Communication 19
Alchemy . . . the power to transmute one substance into another.
And so . . . one of my students made the comment, “I hate Hitler!”
‘Well,” said I, “How is it that you can hate someone you do not even know?”
And he replied, “I know what I have read about him, and that is enough for me to hate him.”
“Interesting . . . and tell me . . . what does it feel like to hate someone?”
“I don’t really know exactly, but when I think about Hilter I think about wanting to kill him and I want to do to him what he did to all those people he killed.”
“Be more precise. You revealed what you think, but how does your body feel when you hate someone?”
“It feels hot . . . almost like I want to explode. And I feel irritated like I want to destroy something or fight something . . . I feel angry . . . I feel ah. . . I feel really really mad . . . like . . . AH!!!”
“Do you think Hilter feels your hatred or your anger?”
“No.”
“So . . . tell me . . . Who is it that is feeling the heat of your hatred or anger. Who is it exactly that is feeling like they are going to explode because you are full of so much anger and destruction and fight? Who is it exactly that is suffering the consequences of the hatred you have decided to hold for someone you do not even know?”
“Me?”
“Is that a question?”
“No . . . I feel the anger and the madness and the hatred. I feel the all consequences of my hatred.”
“Okay” . . . “Is this something that feels good to you?”
“Not exactly . . . but aren’t we suppose to hate what we think is wrong . . . and Hilter was definetely wrong killing all those people.”
“Hmmm . . . did Hilter kill anyone or did he simply convince other people to kill other people?”
(Silence)
“If all Hitler did was to convince other people to kill other people, then who really is to blame? You have to be careful here because if you’re going to spend all your energy hating someone, you should, at least, put your energy toward hating the right person or the right group of people. Now tell me . . . did Hitler, himself, kill the 10 million Jews, homosexuals, and other marginalized people all by himself or do you think that other people were involved in this crime?”
“Well . . . Hitler had an army, who did his evil deeds killing all those people.”
“And tell me . . . was Hitler so convincing that none of the soldiers in his army had the opportunity to choose not to destroy the lives of other people? Tell me . . . if the soldiers have to do whatever they have been ordered to do, what is the difference between Hitler and any of our wartime presidents, who decided to war against another group of people?
Hitler believed the Jews were a threat so he sent his armies to destroy them. Nixon thought the communists were a threat so he sent his armies to dstroy them. Bush thought the middle easterners were a threat and he sent an army to destroy them . . . or, at least, the people are being led to believe that something is threatening them. Why else would they be willing to go to war?
Someone convinces a group of people that they are being threatened, and–the next thing you know–the group of people are picking up their arms and defending themselves. Against what? They are simply reacting to a thought that has been put into their heads by a someone, who they hold up as a leader.
He or she does not have to be a leader at all. They simply need to be convincing. And what these so called ‘leaders’ want to convince the people of is HOW AFRAID THEY ALL ARE. And these so-called leaders use all this fear to get the people to do whatever they want them to do.
So . . . was Hitler really responsible for the deaths of so many people or were the people in his army, who murdered all the other people, responsible for all the unresolved fear and hatred within their very own beings (and which Hilter exploited to serve his power-mongering ends)?
Perhaps, you should be paying more attention to how people effect you, how what you read effects you, or what you believe effects you. If anyone of these things aforementioned brings forth a slew of negative thoughts and emotions within your own being, perhaps it is time for you be much more critical in your choices concerning those to whom you chose to you listen or that to which you are inclined to read, Most importantly, perhaps it would serve your best interests to look very carefully at your beliefs.
Believing it is okay to hate is questionable, but then to invite all the negativity and heat associated with hate into your own being . . . well, suffice it to say, it is not the wisest of choices.
Can you take what you call your hatred and turn it into its opposite?
Do You . . . do you have the power to turn the ‘base’ into the ‘precious’?
Alchemy . . . the power to transmute one substance into another.
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