ADVANCED POSE V: BALANCED NEGATION

There is always an exalted and a toxic version of every approach to anything. My two “magic questions” (Is it true/does it align with the truth/is it in integrity with who I say I am? Does it serve the greater good?) are my method for determining exalted form. But beyond that, things can get tricky. How do we play the game and be fully engaged? What does it mean to “win?”

One of my teachers was a great example of this for me. From observing, I concluded one rule must apply to everything I do. Play like you are unattached to the outcome because you’re invincible, AND as if your life depends on playing your best. That, my friends, is the definition of my theory on Balanced Negation. It’s about commitment and defiance of fear. Understanding that the only way to win is to play full out, balls to the wall, but remembering that if the outcome is not as planned, you cannot be destroyed. This dualistic state of mind will, of course require you to face what fears rise up to confront you.

Perhaps you’re playing a game that requires you to do things you haven’t done before, or that requires you do something that you hold opposing beliefs or opinions about. You’ll have to be committed enough to playing the game that you’re willing to give up that belief. And this is important, the first 4 Advanced Poses are paramount for discerning what games we choose to play. There are no guaranteed outcomes in life. You must then simply rely on discernment, desire, humility, and integrity, and a beginner’s mind, to guide you to the right games for you. Some games will require you to do something you have palpable aversion to, or to do something outside of your fixated preferences...like being vulnerable enough to connect with other human beings to affect change, or trusting in the order of the universe while conceiving a child, or overriding your dislike of reading and study in order to acquire necessary knowledge and skills. In fact, what I observed of my teachers was a willingness to actually lean into doing things that they didn’t want to do for the sake of the game. What they understood is the concept that we have everything we want at our disposal and that all perceived lack or blockage of access comes from some form of resistance or defiance in our way of thinking, or refusal to do things we have emotional or mental aversions to, due to attachments or fears formed by past experience and a compensatory desire to avoid them repeating. My teacher freed himself from those blockages by practicing the idea that he was invincible. And that as long as he was alive, he could survive any failure, and bounce back from any setback or disappointing outcome. Thus removing the paralysis of fear, and replacing it with detachment from fixation on an outcome.

This concept relates closely to the idea that every game worth playing is an infinite game anyway, and that it’s not about the winning, but how you play the game that provides the reward. It’s saying life is about the journey, not the destination, and destination is a compensatory fixation that we must surrender in order to do great things in life. It’s a habituation of thought that does not serve our practice of being fully present and unencumbered by attachment to past and future imaginations.

He has had some hard crashes. But this is a demonstration of the Principle of Rhythm. The pendulum swing is equidistant in either direction to the swing in the opposing direction, a basic physical principle. In order to reach certain levels of great success you must be willing to risk an equally great levels of failure. Not that success means inevitable failure. But that you must imagine yourself capable of handling failure. Energy is energy. And a container holds equal amounts of whatever you put in it. If you keep your container small in order to be safe, then you can only hold a small amount of ANYTHING. WHETHER IT BE WINNING OR FAILING. This is the advanced pose of Balanced Negation. Think about times when you’ve shown up in this way and how it felt. Think about times you didn’t and how you were left thinking what might have been if you’d had the courage, self discipline, and self awareness to take calculated risks for the sake of doing something exceptional. This particular teacher is a beautiful human being, no track record of cheating anyone or harming anyone. He works very hard, sometimes sacrificing sleep, and other times plays very hard, sacrificing work. He has had enormous success and a few cringe worthy failures. He plays every game full out. Not riding the fence. But putting all of his passion and deep connectivity into what he does. And sometimes that means he’s not socializing, and other times it means he’s socializing all the time. Sometimes it means that he’s working his fingers to the bone, and other times he’s lying on a beach in Cuba taking in the sound of the ocean. He is mastering cross negation, balancing his life, moving with agility, focus, and passion. And he is one of the most happy individuals I have ever met. In the material realm this manifests itself in the fact that he is currently worth around $170 million dollars. And can literally do whatever the hell he wants to do with his life. If that doesn’t sell this philosophy, I don’t know what will.

Balanced Negation. Give it a try.