The Root of All Evil

There are two emotions, Fear and Love. That is it, just two. All other emotions are symptoms of these two emotions. Hate, Anger, Jealousy, Rage, Compassion, Joy, Happiness, Sadness, you name it they are just symptoms of either a mental state of Fear or Love.

Next time you are angry, stop and really think. What are you afraid of?

Loss

Rejection

Acceptance

The Unknown

Change

Death?

Next time you feel lonely, hurt or sad, think about what is the fear that is causing this state.

Greed is a fear of loss. The fear of losing what one has, causes greed. The accumulation of excess builds a false since of security towards the fear of loss. If one is not afraid of loss then one is in a position to give unconditionally out of a position of Love. Fear, not money, is the root of all evil.

For better or for worse, Fear is the most successful means by which people are motivated. Religions motivate people by the fear of death ( Do you want to go to Heaven or to Hell? ). Companies motivate people with the fear of failure ( how big or small is a raise going to be ) and or loss ( you're fired ). Wives motivate husbands with the fear of loss ( sexual or worse ). Governments motivate people with the fear of loss of services and protection. Fear is the greatest motivator of all.

Many people are afraid of change even if this change has the possibility of a better life. Fear overrides the emotions and logic and it will in many cases prevent a person from acting in their best interest. This is widely known by authoritarians even if they themselves are not aware of it. They will use the fear of change to motivate and manipulate people into doing what they desire based on the other persons fear. Abusive relationships are all based in fear. Wars are all started from a position of fear. Think about it. If a country is not afraid of something, why would they go to war? There is a fear behind all behavior that is not based in Love.

People are only motivated by two things: avoidance of pain ( Fear ) and pursuit of pleasure ( Love ) and fear of pain is a much more powerful tool in motivating then the possibility of pleasure.

When we all start looking at our emotions and see where they are based, we will gain an internal power that will change our lives and the lives of others. When we know our fears, we can face them and overcome them. When we become aware of our fears as individuals, families, communities, countries and worlds we will gain a power that will transform all. We will no longer be controlled by others through their use of fear

This is the basic lesson of all the great masters.

The Two Wolves

What is Good and what is Evil?

Evil could be defined as: anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego etc.

Good could be defined as: joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith etc.

This is not correct though. Good and evil are judgments. There is nothing that is universally good or evil. These are judgments placed on emotions, actions, events etc that are based on ones beliefs, emotions and perspectives. Good and Evil are not universal truths. What is evil to one may very well be good to another. Anger is judged as evil. However in some cases anger is good. An example of a good anger would be when one is abused in some manner by another person and that anger creates a desire for change. That desire for change gets the abused person to act in a manner that gets them out of the relationship by expressing their anger towards the other person. The Anger in this case is not evil, it is a motivator. Now the action that is generated from anger, if it comes from a place of fear, could generate a harmful response. However, the anger itself is not evil.

During the Civil War of the United States. Both sides felt they were on the good side and prayed to the same God for help. In every war, battle and argument both sides always feel that they are on the good side. Who has ever labeled themselves as evil. Not a single leader in history has said, "I am evil, follow me". Heck the devil doesn't even do that. Everyone always thinks they are acting in a good way. People's fear is feed by judgments of good and evil either by themselves or by others. Dan Millman said, "Everyone always acts in a way that, given what they knew and felt at that time, they thought was best." When one understands this then one can truly forgive.

Good and Evil are judgments so be careful how they are used.

If you have read my other article "Fear, Not Money, is the Root of all Evil" then you will understand that anger, envy, jealousy etc are all based in fear. Joy, Peace, Hope etc are all based in Love. If you replace Evil with Fear and Good with Love then you have the two wolves of Fear and Love. Which one wins. Which one do you feed?

Beware. Someone else always wants to feed your wolf of fear. Make sure you prevent them from feeding it too.