Combat Evil Through Personal Transformation

It is important to remember that anything you can do to expand your awareness will automatically counter evil. Be gentle when you are tempted to be harsh. Pay attention when you are tempted to turn a blind eye. Accept that the negativity you are feeling belongs to you when you are tempted to blame someone else.

Personal transformation on this level is the highest way to combat evil. The more conscious you become, the more you come into balance. Once balanced, you can choose to reject destruction; your awareness expands beyond the immediate hurt to see that evolution is eternal and therefore eternally possible.

We would all agree that anger gives rise to many evil acts, not anger per se, but anger that has become trapped. If your awareness is open and free, anger flows through it. This applies both to rage generated inside yourself when you feel victimized, and anger that comes from outside, in the form of an attack.

Both are meant to leave when their job is done. Anger’s work is to alert your defense systems. Aggression and defense are part of the survival repertoire of almost every species that must compete to mate, find food, and occupy territory. Festering, it feeds on itself and eventually breaks out in violence.

Every living system that goes out of balance attempts to right itself. Despite all the talk about human beings being innately violent, aren’t we also innately gentle? The evidence for both is equally strong.

Adapted from The Deeper Wound: Recovering the Soul from Fear and Suffering, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2001).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Emerald J.

1:23PM PDT on Sep 27, 2011

Very thoughtful. Thank you.

send a green star

Eternal G.

5:37PM PST on Jan 31, 2011

Thank you!

Anne B.

5:41AM PST on Jan 16, 2011

Anger is sometimes the easiest emotion to bring forth, but gentleness CAN release the best thoughts and actions.

Judith C.

3:26PM PST on Jan 5, 2011

Thank you

Barbara E.

6:03PM PST on Jan 3, 2011

Great article, thanx

beverly g.

4:31PM PST on Jan 3, 2011

this is a greart articale and true. anger fester on on it does amke it worse. I get a bit lke it. from time to time. but im generally a kind caring person all of the time.

Nancy S.

9:30AM PST on Jan 2, 2011

Great Article.

Valentina S.

5:31AM PST on Jan 2, 2011

I am on the side of the "innately gentle" humanity. Unfortunately, I forget about transforming myself when I perceive something that threatens my need for harmony and respect and I become self-defensive. So I'll take Dr. Chopra's advice to expand and deepen my awareness. Thank you.

7:11PM PST on Jan 1, 2011

thanks

Barb F.

5:18PM PST on Jan 1, 2011

I like it, the cure for what I refer to as "random verbal sniping", something that too many ppl I know have some incessant need to do, I'm personally opposed to being a walking time bomb, I'd rather be positive and communicate, skip the anger and hostile parts, not needed a majority of the time imo.