It's hard to to good and easy to do bad

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by ThatMan

@inavalan I gave you an answer based on your answer, my question was related to the fact that in a certain situation, we, humans, tend more to chose the easier solution, which in most cases is the bad one.I am sorry if I got your words wrong, feel free to write your own view too.

@imthat, @JustBe you both are right, I noticed that from my own experience, it's something instinctive ( subconscious impulses ), I am at a state where slowly I am becoming aware of my own actions, this in turn is helping me control myself.Yes, we are learning, some people need more time and other people less time.

When your aware you can practice mindfulness. If your a beginner it can be hit and miss till it truly sinks in. At the core their is goodness and non reaction but clearing away the surface overlay, takes practice and release in ways your body is no longer contained by those triggers.

The other thing is it takes more energy initially to be mindful, because your learning new ways of being and that requires more conscious actions, words and movements. Reactive actions are often quick and fast and feed the old energy. The new way is laying a new foundation and thatbtakes effort.

[ThatMan]

Originally Posted by sky123

Maybe for you

It's very difficult to forgive the people you love when they hurt your feelings, I noticed that it's instinctive to send back the same negative energy, of course, you may forgive for few times ( as I did ), but then, it gets harder, it took me years to notice this and I am slowly taking control of it.The thing is that not forgiveness is what is needed but understanding, when you understand that some people lack education, some people have been abused, some people are just more inclined to bad because of one or more things, or some people have mental problems, it's easier to be peaceful and not start a war

You may be thinking that I was talking about some really bad things.... and to be honest, this was more a general question, something that I noticed and I notice daily.

[ThatMan]

Originally Posted by JustBe

When your aware you can practice mindfulness. If your a beginner it can be hit and miss till it truly sinks in. At the core their is goodness and non reaction but clearing away the surface overlay, takes practice and release in ways your body is no longer contained by those triggers.

The other thing is it takes more energy initially to be mindful, because your learning new ways of being and that requires more conscious actions, words and movements. Reactive actions are often quick and fast and feed the old energy. The new way is laying a new foundation and thatbtakes effort.

Interesting!! Once I found myself between two people, the first one was mocking the second person, I felt like boiling and I felt that I have to say something too.Then, something happened, I became aware of my inner state and I started to laugh in my mind like "hey, I knew this was going to happen, I knew that I am going to face again a tornado, but this time, I am aware of everything I feel and I can control my reaction"; and the thing is that I said nothing because there was no need.

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by ThatMan

Interesting!! Once I found myself between two people, the first one was mocking the second person, I felt like boiling and I felt that I have to say something too.Then, something happened, I became aware of my inner state and I started to laugh in my mind like "hey, I knew this was going to happen, I knew that I am going to face again a tornado, but this time, I am aware of everything I feel and I can control my reaction"; and the thing is that I said nothing because there was no need.

If laughing shifts the old boiling mad you then that is good. Sometimes we don’t need to say anything. Often times others behaving badly are good reflections for our own mindfulness and discernment.

Sometimes one might need to speak, but getting the reaction out if the way, can be more productive to any scenario requiring intervention.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by inavalan

Your "good" is another's "bad", in various degrees.

Also, people wonder too much about others' doing, and too little about their own.

I totally agree with this.

What is "good" and "evil" is usually just left to a conditioned set of beliefs, either personal or interpersonal.

Each of us has the ability to live up to our own potential, in whatever form that takes....whatever is needed for us to learn and grow as individuals, but also as part of a social subset which some refer to as a "soul family" following the old adage 'birds of a feather will flock together'.

The problems arise when a flock of eagles try and compare themselves to a flock of turkeys just because they have learned how to fly.

Maybe you are a turkey who wants to be an eagle so you don't end up as part of somebody's "Thanksgiving Dinner"..until you realise that if you can make total peace with being a turkey, you are better than the eagle who thanks God they are NOT a turkey....but they are all just birds, nonetheless.

Some people are just "evil" and "bad" *cough* but the problems arise when they expect "good" things to come from it, instead of just accepting themselves and their fate..for you see, the whole of human struggles and suffering comes from those who seek to change the status quo and the results of their actions (either "good" or "bad") through sheer egoic will alone and then get mad and disappointed when things just don't go their way...when they don't turn out as expected, planned or even wanted.

