Sometimes good people do bad things.  I am reminded of an incident where I was in a lane that was merging with the neighboring lane.  Apparently the person next to me didn’t like something I did.  They followed me, got in the lane next to me and threw a beverage at my vehicle.  (Found later to be root beer on closer inspection.)

I was quite shocked and wondered if they would have done the same thing if I was standing in front of them on a sidewalk.  Sometimes I experience the same flash of frustration demonstrated by that person.  I used to not be able to control my actions, but now I have learned to “not throw root beer” at people’s cars.  Still I notice negative emotions as they arise.

I can become angry, jealous, competitive, and fearful.  On a scale of one to ten, most of my mental afflictions are in the one to three range these days and easily managed.  The key to changing negative emotions is to change the thoughts behind them.  Whenever we are having a negative emotion it is because we are focused on something that is not true.  Sometimes there is a temptation to try to change the circumstances outside ourselves, but all true change and peace comes from within.

I had been contemplating a little bit of negativity in my life that seems to keep cropping up.  I was wondering what to do about that.  The I Ching suggested I focus on the energy of creation.  This seemed sensible.  If I put my energy into creating positivity then there won’t be any room left for anything negative.

The next day I went to church and heard a similar message.  Some people accused Jesus of being Satan when he demonstrated power over casting out negativity (demons).  He replied that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (Matthew 12:25).

The implications of the statement are profound.    Indeed, Abraham Lincoln used it in a famous speech before he became president to state that the Union could not stand half free and half slave and the division would naturally cease.  For me it means that if I continue to devote myself to finding peace than everything that is not peace will fall away.  Further, it supports the idea that everyone will become enlightened since the illusion of duality will eventually be exposed.