Hate is not the opposite to Love - The fallacy of opposites.

"Charles my relationship with my church is a real love/hate relationship. I'm in a quandary. Many of the teachings I suspect are but pure myths yet I am supposed to preach them as gospel. I have to talk about spiritual matters from the pulpit on which I have had no direct experience whatsoever. You call them conditioned belief systems and I have to call the process as 'having faith'. What am I to do - I am at a crisis point?"

"Are you seeking a way out? Do you wish to leave the church and think that I may be able to offer you the excuse to do so?"

"No I want to stay. The church is my life. There is a saying within the church - 'I know she's a whore but she is my mother". No - I need to find some balance or peace within myself so that I can carry on."

"I once had a friend within the church who came to me originally to discuss such matters. The last I heard of him he was counselling other ministers - would you like me to put you on to him?"

"No Charles. I am not ready and besides, I am supposed to follow procedures."

"Mmmm. I do feel for you. It seems you are caught between a rock and a hard place. I am concerned that whatever I say, it will make matters worse for you."

"I do not wish to place a burden upon you. I chose to seek you out. You have communed with angels, you have been visited by Mary, you have astral travelled and experienced nirvana etc - all these things I have to preach about yet have never experienced. I have to rely on faith."

"You have mentioned faith twice now. You don't have to rely on faith. Faith is yet another belief system of the ego-mind postponed into the future. It is a belief in the prospect that some future event will occur. A reward or pay off - 'believe in this doctrine now and hopefully this reward will be the result in the future.' Surely you can observe this process as yet another play of the mind."

"But without faith I have nothing!"

"That is a sad statement for a minister to say is it not? If you ask yourself, who is this "I" that has nothing, you will come to realize that this "I" encompasses everything. To find the inner balance you seek, begin by recognizing that the "I" that appears to need the balance, is separate from the mind and the phenomenal world. I call this "I" the self or the atma - you may call it the soul. Whatever the label, know that the real "I" is the permanent - the unchangeable."

"I knew you would say something of that nature but I needed to hear it directly. And yes, deep down I know you are right."

"This "I" being the heart centre of your perception, is the reality. From there you can observe the changeable - that is the body - the senses - the mind (thoughts, memory and conditioning) and the phenomenal world. So you go from the permanent to impermanent - the real to the unreal. From reality to illusion. This "I" is perfect balance and harmony - when you centre yourself in the "I" you have the balance you seek."

"You make it sound so simple."

"Oh but Sir, it is simple."

"And my love/hate relationship with the church?"

"You are falling for the fallacy of the opposites."

"What do you mean?"

"There are no opposites - do you really think that hate is the opposite of Love? You of all people should know that Love is God and hate is a mere temporary emotion of the ego-mind. Although I say this in jest, mentioning love and hate as opposites is bordering on blasphemy."

"Well that is true - but no opposites?"

"Life and death. Life is eternal do you think that the mere dropping of the physical body is the opposite to Life?"

"Obviously not Charles."

"Is the devil - a creational concept of the ego-mind - the opposite to God."

"No."

"Truth is totality - yet another name for God. Can an un-truth be an opposite to truth or must truth encompass the "un-truth? That is I utter a lie - isn't the truth simply the fact that I uttered a falsehood?"

"Well yes.........."

"You see there is only reality. There is the perceived illusion - the shadow - the negative polarity but so called "opposites" are created by the ego-mind judging and comparing. The power is always in the positive."

"What about light and darkness. Are you saying that darkness is an illusion or a degree of light?"

"God, love, light, truth are all terms used to describe the absolute or totality. The universe may at times appear dark but matter is energy and energy is light. Light is reality - darkness is but the degree of perceived illusion."

"But I still feel I have a love/hate relationship with my vocation."

"Yes but the love you feel is heart felt love. It's the love of God. It goes to the very core of your being. Am I correct?"

"Absolutely - beyond any doubt."

"The so called "hate" is the monkey mind - is it not? It's telling you to believe and have faith and then seeding doubts to keep you in conflict. The love you feel is real. The hate a mere illusion of the ego-mind. The mind may be a wonderful tool but a tyrant of a master. Observe the mind for what it is and you will stay detached from it's wonderings."

