Context in the Ra material; Left and Right-Hand Paths

[Bring4th_Austin]

I may digress bit from the main point..

Zenmaster highlighted this quote when I asked about catalyst:

There is no outward shelter in your illusion from the gusts, flurries, and blizzards of quick and cruel catalyst. However, to the pure, all that is encountered speaks of the love and the light of the One Infinite Creator. The cruelest blow is seen with an ambiance of challenges offered and opportunities to come.

Would someone who experiences positive interpretation of catalyst be able to reframe an issue in ways that promote growth, thus making each opportunity a learning and growing opportunity?

I believe this is so, as for the catalyst to be considered useful then the interpretation includes an application of conscious intent to interpret and apply it in ways that promote unity and harmony (STO) or separation (STS). Using catalyst to discover the true heart of self from which love flows allows for the harmony of the Creator to shine through an entity in a situation where it previously was not realized. Personal learning and growth leading to discovery of the unconditionally accepting Creator within every moment of our experience and every aspect of our awareness, I think, would be considered positive polarization.

Austin said in another thread:

Awareness of that which we judge I think is the key to accepting it with this judgment. If we can maintain awareness of those characteristics which we'd prefer not to express (our shadows), then we can consciously offer love to these aspects of ourselves and others. Realizing that within each person is the entire Creator, and more specifically the entire spectrum of human behavior, we can accept that even the bad people are just as human as we are, just as much of the Creator.

If we deny that these characteristics exist within us and ignore our ability to behave in ways which we'd prefer not to, we are abhor parts of the Creator itself, and thus we abhor ourselves. All parts of the Creation deserve our love and acceptance, but without judging what is right and what is wrong, how would we be able to move at all?

It seems like in order to make positive interpretation of catalyst, understanding & accepting own shadow aspect seem relevant. The shadow aspect of self, when not attended to, may take over in distressing situations... e.g., the energies are so strong person has difficulty pulling 'brakes' or perhaps chooses not to pull the brakes with intent to dominate... There are those who identify more with this shadow aspect over time and this aspect of one's personality may become dominant. Just a hypothesis. I am also thinking that psychopaths (for example) are different from those who just act out of own pain or whatnot. According to one study psychopaths are able to switch empathy on-and-off (biologically we are talking about 'mirror neurons'). They consciously choose to shut-off their ability to understand another's emotions & thoughts. So the element of choice would be significant.

What happens to shadow aspect for those who choose the path of service-to-self. Do they consciously and/or unconsciously project their shadow, or 'become' this aspect of self? Would negative-interpretation of catalyst be more akin to external blaming thus disowning one's responsibility to work with one's catalyst? Blaming, shaming, and scapegoating (attributing problems to external sources) may be ingredients to creating discord and or even violence within relationships.

I think that for someone on the Service to Others path, an unrealized shadow might be seen as blockages within the lower chakras. To realize and accept these aspects of shadow could be recognizing and clearing blockages. The idea that the shadow will eventually bleed through in our actions if it goes unrealized seems to be the same idea that a blockages in the lower chakras may be expressed without our awareness when we are confronted by catalyst which meets this blockage. Accepting the shadow would lead to clearing the blockages. As Ra puts it, "Each acceptance smoothes part of the many distortions that the faculty you call judgment engenders."

Determining how the shadow works in a Service to Self polarizing individual might be a bit more tricky. These behaviors within our cultural shadow are what the STS entity would strive to control rather than accept. An entity polarizing negatively would not be the entity who lashes out in anger as a result of their unrealized shadow bleeding through, but rather an entity realizing the shadow in the perfect situation to maximize control of a situation and benefit for the self.

That's not to say that lashing out in anger and embodying separation isn't in itself a polarizing act that we are not responsible for, but the path of polarization is a choice, or rather a series of choices, which continues to shape our perception more and more. I think continually choosing in full awareness to embody separation would be true negative polarization.