[whitecrow]

Originally Posted by ranma187

I just want to know what everyones thoughts are on fear and love.
They are extreme opposites. I agree that in order for radiant zones to take light they need to be filled with love, peace. However you can't ignore the opposite of it: fear. Without fear, love wouldn't exist.

Love is often paired with fear as its natural opposite...along with hatred. Yet all these are forms of passion, so how can they be true opposites? The opposite of passion is indifference, and that's the biggest danger of all.

The opposite of fear is...courage? No, for courage without fear is simple bravado, even stupidity. The man or woman who proceeds in the face of fear is the true exemplar of courage.

Can we not love even though we fear? And why can love not exist without fear?

Originally Posted by ranma187

Many people think yin and yang are opposites and at war with eachother. That is wrong, i think. Look at the motion of the two opposites harmonizing with eachother. The harmonization of softness and hardness. Water can be soft and both HARD. A person who is strong can also be gentle. A If a weak person is gentle, it is still weakness because he/she lacks the harmony of strength.

Thoughts?

You are certainly on the right track! I think that we obsess too much on definitions. Which is more important: the resonance of our intent, or whether we agree on the polar opposite of love? The yin-yang symbol expresses duality in balance. It expresses energy. If the wheel is all white or all black, how then can we tell if it is moving or not?

It is true that the two halves are in opposition...day/night, male/female, right/left/ active/passive, etc. But look at those pairs of words...aren't your hackles already rising a little because male/female looks so much like positive/negative? Therein lies the mystery and the challenge of duality, for instead of seeing them as opposites we must realize they are complements. They are different aspects of the same thing, not two forces at war with one another.

I invite you to consider how we mangle the idea of love. It is sad and unfortunate that our English language, so incredibly rich in linguistic gems, has only one word for love. So I must use the same word for a variety of emotions and descriptions: I love you. I love to hike. I love creamed peas. The real poverty of our language becomes clear when we turn the verb around as in, Jesus loves me. Do you love me? Who do you love more?

The Greek language has at least six words for love. We all know eros. There are words for love of country, brotherly love, and divine love which is agape. Porneia needs no translation. The Greeks were philosophers (philo=brotherly love of sophia=wisdom).

One other idea I'd like to plant: both fear and love, along with the lack thereof, are choices.