Triangle Approach

The most important thing in life

is to know yourself.

Thales

This morning I was visiting spiritual sites, getting caught up on some of the current thinking.  The word "triangle" jumped out at me on the Tom Kenyon pages.  The triangle is my favorite symbol and has been the most prominent one in my life.

Tom Kenyon suggests a "Triune approach to duality" that seemed quite easy for me.  If you can, visualize a triangle with positive perspective in one bottom corner, negative perspective in the other bottom corner, and the 'self' above in the top of the triangle.  The approach suggests that when we have a reaction to someone, whether positive or negative, we would do ourselves a favor by floating above the perception to get a broader view, to see what we are not seeing by being so close. 

It makes sense to me.  If we are using binoculars and find ourselves in rapture over a rare bird in a tree, we may be so singularly focused we miss the bear appearing from the other side of the landscape.  (I know, a stretch, but you get my point)

We are often called to make a too quick assessment of someone or we take them at face value only later amazed at the glaring qualities we originally missed.  I am not suggesting paranoia or the idea that we hold people at a distance. 

Each and every one of us have positive and negative aspects in our character and we decide which we use and when.  When we view others however, our perception is frequently too narrow.  If we would gently pull our vision back to take in the entire essence of the person we may discover so much more.  We may not be so quick to judge, either way.

So the next time we become immediately attracted to someone, mentally float up above and scan the entire landscape.  The same holds true if we are instantly repulsed by someone.  By pulling back, we will be broadening our perspective, viewing additional information which may alter our perspective.

For years I have tried to understand myself, and just when I think I do, I change.  So this triangle approach is good to be used on ourselves as well.  When we feel our behavior or thinking shifts, we can pull back and see the in's and outs.  We can better explore if our shift is permanent or temporary, is it action or reaction, does it need to be modified or enhanced ... well, you get the idea!