Opposites Attract. We’ve likely heard that phrase in life before. It’s certainly a rule that I have seen alive and well in my life, and likely you as well. The point of this post is to really help you better use and understand the principle of polarity to improve your life.
I’ll give you one great example in my life. My life partner, my wife, is my opposite in almost every way. She balances me, has been my counter opinion when I needed different perspective. We think differently, yet also appreciate each others perspectives. It is what has really made our marriage unique and at times quite entertaining.
This fourth principle of Hermeticism contains the truth that everything has its pair of opposites. It explains that in all things, there are two poles that exist in a state of constant duality. The secret lying behind this principle is that opposites are really “the same,” only varying by small degrees in difference.
Opposites are really just the extremes of the same thing. Some examples of this are “hot and cold.” Both are simply a description of temperature; varying only in degree. There is no clear-cut point when hot stops being hot, and starts being cold and vice versa. When is “hot” actually hot? 80 degrees (27 degrees Celsius)? Maybe 85 degrees (29 degrees Celsius)? 95 degrees (35 degrees Celsius)? The same goes for “light and darkness,” “hard and soft,” “big or small,” and even “love and hate.” With “love and hate” there is no clear point where one emotion becomes another, or when it passes through “like,” “dislike,” or “indifference.”
The Power of Perception
All these examples are left up to individual perceptions of the degree. The principle of Polarity exists to explain these paradoxes. This principle is important because it implicates we can adjust the polarity of a degree of emotion. All we need to do is recognize which degree which best suits our needs.
We often can experience involuntary and rapid transitions in our psyche between love and hate, like and dislike, as well as many other frames of emotions. Ultimately, our goal should be to “notice these emotions.” As we experience them, we can choose to experience these transitions through the use of our willpower for the betterment of our life and the lives of others.
The better we get at recognizing the emotions and feelings within us, the more we are brought into a more “present moment,” of existence. The difference within these polarities of extremes is not a insurmountable challenge. They are simply expressions of the same thing, differing only in degree, to choose between.
The Practice of Mental Alchemy
This practice of recognizing and adjusting to these polarities can be known or described as the art of Mental Alchemy. You can really improve your life if you understand this mindful ability. If you have never read, “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho, I would HIGHLY recommend it. The book is a short, easy read, that speaks to a great story of a man on a journey to find his purpose. He thinks he has to complete a long journey to find it. However, all the while he possesses it within himself and ultimately discovers his way to his purpose through his mind and awareness.
We each have an opportunity daily to work on the mastery of this art…
We just have to awaken to this truth and realize that the potential to discover real treasures lie within us. It takes time and commitment. But treasures chests full of rewards aren’t typically lying out in the open for easy taking. With the right amount of mindfulness, we can improve our life using the principle of polarity.
We have to dig deep and work to find them.
Do you like this post? Have any thoughts, opinions, feedback, reactions? Would love to engage more with you. Please leave a comment and lets engage in some good conversation and learning.
Until next time, keep looking at life in new and different ways. Challenge old perspectives and formulate your own conclusions and truths.
Ungraduated – Finding your way through your Why
For more on the principles of Hermeticism, you can see my previous blog post concerning the 7 principles taught within the Kybalion.