Teaching release of negativity

The Teacher said,

"When you begin the instruction of a new student, do not tell him to release negativity. He would probably misinterpret your teaching and try to suppress his negative feelings. This is how most people deal with fear, anger, and stress. The result of course is that negativity builds up under pressure, which leads to increased stress, anger, and dis-ease."

" Tell your student instead to express his negative feelings to you. You can absorb and release them, and your student will feel his burden lightened. In this way we teach the student not to deny negativity but to be mindful of it without becoming attached to it. He will no longer need to feel unworthy because of his natural sentiments, by being released they will not fester and grow into bigger problems."

"As he becomes increasingly mindful of his negative thoughts and feelings, he will learn to recognize and release them at an earlier stage, before their destructive power has been magnified by being suppressed. This will lead to his feeling less threatened by them, and enable him to learn to release them more easily. Eventually he will learn to distinguish between those thoughts which require him to take action to remedy an undesirable external condition, and those which are unnecessary whinings of the egoic mind."

"These last he will eventually be able to release without even expressing them verbally. For those thoughts requiring action, he will be able to act without rancor or fear, without the pressure of so many other repressed complaints."

There is no negativity

The Teacher said, "Do not say, 'I abandon negativity', for then you are giving respect to a phantom. Say, 'There is no negativity.'"

Love and Acceptance

In our hearts, we all desire love and acceptance more than anything else, and therefore it seems the most natural thing in the world would be for all of us to love and accept each other all the time. So why is true unconditional love so rarely seen?

Sometimes we are separated by fear or distrust. We know and trust our own motivations, but how can we read the mind of another person to know whether he or she will return our love, rather than seeking to take something from us? Who should love first?

We are afraid someone may "take advantage" of us. Yet how can that be so long as we first love ourselves unconditionally? Self-love is not selfish, and it is not sinful. It is in fact a commandment from God. Jesus taught that we should love others as we love ourselves -- not more than we love ourselves, but just as much. Yet he also taught us to love others deeply and unconditionally. He was telling us to have the same complete and unqualified love for ourselves.

If we follow this commandment and love ourselves unconditionally, then there is really no risk in loving others. Our self-esteem will not be dependent upon how others feel about us. If you extend a loving hand to a brother or sister in Spirit and it is refused, should you be hurt? No, because you know what a precious child of God that you are. The rejection does not mean your love is undesirable or that you are unlovable, but only that the other person is not in a position to accept love from you at this time. You can leave the door open for him or her to return seeking your love and acceptance at another time, without any risk of damage to your own love of yourself.

Another important fear about relationships is the fear of loss. We may hesitate to give anything of ourselves to another person out of fear that he or she will leave us and there will be a hole in our existence that cannot be filled. This causes us to cling to the relationships that we have, as well as to resist entering into new ones. This fear also is totally derived from doubts about our own worth. If you love yourself fully and unconditionally, nothing another person does can shake that love. Therefore, you are free to open yourself to another knowing that if he or she later needs to withdraw for a time, you will remain perfectly whole.

One way to minimize the fear in relationships is to be open, trusting, and accepting of literally everyone. You may find, as a particular relationship develops, that there must be limitations on these attributes; but each should be approached initially in a way that demonstrates the total absence of fear or doubt. If that is your standard practice, then people will be able to see their perfection mirrored in your own, and will be eager to enter into the same kind of relationship with you.

Argue

The Teacher said, "Argue against these principles. Bring forth every argument you can, and do not cease arguing until your arguments have exhausted themselves. Then you will see the principles still standing before you pristine and untarnished, as shining emblems of eternal Truth."