Life in this world is a series of challenges: it always has been and always will be. Harmony through conflict is the process by which we live and by which we grow. Think on it. It is the challenges in life and the power to overcome them which forces us to go beyond our personal limitations.
Life is very much like an ocean with its fluctuating periods of storm and calm. When the waves are smooth and rhythmic we rest and sail along without a care in the world. All is well. Then come the little storms that make the waves swell and the boat is tossed from side to side. It is difficult to rest in a storm and to float along carelessly. In these situations we are forced to attend to the prevailing winds and only through skilful handling do we keep the boat afloat.
Sometimes the little storm becomes a great storm and we are forced to face what appears to be waves of impending crisis. It is these points of crisis which reveal the weaknesses in the boat and the lack of skill in our ability to steer it. These storms in our lives are great opportunities, if seen and handled rightly, and draw out from within ourselves the latent powers we all possess and which are needed to take the next step on our journey forward.
The process governing all challenges in life, whether physical, emotional or mental, is the same:
1. A cleavage (a lack of awareness in some area of our consciousness).
2. The recognition of two opposing forces operating and causing a point of crisis. (Should I, or shouldn’t I?)
3. A period of unrest, frustration or futility, leading sometimes to disaster, to forms of nervous or emotional breakdown, and to chaotic and undesirable conditions.
4. An intelligently applied bridging process carried forward with skill, once the cleavage is determined.
5. The achievement of periods of recognised fusion of the opposing forces. Understanding dawns as we see more clearly our part in the problem and its solution.
6. The establishment of a definite balance and rhythm brought about by right discrimination and right choice in regard to the right handling of cleavage. These points of crisis – when rightly handled in a life, or in a series of lives – and when understood for what they really are (necessary tests along the way), lead to integration, growth and further expansion. 
“LIFE DOES NOT DEMAND ACQUIESCENCE AND ACCEPTANCE. IT DEMANDS ACTIVITY, THE SEPARATION OF THE GOOD AND HIGH VALUES FROM THE UNDESIRABLE, THE CULTIVATION OF THAT SPIRIT OF FIGHT WHICH WILL PRODUCE ORGANISATION, UNDERSTANDING, AND EVENTUAL EMERGENCE INTO A REALM OF USEFUL SPIRITUAL (AND PRACTICAL) ACTIVITY”.
Thus speak the Wise.
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