Re: On Evil

[Guest guest]

And the serpent said to Eve, "Here, have some ego..." I suspect the serpent in fact said it to both Adam and Eve. Both quite entranced by the serpent. Then by each other.

The subject of good versus evil is always a contentious subject but good is good and evil is evil and in our fallen state, we do not choose evil. We must choose good.

The potential of the acorn so to speak. Hillman's bad seed. My personal belief is that deep within even the worst seed there is the good seed.

The old African trickster god. Eshu. Which became Jung's Trickster. Half black, half white. Hence the expression "black and white" that defines the "good and evil" in life in terms of our choices. Some things are "black and white." But life itself is not.

Walking through a village one day, half the village on one side of the road saw him as black, the other half on the other side of the road saw him as white. Returning later, the side that saw him as black then saw him as white and the side that saw him as white then saw him as black. Both sides quite confused. Both sides quite adamant that he was black or white based on what they saw the first time and firmly believing that what they saw the second time was just a trick. And war broke out in the village over the question of whether he was black or white. The trickster god indeed.

The wise decided he was gray. But gray is where the worst evil is. It allows us the convenience of being black or white. Depending on the occasion. Or the whim of the ego.

Deep within the gray is the spectrum of colors. That only the wisest of the wise can see. And they are usually driven from the village when they point it out.

Deep within the bad seed is the good seed. Longing to return to the garden.

Subject: On EvilTo: JUNG-FIRE Date: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 6:32 AM

"We need more understanding of human nature, because the only real danger that exists is man himself. He is the greatest danger, and we are pitifully unaware of it. We know nothing of man, far too little. His psyche should be studied, because we are the origin of all coming evil." (Jung in a BBC interview with Freeman in 1959)It is hard to understand evil at the best of times. I long ago gave up on religions who are quick to lay blame on a dark god called Satan. I would have loved to be able to stay with a church that would exonerate me for every expression of darkness with the act of confession and a few prayers of penance. Nor do I accept the blaming of women for the baseness of men (she made me do it by tempting me). I know there is a darkness within me as much as there is a centre of light. Is it simply awareness of consciousness and unconsciousness within my "self?" I know that I am guilt of frequently overlooking that which is right in front of my face. This is a common occurrence in all of us. We tend not to notice things until the moment they do something extra-ordinary to catch our attention. A simple example: a crude oil pipeline can sit still in a field near a stream for decades so that it blends in and becomes part of the scenery until the day it springs a leak and becomes headline news on all the media; a telephone wire cuts the view from balcony for so long that one learns to focus passed the wire except when the wire holds a chirping bird that catches our eyes and ears. And I know that I

have done this with people, made them disappear from my conscious presence. And, I think that this is a common happening. So many humans being overlooked until the moment that do something extra-ordinary. Unfortunately, most of those extra-ordinary acts make the news in shocking ways. And we get to see a face of evil, and occasionally and face of its twin, goodness.rgl