So, the choice needs to be made, to either change the behavior to receive the desired outcome, or not to change the behavior and be totally satisfied with the outcome anyway according to another adage "you only get as good as you give" and even William Blake said it; "If the fool would only persist in his folly, he would become wise".

For you see my dear friend, both paths, that of "Light" or "Darkness"...of "Good" or "Evil" will eventually lead to salvation, Enlightenment or Nirvana...the only thing required is total consistent effort without any desire for reward or retribution.

Then whatever fallout ensues is left up to the judgment of others who like to "play God" in this department...but even the "Darkest" among us eventually realise that we are born alone...we die alone...and we attain to Spiritual liberation alone ..we are not responsible or accountable for the thoughts, feelings and opinions of others because they also create their own universe just as we, as individuals, also create ours.

Thank you.

[7luminaries]

Inavalan and Shivani, nicely said.
Shivani...I really like the larger group or soul fam description.
Also, I really liked the discussion of personal integrity and acceptance...knowing the self and accepting where we are right now. Of ownership.
Accepting that if we want ("good" and thus presumably more right-aligned) outcomes, we will need to be the change, accordingly.

I would also add, as many have alluded to here, that our residual core iniquities are individual -- even whilst shared by many others. That is, the OP may be violent or have sadistic tendencies he must actively and consciously kerb.
Whilst you or I may tend toward other things, low mood or despair which we must actively and consciously fortify. And so on. This requires taking focused, strategic conscious choices in our lives to address our personal iniquities as we walk our paths.

So when the OP says why is it so easy for humanity to choose evil over good?, we are right to say to him...
-What is it that you are struggling with?
-Where is it you personally find it hard to choose good over misalignment?
-Where is it you personally are hurting or limiting yourself or others?

To the OP...once you have identified those areas, even broadly, consciously kerb them...accept them and bring them to the table of your being, but always remember to starve those rapacious dark wolves (of lust, addiction, greed, or misaligned, uncentred desire) and not to feed or indulge them. This is done out of love of yourself, to keep yourself in balance. In turn, these acts of discipline and temperance are also loving to others and to the Universe as a whole.

Instead, feed the good wolves, those things which nurture and sustain you. Those things that strengthen the aspects of goodness, kindness, compassion, justice, and empathy within you.

Peace & blessings
7L

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by 7luminaries

Inavalan and Shivani, nicely said.
Shivani...I really like the larger group or soul fam description.
Also, I really liked the discussion of personal integrity and acceptance...knowing the self and accepting where we are right now. Of ownership.
Accepting that if we want ("good" and thus presumably more right-aligned) outcomes, we will need to be the change, accordingly.

I would also add, as many have alluded to here, that our residual core iniquities are individual -- even whilst shared by many others. That is, the OP may be violent or have sadistic tendencies he must actively and consciously kerb.
Whilst you or I may tend toward other things, low mood or despair which we must actively and consciously fortify. And so on. This requires taking focused, strategic conscious choices in our lives to address our personal iniquities as we walk our paths.

So when the OP says why is it so easy for humanity to choose evil over good?, we are right to say to him...
-What is it that you are struggling with?
-Where is it you personally find it hard to choose good over misalignment?
-Where is it you personally are hurting or limiting yourself or others?

To the OP...once you have identified those areas, even broadly, consciously kerb them...accept them and bring them to the table of your being, but always remember to starve those rapacious dark wolves (of lust, addiction, greed, or misaligned, uncentred desire) and not to feed or indulge them. This is done out of love of yourself, to keep yourself in balance. In turn, these acts of discipline and temperance are also loving to others and to the Universe as a whole.

Instead, feed the good wolves, those things which nurture and sustain you. Those things that strengthen the aspects of goodness, kindness, compassion, justice, and empathy within you.

Peace & blessings
7L

Thank you.

It is also worthwhile to note here, that if one makes the conscious decision to choose and accept the Left-Hand Path, they should not be seeking approval or acceptance from those who follow the Right-Hand Path and if they want to be a "wolf", they should learn how to hunt.

