Question 141: What happens in a fistfight?
Question 141: According to the Gospel of Oneness, what happens in a fistfight?
In a fistfight two people are controlled by their egos, each with something to prove, and each taking themselves too seriously. They cannot solve their problems by talking it out, so they resort to physical violence to show their superiority and dominance. They completely forget that they are both children of God, that they are both part of the same Spirit. Their prideful egos will not back down from a fight because that would leave them open to being called a coward or a wimp or worse. The ego cannot stand to have such a negative image placed upon it. The more witnesses there are, the harder it is for the ego to back down.
There are also pent up feelings of anger and aggressiveness that come out in a fight. Hitting something or someone is an emotional release. A lot of this release takes place in sports of various kinds as in hard tackling and blocking in football, spiking a volleyball, serving a tennis ball, hitting a baseball, or a golf ball. These feelings of anger build up from the many stressful situations people face.
Feelings of fear, anger, and aggressiveness are also reinforced by negative forcefields that build up over time. These forcefields can be specific to locations where people feel oppressed and down-trodden, and when two people are on the verge of a fight, the forcefields act on them. These forcefields can be countered by forcefields of light, which also build up from the loving actions of people.
How can a person resist the pride of the ego and follow the teachings of Jesus on turning the other cheek and having a non-violent attitude? Stand in the vastness of your Soul and realize your oneness with all life. Love yourself and send love to everyone else. Your opponent wants to prove some kind of superiority and dominance, but that won’t be real. It will melt away in the truth discerning fire of the soul. The ego may be into fighting, but the soul is into peace, love, and creative expressions in the harmony of all life.
The soul is also into justice, so how does that fit into an unfair fight? How did Jesus handle it? He was unfairly accused by the religious authorities, then handed over to the Romans and then beaten, scourged, and nailed to a cross. It was a mighty test for him to stay in love and forgive them even as they were killing his body. Whatever they did to Jesus they did unto themselves, maybe 10 times over and they suffered the consequences within themselves. Jesus forgave them, but until they forgave themselves, they suffered from the inner guilt. We cannot escape the consequences of our actions, and so justice is always done. The ego wants us to continue in cycles of violence, but we don’t have to follow that urge to seek revenge. The brave person is the one who stands in love, no matter what happens.
Other ways besides turning the other cheek have been developed such as Aikido, which uses martial arts techniques to subdue an attacker without hurting him. It takes much practice though to become good enough to stop an aggressive attacker. Pepper spray and electric stunners have also been developed to stop attackers. All of these can work if a person is well prepared. The ultimate preparation and protection is to realize your oneness with all life and live in love and joy all the time. The soul is eternal and will always survive.
You and I and everything in the universe exists as part of the endless flow of God’s love. Realizing this, we recognize that all creation is bound together with the same benevolence. To harmonize with life is to come into accord with that part of God which flows through all things. To foster and protect all life is both our mission and prayer. – Morehei Ueshiba. Founder of Aikido
