過剩潛能 (Exceed potential)

Excess Potential

大自然中的萬物皆力求平衡：氣溫的變化由風力來調節，溫差則透過熱交換彌補；凡是出現任何形式的過剩潛能 (Exceed potential)，便會湧現平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 來糾正這一不平衡。這類自然法則我們已習以為常，以至於很少去探問其必然性或平衡法則究竟如何運作。(Note: 此處強調自然界的自我調節機制)

Everything in nature strives towards balance. Changes in air temperature are balanced by wind. Differences in temperature are compensated by thermal exchange. Wherever there is excess potential of any energy form, balanced forces emerge to correct the imbalance. We are so accustomed to such statements on the nature of things that we fail to ask ourselves why it must necessarily be so, or how exactly the law of balance works.

法則本身並不能解釋任何一切，它們只是對事實的陳述。所有自然法則皆屬次級，都是從平衡法則 (Law of balance) 派生而來。平衡法則 (Law of balance) 是基礎（至少看似如此），而我們無法解釋為什麼自然界會存在這種平衡，或者具體而言，平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 的來源與存在原因。習慣了某種現象並不意味著事情必然如此。試想若非依靠平衡法則，世界會變成什麼樣——也許是一片大氣果凍，或是一座狂暴熔爐？然而，這種世界的醜陋並不足以證明平衡法則不存在，我們只能接受它為事實，同時對世界的完美感到驚嘆，並不斷探究究竟是什麼在主宰一切。

Laws do not actually explain anything. They are just statements of fact. All laws of nature are secondary and derived from the law of balance. The law of balance is primary (at least it appears to be), and it is impossible to explain why equilibrium should exist in nature in the first place or more specifically, where balanced forces originate from and why indeed they exist at all. The fact that we have become accustomed to something doesn’t mean it is the way things necessarily are. One can only imagine what the world would be like were it not for the law of balance; an atmospheric jelly or an aggressive furnace perhaps? However, the unsightliness of such a world is hardly a reason to support the existence of the law of balance and so we are left to accept it as fact and to wonder in admiration at the perfection of the world, nonetheless, puzzling over the question of what governs it all.

我們習慣於生活中善惡交替、成功與失敗並存，這一切正是平衡法則 (Law of balance) 的體現。成功如同不幸一樣，會擾亂平衡；當萬事都維持在無事發生的全然平衡狀態時，便達到完全平衡，而絕對平衡卻從未出現過，或至少沒有人觀察到。世界各處都可見到振盪現象：晝夜交替、潮汐起落、生與死；甚至在真空中，基本粒子也在不斷誕生與消散的循環中。

We are used to the fact that there are good and bad spells in life and that success is followed by defeat, for this is all a manifestation of the law of balance. Success, like misfortune, destroys the balance. Complete balance is when nothing happens. Absolute balance doesn’t exist, or at least no-one has yet managed to observe it. Oscillation is observed everywhere in the world: night and day, incoming and outgoing tides, birth and death, etc. Even in a vacuum, elementary particles are involved in a process of continual birth and dematerialization.

整個世界可以看作由擺錘 (Pendulum) 組成，這些擺錘 (Pendulum) 不斷振盪、逐漸消退並相互作用。每個擺錘 (Pendulum) 都會受到鄰近者的震動，並以己之力回饋。主宰這一複雜系統的基本法則正是平衡法則 (Law of balance)，最終萬物都力求恢復平衡。你自己也屬於擺錘 (Pendulum) 的一種；若你硬要破壞這平衡，向某一方向劇烈偏移，就會與鄰近的擺錘 (Pendulum) 發生摩擦，最終反噬於你。

The entire world can be seen in the form of pendulums that oscillate, fade and interact with one another. Every pendulum receives a jolt from its neighbours and in turn gives out its own. One of the main laws governing this complex system is the law of balance. Ultimately, everything strives towards balance. You are also a kind of pendulum. If you take it into your head to destroy the balance and sway sharply in a particular direction, you will brush against the neighbouring pendulums creating commotion all around which will then turn against you.

平衡可以被行動和思想所破壞，而這並不僅僅因為思想必然會引發行動。正如你所知，思想會釋放能量；在物質實現 (Material realisation) 的世界中，一切都有其能量基礎。凡是在無形層面發生的現象，都會反映在可見的物質世界中。表面上看來，我們的思想能量似乎不足以影響周遭世界，但若真是如此，事物就會簡單得多。

Balance can be destroyed by actions and also by thoughts and not only because thought is followed by action. As you know, thoughts radiate energy. In the world of material realization everything has an energetic foundation. Everything that occurs on an invisible level is reflected in the world of visible material objects. It might seem as if the energy of our thoughts is not powerful enough to have an impact on the world around us and if that were the case, everything would be a lot simpler.

然而，別對能量層面發生的事過度猜測，否則我們可能陷入無盡的猜想中。對我們來說，只需接受這一簡化的平衡模型：凡是出現過剩潛能 (Excess Potential) 的地方，平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 便會湧現，將其消除。(Note: 此處“過剩潛能”也可理解為“超出原有潛能”)

However, let’s not make guesses about what’s happening on an energetic level; otherwise we could get entangled in a knot of conjecture. For our purposes it is enough to accept the simplified model of balance: where excess potential appears, balanced forces emerge to eliminate it.

當你對某個物體賦予過高「重要性 (Importance)」時，你的心智能量便會產生過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 。例如，試比較兩個場景：一是你站在家中的地面上，另一是你站在懸崖邊緣。在第一種情況下，環境並不令人憂慮；而在第二種狀況下，情勢極為關鍵——只需一個不慎便可能帶來不可挽回的後果。然而，從能量層面看，僅僅站立這一行為在兩個場景中實際上具有相同的意義。

Excess potential is created by mental energy when too much importance is given to a particular object. For example, let’s compare two situations: in one situation you are standing on the floor in your house and in the other you are standing at the edge of a precipice. In the first case the situation causes you no concern. In the second case the situation is of grave significance–one careless movement and the mistake is irreparable. On an energetic level however, the fact of simply standing is of equal significance in both cases.

當你站在懸崖邊緣時，恐懼感會被放大，進一步在能量場中造成不均勻分布。這時，平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 便會開始作用，目的是中和這過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 。你甚至能感受到它們的影響：一方面，一股難以形容的力量似乎正拉扯著你向下；另一方面，又有另一股力量促使你離開懸崖邊緣。為了消除恐懼所帶來的過剩潛能 (Exceed potential)，平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 要么將你拖離邊緣，要么則將你向下拋，使情勢得以穩定，這正是你目前所體驗到的影響。

Standing above a precipice, your fear heightens intensity and creates inhomogeneity in the energy field. At this point, balanced forces emerge aimed at neutralizing the excess potential. You can even feel their influence: on the one hand an inexplicable force seems to pull you downwards and on the other, another force draws you to step away from the edge. To eliminate the excess potential of your fear the balanced forces are required either to drag you away from the edge or to cast you downwards and be done with it. It is the impact of the balanced forces that you are experiencing.

從能量層面來看，所有物質對象的重要性都是相等的；正是我們賦予它們如好、壞、快樂、悲傷、吸引、排斥、善良、邪惡、簡單、複雜等各種特定品質，使得它們顯得有別。這種評價本身並不會引起能量場的不均勻。就像你坐在家中扶手椅上會認為這是安全的，但如果你站在懸崖邊緣則會覺得危險。在你做出評價的那一刻，因為你並未感到擔憂，所以平衡並未受到干擾。只有當你對評價賦予過大「重要性 (Importance)」時，過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 才會真正出現。

On an energetic level all material objects are of equal significance. It is we that attribute specific qualities to them such as good, bad, cheerful, sad, attractive, repulsive, kind, wicked, simple, complex, etc. Everything in this world is subject to our assessment. The assessment itself does not create inhomogeneity in the energy field. Sitting in an armchair at home you can make the assessment that sitting there is safe, but standing at the edge of a precipice is dangerous. At the moment of making the assessment, the situation you are considering does not worry you and so balance is in no way disturbed. Excess potential only appears in cases where the level of importance attributed to the assessment is excessive.

如果你對一個評價賦予了極高的「重要性 (Importance)」，而這種評價又大幅扭曲了實際情況，那麼過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 就會隨之增加。一般而言，當某個物體對我們極其重要時，我們便難以以客觀態度去評價它的品質。例如，我們往往會給受崇拜的對象過高的價值，而對於我們憎惡的對象則認為其有著超乎尋常的負面影響；同樣，恐懼的對象會被賦予可怕的特質。這時，我們的思維能量便試圖人工地創造出一種實際並不存在的特質，從而產生了過剩潛能 (Exceed potential)，進一步喚起平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 的作用。

The amount of potential is increased if the assessment which is attributed huge value also greatly distorts reality. Generally speaking, if an object is very important to us we are incapable of objectively assessing its quality. For example, an object of worship is always attributed excess worth and an object of hate, excess detriment; an object of fear, terrifying qualities. Thought energy strives to artificially produce a certain quality there, where in fact it is not present. As a result, excess potential is created which summons the wind of balanced forces.

評價中的偏差，即對現實的扭曲，具有雙重表現：我們可能會過度賦予某個物體正面或負面的特質。然而，這種評價偏差本身並不會造成後果。需要注意的是，只有當這種偏差被賦予極高「重要性 (Importance)」時，才會產生過剩潛能 (Exceed potential)；正是因為你個人對這一評價的重視，才使得你的能量流向了那個評價。

The bias of the assessment, which is a distortion of reality, is two-fold: The object in question is excessively attributed either negative or positive qualities. However, of itself, an error of assessment plays no role in the matter. Note that the bias in assessment generates excess potential only if it is attributed great meaning. It is only the importance that the assessment has for you personally that enables your energy to be transmitted to it.

過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 雖然無形無影，但卻在我們的生活中扮演著相當顯著，甚至隱蔽的角色。當平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 消除這種過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 時，往往會引發種種問題。自相矛盾的是，最終的結果常常與最初的意圖正好相反，而人們也不明白這其中的原因。這種現象有時會讓我們覺得某個神秘的黑暗力量在左右著我們的生活，就像俗稱「蛇蠍法則」一般。我們曾探討過，為何人們經常得到自己不想要的，而非真正渴望的；這正又是一個例子，說明我們的慾望如何在不知不覺中悄然流失。

Excess potential is invisible and intangible and yet it plays a significant and even insidious role in people’s lives. When balanced forces eliminate excess potential they can generate myriad problems. Paradoxically, the end result is often the exact opposite of the original intention and people do not understand why this happens. It is this phenomenon that sometimes makes us feel as if some inexplicable dark force had a grip on our lives, like ‘sod’s law’. We touched on this when we were discussing why people get what they do not want rather than what they do want. Here is another example of how what we desire slips away from us.

有人認為，如果你全心全意投入於工作，就一定能取得極佳的成績。但從天平與平衡的角度來看，這種全情投入工作就像將工作放在天平的一邊，將其他所有事物放在另一邊，必然打破平衡，並很快顯現出不良後果。最終，過度重視工作的結果往往與你原先預期的截然相反。

Some people believe that if you devote yourself fully to your work you will achieve excellent results. If you look at this position from the point of view of scales and balance, it is obvious that immersing yourself so heavily in work is like placing your work on one dish of the scales and absolutely everything else in the other dish. Naturally, balance is destroyed and the consequences become visible all too soon. The result of prioritising work to this extent will be the exact opposite of what you expected.

如果更努力工作能夠賺取更多收入或提升資格，那麼稍微付出額外努力無可厚非；但正如生活中一切皆講究適度與比例。如果你長期處於極度疲憊，甚至成了自己的嚴苛主子，那倒不如放慢腳步，或者考慮轉換職業。不論如何，任何超出適度範圍的努力，都必將不可避免地帶來負面影響。

If working harder means earning more money or improving your qualifications then of course a little extra effort will do no harm. Like everything in life, there should be good measure and proportionality. If however, you are constantly exhausted and have become your own slave driver then it would be better to slow down a little or even look for a different type of job. Either way, the point is that any effort made beyond measure will inevitably lead to negative consequences.

這便是能量層面運作的方式。除了工作之外，每個人還擁有自己的一整套價值體系——無論是家庭、居所還是休閒愛好等。如果你把所有其他價值與工作這一單一價值放在一起比較，你就會創造出強大的過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 。自然界中一切都追求平衡，這意味著，除了你的主觀意志外，還會有其他力量介入，以緩解你所創造的過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 帶來的後果。平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 可以以各種方式表現出來：你可能因此生病，使得工作變得毫無可能；你亦可能陷入憂鬱，這並不令人意外，因為你對自己過於苛求。理智的聲音會催促：“加油！你必須賺更多錢！”而你的靈魂或潛意識則會反問：“難道我活著就是為了自我折磨、遭受痛苦嗎？”最終，你或許會長期感到身心俱疲，任何再提高效率的計劃都將煙消雲散，你會覺得自己仿佛在磚牆前徒勞掙扎。

This is what happens on an energetic level. Aside from work, everyone has their own set of values, be it: home, family, leisure pursuits etc. If you juxtapose all your other values with the one value of work you create strong potential. Everything in nature strives towards equilibrium, which means that aside from your own will, other forces would come into play to mitigate the consequences of the excess potential you are creating. Balanced forces can work in all sorts of different ways. You may become ill, in which case there could be no question of working any harder. You may start suffering from depression which would not be altogether surprising because you would have been so hard on yourself. The voice of the rational mind shouts: “Come on! You must earn more money” while the soul or subconscious objects: “Surely this is not what I came into the world for, to suffer and torture myself? Why bring this on myself?” Eventually, you would become chronically tired and any plans to be more productive would have to be forgotten. You would probably end up feeling that you were banging your head against a brick wall; getting nowhere fast.

當人們過分將工作置於首位時，總會有其他人以更輕的努力取得更高成就。一旦某人在工作上達到一定水平，他們便容易對工作賦予極高「重要性 (Importance)」，而事實上，越是過分地看重工作，問題便越容易出現。大多數人認為問題的出現是理所當然，但實際上，當你降低期望並放鬆依附時，所經歷的問題會大幅減少。

When people do overly prioritise their work there always seem to be someone else around who achieves more whilst making considerably less effort. Once a person achieves a certain level in their job there can be a tendency to place massive importance on their work, but unfortunately, the more disproportionately important it becomes, the more likely it is that problems will arise. People assume it quite natural for there to be problems, but in reality, the number of problems a person experiences is reduced significantly when they lower their expectations and relax their attachment.

從這一切中，我們唯一能得出的結論是：如果你希望避免產生過剩潛能 (Exceed potential)，就必須有意識地重新審視你與工作的關係。擁有能讓你從中獲得樂趣的空閒時間至關重要；不懂得放鬆的人，也往往無法高效工作。當你走進工作場所時，請學會抽離，充分動用你的腦力與雙手，但不要將你的心交出。工作擺錘 (Pendulum) 渴望你奉獻所有能量，但你來到這個世界絕非僅僅為了服侍擺錘 (Pendulum) 。當你停止創造過剩潛能 (Exceed potential)，並擺脫破壞性擺錘 (Pendulum) 的束縛時，你的工作效率將會明顯提升。

The only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that you have to consciously re-evaluate your relationship to your work if you want to avoid creating excess potential. It is essential to have free time in which you can do the things you enjoy. People who do not know how to switch off and relax do not know how to work well either. When you arrive at work, detach yourself. Give of your head and hands, but do not give away your heart. The work pendulum wants all the energy you can give it, but you did not come into the world simply to work for a pendulum. Your efficiency at work will be noticeably increased when you stop creating excess potential and free yourself from destructive pendulums.

抽離與正直必須並行。務必小心，避免因小錯或失態而被人指責為不負責任或疏忽大意。履行責任時誠信十分重要。抽離並不意味著掉以輕心或草率應對，而是要以冷靜的心態行動，同時避免產生過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 。這種方式能保護你免於被捲入不愉快的局面。你身邊總會有那種全情投入工作的人，在潛意識中，他們會察覺到，儘管你做事無懈可擊，但你卻能保持足夠情感上的抽離，從而不至於全盤投入。他們往往本能地想抓住你的失誤，一旦你稍有差池，他們便會上前指摘。而令人遺憾的是，這些錯誤常只是些平凡無害的小事：可能只是稍微遲到，或者忘記了些微不足道的小事。如果你像他們那樣把自己淹沒在工作中，沒有人會多加理會；但一旦你改變對工作的態度，這些小失誤便會成為他人指責你懈怠或缺乏投入的借口。

Match detachment with integrity. Be careful not to make small errors or faux pas, which would enable others to accuse you of being irresponsible or negligent. It is important to carry out your responsibilities with integrity. Detaching yourself from a situation does not mean behaving carelessly in a slack or slip shod manner. It means to act with a cold mind, without creating excess potential at the same time as fulfilling the tasks required of you. This approach protects you from being drawn into unpleasant situations. There will always be people you know or colleagues who continue to immerse themselves head first in their work. On a subconscious level they will sense that, although you act with impeccability, you are sufficiently emotionally detached not to put yourself on the line completely. These conscientious individuals will instinctively feel the urge to trip their competitor up on some oversight. As soon as you make a mistake they will be there to criticize you. The sad thing is that the mistake is likely to be something quite mundane and harmless. You might just be a little late for work or have forgotten something fairly minor. If you had sunk your head in the work-sand, as they do, no-one would make anything of it, however once you change your attitude to your work, little things give people the opportunity to accuse you of slacking or lacking in dedication.

此類情況同樣可能發生在家中或朋友間，因此，無論在何種情境下，只要你需要抽離自己，同時又要認真履行責任，就必須謹慎行事，杜絕任何給人批評的機會。正是內在見證者，即「守護者謎題 (Guardian's Riddle)」中的守護者，使你能在保持正直的同時，又不會盲目衝刺。所謂的內在守護者，並非指人格分裂，而是你內心那部分默默在後方觀察你所做所為的存在。這個主題我們將在後續章節中再深入探討。

Situations like these can also arise at home and among your friends so it is important in any situation where you are detaching yourself to fulfil your responsibilities attentively, thereby not giving anyone the opportunity to reproach you. It is the inner witness, the Guardian that enables you to act with integrity at the same time as holding back from throwing yourself headfirst into the race. The notion of the inner Guardian has nothing to do with a split personality. It is the part of yourself that stands in the background and observes what you are doing and how you are doing it. We will return to this theme in forthcoming chapters.

有人認為，將自己全身心投入工作反而是一件美妙的事——當然，這取決於你的工作性質。從平衡 (Balance) 的角度看，只有當工作與你的個人目標 (Goals and doors) 相契合時，全情投入才是合理的。個人目標 (Goals and doors) 的問題也是稍後我們將更詳細探討的主題。如果你因工作與個人目標 (Goals and doors) 不謀而合而喜愛它，那麼這工作便能像一條通往成功的隧道般，滋養你的能量，帶來愉悅、靈感與滿足。如果你是那些能自信地表示對工作充滿熱情的幸運人，便無需擔心。

Some might say that throwing yourself completely into your work is on the contrary, a wonderful thing. Of course, it depends what your work is. Total immersion in your work is only justified from the point of view of balance if it is connected to your personal goal. The personal goal is also a theme we will look at more closely a little later. If you love your work because it coincides with your personal goal then it can serve as the tunnel that leads to success. This kind of work nourishes your energy, bringing joy, inspiration and fulfilment. If you are one of the lucky ones who can confidently say that they feel this way about their work then you have nothing to worry about.

