Thought-in-Opposition
Within the genre of Progressive-Rock there is a term called Rock-in-Opposition (RIO) which utlizes, amongst other things, lots of dissonance and atonality. Appropriating the term, with a slight variation, for the purposes of expressing the following idea and experience, I will write about Thought-in-Opposition.
As soon as I become aware of strong feelings of affection or “love” for someone, I frequently get counter-images that amount to a violation, desecration, and destruction of those feelings (i.e. deliberately insulting the one I love, hurting their feelings, sabotaging our rapport, or punching them, etc.) These thoughts and feelings have no motivational energy behind them: I never struggle to keep from acting them out. I observe their existence in my mind as a curiosity, yet feel no compunction to bring them into manifestation. Considering what I have learned about the oppositional and compensatory nature of the subconscious and its role in the polarity-flow of psychic energy, I see these thoughts for what they are – a “becoming conscious” of mental energy (as it coalesces around counter-ideas and images) that would “normally” be completely sub-conscious, if only because its content so completely opposes the predominant orientation of my conscious attitude.
At these moments the threshold between my consciousness and sub-consciousness is so transparent that I can “see” right down into the activity that is usually (and willfully) veiled off from the light of my conscious attitude and ego-persona. Perhaps this is one of many results that can be achieved by striving for a state of mind that is communicated by Buddhism with the analogy of a lake so clear you can see all the way to its bottom.
This interpretation draws upon the idea that the energy of the psyche is driven by dualities such as “acceptable” and “unacceptable”, right and wrong, clean and dirty, good and evil, and so forth. As an interpretation it makes sense relative to the theory that what constitutes the contents of sub-conscious activity, mainly - mental energy manifest as ideas and attitudes that do not fit with the dominant and preferred perspective (preferred according to moral upbringing, social adaptation, and possibly even a self-aware, self-forged standard of personal conduct) is antipodal to what one desires to think and feel. In what we can call a Balanced Personality, these counter-thoughts and feelings are usually too weak to cross the threshold of consciousness (remaining raw material for dream imagery) and lack any real power to motivate physical action when they do cross it. In what we can call an Unbalanced Personality, such counter-thoughts from the shadow realm come to predominate, causing the individual to suffer from feelings of inundation, invasion, and helplessness in the face of what is to him or her a hostile, alien force.
As concerns my own experiences with this polarized mental energy, I am somehow seeing its activity in association with powerful thoughts and feelings of love and respect for another person. Perhaps my conscious apprehension of these counter-thoughts is fuelled by the sheer energy of my conscious perspective? Perhaps I am conscious of them as a result of being persistently geared towards a clarity of honesty within my own mind? For whatever the reason, I can often quite plainly see these weak and naturally destructive thoughts and images of the “inferior” shadow personality, and frequently perceive them at what are my potentially greatest moments. I even sometimes “hear” the voice of this counter position. Yet like a scientist (ideally) I observe this phenomenon from a detached and solid position, and duly note its expressions for later analysis. These Thoughts-in-Opposition almost never have the power to move me, but they are indeed curious as signposts to a greater understanding of my conscious and chosen attitude!
In my book “Challenge the Yumocha”, the character of Jetka Rothgar is an embodiment of someone who becomes increasingly motivated to act upon these counter-impulses, to his own horrific detriment. Following the lead of what becomes to him a congealed “entity” that embodies this counter-energy in the psyche, he goes on to acquire the position of Leader of the Land, yet surrenders his actual power in the process, and ends up a puppet, a hollow shell of a human being. Using this magical-literary device, I create a repository for this possible course of action, and make “him” give in to these Thoughts-in-Opposition so that I never have to. Thus the Christ-idea that some “one” or some “thing” must commit an action so that I will not have to, or be the recipient of a reaction so that I will not be, has more applications than is commonly realized.
As a note of caution, it must be plainly pointed out that these antipodal energies of the psyche can, even in the most well-balanced personality, acquire the strength to motivate actual physical behavior if they are fed fuel in the form of powerful and primal emotions and intoxicants such as anger, fear, hatred, and lust. If these are stimulated to a fever pitch, there is no limit to the physical, mental, and spiritual havoc that these Thoughts-in-Opposition can wreak.
