Solitary: A Self-Directed Spiritual Life

Let's talk. Come sit with me under a tree or by a lake while we chat about being alone in our practice and our beliefs. Solitary practitioners choose this path for many reasons and have a unique perspective. As a solitary witch, I want to share how I keep true to my beliefs and practices whether I'm working on my own, in a small group or attending a large group gathering. Author of Moon Affirmations, meditations based on the phase of the moon.

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Equal and Opposite Reaction

Newton's third law says something to the affect of for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  This has been bouncing around in my head for weeks now as I'm trying to figure out how this applies to karma or the good vs evil beliefs.  

Here are the questions I keep asking which I'm not sure I have any answers for or that anyone would have answers for.

  1. Does this mean for every good deed someone does, someone out there is doing a bad deed of the same degree?
  2. If that is the case, wouldn't we be better off trying to remain neutral at all times?  
  3. If we remain neutral, are we then exempt from karma?
  4. Our world seems to be full of large evil deeds - Brussels bombing, Paris attempted bombing, Donald Trump - so does that mean the good deeds are just as large and we just aren't hearing about them?
  5. Does this only apply to the individual actions - if I do a good deed, am I then meant to do an equal and opposite bad deed?  Or is it more an overall societal application?
  6. When Newton came up with his third law was he only applying it to the physical world or did he also see parallels in the spiritual world?  

This law seems very rigid to me.  I can see where it would apply to the physical world but I'm not sure it can be applied to the world of karma or good / evil.  Though I do think it is an interesting concept to consider when you consider your own actions.  

In our society, we are seeing massive amounts of intolerance.  You can't be _____.  Fill in the blank and someone hates it, whether it is sexual orientation, religion, political, and so on.  People - individuals are willing and able to aid people in need but it seems our governments are not.  Then we have politicians - Trump being the worst at this point but certainly not the only one - who are spewing hate, intolerance, and isolation.  

Are we on a one or the other scale - right / wrong or good / bad - or are we on a pendulum?  The thing is we've seen this before.  If you go back to the late 1800s the robber barons were in charge.  They ran the world and you didn't dare cross them.  But people did.  People saw the injustices and demanded change.  There was an upswing in what I'll call a social awareness - though historically I'm not sure that's what it was called.  

Now we have the corporations - the nameless and faceless entities - who are the new robber barons.  They take what they want with little regard for what is best for the people it affects.  We have people who are aware of the social injustices being done but they are - for lack of a better term - tilting at windmills.  The new robber barons have a strangle hold on our media outlets, governments and our society.  This makes it hard for those who are opposing them to make progress.

If the corporations and their actions are the action - where is the equal and opposite reaction?  Shouldn't there be some force out there reacting to what the corporations are doing?  

The one or other option seems to limited to me.  I think it is more likely it is a pendulum effect.  Our society is swinging from one extreme to another.  This is why we have periods of times which are extremes for both sides - golden eras for social awareness / justice and golden eras for corporations / robber barons.  

This leads me back to the question of should we work towards being neutral?  Obviously there has to be a balance.  Corporations aren't necessarily evil or good.  They are entities.  They are only as good or bad as the people running them.  They take advantage of what they can in order to make the most possible profit.  This is good for the economy as it helps provide jobs and support the macro economy.  At the same time, we need the workers to be treated fairly - not all their way or the corporate way - because that also helps to stimulate the economy.  We need to find a balance between the robber baron stranglehold and the social awareness being pro worker.  

Inaction is not the answer.  If we don't struggle against the corporations and their robber baron actions, we will drown in the inequity and hardship.  How do we find balance and maintain it?  Can we?  Or are we doomed to riding the pendulum back and forth from one extreme to the next?

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As a solitary, I consider myself a pagan witch who is seeking. Residing in rural Wisconsin, by day I work as a clerical worker and at night I spend my spare time writing. Writing is my way of expressing my feelings about my world and life. Raised on a farm, I have a love for nature and am inspired by the beauty and power I find there. I've been married for 33 years and have three adult daughters. Some of my other interests include cooking, genealogy, reading and crocheting.  
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