Separating one's mind from emotions (and thus stripping oneself of the ability to empathize) is a completely separate matter from seeking out happiness.

One turns your heart cold while the other breaks it.

Why do you associate these two actions as opposites when they are actually on the same side of the spectrum?


Nice topic, OP.

This preaching phenomena of having perpetual balance in one's life is new to me - perhaps because I don't read too much into subject matter that my opinions of have yet to be challenged well.

Perhaps the lesson went through too many rounds of a telephone game. It's not having balance that's important - it's simply understanding it.

Understand that the things you do that bring you happiness often times are done at the expense of bringing others sadness or taking away from their happiness. The way you put it from a broader perspective, "This world is in a ''negative mess'' at the moment, you are the opposite catalysator of joy, and this is the ''balance''." is the same point to be made :)

Your comment about many spiritually 'awake' individuals probably being much less so than they would like to think makes sense in the context. Someone who's not awake would not realize the dualistic causality of everything we do. They would fail to understand the bad that comes with the good, and would apply the teachings erroneously by purposefully committing bad acts to balance.

This resonates also with research studies that have shown consumers who buy 'green' products display a distinctly higher proclivity to cheating in games and skills tests when given an open door to cheat. Maybe this is what we get for trying to wake a narcissistic society to the notion of karma? ;)

If spiritual people ought to be preaching in regards to balance, it would be better served for them to apply it to a more thorough understanding of the balance between desires and necessities. Focusing conscious intent on keeping those two aspects of life balanced (as opposed to trying to force a balance of right/wrong or good/bad) is far more productive.


Elemental balance from an alchemical standpoint is an entirely different matter of discussion and is something that everyone truly does need in their lives. Most manage well enough with slumbering intuition alone, but being able to recognize and correct an imbalance before it manifests through consequence is a rather valuable asset to have :)