學習亦是如此。稍後在本章中，我們將探討其他生活中產生過剩潛能 (Exceed potential) 的情況，以及平衡力量 (Balanced forces) 所帶來的影響。

Exactly the same goes for study. Later in this chapter we will look at other situations in life, where excess potential is created, and the impact of balanced forces.

過剩潛力

Excess Potential

自然界中的一切都在努力達到平衡。空氣溫度的變化由風來平衡。溫度差異通過熱交換來補償。無論哪裡有任何形式的能量過剩潛力，平衡力就會出現以糾正不平衡。我們對這些關於事物本質的陳述如此習以為常，以至於我們沒有問自己為什麼一定要這樣，或者平衡法則到底是如何運作的。

Everything in nature strives towards balance. Changes in air temperature are balanced by wind. Differences in temperature are compensated by thermal exchange. Wherever there is excess potential of any energy form, balanced forces emerge to correct the imbalance. We are so accustomed to such statements on the nature of things that we fail to ask ourselves why it must necessarily be so, or how exactly the law of balance works.

法律實際上並不能解釋任何事情。它們只是事實的陳述。所有自然法則都是次要的，並源於平衡法則。平衡法則是主要的（至少看起來是），而且不可能解釋為什麼平衡應該首先存在於自然界中，或者更具體地說，平衡力來自哪裡，以及為什麼它們存在。事實上，我們已經習慣了某些事情，並不意味著事情必然如此。只能想像如果沒有平衡法則，世界會是什麼樣子；也許是一個大氣凝膠或一個侵略性的熔爐？然而，這樣一個世界的醜陋並不是支持平衡法則存在的理由，因此我們只能接受它作為事實，並對世界的完美感到讚嘆，儘管如此，仍然對什麼支配著這一切感到困惑。

Laws do not actually explain anything. They are just statements of fact. All laws of nature are secondary and derived from the law of balance. The law of balance is primary (at least it appears to be), and it is impossible to explain why equilibrium should exist in nature in the first place or more specifically, where balanced forces originate from and why indeed they exist at all. The fact that we have become accustomed to something doesn’t mean it is the way things necessarily are. One can only imagine what the world would be like were it not for the law of balance; an atmospheric jelly or an aggressive furnace perhaps? However, the unsightliness of such a world is hardly a reason to support the existence of the law of balance and so we are left to accept it as fact and to wonder in admiration at the perfection of the world, nonetheless, puzzling over the question of what governs it all.

我們習慣於生活中有好運和壞運，成功之後是失敗，因為這一切都是平衡法則的表現。成功和不幸一樣，破壞了平衡。完全的平衡是什麼都不發生。絕對平衡不存在，或者至少還沒有人能夠觀察到它。世界各地都觀察到振盪：晝夜、潮汐漲落、生與死等。即使在真空中，基本粒子也參與持續的誕生和去物質化過程。

We are used to the fact that there are good and bad spells in life and that success is followed by defeat, for this is all a manifestation of the law of balance. Success, like misfortune, destroys the balance. Complete balance is when nothing happens. Absolute balance doesn’t exist, or at least no-one has yet managed to observe it. Oscillation is observed everywhere in the world: night and day, incoming and outgoing tides, birth and death, etc. Even in a vacuum, elementary particles are involved in a process of continual birth and dematerialization.

整個世界可以看作是振盪、衰退和相互作用的"鐘擺"(Pendulums)形式。每個"鐘擺"(Pendulum)都從其鄰居那裡獲得一個震動，並反過來發出自己的震動。管理這個複雜系統的主要法則之一是平衡法則。最終，一切都在努力達到平衡。你也是一種"鐘擺"(Pendulum)。如果你決定破壞平衡，並朝著特定的方向劇烈搖擺，你將會碰到鄰近的"鐘擺"(Pendulums)，在周圍製造騷動，然後這些騷動將會反過來對付你。

The entire world can be seen in the form of pendulums that oscillate, fade and interact with one another. Every pendulum receives a jolt from its neighbours and in turn gives out its own. One of the main laws governing this complex system is the law of balance. Ultimately, everything strives towards balance. You are also a kind of pendulum. If you take it into your head to destroy the balance and sway sharply in a particular direction, you will brush against the neighbouring pendulums creating commotion all around which will then turn against you.

平衡可以被行動破壞，也可以被思想破壞，不僅僅是因為思想之後是行動。如你所知，思想輻射能量。在物質實現的世界中，一切都有能量基礎。發生在無形層面的一切都反映在可見的物質對象世界中。看起來我們思想的能量不足以對周圍的世界產生影響，如果是這樣，事情會簡單得多。

Balance can be destroyed by actions and also by thoughts and not only because thought is followed by action. As you know, thoughts radiate energy. In the world of material realization everything has an energetic foundation. Everything that occurs on an invisible level is reflected in the world of visible material objects. It might seem as if the energy of our thoughts is not powerful enough to have an impact on the world around us and if that were the case, everything would be a lot simpler.

然而，讓我們不要對能量層面上發生的事情進行猜測；否則我們可能會陷入推測的結中。對於我們的目的，接受簡化的平衡模型就足夠了：無論哪裡出現過剩潛力，平衡力就會出現以消除它。

However, let’s not make guesses about what’s happening on an energetic level; otherwise we could get entangled in a knot of conjecture. For our purposes it is enough to accept the simplified model of balance: where excess potential appears, balanced forces emerge to eliminate it.

當對特定對象賦予過多的重要性(Importance)時，心理能量會創造出過剩潛力。例如，讓我們比較兩種情況：一種情況是你站在家裡的地板上，另一種情況是你站在懸崖邊緣。在第一種情況下，這種情況不會引起你的擔憂。在第二種情況下，情況非常重要——一個不小心的動作，錯誤就無法挽回。然而，在能量層面上，簡單地站立在兩種情況下的意義是相等的。

Excess potential is created by mental energy when too much importance is given to a particular object. For example, let’s compare two situations: in one situation you are standing on the floor in your house and in the other you are standing at the edge of a precipice. In the first case the situation causes you no concern. In the second case the situation is of grave significance–one careless movement and the mistake is irreparable. On an energetic level however, the fact of simply standing is of equal significance in both cases.

站在懸崖上，你的恐懼加劇了強度，並在能量場中創造了不均勻性。在這一點上，平衡力出現，旨在中和過剩潛力。你甚至可以感受到它們的影響：一方面，一種無法解釋的力量似乎將你向下拉，另一方面，另一種力量將你拉離邊緣。為了消除你恐懼的過剩潛力，平衡力需要要麼將你拖離邊緣，要麼將你拋下去，並結束它。這就是你正在經歷的平衡力的影響。

Standing above a precipice, your fear heightens intensity and creates inhomogeneity in the energy field. At this point, balanced forces emerge aimed at neutralizing the excess potential. You can even feel their influence: on the one hand an inexplicable force seems to pull you downwards and on the other, another force draws you to step away from the edge. To eliminate the excess potential of your fear the balanced forces are required either to drag you away from the edge or to cast you downwards and be done with it. It is the impact of the balanced forces that you are experiencing.

在能量層面上，所有物質對象的意義都是相等的。是我們賦予它們特定的品質，例如好、壞、快樂、悲傷、吸引、排斥、善良、邪惡、簡單、複雜等。這個世界上的一切都受到我們的評估。評估本身不會在能量場中創造不均勻性。坐在家裡的扶手椅上，你可以評估坐在那裡是安全的，但站在懸崖邊緣是危險的。在做出評估的那一刻，你考慮的情況不會讓你擔心，因此平衡不會受到干擾。只有在評估賦予的"重要性"(Importance)水平過高的情況下，才會出現過剩潛力。

On an energetic level all material objects are of equal significance. It is we that attribute specific qualities to them such as good, bad, cheerful, sad, attractive, repulsive, kind, wicked, simple, complex, etc. Everything in this world is subject to our assessment. The assessment itself does not create inhomogeneity in the energy field. Sitting in an armchair at home you can make the assessment that sitting there is safe, but standing at the edge of a precipice is dangerous. At the moment of making the assessment, the situation you are considering does not worry you and so balance is in no way disturbed. Excess potential only appears in cases where the level of importance attributed to the assessment is excessive.

如果賦予評估巨大價值的同時也極大地扭曲了現實，那麼潛力的數量就會增加。一般來說，如果某個對象對我們非常重要，我們就無法客觀地評估其質量。例如，崇拜的對象總是被賦予過高的價值，而憎恨的對象則被賦予過多的損害；恐懼的對象被賦予可怕的特質。思想能量試圖在那裡人為地產生某種品質，而實際上並不存在。結果，過剩潛力被創造出來，從而召喚出平衡力的風。

The amount of potential is increased if the assessment which is attributed huge value also greatly distorts reality. Generally speaking, if an object is very important to us we are incapable of objectively assessing its quality. For example, an object of worship is always attributed excess worth and an object of hate, excess detriment; an object of fear, terrifying qualities. Thought energy strives to artificially produce a certain quality there, where in fact it is not present. As a result, excess potential is created which summons the wind of balanced forces.

評估的偏見，即對現實的扭曲，是雙重的：所涉及的對象被過度賦予負面或正面的特質。然而，評估錯誤本身在這件事情上並不起作用。請注意，只有當評估被賦予巨大意義時，評估的偏見才會產生過剩潛力。只有評估對你個人有多重要，才能使你的能量傳遞給它。

The bias of the assessment, which is a distortion of reality, is two-fold: The object in question is excessively attributed either negative or positive qualities. However, of itself, an error of assessment plays no role in the matter. Note that the bias in assessment generates excess potential only if it is attributed great meaning. It is only the importance that the assessment has for you personally that enables your energy to be transmitted to it.

