Opposite ‘I’s, Judgment ‘I’s, Work ‘I's

Opposite ‘I’s, Judgment ‘I’s, Work ‘I's

From 'A Question of Presence' by Sergio Antonio

My teacher taught me that when a person says something to us, anything, our first reaction will probably be an opposite 'I', that is, a thought contrary to what was just said. That's why he suggested waiting for the first ‘I’s to pass before responding.

I have verified that for me this is exactly the case. In fact, an opposite 'I' is evoked in me not only when I hear a statement I disagree with, but also when I hear one I agree with that isn't expressed in the way I would express it. Something in me says “no” as an immediate and unconscious reaction.

If you remember the law of three forces, this is a classic illustration. The statement acts as the first force, thus evoking an opposite force— my reaction, the opposite 'I'. Without a third force, a motivation to take my reaction to a higher level, there is only opposition.

I've also been taught that, because of our subjectivity, it's easy to have judgment ‘I’s about other people or situations. A judgment 'I' is a verdict without a trial. If we see some manifestation in another person or in ourselves, especially if it is unpleasant or contrary to our ideas of proper behavior, we condemn the person without bothering to understand their motivation, their background, the intrinsic diversity among individuals, the fact that each of us goes through phases, and, above all, the fact that every human being is sometimes deeply asleep, just as we are. Judgment ‘I’s are summary sentences that prevent us from understanding people and situations. They help us to not know, rather than to know. It's not a question of morality or of being nice to others, but of seeing from a more objective viewpoint, and observing the energy that we allow to circulate within ourselves.

It takes a certain amount of time even to recognize in oneself the emergence of opposite ‘I’s and judgment.

Work ‘I’s are ‘I’s generated by school work to help us evoke consciousness and avoid mechanical reactions. They are ‘I’s that the steward can use as tools in the work. An example could be, "The thought that is coming is an opposite 'I'.” Or, “Careful, you’re getting irritated." They require self-observation and a certain capacity for control of centers.

As time goes by, one learns to make these work ‘I’s more and more succinct, like the commands used to train dogs: "Calm," to quiet a negative state; “Look,” to focus on the environment instead of oneself, and so on. There are methods to make them so simple that they act as an immediate impulse to be present, able to overcome in speed and effectiveness all the objections that our machines will certainly produce, and those objections always start with "Yes, but . . ."

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Image: 'Christ Dividing Sheep and Goats', S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna