"Negative Philosophies...encourage or promote control of self...."

[Bring4th_Austin]

This is something that seems to be a staple in a lot of so-called "positive" philosophies and web sites, the idea that self-control is somehow "negative", when it seems to me that an entity which desires control of others would, in fact, be the ones actively discouraging one's own control of self.

Could anyone help clear this up for me?

I think the idea of self-control is one of those areas within the Ra material that could use a bit of clearing up. I'd put the concept in the same category as something like judgment. The concept of judgment can be viewed in various ways, and Ra sometimes encourages judgment but other times discourages it. It seems they use this word to mean slightly varying things. A person can use judgment to be discerning and determine the appropriate action in a given circumstance, or they can use judgment to withhold acceptance.

Similar with self-control, I don't think that the concept, in general, is negative. There may be some positive sites which label it as such, but in the Law of One, Ra speaks about discipline, and Discipline of the Personality, and this being a appropriate path for a positive seeker. It's true that they say the "proper role of the entity is to experience all things desired," and "all things are acceptable in the proper time for each entity." I don't think that necessarily means to give up self-control and live completely by instinct and intuition.

It takes some form of control to practice discipline - discipline in meditation, discipline in processing catalyst, discipline in analyzing desires. I think what Ra discourages is a more focused control, one that forces the self to overcome something, to bury something, to wield something to further one's control on their environment, rather than spend time with it, experience it, understand it, and accept it. In this sense, as Ra says, control is a short-cut to discipline.


But your point may have merit. I imagine that a negative entity could take this idea and use it to confuse an otherwise positive-seeking entity. Discouraging all forms of discipline and introspection, labeling them as "self-control," could open one up to be more easily manipulated. On the other hand, a positive philosophy which encourages self-control isn't necessarily negative, either. They may simply be encouraging discipline, or feel that control of self is truly a path to doing good in the world (I know some Buddhist philosophies are like this).