過剩潛力是無形且無法觸摸的，但它在人們的生活中扮演著重要甚至隱蔽的角色。當平衡力消除過剩潛力時，它們可能會產生無數問題。矛盾的是，最終結果往往與最初的意圖完全相反，人們不明白為什麼會這樣。正是這種現象有時讓我們感覺像是某種無法解釋的黑暗力量掌控著我們的生活，就像“倒霉定律”。我們在討論為什麼人們得到他們不想要的東西而不是他們想要的東西時觸及了這一點。這裡是另一個例子，說明我們想要的東西如何從我們手中溜走。

Excess potential is invisible and intangible and yet it plays a significant and even insidious role in people’s lives. When balanced forces eliminate excess potential they can generate myriad problems. Paradoxically, the end result is often the exact opposite of the original intention and people do not understand why this happens. It is this phenomenon that sometimes makes us feel as if some inexplicable dark force had a grip on our lives, like ‘sod’s law’. We touched on this when we were discussing why people get what they do not want rather than what they do want. Here is another example of how what we desire slips away from us.

有些人相信，如果你全心投入工作，你將取得優秀的成果。如果從天平和平衡的角度來看這一立場，很明顯，過度沉浸於工作就像將你的工作放在天平的一邊，而將其他一切放在另一邊。自然地，平衡被破壞，後果很快就會顯現出來。將工作優先到如此程度的結果將與你預期的完全相反。

Some people believe that if you devote yourself fully to your work you will achieve excellent results. If you look at this position from the point of view of scales and balance, it is obvious that immersing yourself so heavily in work is like placing your work on one dish of the scales and absolutely everything else in the other dish. Naturally, balance is destroyed and the consequences become visible all too soon. The result of prioritising work to this extent will be the exact opposite of what you expected.

如果更努力工作意味著賺更多錢或提高你的資格，那麼當然多一點努力不會有害。就像生活中的一切一樣，應該有適當的衡量和比例。然而，如果你不斷感到疲憊，並成為自己的奴隸驅使者，那麼最好放慢一點，甚至尋找不同類型的工作。無論哪種方式，重點是任何超出限度的努力都必然會導致負面後果。

If working harder means earning more money or improving your qualifications then of course a little extra effort will do no harm. Like everything in life, there should be good measure and proportionality. If however, you are constantly exhausted and have become your own slave driver then it would be better to slow down a little or even look for a different type of job. Either way, the point is that any effort made beyond measure will inevitably lead to negative consequences.

這就是在能量層面上發生的事情。除了工作之外，每個人都有自己的一套價值觀，無論是：家庭、家人、休閒活動等。如果你將所有其他價值觀與工作這一價值觀並列，你就會創造出強大的潛力。自然界中的一切都在努力達到平衡，這意味著除了你自己的意志之外，其他力量也會發揮作用，以減輕你所創造的過剩潛力的後果。平衡力可以以各種不同的方式發揮作用。你可能會生病，在這種情況下，根本無法再努力工作。你可能開始遭受抑鬱，這並不完全令人驚訝，因為你對自己太苛刻了。理智的聲音喊道：“來吧！你必須賺更多錢”，而靈魂或潛意識則反對：“我來到這個世界上肯定不是為了受苦和折磨自己？為什麼要給自己帶來這些？”最終，你會變得慢性疲勞，任何提高生產力的計劃都必須被遺忘。你可能最終感覺自己在撞牆，無法快速取得進展。

This is what happens on an energetic level. Aside from work, everyone has their own set of values, be it: home, family, leisure pursuits etc. If you juxtapose all your other values with the one value of work you create strong potential. Everything in nature strives towards equilibrium, which means that aside from your own will, other forces would come into play to mitigate the consequences of the excess potential you are creating. Balanced forces can work in all sorts of different ways. You may become ill, in which case there could be no question of working any harder. You may start suffering from depression which would not be altogether surprising because you would have been so hard on yourself. The voice of the rational mind shouts: “Come on! You must earn more money” while the soul or subconscious objects: “Surely this is not what I came into the world for, to suffer and torture myself? Why bring this on myself?” Eventually, you would become chronically tired and any plans to be more productive would have to be forgotten. You would probably end up feeling that you were banging your head against a brick wall; getting nowhere fast.

當人們過度優先考慮工作時，似乎總有其他人在周圍，他們在付出相對較少的努力下取得了更多成就。一旦一個人在工作中達到一定水平，就可能傾向於將工作賦予巨大重要性，但不幸的是，它變得越不成比例地重要，問題就越可能出現。人們認為有問題是很自然的，但實際上，當人們降低期望並放鬆依附時，他們經歷的問題數量會顯著減少。

When people do overly prioritise their work there always seem to be someone else around who achieves more whilst making considerably less effort. Once a person achieves a certain level in their job there can be a tendency to place massive importance on their work, but unfortunately, the more disproportionately important it becomes, the more likely it is that problems will arise. People assume it quite natural for there to be problems, but in reality, the number of problems a person experiences is reduced significantly when they lower their expectations and relax their attachment.

從這一點可以得出的唯一結論是，如果你想避免創造過剩潛力，你必須有意識地重新評估你與工作的關係。擁有可以做自己喜歡的事情的空閒時間是至關重要的。不知道如何關閉和放鬆的人也不知道如何好好工作。當你到達工作時，與工作保持距離。付出你的頭腦和雙手，但不要付出你的心。工作"鐘擺"(Pendulum)想要你能給予的所有能量，但你來到這個世界並不是僅僅為了為"鐘擺"(Pendulum)工作。當你停止創造過剩潛力並擺脫破壞性"鐘擺"(Pendulums)時，你的工作效率將顯著提高。

The only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that you have to consciously re-evaluate your relationship to your work if you want to avoid creating excess potential. It is essential to have free time in which you can do the things you enjoy. People who do not know how to switch off and relax do not know how to work well either. When you arrive at work, detach yourself. Give of your head and hands, but do not give away your heart. The work pendulum wants all the energy you can give it, but you did not come into the world simply to work for a pendulum. Your efficiency at work will be noticeably increased when you stop creating excess potential and free yourself from destructive pendulums.

將距離感與誠信相匹配。小心不要犯小錯誤或失禮，這會讓其他人指責你不負責任或疏忽。重要的是要以誠信履行你的責任。從情況中抽離並不意味著以鬆懈或馬虎的方式行事。這意味著要以冷靜的心態行事，在履行所需任務的同時不創造過剩潛力。這種方法可以保護你不被捲入不愉快的情況。總會有你認識的人或同事繼續全心投入工作。在潛意識層面上，他們會感覺到，儘管你行事無可挑剔，但你情感上足夠抽離，不會完全投入。這些認真的人會本能地感到有衝動想要在某些疏忽上絆倒他們的競爭對手。只要你犯錯，他們就會在那裡批評你。可悲的是，這個錯誤可能是一些相當平凡和無害的事情。你可能只是上班遲到了一點，或者忘記了一些相對次要的事情。如果你像他們一樣把頭埋在工作中，沒有人會對此有所反應，然而一旦你改變了對工作的態度，小事情就會給人們提供指責你懶惰或缺乏奉獻精神的機會。

Match detachment with integrity. Be careful not to make small errors or faux pas, which would enable others to accuse you of being irresponsible or negligent. It is important to carry out your responsibilities with integrity. Detaching yourself from a situation does not mean behaving carelessly in a slack or slip shod manner. It means to act with a cold mind, without creating excess potential at the same time as fulfilling the tasks required of you. This approach protects you from being drawn into unpleasant situations. There will always be people you know or colleagues who continue to immerse themselves head first in their work. On a subconscious level they will sense that, although you act with impeccability, you are sufficiently emotionally detached not to put yourself on the line completely. These conscientious individuals will instinctively feel the urge to trip their competitor up on some oversight. As soon as you make a mistake they will be there to criticize you. The sad thing is that the mistake is likely to be something quite mundane and harmless. You might just be a little late for work or have forgotten something fairly minor. If you had sunk your head in the work-sand, as they do, no-one would make anything of it, however once you change your attitude to your work, little things give people the opportunity to accuse you of slacking or lacking in dedication.

這樣的情況也可能在家裡和朋友中發生，因此在任何你抽離自己的情況下，注意履行你的責任，不給任何人責備你的機會是很重要的。是內在的見證者，"守護者的謎題"(Guardian's Riddle)使你能夠在保持誠信的同時，不全心投入競賽。內在守護者的概念與人格分裂無關。它是你自己的一部分，站在背景中觀察你在做什麼以及你是如何做的。我們將在接下來的章節中回到這個主題。

Situations like these can also arise at home and among your friends so it is important in any situation where you are detaching yourself to fulfil your responsibilities attentively, thereby not giving anyone the opportunity to reproach you. It is the inner witness, the Guardian that enables you to act with integrity at the same time as holding back from throwing yourself headfirst into the race. The notion of the inner Guardian has nothing to do with a split personality. It is the part of yourself that stands in the background and observes what you are doing and how you are doing it. We will return to this theme in forthcoming chapters.

有人可能會說，完全投入工作恰恰相反，是一件美好的事情。當然，這取決於你的工作是什麼。只有從平衡的角度來看，完全沉浸在工作中才是合理的，前提是它與你的個人目標有關。個人目標也是我們稍後將更仔細研究的一個主題。如果你喜歡你的工作，因為它與你的個人目標一致，那麼它可以作為通向成功的隧道。這種工作滋養你的能量，帶來快樂、靈感和滿足。如果你是那些幸運的人之一，可以自信地說他們對自己的工作有這種感覺，那麼你就沒有什麼可擔心的。

Some might say that throwing yourself completely into your work is on the contrary, a wonderful thing. Of course, it depends what your work is. Total immersion in your work is only justified from the point of view of balance if it is connected to your personal goal. The personal goal is also a theme we will look at more closely a little later. If you love your work because it coincides with your personal goal then it can serve as the tunnel that leads to success. This kind of work nourishes your energy, bringing joy, inspiration and fulfilment. If you are one of the lucky ones who can confidently say that they feel this way about their work then you have nothing to worry about.

