17 September 2010 4 Comments

What IS Positive Energy? Part 2: The Shadows of Words

Our use of words and the associations they stimulate within us bias the way we experience life.

Sept 07 Alberta 5 076I’ve been searching for words that describe positive, finding the exercise surprisingly difficult. What I find challenging is that I want to bring forth positive without accidentally supporting the kind of value judgments that cause us to suppress or deny parts of ourselves by calling them negative. The “positive” I am pointing to is not the opposite of negative, but a way of Being that embraces life fully, discovering benefit even through difficult experience.

Let’s look at some of the bias on the word “positive.”

English does not distinguish “positive” as a polarity/energy charge from “positive” as a value judgment of something we judge as “good.” Both uses of the word exist in relation to their opposites; it is difficult to think or say the word positive without automatically pitting it against negative.

I say “pitting it” because the automatic habit that brings up the opposite is rarely countered by considering other options.

Is the south pole of a magnet or the negative pole of a battery any less useful, necessary, clean, constructive, powerful, optimistic or salutary than the north or positive pole? Of course not. Polarities exist ONLY in relationship to one another–as equals. They cannot be separated. When we hear the word “positive” both opposites spring to mind; usually a polarity in which one is good and the other is bad.

A third definition of positive is “certain.” “I am positive it will be done.” I’ll follow this through later in this post sequence.

Opposites show up as if we have an either/or choice between them. “Good” carries the shadow of “bad,” just as “positive” carries the shadow of “negative.” Like a reflex, judging follows, however subtly.

A third possibility is neutrality—although we tend to pit this against positive or negative. So when we consider neutrality in this context our associations may run to indifference, apathy, flatness, or absence of feeling.

Sept 07 Alberta 5 033Neutrality can be beneficial. When separated from the idea of positive and negative, neutrality is more likely to indicate openness, balance, clarity, and objectivity. Neutrality about whether things might be positive or negative allows us to see those people, behaviors and events without prejudice. Now we can observe those people, behavior and events in the moment and make open-minded choices regarding them instead of making assumptions.

Conflict, for example, can be handled as a positive, as discussed in prior posts. If we assume that conflict—or anything else for that matter–is negative we are not likely to put it to constructive use. This is one of the many reasons that polarizing experience into good and bad is so limiting. Either/or grossly limits optimization of experience.


Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.       -Buddha

Know any words that imply ultimate “positive” without the burden of polarity? Please share.

How do YOU perceive or describe the difference between “positive” as an opposite and “positive” as all-embracing Life?

4 Responses to “What IS Positive Energy? Part 2: The Shadows of Words”

  1. Understanding Positive Energy - What Is Positive? – Positive Energy Guide

    There has been a critical error on your website.

    Learn more about debugging in WordPress.