Catalyst and Spiritual Advancement

[APeacefulWarrior]

Catalyst really is such a nebulous thing.

I guess the issue is that unless it is recognised as catalyst, then it can't really serve the function of catalyst.

The exact same situation may represent catalyst for one individual, and not for another individual.  That may be because the second person has balanced that area, and so is not moved by it, or because they are so overloaded with other data, it doesn't even register in awareness.

I would disagree. As I see it, catalyst is everywhere and in every interaction. It affects people whether they recognize it or not. Some people may be more or less affected by given situations, based on their nature, but there is always SOME effect. It's mostly a matter of the scale and scope of the effect, not one of total negation. A long-time nurse, for example, might have hardened themselves against the distress that comes from seeing agonized suffering... but they're still using that catalyst, specifically to build/reinforce the psychic wall between them and their patients.

I largely see it as an Input/Output situation. Catalyst is energy and it has to go somewhere or do something. Catalyst goes in, and an effect emerges. This can't be avoided any more than something walking around in daylight can entirely avoid being heated by the sun's rays. They might have shells or coloration designed to minimize the heating, but it still occurs.

The difference here is that those who recognize the catalyst can make deliberate choices about HOW they catalyze it or otherwise make use of it, rather than blindly/instinctively reacting. That nurse might one day become self-aware enough to see how their psychic wall was leading them to treat patients like objects, decreasing the effectiveness of their nursing, and start making a deliberate attempt to be more empathetic despite the psychic pain it causes them personally. This would also illustrate a move from STS towards STO practices, even within an ostensibly service-oriented job. After all, the most effective nurses are almost always those who treat their patients as individuals, rather than as anonymous collections of symptoms.

I tend to think this basic recognition is one of the key steps towards taking control of one's polarity: recognizing that ANY event and ANY interaction can be used to further one's spiritual development, in whatever direction they believe they should move.