學習也是如此。在本章的後面，我們將研究生活中的其他情況，過剩潛力如何產生，以及平衡力的影響。

Exactly the same goes for study. Later in this chapter we will look at other situations in life, where excess potential is created, and the impact of balanced forces.

過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)

Excess Potential

自然界中的一切都趨向於平衡 (Balanced Forces)。氣溫的變化由風來平衡。溫度的差異通過熱交換來補償。無論哪裡出現任何形式的能量過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)，平衡力量 (Balanced Forces) 都會出現以糾正這種不平衡。我們如此習慣於這些關於事物本質的陳述，以至於我們不會問自己為什麼必須如此，或者平衡法則究竟是如何運作的。

Everything in nature strives towards balance. Changes in air temperature are balanced by wind. Differences in temperature are compensated by thermal exchange. Wherever there is excess potential of any energy form, balanced forces emerge to correct the imbalance. We are so accustomed to such statements on the nature of things that we fail to ask ourselves why it must necessarily be so, or how exactly the law of balance works.

法則實際上並不解釋任何東西。它們只是事實的陳述。自然界的所有法則都是次要的，源於平衡法則 (Balanced Forces)。平衡法則是主要的（至少看起來如此），無法解釋為什麼自然界中首先應該存在平衡，或者更具體地說，平衡力量從何而來，以及它們為什麼存在。我們習慣於某事物的事實並不意味著事情必然如此。人們只能想像如果沒有平衡法則，世界會是什麼樣子；或許是大氣果凍或侵略性熔爐？然而，這樣一個世界的不雅觀並不是支持平衡法則存在的理由，因此我們只能接受它作為事實，並對世界的完美感到驚嘆，儘管如此，仍然對什麼支配這一切的問題感到困惑。

Laws do not actually explain anything. They are just statements of fact. All laws of nature are secondary and derived from the law of balance. The law of balance is primary (at least it appears to be), and it is impossible to explain why equilibrium should exist in nature in the first place or more specifically, where balanced forces originate from and why indeed they exist at all. The fact that we have become accustomed to something doesn’t mean it is the way things necessarily are. One can only imagine what the world would be like were it not for the law of balance; an atmospheric jelly or an aggressive furnace perhaps? However, the unsightliness of such a world is hardly a reason to support the existence of the law of balance and so we are left to accept it as fact and to wonder in admiration at the perfection of the world, nonetheless, puzzling over the question of what governs it all.

我們習慣於生活中存在好壞時期，成功之後是失敗，因為這一切都是平衡法則 (Balanced Forces) 的表現。成功，如同不幸，會破壞平衡。完全平衡是什麼都不發生。絕對平衡不存在，或者至少還沒有人能觀察到它。世界各地都觀察到振盪：白天和黑夜、潮汐的漲落、生與死等。即使在真空狀態下，基本粒子也參與持續的誕生和去物質化的過程。

We are used to the fact that there are good and bad spells in life and that success is followed by defeat, for this is all a manifestation of the law of balance. Success, like misfortune, destroys the balance. Complete balance is when nothing happens. Absolute balance doesn’t exist, or at least no-one has yet managed to observe it. Oscillation is observed everywhere in the world: night and day, incoming and outgoing tides, birth and death, etc. Even in a vacuum, elementary particles are involved in a process of continual birth and dematerialization.

整個世界可以看作是振盪、衰退並相互作用的擺錘 (Pendulum)。每個擺錘從其鄰居那裡受到推動，依次發出自己的推動。支配這個複雜系統的主要法則之一是平衡法則 (Balanced Forces)。最終，一切都趨向於平衡。你也是一個擺錘。如果你突然決定破壞平衡並朝某個特定方向劇烈搖擺，你會擦過旁邊的擺錘，造成周圍的騷動，然後這將反過來對你不利。

The entire world can be seen in the form of pendulums that oscillate, fade and interact with one another. Every pendulum receives a jolt from its neighbours and in turn gives out its own. One of the main laws governing this complex system is the law of balance. Ultimately, everything strives towards balance. You are also a kind of pendulum. If you take it into your head to destroy the balance and sway sharply in a particular direction, you will brush against the neighbouring pendulums creating commotion all around which will then turn against you.

平衡 (Balanced Forces) 可以通過行動被破壞，也可以通過思想被破壞，不僅僅因為思想會引發行動。如你所知，思想會輻射能量。在物質實現 (Material Realisation) 的世界中，一切都有能量基礎。所有在無形層面上發生的事情都會反映在可見的物質對象世界中。似乎我們思想的能量不足以對周圍的世界產生影響，如果真是這樣，一切會簡單得多。

Balance can be destroyed by actions and also by thoughts and not only because thought is followed by action. As you know, thoughts radiate energy. In the world of material realization everything has an energetic foundation. Everything that occurs on an invisible level is reflected in the world of visible material objects. It might seem as if the energy of our thoughts is not powerful enough to have an impact on the world around us and if that were the case, everything would be a lot simpler.

然而，我們不要對能量層面上發生的事情進行猜測；否則我們可能會陷入猜想的困境。為了我們的目的，接受平衡的簡化模型就足夠了：哪裡出現過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)，平衡力量 (Balanced Forces) 就會出現以消除它。

However, let’s not make guesses about what’s happening on an energetic level; otherwise we could get entangled in a knot of conjecture. For our purposes it is enough to accept the simplified model of balance: where excess potential appears, balanced forces emerge to eliminate it.

當對某個特定對象賦予過多重要性 (Importance) 時，精神能量會創造出過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)。例如，我們比較兩種情況：在一種情況下，你站在家中的地板上；在另一種情況下，你站在懸崖邊緣。第一種情況不會引起你的擔憂。第二種情況則具有重大意義——一個不小心就會導致無法挽回的錯誤。然而，在能量層面上，僅僅站立這一事實在兩種情況下具有同等的重要性。

Excess potential is created by mental energy when too much importance is given to a particular object. For example, let’s compare two situations: in one situation you are standing on the floor in your house and in the other you are standing at the edge of a precipice. In the first case the situation causes you no concern. In the second case the situation is of grave significance–one careless movement and the mistake is irreparable. On an energetic level however, the fact of simply standing is of equal significance in both cases.

站在懸崖邊緣，你的恐懼加劇了能量場的不均勻性。此時，平衡力量 (Balanced Forces) 出現，旨在中和過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)。你甚至能感受到它們的影響：一方面，一種莫名的力量似乎在將你向下拉；另一方面，另一種力量促使你遠離邊緣。為了消除你恐懼的過剩潛能，平衡力量需要要么將你拖離邊緣，要么將你向下拋去，結束這一切。你所體驗到的正是平衡力量的影響。

Standing above a precipice, your fear heightens intensity and creates inhomogeneity in the energy field. At this point, balanced forces emerge aimed at neutralizing the excess potential. You can even feel their influence: on the one hand an inexplicable force seems to pull you downwards and on the other, another force draws you to step away from the edge. To eliminate the excess potential of your fear the balanced forces are required either to drag you away from the edge or to cast you downwards and be done with it. It is the impact of the balanced forces that you are experiencing.

在能量層面上，所有物質對象都具有同等的重要性。是我們為它們賦予特定的品質，如好、壞、快樂、悲傷、吸引人、令人厭惡、善良、邪惡、簡單、複雜等。這個世界中的一切都受到我們的評估。評估本身不會在能量場中造成不均勻性。坐在家中的扶手椅上，你可以評估說坐在那裡是安全的，但站在懸崖邊是危險的。在做出評估的那一刻，你考慮的情況並不讓你擔憂，因此平衡不會受到任何干擾。只有當對評估賦予過多的意義時，過剩潛能 (Excess Potential) 才會出現。

On an energetic level all material objects are of equal significance. It is we that attribute specific qualities to them such as good, bad, cheerful, sad, attractive, repulsive, kind, wicked, simple, complex, etc. Everything in this world is subject to our assessment. The assessment itself does not create inhomogeneity in the energy field. Sitting in an armchair at home you can make the assessment that sitting there is safe, but standing at the edge of a precipice is dangerous. At the moment of making the assessment, the situation you are considering does not worry you and so balance is in no way disturbed. Excess potential only appears in cases where the level of importance attributed to the assessment is excessive.

如果評估被賦予巨大的價值並極大地扭曲了現實，潛能的量會增加。一般來說，如果某個對象對我們非常重要 (Importance)，我們就無法客觀地評估其品質。例如，崇拜的對象總被賦予過高的價值，憎恨的對象被賦予過多的負面，恐懼的對象被賦予可怕的品質。思想能量試圖在實際上不存在的地方人為地產生某種品質。結果，過剩潛能 (Excess Potential) 被創造出來，召喚出平衡力量 (Balanced Forces) 的風。

The amount of potential is increased if the assessment which is attributed huge value also greatly distorts reality. Generally speaking, if an object is very important to us we are incapable of objectively assessing its quality. For example, an object of worship is always attributed excess worth and an object of hate, excess detriment; an object of fear, terrifying qualities. Thought energy strives to artificially produce a certain quality there, where in fact it is not present. As a result, excess potential is created which summons the wind of balanced forces.

評估的偏見，即對現實的扭曲，是雙重的：相關對象被過分賦予負面或正面的品質。然而，評估的錯誤本身在這件事中不起作用。請注意，只有當評估被賦予重大意義時，偏見才會產生過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)。只有你個人對評估的重要性 (Importance) 使你的能量能夠傳遞給它。

The bias of the assessment, which is a distortion of reality, is two-fold: The object in question is excessively attributed either negative or positive qualities. However, of itself, an error of assessment plays no role in the matter. Note that the bias in assessment generates excess potential only if it is attributed great meaning. It is only the importance that the assessment has for you personally that enables your energy to be transmitted to it.

