by esotericist Mark Stavish<\/p>\n
The problem of evil is a perennial one for students of esotericism.\u00c2\u00a0 Various philosophies address the problem in different manners, but in synthesis, there seems to be several distinct areas of overlap and agreement.<\/p>\n
While alchemy does not address the idea of evil directly, it speaks of purification, sublimation, and other acts that suggest that our emotions, physical matter, and thoughts can exist in an imperfect state and somehow brought to perfection, or at the very least, a more desirable condition. All matter is imperfect compared to its spiritual archetype that it incarnates, but it is not evil, that is, in active and conscious rebellion against the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGood.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n
Gnosticism addresses evil in two ways: relative and absolute. Matter and material life are seen as undesirable, as they are prison houses of the spirit.\u00c2\u00a0 Like various schools of yoga and Buddhism, material life is to be escaped from and is de facto<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcevil.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Matter keeps us from being free, unhindered, and spiritual beings without temptations and passions.\u00c2\u00a0 This is interesting in light of the idea that the early angels united \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwith the daughters of men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and thereby created offspring of legend referred to as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcgiants\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in the Old Testament.\u00c2\u00a0 Clearly being \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcspiritual\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or without a physical body isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough when it comes to being \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpassionless,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but this seems to escape most of the discussion in this area.<\/p>\n Qabala is among the most balanced of the approaches in that it sees evil as relative, and necessary.\u00c2\u00a0 It is to be overcome without condemning the material world.<\/p>\n In fact, in Qabala and Alchemy material life is<\/em> our life.\u00c2\u00a0 It is where we are in the here and now. We can think of earth as a school, a prison, a blank slate, or as whatever we like. Even if we believe in life having an evolutionary purpose and the influence of astrological Signs and Ages to push humanity along, life has no meaning until we give it meaning.\u00c2\u00a0 All the guiding and directing in the cosmos is worthless unless we commit ourselves to a cause, something greater than ourselves, and work to express it, even if we may not live to see it.<\/p>\n The great cathedrals of Europe, temples of the ancients, and other places of majesty and wonder were built by people who would never live to see them completed.\u00c2\u00a0 While for many of them it was just a job same as any other, or forced labor as a slave or serf, many of the artisans and professional builders employed took great pride in their work and saw it for what it was \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a monument to something greater than the limits of earthly human life. Even in anonymity, their lives had, and still do, great meaning as we worship, tour, or simply admire from a distance, their labor, centuries after it was completed.<\/p>\n If you see material existence as good or evil, this is a reflection of your inner life. We hear often of the power of positive thinking, and the more cynical among us, who are often the more intelligent as well, sneer and either disregard it or simply pay lip service to the idea.<\/p>\n In truth, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Positive Thinking\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is in many ways a lie.\u00c2\u00a0 However, the reason is not in the idea, or theory, but the language used to transmit it. When we conceptualize the idea of thinking, it is often relegated to the idea of problem solving, and as such, rational and logical processes.\u00c2\u00a0 However, thinking is more than logic, or problem solving, it is our worldview.\u00c2\u00a0 Our thinking is the filter we use to process the world, how it works, our place in it, and relationship to others.<\/p>\n The greatest power in our \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcthinking process\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is not our ability to reason and use logic, but our ability to feel.\u00c2\u00a0 Our emotions are our greatest asset in this area.\u00c2\u00a0 If we \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfeel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 positively about life, then life takes on a flavor, color, or experience that logic and reason cannot transmit.\u00c2\u00a0 Emotions are the driving force, the energy of the psyche, of human consciousness.\u00c2\u00a0 When talk of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Power of Positive Thinking\u00e2\u20ac\u009d what is really being said is the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Power of Positive Feeling.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Studies have shown that \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcoptimists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 are more successful than \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcrealists.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c2\u00a0 This fundamental fact explains why so many smart people are often so under-achieving, under-paid, and under-fulfilled with their lives.<\/p>\n Modern educational systems develop the rational and logical at the expense of the emotional. Cynicism is encouraged and rewarded by the media, and academia.\u00c2\u00a0 Yet if we look closely at \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcrealists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 we see that they are essentially looking for an excuse not to act. They are afraid of failure, of making a mistake, of essentially living, and also of dying.<\/p>\n If you come to accept your mortality, then fear drips away, and problems of success, failure, even good and evil take on a more manageable perspective.\u00c2\u00a0 Accept this \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you will die, so act, and act as if it is today, for someday it will be.<\/p>\n This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that we throw away our resources, or ignore reason and logic, but instead, that after considering them, we still pick something and dedicate ourselves to its realization.<\/p>\n If you would like to be successful, and find meaning in your life, you must first decide what is the single thing you want to accomplish. What do you want to dedicate your limited, and numbered human days to promoting, building, and embodying even if you do not live to see its fruition?<\/p>\n Second, turn off your television.\u00c2\u00a0 Get rig of cable, satellite TV, [Katia inserts: Pokemon Go, Facebook, Cellphone addiction] or whatever it is that you plug into that drains your life force.<\/p>\n Third, meet and collaborate with others who are seeking to build and promote their lives, even if their projects are not esoteric or spiritual in nature, so long as they are developing, encouraging, and demonstrating the effectiveness of an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcoptimistic\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 attitude.<\/p>\n Fourth, do not discuss your plans with anyone who cannot directly assist you in their fruition. Avoid nay sayers and similar \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcrealists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 who will tell you from their position of superiority, built upon a mountain of failure and self-imposed fears and limitations, that what ever \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcit can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be done.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n Fifth, read biographies about the great men and women who have overcome all obstacles to achieve their dreams.\u00c2\u00a0 Even if the books are older, and the stories slightly romanticized, read them anyhow. It is inspiration and example that you are seeking to internalize and emulate, not a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctell-all\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 expose. A wonderful example of this kind of inspirational biographical writing is Twelve Against the Gods<\/u> by William Bolitho.<\/p>\n Sixth, and finally, give back, here and now. Generosity is a form of confidence in the future, as well as gratitude for what you have. Give of your time, knowledge, and material wealth.\u00c2\u00a0 All three must be given for this to work, because in doing so, you create a chain of events and habits, that will cascade back onto you and reward you with opportunities otherwise outside your reach.\u00c2\u00a0 In your acts of generosity of time, talent, and treasure, your true inner attitude, deepest held feelings, are revealed.\u00c2\u00a0 However, the time is now, and without concern for your \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpersonal reward\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 that might come as a result of your actions. Give, give generously, give wisely, give regularly, and give impersonally.<\/p>\n In doing this, you create a better life for yourself, and a better world for others in which evil has no place to hide or to grow.<\/p>\n This document may be cross-posted as long as the authorship and copyright attribution remains intact.<\/p>\n For more information on how to use the power of belief and emotions to create a better life for yourself and others, see [Mark Stavish’s awesome new book] :<\/p>\n The Inner Way \u00e2\u20ac\u201c The Power of Prayer and Belief in Spiritual Practice<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Problem of Evil by esotericist Mark Stavish The problem of evil is a perennial one for students of esotericism.\u00c2\u00a0 Various philosophies address the problem in different manners, but in synthesis, there seems to be several distinct areas of overlap and agreement. While alchemy does not address the idea of evil directly, it speaks of … Continue reading The Problem of Evil<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,11],"tags":[308,307,267,310,305,265,309],"class_list":["post-1222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-problem-of-evil","tag-alchemy","tag-esotericism","tag-gnosticism","tag-kabbalah","tag-mark-stavish","tag-problem-of-evil","tag-qabala"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1223,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions\/1223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}