Woke, Not Woke, Polarity Thinking, and Your Health

Dr. Jon Repole 

Greatest Good, Least Harm for All People, Animals, and the Environment

Let's cut to the chase: at the core of a balanced and healthy life lies a fundamental principle—striving for the greatest good and least harm for all people, animals, and the environment. This moral intuition should become a habit we all strive to strengthen, guiding us in all our decision-making choices.

Why is this important?

There is a principle hidden but embedded in the great Kosmos: when we understand the interconnectedness of all things, we recognize that doing good is inherently beneficial for us too. As Abraham Maslow aptly put it, “Healthy selfishness is a natural part of healthy self-actualization. It means that one takes joy in, and is enriched by, contributing to others.” Acting altruistically, in a healthy and self-aware way, aligns our actions with this holistic, compassionate, and inclusive approach to health and well-being, fostering a more connected and harmonious existence. Our motto encapsulates this truth: "Doing Good is Good for You."

Understanding Polarization and Its Impact

In today's world, the constant bombardment of polarizing rhetoric—woke vs. non-woke, conservative vs. liberal—creates an "us vs. them" mindset that is perpetuated by the media and those addicted to stress and conflict. These outer conflicts thrive on creating chaos, confusion, division, and separateness, which constrict our thinking into a narrow, black-and-white perspective. This dichotomous thinking makes us less tolerant of others, less compassionate, and more rigid in our views. The outer chaos, in turn, leads to inner chaos, heightening stress, anxiety, and deteriorating mental and emotional health.

Our brains, conditioned by this environment, seek out information that reinforces these dichotomies and lopsided thinking, projecting our shadow parts onto others and creating a never-ending cycle of conflict and division. This spiral of living on only one side of the pole prevents us from seeing the totality of the issues and the truth. For example, the debate is never just about more government or less government—it’s about understanding and integrating both perspectives. Both/and thinking, as we will see, does not provide a single answer but allows us to make better, more thoughtfully informed choices. This approach fosters a more balanced and comprehensive understanding of complex issues, leading to improved mental and emotional health and more harmonious relationships.

Losing Intelligence

Intelligence, in its simplest form, is the ability to make connections. However, as we become increasingly intolerant of others' opinions, views, and beliefs, and fall prey to pole absolutism—holding one pole or view without respecting or understanding the interdependence of the opposite pole—we lose this crucial ability to connect. This absolutism can occur in four major areas: subjective experience, objective proof, cultural identity, and systems. According to Ken Wilber's Integral Theory, these are the four quadrants. By clinging to absolutism, we miss the good, the reward, the truth, and the holistic pieces found in all four areas—the partial truths.

When we do this, we lose, diminish, or atrophy some of our multiple intelligences, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and emotional intelligence. We become more intelligent in one area at the expense of others.

The Four Quadrants

1. Subjective Experience: This includes our personal, internal experiences and psychological states.
2. Objective Proof: This is the realm of science, measurable data, and observable facts.
3. Cultural Identity: This encompasses the shared morals, values, and ethics of a group or society.
4. Systems: These are the interconnected systems that we and our culture live in, such as ecosystems, governmental systems, and technological systems.

These four areas do not exist in isolation but tetra-arise, meaning they all emerge together and are interconnected. Favoring one area over the others can lead to a skewed perspective. For instance, our educational system often emphasizes disciplines that focus on a single area—such as the subjective nature of psychology, the objective rigor of the sciences, systems thinking, or the shared ethics of culture. Each is only true within its context. Our educational systems do very little to integrate these disciplines or tie them together with moral intuition, leaving them isolated and without practical application for addressing issues like world hunger, poverty, animal cruelty, and environmental destruction.

Furthermore, because things tetra-arise, we must be mindful that absolutisms are partial truths, relative truths, and not THE TRUTH. For example, in the cultural quadrant, the perception of cows varies significantly. In the U.S., cows are commonly eaten, whereas in India, cows are revered. These views are culturally shared and agreed-upon relative truths.

In general, absolutism in one area blinds us to the other interconnected parts, as they hold partial and relative truths. To understand absolute Truth, we must include all quadrants.