過剩潛能 (Excess Potential) 是無形且無法觸及的，但它在人們的生活中扮演著重要且甚至陰險的角色。當平衡力量 (Balanced Forces) 消除過剩潛能時，它們可能引發無數問題。矛盾的是，最終結果往往與最初的意圖 (Intention) 完全相反，人們不明白為什麼會這樣。這種現象有時讓我們感覺好像某種莫名的黑暗力量控制了我們的生活，就像“墨菲定律”。我們在討論為什麼人們得到他們不想要的而不是他們想要的東西時已經觸及了這一點。這裡是另一個例子，說明我們渴望的東西如何從我們身邊溜走。

Excess potential is invisible and intangible and yet it plays a significant and even insidious role in people’s lives. When balanced forces eliminate excess potential they can generate myriad problems. Paradoxically, the end result is often the exact opposite of the original intention and people do not understand why this happens. It is this phenomenon that sometimes makes us feel as if some inexplicable dark force had a grip on our lives, like ‘sod’s law’. We touched on this when we were discussing why people get what they do not want rather than what they do want. Here is another example of how what we desire slips away from us.

有些人認為，如果你全身心投入工作，你會取得優異的成果。從天平和平衡的角度看這種立場，顯然過分沉浸於工作就像將你的工作放在天平的一個盤子上，而將其他一切放在另一個盤子上。自然，平衡被破壞，後果很快就會顯現。將工作優先到這種程度的結果將與你預期的完全相反。

Some people believe that if you devote yourself fully to your work you will achieve excellent results. If you look at this position from the point of view of scales and balance, it is obvious that immersing yourself so heavily in work is like placing your work on one dish of the scales and absolutely everything else in the other dish. Naturally, balance is destroyed and the consequences become visible all too soon. The result of prioritising work to this extent will be the exact opposite of what you expected.

如果更努力工作意味著賺更多錢或提高你的資格，那麼當然多一點努力無害。就像生活中一切事物一樣，應該有適當的尺度與比例。然而，如果你總是精疲力盡，成為自己的奴隸驅使者，那麼最好稍微放慢腳步，甚至尋找不同類型的工作。無論如何，關鍵在於任何過度的努力都不可避免地導致負面後果。

If working harder means earning more money or improving your qualifications then of course a little extra effort will do no harm. Like everything in life, there should be good measure and proportionality. If however, you are constantly exhausted and have become your own slave driver then it would be better to slow down a little or even look for a different type of job. Either way, the point is that any effort made beyond measure will inevitably lead to negative consequences.

這是在能量層面上發生的事情。除了工作，每個人都有自己的一套價值觀，可能是家庭、休閒活動等。如果你將所有其他價值觀與工作的單一價值對比，你會創造出強大的潛能。自然界中的一切都趨向於平衡 (Balanced Forces)，這意味著除了你自己的意圖 (Intention) 外，其他力量會介入以減輕你創造的過剩潛能 (Excess Potential) 的後果。平衡力量可以以各種不同的方式運作。你可能會生病，在這種情況下，談不上更努力工作。你可能開始患上抑鬱症，這並不令人意外，因為你對自己太苛刻了。理性的聲音喊道：“來吧！你必須賺更多錢！”而靈魂或潛意識反對：“這難道是我來到這個世界的目的，受苦和折磨自己？為什麼要這樣對自己？”最終，你會變得長期疲憊，任何提高生產力的計劃都必須被忘記。你可能會覺得自己像在撞牆，毫無進展。

This is what happens on an energetic level. Aside from work, everyone has their own set of values, be it: home, family, leisure pursuits etc. If you juxtapose all your other values with the one value of work you create strong potential. Everything in nature strives towards equilibrium, which means that aside from your own will, other forces would come into play to mitigate the consequences of the excess potential you are creating. Balanced forces can work in all sorts of different ways. You may become ill, in which case there could be no question of working any harder. You may start suffering from depression which would not be altogether surprising because you would have been so hard on yourself. The voice of the rational mind shouts: “Come on! You must earn more money” while the soul or subconscious objects: “Surely this is not what I came into the world for, to suffer and torture myself? Why bring this on myself?” Eventually, you would become chronically tired and any plans to be more productive would have to be forgotten. You would probably end up feeling that you were banging your head against a brick wall; getting nowhere fast.

當人們過分優先考慮他們的工作時，總會有其他人以少得多的努力取得更多成就。一旦一個人在工作中達到某個水平，就會傾向於對工作賦予巨大的重要性 (Importance)，但不幸的是，重要性越不成比例，問題就越可能出現。人們認為有問題是很自然的，但實際上，當他們降低期望並放鬆依附 (Dependent Relationships) 時，體驗到的問題數量會顯著減少。

When people do overly prioritise their work there always seem to be someone else around who achieves more whilst making considerably less effort. Once a person achieves a certain level in their job there can be a tendency to place massive importance on their work, but unfortunately, the more disproportionately important it becomes, the more likely it is that problems will arise. People assume it quite natural for there to be problems, but in reality, the number of problems a person experiences is reduced significantly when they lower their expectations and relax their attachment.

從這一點得出的唯一結論是，如果你想避免創造過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)，你必須有意識地重新評估你與工作的關係。擁有可以做你喜歡的事情的自由時間至關重要。不知道如何放鬆和休息的人也不知道如何好好工作。當你到達工作場所時，超然自己。貢獻你的頭腦和雙手，但不要交出你的心。工作擺錘 (Pendulum) 想要你能給予的所有能量，但你來到這個世界不是僅僅為了一個擺錘工作。當你停止創造過剩潛能並從破壞性擺錘中解放出來時，你在工作中的效率將顯著提高。

The only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that you have to consciously re-evaluate your relationship to your work if you want to avoid creating excess potential. It is essential to have free time in which you can do the things you enjoy. People who do not know how to switch off and relax do not know how to work well either. When you arrive at work, detach yourself. Give of your head and hands, but do not give away your heart. The work pendulum wants all the energy you can give it, but you did not come into the world simply to work for a pendulum. Your efficiency at work will be noticeably increased when you stop creating excess potential and free yourself from destructive pendulums.

將超然與正直相匹配。小心不要犯小錯誤或失禮，這會讓別人指責你不負責任或疏忽。重要的是要正直地履行你的職責。超然自己並不意味著以鬆懈或馬虎的方式行事。它意味著以冷靜的頭腦行動，不創造過剩潛能 (Excess Potential)，同時完成要求的任務。這種方法保護你不被捲入不愉快的情況。總會有你認識的人或同事繼續一頭扎進他們的工作中。在潛意識層面，他們會感覺到，雖然你行為無懈可擊，但你在情感上足夠超然，不會完全投入。這些認真的個體會本能地感到想在某個疏忽上絆倒他們的競爭者。只要你犯了一個錯誤，他們就會在那裡批評你。悲哀的是，這個錯誤可能是一件相當平凡且無害的事情。你可能只是上班遲到了一點或忘了什麼小事。如果像他們一樣將頭埋進工作的沙子裡，沒人會在意，然而一旦你改變對工作的態度，小事就會給人機會指責你偷懶或缺乏奉獻精神。

Match detachment with integrity. Be careful not to make small errors or faux pas, which would enable others to accuse you of being irresponsible or negligent. It is important to carry out your responsibilities with integrity. Detaching yourself from a situation does not mean behaving carelessly in a slack or slip shod manner. It means to act with a cold mind, without creating excess potential at the same time as fulfilling the tasks required of you. This approach protects you from being drawn into unpleasant situations. There will always be people you know or colleagues who continue to immerse themselves head first in their work. On a subconscious level they will sense that, although you act with impeccability, you are sufficiently emotionally detached not to put yourself on the line completely. These conscientious individuals will instinctively feel the urge to trip their competitor up on some oversight. As soon as you make a mistake they will be there to criticize you. The sad thing is that the mistake is likely to be something quite mundane and harmless. You might just be a little late for work or have forgotten something fairly minor. If you had sunk your head in the work-sand, as they do, no-one would make anything of it, however once you change your attitude to your work, little things give people the opportunity to accuse you of slacking or lacking in dedication.

這種情況也可能在家中或朋友之間發生，因此在任何你超然自己的情況下，認真履行你的職責，不給任何人指責你的機會是很重要的。內在的守護者 (Guardian’s Riddle) 使你能夠正直地行動，同時避免一頭扎進競爭。內在守護者的概念與人格分裂無關。它是你站在背景中觀察你正在做什麼以及如何做的部分。我們將在後續章節中回到這個主題。

Situations like these can also arise at home and among your friends so it is important in any situation where you are detaching yourself to fulfil your responsibilities attentively, thereby not giving anyone the opportunity to reproach you. It is the inner witness, the Guardian that enables you to act with integrity at the same time as holding back from throwing yourself headfirst into the race. The notion of the inner Guardian has nothing to do with a split personality. It is the part of yourself that stands in the background and observes what you are doing and how you are doing it. We will return to this theme in forthcoming chapters.

有些人可能會說，全身心投入工作反而是一件美妙的事情。當然，這取決於你的工作是什麼。從平衡 (Balanced Forces) 的角度看，只有當工作與你的個人目標 (Goals and Doors) 相關時，全身心投入工作才合理。個人目標也是一個我們稍後將更仔細探討的主題。如果因為工作與你的個人目標一致而熱愛它，那麼它可以成為通往成功的隧道。這種工作滋養你的能量，帶來喜悅、靈感和滿足感。如果你是那些能自信地說他們對工作有這種感覺的幸運者之一，那麼你無需擔憂。

Some might say that throwing yourself completely into your work is on the contrary, a wonderful thing. Of course, it depends what your work is. Total immersion in your work is only justified from the point of view of balance if it is connected to your personal goal. The personal goal is also a theme we will look at more closely a little later. If you love your work because it coincides with your personal goal then it can serve as the tunnel that leads to success. This kind of work nourishes your energy, bringing joy, inspiration and fulfilment. If you are one of the lucky ones who can confidently say that they feel this way about their work then you have nothing to worry about.

