whether it be religion, esoteric sects or philosophical schools of thought, everyone is seeking their one ideology that they can live by and benefit from. however, nearly everyone is doing it wrong. the human being is satisfied by extremes; it's simpler and easier to apply, whereas nuanced states are more complicated and harder to apply. and so, most people will seek the extremes in which they already partake in, even if partially. for example, the humble and meek may find refuge in christianity or buddhism, whereas the proud and ambitious may find motivation in hermeticism or gnosticism. problem is, if you're already on one extreme and going further in that direction, your virtues become corrupt; the humble and meek becomes the passive and enslaved, and the proud and ambitious becomes the arrogant and hubristic.
the solution is simple and especially freeing to apply: the paradoxical intention effect. by seeking the opposite extreme of where you are, you fulfill your needs by strengthening your weaknesses. as above so below, as below so above. if you're on high, go down low. if you're down low, go on high. yin cannot be without yang, yang cannot be without yin. here is an exercise to help you find where you stand and to what extreme you must go.
>1. ask yourself what is your immediate desire
>2. ask yourself why that is your desire
>3. do the contrary of 2.
>4. by doing the contrary, you end up fulfilling your desire
example A (right hand to left hand path) 1:"i want to follow god's will" 2:"i'm afraid of not following god's will" 3:"i won't follow god's will and follow my own" 4: result: by following your own will, you end up doing god's
example B (left hand to right hand path) 1:"i want to be powerful" 2:"i'm afraid of being weak" 3:"i will be weak" 4: result: by humbling yourself you reduce the pressure on you to perform

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how to find your path in life