"I do relate to what you are saying - I can distinguish between the real and the unreal and yet I ask myself - in all conscience, can I still give sermons on matters where these doubts creep in."

"Centre yourself in the love we spoke of - the real "I" or the self. The answers will then come to you via that centre and not via the mind. The conflict will then disperse.

For example consider the resurrection. Does it really matter if Jesus chose to appear in his etheric, astral, mental or spiritual body rather than his resurrected physical? I can assure you that such visitations are child's-play for spiritually developed people. I mentioned this to a priest a few years ago over champagne and he said that he'd honestly never considered the possibility. He thought that either the story was a myth or Jesus actually appeared in his resurrected physical body. He thought there were only two options - one he couldn't believe and the other he didn't want to believe."

"That was one of my doubts too Charles - thank you."

"The irony is that as a child, because I argued with the priests, I was constantly sent out of the classroom. For example, I have always had a strong affinity to "our lady" which to me represents the divine mother aspect of God. Yet I argued even as a child against the virgin birth as I considered it to be an insult to natural motherhood. If one of the priests would have explained that perhaps Mary was totally detached and centred in God consciousness at the time of the union with Joseph - thus it may be considered celestial virginity - I would have accepted it. Similarly, Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute as she has been labelled, but a spiritually aware companion for Jesus."

"What other topics did you argue over?"

"There were so many - the dogma that they tried to brainwash us with was such nonsense. I remember asking the priest, that if the only way one can ascend to heaven was through Jesus, where were the old testament prophets? And what about the billions of Hindus, Jews, Muslims Buddhists, Baha'is etc - surely you can't create a heaven and disenfranchise most of the human race. I found particularly offensive the doctrine that un-baptised children could not make heaven either."

"I am surprised you did not end up a committed atheist."

"No but it did help me to see at a young age that belief systems are nonsense. I continued to meditate and yearn for God each night and angels frequently came and guided me. I knew that the essence of all religions is love, truth, right conduct, service and non violence, so today I can be equally at home in a mosque, a temple or a church. So when you write your sermons, write them from the heart - do your very best - seek the highest esoteric understanding - then let the universe take care of itself. Trust yourself and God. Unlike faith, trust is empowering - trust springs from the centre. Faith creates reliance and is of the mind."

"Seek the highest esoteric understanding - yes I like that - thank you."

"You know a good priest is really a guru or a guide. The words you use should be to assist the listener discover the God within. One of my favourite stories was about Buddha. Now it may not have been "true" and perhaps only a "myth" but it is still beautiful and pregnant with meaning. It will also illustrate to you that you do not need to get into a quandary between what is "true" and what is a "myth".

Buddha was visiting a village in the company of disciples when he came upon a fire and brimstone type of preacher on his soap box dictating to his fearful listeners. The preacher recognized Buddha as the enlightened one so he stepped down from his box, came to him and humbly asked "Master please tell me once and for all - there is a God isn't there?" Buddha replied most adamantly "No there exists no God!" The shocked preacher merely nodded and turned away crestfallen.

The next day Buddha visited another village. A poor widow, who had three very hungry and destitute children in tow, came to him and asked plaintively, "Master please tell me once and for all - there is a God isn't there?" The Buddha replied with total compassion. "Of course there is a God and he loves you and watches over you constantly."

One of Buddha's disciples was shocked. On the way to the next village the disciple approached the Buddha. "Master," he stammered - "yesterday you told the preacher there was no God. Today you said to the poor woman, of course there is a god - one of those conflicting statements is surely untrue!" Buddha replied gently, "Become centred in totality and you will realize that all is truth - even the perceived untruth. Did not all three of you receive the words you needed to assist your progress to Buddhahood?"

"Charles you have told that story especially for my circumstance. I really do relate to it. I must say you haven't made matters worse. I have much to consider. I feel a burden has been lifted from me."

"Mmmm. Remember - be centred always in that love you feel for the Church and God. See the mind as separate - observe its play but stay detached from it. Seek wisdom from your heart - not dogma from the distant dead memories of beliefs. Understand the totality of truth and use it to help spiritual aspirants on their path. If you can do all that your crisis will evaporate I promise."

"Yes I believe it will!"

"Mmmm."

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