Third force blind, we are.  

Have you ever experienced a jolt of awareness in which you saw things the way you hadn't seen before?  

Consider these three forces which, when in relationship, elicit "ahas" and new ways of thinking, feeling and sensing:

1st force: Affirming  (active)

2nd force: Denying (receptive/passive)

3rd force: Neutralizing (reconciling)

These three things have to weave together for a new possibility to emerge. Don't assume any 3 things follow the law of the 3.  They must be in dynamic relationship and you must demonstrate relationship in movement between the three parts.  (Emphasis on relationship)

Resistance:

Recognize that the resisting force is legitimate.  You can't have the new awareness without the resistance…if you take out active resistance, nothing can emerge.

So, don't place your attention on trying to cancel out the resistance. Without the opposite, nothing is moved. Don't fight against it….don't say it's the problem….it's really the catalyst! 

Think of challenging people and situations in your life as resistances  who are catalysts for a new way of seeing.   

3rd Force Blind

Most of us are 3rd force blind…we don't recognize the law of three so we don't know how to work with these opposing forces cooperatively.  Instead, we work in a state of identification and cling tenaciously to our perspective.   In a ridiculous tug of war, we pull at opposites. Thus dynamic relationship is compromised when it is the relationship itself which births new ways of thinking, feeling and sensing.

Human beings cannot mediate the 3rd force when they are in a state of identification.  Something has to step back, watch and observe.  

Disidentification and letting go offers a possibility of seeing what has been sitting in front of you all along. 

A conscious person becomes a midwife of the 3rd force.  Only when conscious can you see and create the dynamic trinity configuration that allows a new possibility to emerge.  

This is exceedingly practical.  So, part of your own acute observing involves seeing what part is 1st force, what part is 2nd force, what part is 3rd force so you have the opportunity to work with them.  

Consider this in a triangle…the 3 forces are the three points on the triangle. The new arising is the center of the triangle.  It is the empty space of possibility.  

Metaphors to Demonstrate the Three Forces:

Here's a few metaphors to demonstrate the 3rd force and new arising:

Sailboat:

Wind blows the sail (1st force)

Water offers resistance (2nd force)

Now you have wind and you have a sail, eh?  Then the boat will sail, right?   No.  There has to be something that puts these two in relationship…the helmsman. The helmsman reconciles the 1st and 2nd force to birth the sailing of the vessel (3rd force)

Conflict Mediation:

Speak from interest not position (1st force)

Must state others position as clearly or more clearly than your own  (2nd force)

Create opportunities for mutual gain wherever possible. (3rd force)

Niehbur's Serenity Prayer

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (2nd force)

The courage to change the things I can (1st force)

And the wisdom to know the difference (3rd force)

An old story-an adultress  is about to be stoned.  People ask the Master: This woman has committed adultery and the law says she must be stoned.  What do you say?

If he says "yes," to the stoning, he violates the law of Love that he has been teaching (1st force)

If he says "no" to the stoning, he violates the law of the tradition  (2nd force)

He bends down in reflection and draws in the dirt at his feet.  After a few moments, he says, "He among you who has done nothing wrong, cast the first stone"  (3rd force)

The Power of Now

You will notice that the Master teacher shifted states before he responds. He shifts into a state of Presence which allows us to drop our tenaciously held identifications and allow a solution to emerge on its own.  It was there all along.  

Beautiful.

Meditation and/or contemplative prayer are "strength training" for accessing the power of Now as each time we surrender thoughts and gently return to the breath, we are witnessing our fixated perspective.  So don't waste time demonizing the personality or fixated thoughts. They are a gifts that remind us we are out of Presence and they point to our identifications.  

When observed, the personality (and its identifications) is a lubricant that can foster a capacity to recognize the dynamic trinity of the three forces.   

"Personality is not a mistake, not a problem to be solved, personality is a resource bank of raw material for maturing of essence that grows into soul.  

We need grown up human beings to do the work the planet need us to do. 

In order to do what we are called upon to do we have to grow up. 

Grow up on behalf of everyone else...on behalf of the planet that needs people who are awake. "  Cynthia Bourgeault