It all boils down to the fact, do we want to be given the fish or the fishing line?

It is much harder to walk the path of the occult, of the esoteric than it is to simply choose "good" over "evil" because wolves are solitary creatures by nature and the problems arise whenever a wolf likes to think of itself as a "lap dog" so, honesty and personal integrity is a MUST - whatever the universe is going to throw at you, because, in the end, this is all one has.

What is harder than choosing good over evil or vice versa is expecting another to ever understand your personal reasons for doing so, until you also learn (after many lifetimes in some cases) it isn't called "personal" without good reason.

Originally Posted by ThatMan

So... saying "I am sorry" can be a "bad" thing? People love to gossip, and some people, like me, try to make sense of this reality we call life.

Saying sorry is about the most vacuous gesture of which someone can be guilty other than "I forgive you" - in the absence of action/acts that show genuine penitence or making good the deficit suffered by the person affected.

Someone has to show me they mean sorry by their actions if they want their apology accepted.

.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by Lorelyen

Saying sorry is about the most vacuous gesture of which someone can be guilty other than "I forgive you" - in the absence of action/acts that show genuine penitence or making good the deficit suffered by the person affected.

Someone has to show me they mean sorry by their actions if they want their apology accepted.

.

I learned a term a few years ago now..that term is called "fauxpology".

I learned that some people cannot accept an apology, even when it is said with the utmost of sincerity and humility because it is a personal admission of "wrongdoing" which humans, as a whole, are not very comfortable with anyway.

In the wider sense, admitting fault publicly can also leave the door wide open for legal recourse as the modern variant of the whole "I demand satisfaction" thing. Humans love to feel "hard done by" so they can obtain whatever they feel personally entitled to as the result of another's perceived negligence...hence why many people do not apologise anymore.

Thus, I have learned that if I am at fault and I can be honest and accepting of my own shortcomings by saying "I am sorry" that is enough and if another cannot accept it, that becomes THEIR problem and not mine.

The onus of apology is not through action, it is through a lesson learned...for you see "I am sorry" must also come with "I will be more mindful not to repeat that action in future" for if the action is continually repeated, what is it they are really "sorry" for? because "sorry I did that" is "good" but "sorry if my actions made you feel that way" is "bad" and THAT is the difference!

[7luminaries]

Originally Posted by Shivani Devi

Thank you.

It is also worthwhile to note here, that if one makes the conscious decision to choose and accept the Left-Hand Path, they should not be seeking approval or acceptance from those who follow the Right-Hand Path and if they want to be a "wolf", they should learn how to hunt.

It all boils down to the fact, do we want to be given the fish or the fishing line?

It is much harder to walk the path of the occult, of the esoteric than it is to simply choose "good" over "evil" because wolves are solitary creatures by nature and the problems arise whenever a wolf likes to think of itself as a "lap dog" so, honesty and personal integrity is a MUST - whatever the universe is going to throw at you, because, in the end, this is all one has.

What is harder than choosing good over evil or vice versa is expecting another to ever understand your personal reasons for doing so, until you also learn (after many lifetimes in some cases) it isn't called "personal" without good reason.

Hey there Shivani :)
Well you are spot on again.
I will rarely by my own choice be the hunted or the fish on the line. I will be the captain of my own ship. And that means I have to take ownership.

That leaves me at the centre, and requires me (given awareness and a conscience) to define my ethics and morality as clearly as possible. And to reflect regularly on whether anything is off-centre.

Is there a time or place I would kill? Yes, in self-defense and surely in defense of others. But I draw the line at engaging in violence for sport or to indulge bloodlust or sadism -- which is a rather universal iniquity. Or, as many do, to indulge in violence for oppression, power or control of others, which I am not as susceptible to.

So what do I do with all my energies? I set them toward gaining insight, toward healing and reflection, and toward conscious action and intent. And this takes some practice of doing and being over time, for certain.

I think you've raised an important point. We are never apart from the left or the right. Both are required, and we need to struggle with and engage with both. The left handed path is in many traditions the path of awe, discipline and strength, and of equanimity. And that is needed every bit as much as the right-handed path of lovingkindness and compassion.

Peace & blessings
7L