great piece of wisdom "You reap what you sow!" [aka the "Law of
Attraction"], which Fateh gave us some nice examples of.

It has been said that the mature mind is the mind that can hold 2
apparently opposite truths (i.e. "paradox") as both being true (at
different levels or in different situations) and it can be quite a
journey [into experience, wisdom and understanding] to reach this
point.

A lot of our judgements about what is true are dependent on the time
period at which we view events from...

Being "good/doing things well" can produce good outcomes in the short
term, but good outcomes often lack creativity - in the yinyang Taoist
symbolism this is the spot of darkness within the light i.e. the
downside of a comfortable life is that there is little learning,
growth and "moving on" to new experiences.

In the yinyang symbolism, the spot of light within the darkness can
represent the creativity/wisdom/growth that can come out of bad
experiences. After all, life is a journey, and "comfort zones" in
time become imprisoning "ruts".

The pagan equivalent of the yinyang wisdom is the "Death and rebirth
cycle" - a cycle which occurs over and over again in the various
areas of our life, as Fateh's correspondent intimates. "Death and
resurrection" is a Christian version and it has been suggested that
the Christian cross (and antecedent pagan crosses) symbolises
polarisation (yinyang) which even the "Son of God" could not avoid
when he came into incarnation.
We have discussed REBIRTH previously in this group:
http://www.cheal.org/msearch?query=rebirth&submit=Search
and the related topic of "EGO DEATH":
http://www.cheal.org/msearch?query=ego+death&submit=Search

In Buddhism we have equivalent "Wheel of Life" wisdom wherein
Buddhists show that the "seeds of Buddhahood" (opportunities for
moving towards enlightenment) are most numerous in the "Hell" realm
of terrible suffering, and are virtually absent from the "Heavenly"
realm of life experiences.

So Why Bother with Personal Development & Spiritual Growth/Living?
------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't believe that the transcendent "space" of "Oneness with the
Creator/Universe" contradicts the law of polarity, because it
requires a willingness to suffer (e.g. spiritual disciplines) in
order to get there i.e. a kind of "entry fee"!

There are 4 powerful reasons for wishing to go there - in my
experience...

a) the transcendent "space" of "Oneness/Connection to the Universe"
religious or sacred experience is a great place of "inner peace" from
which to observe and reflect on the polarised "game" that we
call "life". We can then return to the game with a different approach
e.g. taking things less seriously ("light-er" as in en-lighten-ment),
less personally, less attached (stuck) to certain patterns and
thereby able to flow more (more "ease", as opposed to dis-ease).

b) it is a place where we can rest and restore from the game of life

c) it is a place of creativity/guidance/healing where we can end one
polarity cycle (phase) of our life and obtain the blueprint for the
next phase/new pattern that we wish to experience next.

Increasingly detaching from the "dramas/soap operas" (polarities) of
everyday life is one way of sustaining bliss/inner peace. It is no
coincidence that bliss seekers often "retreat" into spiritual
communities. However the dramas of life hold a certain attraction for
many of us (hence the popularity of "soap operas" on TV, so many of
us choose to create a balance between spiritual and "down to earth"
material/emotional world experiences.

The fourth reason for treading the tough yet magical path of
spiritual growth?

d) a richer/fuller/bigger experience of life AND OF OUR SELF.

To quote from "The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life"...
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060928247/sunflowerheal-21

"A reverential attitude toward the life we've been given is more
important than living correctly, successfully, or healthily"

We are blessed with living in the greatest ever age of "informed
consumer choice", including the choice to experience life in 4
dimensions (space and time), 5 dimensions (space, time and inner
world) or 6 dimensions (space, time, inner world and the "6th sense"
world of cosmic oneness).


Om Shanti!
Mike
http://www.sunflower-health.com