學習也是如此。本章後面我們將探討生活中創造過剩潛能 (Excess Potential) 的其他情況，以及平衡力量 (Balanced Forces) 的影響。

Exactly the same goes for study. Later in this chapter we will look at other situations in life, where excess potential is created, and the impact of balanced forces.

過剩潛力

Excess Potential

自然界中的一切都在追求平衡。空氣溫度的變化由風來平衡。溫度的差異通過熱交換來補償。無論何處出現任何能量形式的過剩潛力，平衡力量就會出現以糾正不平衡。我們對這種事物本質的陳述已經習以為常，以至於我們沒有問自己為什麼必須如此，或者平衡法則究竟是如何運作的。

Everything in nature strives towards balance. Changes in air temperature are balanced by wind. Differences in temperature are compensated by thermal exchange. Wherever there is excess potential of any energy form, balanced forces emerge to correct the imbalance. We are so accustomed to such statements on the nature of things that we fail to ask ourselves why it must necessarily be so, or how exactly the law of balance works.

法則實際上並不解釋任何事情。它們只是事實的陳述。所有自然法則都是次要的，源於平衡法則。平衡法則是主要的（至少看起來是這樣），而且不可能解釋為什麼自然界中應該存在平衡，或者更具體地說，平衡力量的起源以及它們為什麼存在。事實上，我們已經習慣於某些事物並不意味著它們必然是這樣的。人們只能想像如果沒有平衡法則，世界會是什麼樣子；或許是一種大氣果凍或一個侵略性的爐子？然而，這樣的世界的醜陋幾乎不是支持平衡法則存在的理由，因此我們只能接受它為事實，並驚嘆於世界的完美，儘管仍然對支配一切的問題感到困惑。

Laws do not actually explain anything. They are just statements of fact. All laws of nature are secondary and derived from the law of balance. The law of balance is primary (at least it appears to be), and it is impossible to explain why equilibrium should exist in nature in the first place or more specifically, where balanced forces originate from and why indeed they exist at all. The fact that we have become accustomed to something doesn’t mean it is the way things necessarily are. One can only imagine what the world would be like were it not for the law of balance; an atmospheric jelly or an aggressive furnace perhaps? However, the unsightliness of such a world is hardly a reason to support the existence of the law of balance and so we are left to accept it as fact and to wonder in admiration at the perfection of the world, nonetheless, puzzling over the question of what governs it all.

我們習慣於生活中有好壞的咒語，成功之後必然會有失敗，因為這一切都是平衡法則的體現。成功就像不幸一樣，會破壞平衡。完全的平衡是什麼都不發生。絕對平衡並不存在，或者至少沒有人能觀察到它。世界各地都觀察到振盪：晝夜、潮起潮落、出生與死亡等等。即使在真空中，基本粒子也參與著不斷的誕生和物質化過程。

We are used to the fact that there are good and bad spells in life and that success is followed by defeat, for this is all a manifestation of the law of balance. Success, like misfortune, destroys the balance. Complete balance is when nothing happens. Absolute balance doesn’t exist, or at least no-one has yet managed to observe it. Oscillation is observed everywhere in the world: night and day, incoming and outgoing tides, birth and death, etc. Even in a vacuum, elementary particles are involved in a process of continual birth and dematerialization.

整個世界可以被視為擺錘的形式，這些擺錘在振盪、消退並互相作用。每個擺錘都會受到鄰近擺錘的震動，並反過來發出自己的震動。支配這一複雜系統的主要法則之一是平衡法則。最終，一切都在追求平衡。你也是一種擺錘。如果你心血來潮想要破壞平衡並朝著某個特定方向劇烈擺動，你將會碰到鄰近的擺錘，造成周圍的喧鬧，然後這些擺錘將會反過來對付你。

The entire world can be seen in the form of pendulums that oscillate, fade and interact with one another. Every pendulum receives a jolt from its neighbours and in turn gives out its own. One of the main laws governing this complex system is the law of balance. Ultimately, everything strives towards balance. You are also a kind of pendulum. If you take it into your head to destroy the balance and sway sharply in a particular direction, you will brush against the neighbouring pendulums creating commotion all around which will then turn against you.

平衡可以通過行動和思想來破壞，而不僅僅是因為思想隨之而來的行動。正如你所知道的，思想輻射出能量。在物質實現的世界中，一切都有能量基礎。在無形層面上發生的一切都會反映在可見的物質對象的世界中。看起來我們的思想能量似乎不夠強大，無法對周圍的世界產生影響，如果真是這樣，一切都會簡單得多。

Balance can be destroyed by actions and also by thoughts and not only because thought is followed by action. As you know, thoughts radiate energy. In the world of material realization everything has an energetic foundation. Everything that occurs on an invisible level is reflected in the world of visible material objects. It might seem as if the energy of our thoughts is not powerful enough to have an impact on the world around us and if that were the case, everything would be a lot simpler.

然而，讓我們不要對能量層面上發生的事情做出猜測；否則我們可能會陷入推測的結。對於我們的目的，接受平衡的簡化模型就足夠了：在過剩潛力出現的地方，平衡力量會出現以消除它。

However, let’s not make guesses about what’s happening on an energetic level; otherwise we could get entangled in a knot of conjecture. For our purposes it is enough to accept the simplified model of balance: where excess potential appears, balanced forces emerge to eliminate it.

過剩潛能是由心理能量創造的，當過度重視某個特定物體時會產生。例如，讓我們比較兩種情況：在一種情況下，你站在家裡的地板上，而在另一種情況下，你站在懸崖邊緣。在第一種情況下，這種情況不會讓你感到擔憂。在第二種情況下，這種情況則具有重大意義——一個不小心的動作，錯誤將是無法挽回的。然而，在能量層面上，僅僅站立在兩種情況下的意義是相等的。

Excess potential is created by mental energy when too much importance is given to a particular object. For example, let’s compare two situations: in one situation you are standing on the floor in your house and in the other you are standing at the edge of a precipice. In the first case the situation causes you no concern. In the second case the situation is of grave significance–one careless movement and the mistake is irreparable. On an energetic level however, the fact of simply standing is of equal significance in both cases.

站在懸崖上，你的恐懼加劇了強度，並在能量場中創造了不均勻性。在這一點上，平衡力量出現，旨在中和過剩潛能。你甚至可以感受到它們的影響：一方面，一種無法解釋的力量似乎在將你向下拉，而另一方面，另一種力量則驅使你遠離邊緣。為了消除你恐懼的過剩潛能，平衡力量要麼需要將你拉離邊緣，要麼將你向下推，結束這一切。你所經歷的正是平衡力量的影響。

Standing above a precipice, your fear heightens intensity and creates inhomogeneity in the energy field. At this point, balanced forces emerge aimed at neutralizing the excess potential. You can even feel their influence: on the one hand an inexplicable force seems to pull you downwards and on the other, another force draws you to step away from the edge. To eliminate the excess potential of your fear the balanced forces are required either to drag you away from the edge or to cast you downwards and be done with it. It is the impact of the balanced forces that you are experiencing.

在能量層面上，所有物質物體的意義都是相等的。我們賦予它們特定的品質，例如好、壞、快樂、悲傷、吸引、排斥、善良、邪惡、簡單、複雜等。這個世界上的一切都受到我們的評估。評估本身並不會在能量場中創造不均勻性。坐在家裡的扶手椅上，你可以評估坐在那裡是安全的，但站在懸崖邊緣則是危險的。在做出評估的那一刻，你所考慮的情況並不讓你擔心，因此平衡並未以任何方式受到干擾。過剩潛能只在評估所賦予的意義過高的情況下出現。

On an energetic level all material objects are of equal significance. It is we that attribute specific qualities to them such as good, bad, cheerful, sad, attractive, repulsive, kind, wicked, simple, complex, etc. Everything in this world is subject to our assessment. The assessment itself does not create inhomogeneity in the energy field. Sitting in an armchair at home you can make the assessment that sitting there is safe, but standing at the edge of a precipice is dangerous. At the moment of making the assessment, the situation you are considering does not worry you and so balance is in no way disturbed. Excess potential only appears in cases where the level of importance attributed to the assessment is excessive.

如果評估被賦予巨大的價值，則潛能的數量會增加，並且會大大扭曲現實。一般來說，如果某個物體對我們來說非常重要，我們就無法客觀地評估它的品質。例如，崇拜的物體總是被賦予過高的價值，而仇恨的物體則被賦予過高的損害；恐懼的物體則具有可怕的特質。思維能量努力在那裡人工產生某種品質，而事實上它並不存在。因此，過剩潛能被創造出來，召喚出平衡力量的風。

The amount of potential is increased if the assessment which is attributed huge value also greatly distorts reality. Generally speaking, if an object is very important to us we are incapable of objectively assessing its quality. For example, an object of worship is always attributed excess worth and an object of hate, excess detriment; an object of fear, terrifying qualities. Thought energy strives to artificially produce a certain quality there, where in fact it is not present. As a result, excess potential is created which summons the wind of balanced forces.

評估的偏見，即現實的扭曲，具有雙重性：所謂的物體被過度賦予負面或正面品質。然而，評估錯誤本身在此事中並不扮演任何角色。請注意，評估中的偏見只有在被賦予重大意義時才會產生過剩潛能。只有評估對你個人的重要性才能使你的能量傳遞給它。

The bias of the assessment, which is a distortion of reality, is two-fold: The object in question is excessively attributed either negative or positive qualities. However, of itself, an error of assessment plays no role in the matter. Note that the bias in assessment generates excess potential only if it is attributed great meaning. It is only the importance that the assessment has for you personally that enables your energy to be transmitted to it.