-Werbinox
As soon as I become aware of strong feelings of affection or “love” for someone, I frequently get counter-images that amount to a violation, desecration, and destruction of those feelings (i.e. deliberately insulting the one I love, hurting their feelings, sabotaging our rapport, or punching them, etc.) These thoughts and feelings have no motivational energy behind them: I never struggle to keep from acting them out. I observe their existence in my mind as a curiosity, yet feel no compunction to bring them into manifestation. Considering what I have learned about the oppositional and compensatory nature of the subconscious and its role in the polarity-flow of psychic energy, I see these thoughts for what they are – a “becoming conscious” of mental energy (as it coalesces around counter-ideas and images) that would “normally” be completely sub-conscious, if only because its content so completely opposes the predominant orientation of my conscious attitude.
At these moments the threshold between my consciousness and sub-consciousness is so transparent that I can “see” right down into the activity that is usually (and willfully) veiled off from the light of my conscious attitude and ego-persona. Perhaps this is one of many results that can be achieved by striving for a state of mind that is communicated by Buddhism with the analogy of a lake so clear you can see all the way to its bottom.
This interpretation draws upon the idea that the energy of the psyche is driven by dualities such as “acceptable” and “unacceptable”, right and wrong, clean and dirty, good and evil, and so forth. As an interpretation it makes sense relative to the theory that what constitutes the contents of sub-conscious activity, mainly - mental energy manifest as ideas and attitudes that do not fit with the dominant and preferred perspective (preferred according to moral upbringing, social adaptation, and possibly even a self-aware, self-forged standard of personal conduct) is antipodal to what one desires to think and feel. In what we can call a Balanced Personality, these counter-thoughts and feelings are usually too weak to cross the threshold of consciousness (remaining raw material for dream imagery) and lack any real power to motivate physical action when they do cross it. In what we can call an Unbalanced Personality, such counter-thoughts from the shadow realm come to predominate, causing the individual to suffer from feelings of inundation, invasion, and helplessness in the face of what is to him or her a hostile, alien force.
As concerns my own experiences with this polarized mental energy, I am somehow seeing its activity in association with powerful thoughts and feelings of love and respect for another person. Perhaps my conscious apprehension of these counter-thoughts is fuelled by the sheer energy of my conscious perspective? Perhaps I am conscious of them as a result of being persistently geared towards a clarity of honesty within my own mind? For whatever the reason, I can often quite plainly see these weak and naturally destructive thoughts and images of the “inferior” shadow personality, and frequently perceive them at what are my potentially greatest moments. I even sometimes “hear” the voice of this counter position. Yet like a scientist (ideally) I observe this phenomenon from a detached and solid position, and duly note its expressions for later analysis. These Thoughts-in-Opposition almost never have the power to move me, but they are indeed curious as signposts to a greater understanding of my conscious and chosen attitude!
In my book “Challenge the Yumocha”, the character of Jetka Rothgar is an embodiment of someone who becomes increasingly motivated to act upon these counter-impulses, to his own horrific detriment. Following the lead of what becomes to him a congealed “entity” that embodies this counter-energy in the psyche, he goes on to acquire the position of Leader of the Land, yet surrenders his actual power in the process, and ends up a puppet, a hollow shell of a human being. Using this magical-literary device, I create a repository for this possible course of action, and make “him” give in to these Thoughts-in-Opposition so that I never have to. Thus the Christ-idea that some “one” or some “thing” must commit an action so that I will not have to, or be the recipient of a reaction so that I will not be, has more applications than is commonly realized.
As a note of caution, it must be plainly pointed out that these antipodal energies of the psyche can, even in the most well-balanced personality, acquire the strength to motivate actual physical behavior if they are fed fuel in the form of powerful and primal emotions and intoxicants such as anger, fear, hatred, and lust. If these are stimulated to a fever pitch, there is no limit to the physical, mental, and spiritual havoc that these Thoughts-in-Opposition can wreak.
-Werbinox
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