Good bad and the truth

 

 

Much of mysticism comes to share the following really simple, but all-encompassing idea

 

We can exist in three different paradigms

 

The first is the state of love

 

This is like a child who is loved and protected, so naturally feels protected and loved, hence life is good! when we feel life is good, the corollary attitude is openness –

 

In contrast is anyone who feels insecure – as Freud says how many people will feel insecure based on the outside environment, say in the olden days when wars were frequent – or even based on fear of criticism – so when you fear criticism, every person is a potential mine – like the difference between walking through a flower bed or thistles and thorns – the former will walk happily, the latter will, obviously fearing getting pricked, need to focus all his attention on not – hence the corollary attitude of fear is what’s called the closed state.

 

The open and the closed state is what governs human interactions – for if we are open we likewise are happy and hence giving.

 

However if we are closed, we are likewise not only closed off from feeling love (much like the person worried about getting pricked is hardly smelling the roses) but furthermore, as we are all by nature jealous, hence we begin to see (or magnify) evil in others, which is the jealous (hearts) ability to then criticize and bring them into the closed state.

 

Hence there is but a single truth and that is the mechanism of the Baal Shem Tov: “Fear no one, which we achieve through both realizing that God is good and dedicating our lives to higher pursuits; and love unconditionally! which comes through choosing to see what we have in common (hence extending the inborn self-love to include another.)”