On the subjectivity of positive and negative

My friend -,

I thought recently upon how subjective the definitions of positive and negative can be, and how one cannot rely on any general understanding and still maintain clarity.

Amongst those who practice as we do, I have seen repeatedly the use of positive to mean something good, whereas negative means something bad. There are circumstances, however, where the reverse can be true. To illustrate, if a medical test for disease returns negative, this would be a good thing!

To these ends, I would propose using terminology that more clearly elicits the intended meanings. In my workings, I prefer to summon that which is wanted, beneficial, or helpful; and conversely, I will banish unwanted, detrimental, or harmful things. At least in my mind, these terms are more aligned to my intentions and are therefore better understood by Nature.

There can still be a case for the use of positive and negative, so long as great care is taken to clearly demark with context their intended connotations.

With warmest regards,