THE HUMAN PARADOX

Enlightening words by Sevaji (Johannes Linstead)

The Human Paradox

The heart, in its openness to receive, unburdened by the paradoxes of the mind, awakens to a higher truth, a higher wisdom, a higher compassion and a higher love…and love is never a paradox.

Polarities and contrasts exist throughout the universe, and in fact, existence could not be without opposites. We have day and night, hot and cold, masculine and feminine, hard and soft, and so on. We call them opposites, but in reality they are complimentaries. That which is hard now was once soft and will become soft again in time. Night subtly transforms into day. Even our moods flow into one another: hate arises within us for a time but soon it subsides leaving us available to merge into the energy of love. The moment we are born, is the moment we start dying. Within life is death and with every death is a new life, an new beginning. Everything in the material universe transitions and transforms over time, and though it may seem contradictory, it creates a balance, though we may find it hard to grasp intellectually.

But as human beings we have the uniques ability to create paradoxes where none need exist. We all want to be loved, yet sometimes we give hate. This is a paradox. We all want to be happy yet we sabotage our happiness by engaging in foolish things. This is a paradox. We all want to be beautiful, yet we sometimes say the most ugly words. We all want to be forgiven, yet we will not forgive those who have offended us. These are all paradoxes generated by human ignorance, insecurity, and ego. We are capable of such radiance and grace, such divine love and compassion yet we sabotage our happiness out of delusion and self-importance. It is important that we recognize this in ourselves for these are the weeds that need to be uprooted.

We constantly move between so many emotional and physical states, like happy and sad, healthy and ill, and this is natural if the cause is beyond our control and not caused by egoic states. It is normal to miss a loved one when they pass on, and it is normal for the body to react if we eat food that is spoiled. It is the unhealthy reactions, especially those of the emotional kind, that determine if we are acting literally sanely or insanely to a situation.

Though we have polarities and opposites as humans and as part of existence, I think we can all agree that we prefer certain states. We don’t want people yelling us; we prefer they treat us with respect. We don’t want earthquakes; we want the earth to stay where it is. This ever-changing evolution is the nature of matter and of life. But it gives rise to uncertainty and uncertainty gives rise to stress and stress makes one reactive.

Have you observed someone you deeply respect and admire? What was it about them that you respected? Perhaps it was their consistency. Dysfunctional people are those who swing wildly between emotions, often going to the extreme of emotions. But the people that you respect are probably very consistent in being positive, happy, trustworthy, and kind. They do not fluctuate and erupt with a short temper and harsh words. Their words are sweet, encouraging and uplifting and you know you can always count on them. Thus, they have narrowed the gap between the paradoxes.

We are both material and immaterial, substance and spirit. As we move deeper into our spiritual path we deepen the connection to Spirit, and thus the universal consciousness, or call it Christ consciousness, Buddha consciousness, Krishna consciousness, etc. Spirit is not of matter; it is etheric and thus not subject to the laws of nature. And this is where the beauty lies! That by aligning the consciousness with the spirit we have access to the divine, to purity of universal consciousness that cannot misguide us. In this state the human paradoxes that bounds the physical existence subside and the “flor del loto divino” – the divine lotus flower of the heart – opens. The heart, in its openness to receive, unburdened by the paradoxes of the mind, awakens to a higher truth, a higher wisdom, a higher compassion and a higher love…and love is never a paradox.

Blessings,

Johannes ~ Sevaji