About ZERO:
Sai Ram. The past and the future, in fact, every thing lies in the present, which is Zero, which is actually No Mind, No Time. Once we realise that, the past or the future release their hold on us (our minds).
Real unity is to understand and appreciate the innate unity beneath the apparent diversity. All matter is just different forms of energy just as all colors belong to the same electromagnetic spectrum. Thus every thing is energy and vibration. That is unity, called by so many names (God, Allah, Para Brahma,...) and has all the names and no name. Sai Ram.
Sai Ram. These insights come by the grace of God / Guru who is Zero! In Hinduism, we refer to that as Nirguna Para Brahma. Nirguna means without the Gunas, characteristics, attributes, properties that differentiate one from another. White light has all the colors and no color. Similarly Zero has all the Gunas and no Gunas. Once we cross the mind / ego, we enter that no-mind state where every one and every thing is a part of you and you of course are a part of every thing else too and are yet apart! Zero is in every number and is yet separate from all of them and is also the sum total of all of them. A wonderful thing indeed. Discovery of Zero was one of the greatest gifts of Hindus to humanity like Vedas and Upanishads!
About Number Line and Negativity:
Sai Ram. Here are a few thoughts about negativity and number line, mirrors etc. I sent these to a friend and am posting here for the perusal of all of you. I can't give you any source for these thoughts because they are the insights obtained by synthesis of several sources in my mind. The inputs came from science/maths, physics, spirituality etc. If the ideas resonate with you, use them. If not, just let them be.
Think of a straight line with zero at the centre and the positive numbers extending to the right hand side and the negative numbers to the left hand side of the zero. Now take any positive number for example, +10. Now think of a mirror at zero and you are standing at +10. You will see your reflection in the mirror behind at the same place that -10 would. You move closer and the image moves closer. You move farther and the image moves farther. But the image never disappears as long as you and the mirror are present.
Similarly if you were staying at -10, your image will be at +10. So, in a dualistic world, both positive and negative are bound to exist. Together they balance and add up to zero. In fact, zero is the 'mother / father' of all numbers. If you want to create a positive number, you need to necessarily create a negative number (its evil twin) and vice versa.
If you want to create a north pole, you also need to live with a south pole. If you need to work with a positve electric charge, you also need to take care of the negative charge. You will see light only because of shadows or because something absorbs light more or less compared to the surrounding object. You are reading this message because the background is white and the letters are dark. You could of course read it if the background is darker than the letters too, but if the background and the letters are identical, well, you can't read them. Then there is no background and no foreground!
Originally all creation was unipolar and unisex, undifferentiated. But to make itself more interesting and to enjoy the pleasure of uniting with it self, the One became many with opposing characteristics. The pleasure of sexual union is because of this innate tendency to become One again!
Pleasure is more enjoyable only after the pain. Cool shade is more enjoyable after being out in the scorching sun. Similarly the warmth of the fireside is so much more enjoyable after getting chilled to the bone and or getting soaked in rain.
Another interesting observation for you. The number to your right side is more positive than you and you are more positive than the number to your left side. For example, you are at +10 and your friend is at +11 and your enemy is at +9. Now, your friend is more positive than you and you are negative with respect to your friend.
Since the number line stretches from - infinity to + infinity, the position of zero is really not that important. You can shift it any where and still you will have an infinite number of points positive to its right and an infinite number of points negative to its left side. The concept of positive to the right side and the negative to the left side is by convention because most of us are right handed. The latin word for left handed is sinister and that means evil, dangerous in English now!
Water flows from a higher level to a lower level, electricity flows from a higher voltage to a lower voltage, similarly energy flows from a higher temperature to a lower temperature. Thus some thoughts elevate you and other thoughts sap you of your energy and similarly some thought forms (spirits) manifest themselves and try to take energy from you. If you are really open as a channel and if you are connected to the higher sources of energy, you will not feel depleted or threatened. If you are feeling that way, it just means that your ego is still active and is blocked somewhere!
Prayer and love opens the ego as a channel and allows the energy to flow smoothly. Till then, you should plug the outlet side so that you are not depleted. A good mantra acts both ways. It opens the input side and guards you at the output side as needed!
Blessings.
Sai Ram.