Impact on Personal Life and Multiple Intelligences

In our personal lives, this absolutism affects our multiple intelligences. We might become dominated by intellectual intelligence at the expense of emotional intelligence. Our intrapersonal intelligence might develop at the expense of our interpersonal intelligence. Additionally, we can disregard the environment and animals, losing intraspecies and interspecies intelligence, and nature intelligence.

By understanding and integrating the partial truths of all four quadrants, we can foster a more balanced and inclusive intelligence, enhancing our overall well-being and our ability to connect with the world around us.

The Need for Polarity Thinking

Polarity thinking offers a refreshing alternative to this divisive paradigm. Rather than pivoting one thing against the other, polarity thinking encourages us to see the entirety of a problem. It introduces the concept of both/and thinking, which moves us away from ethnocentric polarized thinking to a more integral and holistic approach.

Polarity thinking is not about choosing sides but recognizing the interdependent nature of opposites. This mindset acknowledges that both poles of a situation have value and that the interplay between them can lead to more balanced and effective solutions. By embracing polarity thinking, we can transcend the limitations of black-and-white thinking and begin to appreciate the complexity of human experiences.

How Polarity Works

Polarity thinking recognizes that when the energy crosses between two poles, it is experienced as "tension." With this tension, we often assume we must choose one of the poles as a "solution" to the tension. However, this is a false choice because the poles are inseparable. The tension is unsolvable in that one cannot choose either pole as a sustainable "solution." This interdependent pair is also unavoidable. Pivoting one pole against another is an example of polarization, not polarity.

There is a natural flow from the downside of one pole to the upside of the other. After moving into the upside of the opposite pole, the system, over time, will reach its limits and move toward the downside of that pole. This creates natural pressure to self-correct by moving to the upside of the original pole. This flow looks like an infinity loop, a helpful symbol because polarities are ongoing. To "solve" them is to learn how to manage them well over time.

As the energy crosses between the two poles, it separates them, reflecting the reality that the two poles never collapse into one. They are always differentiated. As the energy wraps around each of the poles, it holds them together as an interdependent pair, reflecting the reality that the two poles come as a set and need each other over time. They are always connected.

It’s critical to remember:

• With polarities, over time, there is no such thing as win/lose; there is only win/win or lose/lose.
• Up and down, right and left, black and white are polarities. However, when framed as up vs. down, right vs. left, or black vs. white, they become examples of polarization.
• Each pole brings something positive to the pair, and each pole becomes a liability without its interdependent pole partner.
• The more we understand about the elements of this phenomenon and the dynamics by which it functions, the more effective we can be at leveraging its energy. This leveraging can support us in pursuing our most expansive dreams and addressing our most chronic issues—as individuals, families, organizations, nations, and humanity.

History of Polarity Thinking

The concept of polarity thinking is ancient, dating back to the yin yang symbol in Chinese philosophy. The yin yang symbol represents the interdependence of opposites, suggesting that dualities are interconnected and complementary. This symbol illustrates that within every situation, there are elements of both light and dark, positive and negative, and that these elements are not only interconnected but also essential for the whole.

In contemporary times, polarity thinking can help us move away from polarized thinking towards a more integral approach that embraces the idea of "true but partial." This means recognizing that every perspective holds some truth, but no single perspective holds the complete truth. By integrating multiple viewpoints, we can form a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of complex issues.

Problems vs. Polarities

A fundamental question to ask when encountering a difficulty is: "Is this a problem we can solve, or is it an ongoing polarity we must manage well?"

Problems to solve have:

• One right answer: "If I’m right, my opposition is wrong."
• Two or more right answers that are independent: "There’s more than one alternative here; let me try this or that one."

Polarities to leverage have:

• Two right answers that are interdependent: "I and my opposition are not only both right, but we are also each dependent on the other’s truth over time."

The four questions that help us determine whether an issue is a polarity or a problem:

1. Is the issue ongoing, like breathing?
2. Is there an interdependence between two alternatives such that if we choose one alternative for the moment, we will be required to include the other alternative at some point in the future?
3. Is it necessary over time to have both identified upsides?
4. Will focusing on one upside to the neglect of the other eventually undermine efforts to move toward your greater purpose?

