Good vs. Evil

Last nights webinar had many fascinating threads of conversation.  One of the most interesting was a discussion about the philosophical debate about people being good vs. evil.  Colin ended his Core identity Indemnification Statement with a phrase something like, "...and may I always choose the path of good as opposed to evil."

I responded with my assertion that "good" and "bad" are descriptions of the patterns that we develop rather than descriptions of our Core Identity.  I asserted that our Core Identity was at a lower level than these behavior patterns and was inherently rooting for the formation of "good" patterns; those that served one's health and wellbeing.  Colin retorted back using Hitler as an example of someone who had clearly passed over to the dark side of human nature.

We had to move on, but the conversation continued in my head throughout the night.  In the language of Mental Pilates I frame this debate as follows.  I argue that our Core Identity is initially "at the wheel" of the bus when we are born.  Initially, we have no doubt about our identity and purpose as we "drive" the bus towards that which contributes to our health and wellbeing.  We learn from our experience what it is we desire and what it is that we avoid.

Then, for various reasons, doubts about who we are and our purpose for being arise.  Doubt fuels fear and uncertainty.  This unsettling feeling dominates our awareness and distracts us from our pursuit of vitality.  Overtime, our competing identities gain more and more momentum until, at last, they have taken the wheel of the bus and thrown your core identity out onto the road.  One's awareness is now totally fixated on the agenda of the competing identity, which has co-opted your awareness and is off on a joyride.

Thus, the question of good vs. evil, in the language of Mental Pilates is; "Which identity is selecting the frames of awareness?"  Whose on duty?  When we let our competing identities do the selecting, we can develop patterns that clearly are "evil" in as much as they detract from the health and wellbeing of yourself and others.