過剩潛能是看不見且無形的，然而它在人的生活中扮演著重要甚至隱蔽的角色。當平衡力量消除過剩潛能時，它們可能會產生無數問題。矛盾的是，最終結果往往與最初的意圖正好相反，人們不明白為什麼會這樣。正是這種現象有時讓我們感覺好像某種無法解釋的黑暗力量控制著我們的生活，就像「倒霉法則」一樣。我們在討論為什麼人們得到他們不想要的東西而不是他們想要的東西時提到過這一點。這裡有另一個例子，展示了我們的渴望如何從我們身邊滑走。

Excess potential is invisible and intangible and yet it plays a significant and even insidious role in people’s lives. When balanced forces eliminate excess potential they can generate myriad problems. Paradoxically, the end result is often the exact opposite of the original intention and people do not understand why this happens. It is this phenomenon that sometimes makes us feel as if some inexplicable dark force had a grip on our lives, like ‘sod’s law’. We touched on this when we were discussing why people get what they do not want rather than what they do want. Here is another example of how what we desire slips away from us.

有些人認為，如果你全心全意投入工作，你將會取得優秀的成果。如果從天平和平衡的角度看這一立場，顯然，這樣深度沉浸於工作就像把你的工作放在天平的一邊，而把其他一切放在另一邊。自然，平衡被破壞，後果很快就會顯現出來。這種程度上優先考慮工作的結果將是你所預期的完全相反。

Some people believe that if you devote yourself fully to your work you will achieve excellent results. If you look at this position from the point of view of scales and balance, it is obvious that immersing yourself so heavily in work is like placing your work on one dish of the scales and absolutely everything else in the other dish. Naturally, balance is destroyed and the consequences become visible all too soon. The result of prioritising work to this extent will be the exact opposite of what you expected.

如果更努力工作意味著賺更多的錢或提高你的資格，那麼當然，稍微多一點的努力不會有害。就像生活中的一切一樣，應該有良好的度和比例。然而，如果你不斷感到疲憊，並成為自己工作的奴隸，那麼最好是稍微放慢腳步，甚至尋找不同類型的工作。無論如何，重點是，任何超出度的努力都將不可避免地導致負面後果。

If working harder means earning more money or improving your qualifications then of course a little extra effort will do no harm. Like everything in life, there should be good measure and proportionality. If however, you are constantly exhausted and have become your own slave driver then it would be better to slow down a little or even look for a different type of job. Either way, the point is that any effort made beyond measure will inevitably lead to negative consequences.

這就是在能量層面上發生的事情。除了工作，每個人都有自己的一套價值觀，無論是：家庭、家人、休閒活動等。如果你將所有其他價值觀與工作這一價值觀並列，你就會創造出強大的潛能。自然界中的一切都在努力達成平衡，這意味著，除了你自己的意志外，其他力量也會介入，以減輕你所創造的過剩潛能的後果。平衡力量可以以各種不同的方式運作。你可能會生病，這樣就無法再談論更努力地工作。你可能會開始感到抑鬱，這並不會讓人感到驚訝，因為你對自己太苛刻了。理性的聲音大喊：「來吧！你必須賺更多的錢」，而靈魂或潛意識則反對：「這肯定不是我來到這個世界的目的，受苦和折磨自己？為什麼要這樣對自己？」最終，你會變得慢性疲憊，任何更具生產力的計劃都必須被遺忘。你可能會感到自己像是在對著磚牆撞頭，毫無進展。

This is what happens on an energetic level. Aside from work, everyone has their own set of values, be it: home, family, leisure pursuits etc. If you juxtapose all your other values with the one value of work you create strong potential. Everything in nature strives towards equilibrium, which means that aside from your own will, other forces would come into play to mitigate the consequences of the excess potential you are creating. Balanced forces can work in all sorts of different ways. You may become ill, in which case there could be no question of working any harder. You may start suffering from depression which would not be altogether surprising because you would have been so hard on yourself. The voice of the rational mind shouts: “Come on! You must earn more money” while the soul or subconscious objects: “Surely this is not what I came into the world for, to suffer and torture myself? Why bring this on myself?” Eventually, you would become chronically tired and any plans to be more productive would have to be forgotten. You would probably end up feeling that you were banging your head against a brick wall; getting nowhere fast.

當人們過度優先考慮工作時，總會有其他人似乎在付出更少的努力卻取得了更多的成就。一旦一個人在工作中達到一定的水平，可能會傾向於對自己的工作賦予巨大的重要性，但不幸的是，隨著其重要性變得越來越不成比例，問題出現的可能性也越大。人們認為有問題是很自然的，但實際上，當他們降低期望並放鬆依附時，經歷的問題數量會顯著減少。

When people do overly prioritise their work there always seem to be someone else around who achieves more whilst making considerably less effort. Once a person achieves a certain level in their job there can be a tendency to place massive importance on their work, but unfortunately, the more disproportionately important it becomes, the more likely it is that problems will arise. People assume it quite natural for there to be problems, but in reality, the number of problems a person experiences is reduced significantly when they lower their expectations and relax their attachment.

唯一可以得出的結論是，如果你想避免創造過剩潛能，就必須有意識地重新評估你與工作的關係。擁有自由時間，讓你可以做自己喜歡的事情是至關重要的。不知道如何關閉和放鬆的人也不知道如何好好工作。當你到達工作時，請脫離自己。付出你的頭腦和雙手，但不要付出你的心。工作擺錘想要你能給予的所有能量，但你來到這個世界並不是單純為了為擺錘工作。當你停止創造過剩潛能並擺脫破壞性的擺錘時，你的工作效率將會明顯提高。

The only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that you have to consciously re-evaluate your relationship to your work if you want to avoid creating excess potential. It is essential to have free time in which you can do the things you enjoy. People who do not know how to switch off and relax do not know how to work well either. When you arrive at work, detach yourself. Give of your head and hands, but do not give away your heart. The work pendulum wants all the energy you can give it, but you did not come into the world simply to work for a pendulum. Your efficiency at work will be noticeably increased when you stop creating excess potential and free yourself from destructive pendulums.

將脫離與誠信相匹配。小心不要犯小錯誤或失誤，這會使其他人指責你不負責任或疏忽。重要的是以誠信履行你的責任。脫離一種情況並不意味著以隨便或草率的方式行事。這意味著以冷靜的心態行動，同時在履行你所需的任務時不創造過剩潛能。這種方法可以保護你不被捲入不愉快的情況中。總會有你認識的人或同事繼續全心全意投入工作。在潛意識層面上，他們會感覺到，儘管你行事完美無瑕，但你情感上足夠脫離，不會完全把自己置於危險之中。這些認真的人會本能地感到想要在某些失誤上絆倒他們的競爭對手。當你犯錯時，他們會在那裡批評你。可悲的是，這個錯誤可能是相當平凡和無害的。你可能只是稍微遲到或忘記了一些相當小的事情。如果你像他們那樣把頭埋在工作沙子裡，沒有人會在意，但一旦你改變了對工作的態度，小事情就給了人們指責你懈怠或缺乏奉獻的機會。

Match detachment with integrity. Be careful not to make small errors or faux pas, which would enable others to accuse you of being irresponsible or negligent. It is important to carry out your responsibilities with integrity. Detaching yourself from a situation does not mean behaving carelessly in a slack or slip shod manner. It means to act with a cold mind, without creating excess potential at the same time as fulfilling the tasks required of you. This approach protects you from being drawn into unpleasant situations. There will always be people you know or colleagues who continue to immerse themselves head first in their work. On a subconscious level they will sense that, although you act with impeccability, you are sufficiently emotionally detached not to put yourself on the line completely. These conscientious individuals will instinctively feel the urge to trip their competitor up on some oversight. As soon as you make a mistake they will be there to criticize you. The sad thing is that the mistake is likely to be something quite mundane and harmless. You might just be a little late for work or have forgotten something fairly minor. If you had sunk your head in the work-sand, as they do, no-one would make anything of it, however once you change your attitude to your work, little things give people the opportunity to accuse you of slacking or lacking in dedication.

這樣的情況也可能在家裡和朋友之間發生，因此在任何你脫離的情況下，重要的是要仔細履行你的責任，從而不給任何人機會指責你。內在的見證者，即守護者，使你能夠在不全心投入競爭的同時以誠信行事。內在守護者的概念與分裂人格無關。它是你自己的一部分，站在背景中觀察你在做什麼以及你是如何做的。我們將在接下來的章節中回到這個主題。

Situations like these can also arise at home and among your friends so it is important in any situation where you are detaching yourself to fulfil your responsibilities attentively, thereby not giving anyone the opportunity to reproach you. It is the inner witness, the Guardian that enables you to act with integrity at the same time as holding back from throwing yourself headfirst into the race. The notion of the inner Guardian has nothing to do with a split personality. It is the part of yourself that stands in the background and observes what you are doing and how you are doing it. We will return to this theme in forthcoming chapters.

有些人可能會說，完全投入工作恰恰是一件美好的事情。當然，這取決於你的工作是什麼。從平衡的角度來看，對工作進行完全投入只有在它與你的個人目標相連時才是合理的。個人目標也是我們稍後將更仔細研究的主題。如果你熱愛你的工作，因為它與你的個人目標相符，那麼它可以作為通往成功的隧道。這種工作滋養你的能量，帶來快樂、靈感和滿足。如果你是那些可以自信地說他們對工作有這種感覺的幸運人，那麼你就沒有什麼好擔心的。

Some might say that throwing yourself completely into your work is on the contrary, a wonderful thing. Of course, it depends what your work is. Total immersion in your work is only justified from the point of view of balance if it is connected to your personal goal. The personal goal is also a theme we will look at more closely a little later. If you love your work because it coincides with your personal goal then it can serve as the tunnel that leads to success. This kind of work nourishes your energy, bringing joy, inspiration and fulfilment. If you are one of the lucky ones who can confidently say that they feel this way about their work then you have nothing to worry about.

同樣的道理適用於學習。在本章的後面，我們將探討生活中其他創造過剩潛能的情況，以及平衡力量的影響。

Exactly the same goes for study. Later in this chapter we will look at other situations in life, where excess potential is created, and the impact of balanced forces.