Summary Guide:

• Every day, we waste energy and create pain from misdiagnosing a paradox and treating it as a problem to solve and then fighting over the two poles.
• Polarities are ongoing, chronic issues that are unavoidable and unsolvable. Attempting to address them with traditional problem-solving skills only makes things worse.
• Polarities always contain problems to solve. Problems to solve can be a part of a polarity, and they can have polarities within them. Whoa! That's a mouthfull! 

Using a Polarity Map

A practical tool for applying polarity thinking is the polarity map, a concept developed by Dr. Barry Johnson. This map helps us visualize and balance the positive and negative aspects of any situation. It encourages us to identify the upsides and downsides of both poles and find ways to leverage the strengths while mitigating the weaknesses.

Steps to Create a Polarity Map

Step 1: On a piece of paper, draw two axes.

Step 2: Decide on your two poles: That is, the two opposing but positive dimensions that ideally need to coexist.

Step 3: Decide on your GPS (Greater Purpose Statement): This is your overall goal, relevant for the Polarity Map you are creating. An important aspect to keep front and center is the principle of the greatest good and least harm for all people, animals, and the environment. Examples of Greater Purpose Statements might include: “Effective Leadership,” “Fulfilment and Wellbeing,” “Respectful Relationships.” Similarly, at the bottom of your map, you might like to add the opposite of your GPS, for example, “Ineffective Leadership.”

Step 4: Add “+” to top quadrants, “-” to lower quadrants, and “And” into the intersection of your axes.

Step 5: Notice what each quadrant means:

• Top left: the positive impact of focusing on the left pole
• Top right: the positive impact of focusing on the right pole
• Bottom left: the negative impact of over-focusing on the left pole
• Bottom right: the negative impact of over-focusing on the right pole

Step 6: Populate each quadrant. Begin filling in your Polarity Map in the order that feels most natural to you until you have filled all four quadrants of your map.

Step 7: Stand back and reflect. Now you have completed your map you might like to consider:

• What do you notice?
• What does that mean?
• What could you try?

Practical Example: Work-Life Balance

1. Identify the Poles:

   • Pole 1: Work
   • Pole 2: Life (personal time)

2. Identify the Positives and Negatives:

   • Work Positives: Sense of accomplishment, financial stability, professional growth.
   • Work Negatives: Burnout, stress, neglect of personal relationships.
   • Life Positives: Relaxation, quality time with family, personal fulfillment.
   • Life Negatives: Lack of productivity, financial instability, boredom.

3. Balance the Poles:

   • To achieve balance between work and life (note: while I prefer the term coherence, as it can be achieved at any moment and relies on quality rather than quantity or a state of achievement in the present moment, I will use balance for the sake of understanding), we must recognize the need for both productivity and personal fulfillment. This might involve setting boundaries for work hours, prioritizing self-care, and ensuring that personal time is genuinely restful and enriching.

Embracing Polarity for Better Mental and Emotional Health

By practicing polarity thinking, we can begin to see all sides of an issue, leaving behind the pathological elements of polarized viewpoints and embracing the nourishing and helpful aspects. This holistic approach fosters love, inclusiveness, and integration, ultimately leading to better mental and emotional health and improved interpersonal relations.

When we move away from divisive thinking and embrace a more integrative perspective, we can create a sense of unity and understanding. This shift not only benefits our personal well-being but also contributes to a more harmonious and connected society.

Conclusion

The path to better mental and emotional health lies in transcending the limitations of black-and-white thinking and embracing the complexity of human experiences through polarity thinking. By recognizing the interdependence of opposites and integrating multiple perspectives, we can foster a more balanced and inclusive mindset. Aligning our actions with the principle of doing the greatest good and least harm for all people, animals, and the environment, we can create healthier, more fulfilling lives and build stronger, more compassionate communities. Through the practical application of tools like polarity maps, we can ensure that "Doing Good is Good for You."