Jesus said that "No One IS Good except God."
It should be apparent from that statement alone that he wasn't referring to a "good" which is simply the
opposite of "bad." He was referencing an Absolute Good which
transcends our relative perceptions of good or bad.
You have probably heard the expression that "good is often
the enemy of that which is best."
In a relative sense, whether we intend to or not, we make arbitrary
judgments all the time about our experiences (sometimes subconsciously). Some
things we consider good, and others bad. Usually it is because we feel those
things which we classify as "bad" are infringing upon our egoic sense
of self or making things uncomfortable for the "self" that we believe
ourselves to be. In large part this is due to the preferences we have adopted
over time and/or the way we would prefer things to be.
That being said, because of the subjective nature of our
experience, it is almost impossible to distinguish, from a perspective of
duality (separation), which experiences are truly "bad" from those
that are ultimately working toward our Highest Good. Therefore if we resist the
"bad", we may miss an opportunity to derive benefit from the
experience.
If we are honest with
ourselves, we are able to see that there is a natural tendency to gravitate
toward those experiences which we consider "good" for our physical and
material well-being (i.e. more money, better job, new car etc..). What is often
overlooked, however, is that by placing the emphasis upon some external
"good" we may inadvertently be settling for that which is less than
the best because we are only evaluating the impact of those things upon the
physical circumstances of our lives.
When it comes right down to it, ALL of our judgments stem
from an established sense of Identity. The perplexing contradiction in the
nature of our experience, however, lies in the fact that there is frequently a
difference between who we think we are, who we want others to think we are, and
who we really Are. The more we are able to bring those various facets of our Identity
into alignment, the less confusion we will perpetually create in our
experience.
Everyone has a predominant sense of identity which governs their
thoughts about themselves (material, intellectual, emotional, spiritual etc..).
Usually when anything challenges that identity,
it is deemed as bad. By the same token, if it supports our sense of
identity, it is considered good. As an example, if we have built our identity
upon the things we own, what we do for a living or what others think of us,
then when those things are threatened,
so is our identity. The natural tendency then is fear and
self-preservation. (i.e. preserving the sense of self with which we most
closely identify). Often this results in defense, control, denial, blame,
guilt, shame, depression etc...
The Sublimation of Desire occurs when instead of reacting to
external stimuli, being driven by circumstances or ruled by habitual mental
patterns and emotions which are tied to past pain, through Awareness we raise our experience to a higher
dimensional perspective by recontextualization. That is, we allow what IS in the full realization and acknowledgement of
One Presence and One Power which
underlies all form and appearance. We recognize that instead of being merely
humans that occasionally have spiritual experiences, we are One Spirit experiencing
itself in multiple dimensions of form. Therefore, we implicitly trust in the Infinite
Goodness which lies at the Heart of All That Is. The Spirit and Essence which
IS the Ground of All Being.
From this perspective we are not talking about totally
eradicating the desire for good or a displeasure for the bad on the human plane,
which some religions teach, because that would ultimately eliminate our ability
to create altogether. We are talking about an ascension of consciousness into a
full realization of the Sublime Desire which is inherent in the Creative Will
of Divinity, which is evidenced in the perpetual evolution of the cosmos. For
ALL Creation stems from the DESIRE to produce or reproduce something of value
on one level of existence or another. When we are caught in a cycle of
resisting our circumstances, however, it inhibits us from a proactive
participation in the creation of a new reality.
The Paradox of Desire is that contained within it are the
Seeds of Creation for both greatness and weakness. For whatever we give place
to in Consciousness (consciously, subconsciously or unconsciously) we create in our experience through the Law
of Intention and Attraction. Just as the functioning of natural laws can be
used to bring help or harm, so the inherently Divine Power of DE-SIRE (Latin="Of
the Father") within us can be used to create our own heaven or fashion our
own hell.
The ultimate key to transcending all struggle lies in a
balanced understanding rooted in Divine Identity which possesses an underlying
intention to create in alignment with Perfect Love. Within that Divine Awareness of Self is an Unconditional
Love and Harmony which embraces the Totality and not just the selfish needs of
the individual. There is a PRISTINE DESIRE which
is not solely based on the relative polarities of our divided experience but
flows pure and unrestricted from the Law of the Spirit of Life in which we live
and move and have Our Being. There must be an implicit trust in the Infinite
Potential of Our Being balanced by an Awareness of Purpose which exists for the
GOOD of the Whole.
