Polarities

I'm blogging again! Yay!

I would like to start a series of posts on the topic of "polarity," and how it might show up in our dreams.  First, a definition.  Polarity is a set of opposites that work in tension, with and against each other, creating an axis.  Polarity is necessary for health and balance in life, and we all have many different axes at work in our lives.  I like the image of a bicycle wheel.  Each spoke extends from a central point, an axle, to an extreme on one side and an extreme on the other side.  If one or the other side of the spoke were weak, the wheel may collapse.  Both sides need to have equal strength--working both with and against each other-- to ensure the strength of the entire wheel.  (In addition, we need all the spokes creating different axes, so to speak, for the wheel to be fully balanced.)

How does polarity work in an individual's life?

Let us choose a polar axis operational in each of us to demonstrate the point.  Let us take, oh, "stalling" and "rushing" as two opposites, and call this polarity "the axis of timing."  (I am making up this term, not drawing it from any philosophers or psychologists that I am aware of.  However, the principle of polarity is well-known.)  There are times when it is appropriate to wait, move slowly, be cautious.  There are times when it is appropriate to hurry, move swiftly, be assertive.  If the "timing polarity" is in healthy shape in our psychological world, we are able to move in a more or less appropriate rhythm to our life, and things that require good timing are harmonious for us.  If this polarity is unbalanced, the person's entire "wheel of life" (so to speak) can get out of whack.  Some people are prone to the "rushing" extreme of this polarity, and they often find themselves in tough situations, due to too many rash decisions.  And others lean towards the "stalling" extreme, and often find themselves quagmired, due to not enough decisions at all.

Polarity is interesting, because even though the two opposites move away from each other, they are actually attracted to one another.  Hence the adage, "opposites attract."  This works on the unconscious level, too.  A person who is out of balance in the "timing" axis of her life, leaning too much into the "rushing" side, will often find herself around slow people, slow traffic, slow machines, etc.  Her unconscious mind is attracting energies that are the opposite of her extreme, in an effort to bring her back into balance.  If she can become aware of her imbalance, and correct it within herself, the external situation will change, because she no longer needs the external "slow" energy to balance her out.

See how this works? 

Polarities show up in dreams often by sets of opposites.  Continuing with the example above, if your "timing axis" is imbalanced, you may see a roaring waterfall in one part of the dream, and a still pond in another part of the dream.  Or a racecar and a tricycle.  Or a sprinter and a broken leg.  And so on...

What polarities are you aware of in your life?  Are they in a healthy balance-tension, or do you need some adjustment?  Are your dreams showing you any out-of-balance polarities, which you were not aware of before?