One of the things that I’ve noticed over the years is that there seems to be some division within the conscious community.  Two sides have emerged that often seem to find themselves at odds with each other.  For every Yin, there is a Yang.  And even in a community built on love and peace, you still find a great deal of separation.

This isn’t to say that every member of this community is polarized on one end of this spectrum.  There are may shades of gray in between the two opposites,  so you may find yourself on a middle ground between these two polarities.  It will be interesting to review this within ourselves and on a mass scale so we can try to come to an understanding that combines the best of both worlds and use the strengths of both to initiate some real change.  With that being said, here are the two sides of the conscious community:

Side 1 – Positivity Is The Only Way

On one side, you have your predominantly “positive vibes” group.  This group is usually very concerned with the quality of their vibration and they aim to live in a positive state as much as possible.  They don’t see any good reason why they should dwell on anything that makes them feel anything but blissful.  Life is too short to spend it feeling miserable.  Avoid the negative, and amplify the positive.

Oftentimes, this crowd follows the Law of Attraction and works to avoid conflict and drama.  They tend to believe that it is important to have positive thoughts, use positive language and focus on positive issues to create the most spiritually fulfilling life possible.  They typically do not like to focus on problems or negativity in any form, and tend to avoid anything that compromises their high vibration.

The judgment on people who are not always positive seems to be that they feel they are focusing too much on the negative, and are thus drawing more negative circumstances into their realities.  This side of the fence tends to believe that the way you initiate positive change is through focusing on the positive, and that negative thoughts only create more problems. Therefore, they would say, by focusing on government corruption we only create more government corruption because we are feeding it our attention.

Side 2 – Facing The Darkness Is The Only Way

This side tends to spend more time talking about the problems with the world in hopes that they can arrive at a solution.  This side of the community is very vocal about the things that they want to change.  They are concerned about issues like animal rights, immunizations, GMOs, conspiracies, and corruption in the government.  They tend to believe in the importance of spreading awareness about the problems in the world in order to initiate positive change.

These people tend to be activists, and believe that facing the negative is what allows us to transmute it into something positive.  If we don’t take the time to learn and talk about what is wrong with the world, how can we expect to change it?  These people don’t exactly dwell on the negative, but they invest more of their attention there in hopes it will result in something transformative.

The judgement appears to be that they believe the positive vibe side has their head in the sand, and are deliberately ignoring important issues to make themselves feel better.  At times those on this side will express that they believe that people who focus only on the positive are squandering their potential to initiate change.  They will often say that ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away, it just takes help and support away from the cause.  They believe it is our duty to help those in need and stand up for what’s right, even if it makes us feel miserable or uncomfortable.

The Middle Ground

The middle ground between these two polarities is that both sides have something to offer.  We should speak out against injustice, but at the same time we should not allow it to drive us into insanity.  Friedrich Nietzsche once said “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster”, meaning that we should be careful that we don’t turn into the very thing we are fighting against.

By creating a balance in our attention on both the light and darkness, we are well equipped to be the change the world needs right now. Ignoring the darkness won’t produce anything positive, but neither with dwelling there.  By learning what we are up against and balancing that out with spiritual grounding and a well-trained mind, we have a much greater force in the world.  We can’t live in ignorance, but we can’t allow the darkness to consume us.

Although there are many similarities between these two sides, this one particular issue has created a bit of division. Do we solve today’s problems by generating awareness about them and fighting for change? Or instead, do we solve today’s problems by choosing to make peace with them and focusing instead on what’s going right with the world?

What side of this spectrum do you fall on? Do you believe positivity is the key to world change, or that fighting the darkness is the key? Or, have you developed a perspective somewhere in between? Comment below and let’s hear your take on this issue!