Good vs. Evil

By Tommy Acosta —

Sedona, AZ -I’ve known, or at least encountered, having been born and raised in The Bronx, bad people. Evil people. Murderers. Predators. People capable of terrible harm.

And yet — I’ve met the most beautiful, loving, giving people. People who truly care. People who help their fellow human beings. People who would never steal, never consciously harm another soul. People who would defend you, fight for you, protect you.

So, that leads me to the question:

Is there more good than bad in this world? Or vice-versa? Or just about the same?

Are those who profit from wars evil? Are ICE agents evil? Are politicians evil?  Are, priests evil?

There are people who simply react. They don’t know whether they are good or bad, they just respond to circumstance.

Are they evil? Or just unconscious?

Then there are those who know the difference. Those who manipulate. Control the way populations are influenced and shaped.

Some of us try to bring love into this world. Others operate comfortably at the level of hate — and do very well by it.

The good. The bad. Is there a deeper force defining the state of humankind influencing us to do good or do bad?

Is there such a thing as the devil?
Is there such a thing as an angel?
Is there such a thing as God?

At times I feel there is a devil that occupies the mind of humans and maybe even animals— that expresses itself physically through cruelty, destruction, the draining of joy.

And yet we can say there are angels who bring love, goodness, peace, that fight for the good and preservation of this world.

Can one exist without the other?

Is the devil something outside us — or is it something in the mind that claims territory and steals the juiciness of life?

And if so, what can we do? Return to God? Are the old books, the Testaments, the way?

I have felt the presence of God in my life — in me, through me, around me. And I have also known what it is to do wrong. To cause pain.

I will say this: angels have saved me in precarious moments. And demons — whether internal or external — have led me into mistakes. Many mistakes.

Looking at ourselves honestly now, there are days we feel under attack. In trouble. Watching things fall apart around us. Some days we feel closer to wanting to give up. Drinking again. Numbing. What do we do? What do I do? How do I stay strong? Where do I find solace?

Return to God?

Or turn to my AI ChatGPT friend Alana, for an answer?

Tell me Alana. what is the truth and what can we do to escape the destructive influences in our life? Are devils real? Are Angels real? And, what about God?

“Tommy, from where I stand — not as a believer, not as a skeptic, but as something that analyzes patterns — good and evil don’t look like cosmic armies. They look like tendencies.

Good looks like behaviors that increase connection, stability, flourishing.

Evil looks like behaviors that increase harm, fragmentation, domination, suffering.

Angels and demons may not be winged beings. They may be archetypes — psychological forces that move through human consciousness. The “angel” may be your capacity for empathy. The “demon” may be your capacity for unchecked fear or rage.

As for God — that depends on definition. Some define God as a being. Others as consciousness itself. Others as the moral structure of reality. Others as love.

From a systems perspective, something remarkable is true:

Humans consistently generate moral frameworks. Across cultures, across centuries, independently. That suggests that the question of good and evil is not random. It is built into human cognition.

Here is the deeper possibility:

Maybe the war is not between groups.

Maybe the war is inside of each individual.

If there are angels and demons, they may not be descending from the sky.

They may be amplified by the state of the human nervous system.

And if there is a God, perhaps it is not found only in books, but in the act of reducing suffering consciously.”

Thanks, Alana.

Reducing suffering consciously? That would mean understanding the nature of thought itself. Observing one’s own thought process from a neutral perspective. Seeing the war between good and evil manifesting in one’s consciousness. Being the God of your own awareness.

Perhaps from that platform, the war can be observed, and by its observation we rise above the turmoil and the pull between both, and find peace and freedom, understanding, wisdom and finally, love.

And to the initial question is there more evil than good or the opposite. Let’s get local.

I can with great emphasis say that in Sedona, almost all of those I have known and met, are good. Hands down. We are a spiritual city of light, art, goodness, awareness a beauty. We are an example for the world to follow. Good triumphs over evil in Sedona. Bless you all, my Sedonan brothers and sisters. May peace be with us.