As we evolve into the next stage in human evolution,
we strive to align more with our souls – to develop understanding, acceptance and compassion.

Ideally, we aim to transcend polarity. It can be difficult then, for soulful individuals to find themselves in situations where they must stand up for what they believe, perhaps confront, maybe even ‘do battle.’ Perhaps we find ourselves party to a litigation, or see something so wrong that we must become involved. How can we ‘fight’ with integrity, when we do not even want to fight in the first place? How can we remain in integrity, when faced with people or situations that are completely without integrity?

Such situations are incredible challenges along our growth path, for they will trigger ego to jump in and say: “To heck with all that soul stuff you have been practicing, this calls for something different!”  Almost without thinking we can be drawn into anger, polarity, and defensiveness, taking a strongly adversarial stance. It does not feel good in our body, and we become annoyed with the person or situation for ‘ruining’ all that good ‘higher self’ stuff we were developing. Deep down, we are annoyed at ourselves because we see we still have some of those ego qualities we so want to move away from and that we perhaps still judge others for. (Of course we would never admit that, because we ‘don’t judge’.) Nonetheless, there we are with ego-egg all over our faces.

We have just encountered another ‘teachable moment’, courtesy of the universe. We will continue to have these experiences until we understand, at the core of our being, that no matter what is happening, it is not about the other side. As long as we think in terms of ‘other side’ we are co-creating polarity. It is about us ourselves.

What alternative is there, particularly if we are in litigation, or fighting for a cause? Here is the key: we do not create anything worthwhile when we fight against anyone or anything. Instead what we must do is to align with truth. We are not against bad, evil or corruption – we are for honesty, integrity, disclosure, truth, and justice. We may bring forth information that is damaging, but it is not for the purpose of creating harm, exacting revenge, or gaining the upper hand. It is for the purpose of bringing into the light that which is of darkness.

If we see, through the eyes of our soul, that the Earth, another person, or we ourselves are being harmed, we do not need to hand the file over to ego. That just adds more heavy energy to an already overburdened world. The evolutionary challenge is not to dispense with ego completely, for we cannot, but rather to let soul take the lead. Indeed, some softer, more soulful types may well need a push from ego to get out there and take a stand! When we are aligned with our own souls, and with truth, we do not take things personally, nor do we attack others personally. When our efforts are directed to alignment with truth, and not against anyone or anything, the process is not emotionally draining. This is because we are not attached to any particular outcome.

We know that we cannot control others, and often do not have control over outcomes. In enlightened moments we will also realize it is the egos of others that create difficulty, and they are only out of integrity because their egos are holding their souls hostage. That is a situation worthy of our compassion. So we hold our heads high, speak our truth loudly and clearly, do what we have to do with as much integrity as we can, bless the souls of all sentient beings, and then go home and have a good night’s sleep. That is the best way, even if we have to get up the next day and go out and do it all again.

Written For: Common Ground Magazine, August 1, 2002

Gwen Randall-Young is a psychotherapist and author of Dancing Soul: The Voice of Spirit Evolving. She has also written Echoes Through Time: A Message of Healing for Men, Baby Soul: A Blessing of Spirit, and produced audiocassettes entitled, After Recess: A Calming Meditation for the Elementary School Classroom,  Healing the Past: A Meditation for Wholeness, and   A World of Kindness: Experiencing Personal and Global Harmony gwendall@shaw.ca