DRINKING FROM THE POISONED CHALICE OF JEALOUSY

DRINKING FROM THE POISONED CHALICE OF JEALOUSY

Shellee-Kim

I’ve been away for a while and have been witnessing the destruction and havoc caused by that state called jealousy.

Prevalent in our world and in the light of what I see around me and as per my own past personal experiences, I’ve watched how the destructive energy of jealousy can take hold in the heart. And the power of its expression when unleashed on others.

For jealousy can and must involve others for its survival, being dependent on control and manipulation of its environment. Jealousy’s survival is based on competition with others (even at the deepest levels and without conscious recognition) as a result of feelings of inadequacy within.

Jealousy and envy are bedfellows. There cannot be the one without the other. Jealousy will ensure those who are gripped by it perceive a myriad of threats outside of the self. All of these are but an illusion, based on ill feelings towards the self -which then become twisted and projected onto one or more persons in the world. In extreme cases, the one gripped by jealousy will see many as a threat or obstruction to her/his advancement and contentment. And thus perhaps the many may come under fire if they work or interact closely and regularly with the jealous person.
Because the jealous person uses manipulation (and varying degrees of subtlety) to achieve their ends, jealous attacks on others will often be well-masked.

Usually such people suffering from jealousy will be extremely ambitious in one or many areas of their lives and expression. Even if they’re not ‘professional’ in worldly terms, these ones are usually obsessed with achieving some type of Number 1 status in an area of their lives.
This could include the ‘power’ that comes with social popularity or it may relate to upholding a position of authority (which could even be a hobby group) that has influence over others.

The important thing for those governed by jealousy is to use manipulation of others to reach their intended goal – which is to attain or maintain top position or redeem themselves to one they believe belongs to them. Whether true or not, jealous people often perceive others to be encroaching on their claimed space.

Of course, they may never have been entitled to their ‘position’ in the first place. And their ‘position’ may simply be a need to be seen as an authority in a sphere or on a subject.
But their need to be top dog translates to their justifying as to how they go about choices made with their opponent/the other. Even though the power of destruction they leave in their wake could have long-lasting effects.

Jealousy in various spiritually-seeking communities is no different. It comes with all the same hallmarks of those who are beholden to it; presents with the same consciousness traps and as with all things, is a direct reflection of how you feel about yourself at the deepest levels of your being.

For, in truth, and as with all else, jealousy has nothing to do with anyone or anything outside of yourself. You are not a victim and there is nothing in the world that could justify your desire to ‘take down’ someone outside of yourself for being a perceived threat to your well-being.

When you embark on your journey of jealousy and follow through on your plans to ‘take down’ or ‘take out’ another due to whatever your perceptions of the competition, you are also committing to your own destruction on some level. To destroy another is to destroy the self.

How does the dis-ease of jealousy take hold of the consciousness in the first place?
It may have begun with pressure placed upon you as a child, by a parent. Perhaps it became, over time, a natural means of whipping the self, of pushing the self to ‘over-achieve’ in life. And anyone perceived en route as standing in the way of that and the associated parental approval had to be eliminated or you wouldn’t come first; wouldn’t be loved and accepted. Or perhaps just be found to be wanting.
Or the jealousy may have begun over a sibling rivalry scenario as a child. Where you felt you were always fighting to reach that Number One status in the eyes of your parents or caregiver or even a teacher.

On the plus side, the positive spin is that the jealousy within may have fuelled your drive in whichever part of your life has become a success.

It matters less where and how the jealousy originated than the feelings left behind in the wake of such disapproval of the self. For ultimately these are the roots of jealousy.

Dissaproval and criticism of self that go unheeded naturally leads, when projected, to disapproval and criticism of others. And it is this disapproval and criticism of others that fuels jealous outbursts.
This is the important point, as this is what potentially carries the most damage.

These may come in the form of very subtle comments or actions that may serve to plant destructive seeds in the minds of others about your competition/opponent. Or these may come forth in the form of huge, dramatic theatrical-type performances, designed to ‘show up’ the other publicly and rally support to justify your actions.

‘Do to others what you would have them do unto you’ and in accordance with divine law means there ain’t no escaping what’ll be returning as your very own experiences in the short or long run.

Jealousy, like anything else that actively seeks to harm another in defence of personal inadequacies, may be way out of whack with divine law.
But in the short and long run, karma’s a bitch.