Duality? ...and Beyond?

Recently I have had a few people ask me what Duality and Beyond means. It inspired me to go back and look at when and how I discovered it for myself and how it became the title for my work. There are many paths to spiritual awakening and this was the inspiration for mine.  

Now some people naturally get the concept of duality, but living it consciously in our daily lives is another animal entirely.     

So what does it mean? It’s basically the concept that everything has its opposite.

Top/Bottom, Light/ Dark, Good/Bad, Right/Wrong, Love /Hate, Life/ Death etc. These are sets of opposites and one side cannot exist without the other. We live in a world of duality. We can’t exist or even know what it is to exist without them. We wouldn’t understand what it meant to love if we didn’t have hate. And we wouldn’t be able to define what is good and right if we didn’t have bad and wrong. We wouldn’t be able to feel true joy without the ability to feel deep sadness. And the biggest one of all, we wouldn’t be able to truly know Life, if Death were not inevitable.

I’m sure that makes sense to everyone, right? Easy enough. Well, now let’s go deeper.

If we really do understand the idea, then why do we get so affected when things don't go our way, when bad things happen, when we can’t be happy or when we lose people that we love? How many of you have said, “Why is this happening to ME?” “How could this happen to HIM?” Or even further, “How could GOD let this happen?”   

Let’s look at the story of Adam and Eve from this perspective. When Adam and Eve ate from the trees of Life and Knowledge, they were cast out of the garden and into the world and they forgot who they were. I believe, in the garden, they were one with God. They were of the pure light that was Him. But once they did eat from the trees and “fell”, God was forgiving and the angels were told to love man as if he were God himself so that he might remember someday. One particular angel had a very big problem with this because he loved God so much and couldn’t bear to see anyone else in that way. That angel was Lucifer. So when he couldn’t do it God cast him out of heaven and he became the other side of the Light. Now duality IS. I believe this was God’s effort to show that idol worship is not his intention. This is one of many stories that have many interpretations. I believe that the deeper meaning here could be that Adam and Eve made it possible for us to even exist. And perhaps we are all asleep and continue to forget who we are. The journey of Life is about waking up and remembering.  

We are ruled and run by duality, our societal and personal programmings create our lives and reactions to it. I believe the personal self discovery path is one that can lead a person back to God or higher Self. It’s called in some circles “Christ Consciousness”, or “Pure Consciousness”. 

So the only way to go beyond duality is to accept what just IS right NOW. Be Present. As Deepak Chopra says of presence, “Where you are is the point of arrival. The past is no more and the future is unknown." All we have for sure is the NOW.

Remembering this can assist you to stay living in the flow of life. So allow, surrender, and do your best to find balance is my advice. Don’t we also say that life is a great balancing act? Exactly! So take the bad with the good, the sadness with the joy, the fear with the hope, and the hate with the love. Honor and respect both and take responsibility for your own reactions and feelings.   

There is immense freedom in the acceptance of what just IS in every moment. It is a constant effort and not always easy, but it is the only Way.  In my experience, awareness and acceptance of what IS and our reactions to it can free a person to go beyond the sets and also to accept ourselves. It’s not somewhere most people can get and live forever. However, even the briefest encounter with such an experience or understanding of your Self can change your life. That I know for sure.

  

I like to call my first real experience of my Self my “Popeye Moment”. I was doing a  three-day enlightenment intensive and asking the question: Who am I? After two solid days of asking and contemplating, this moment of “I am what I am! I’m ME!!” literally seemed to punch me in the stomach. I began to laugh hysterically as if throwing the laughter up from my gut. I couldn’t stop. As the experience settled in me, there came what I can only describe as a cellular feeling of being a part of absolutely everything and no-thing at the very same time. Duality! And beyond, holding everything and nothing, it was the most peaceful, boundlessly empty, full place I had ever been. I felt again, like I did when I was baptized at 14, as if I was being held or hugged. I know I was one with God. One would think that I’d be freaked out of my mind. But it felt more like I had been slipped an ecstasy pill or something. I walked around the retreat center that night taking in every detail of the world. I laid on the grass and stared up at the stars in total awe. I am me. I AM THAT (Ham-sa). How could it be so simple? I am me and trying to be anything different serves no one, especially God. I’m free!! I'm transformed!

Transformation means coming through the darkness to the light and now living with new awareness. There is no going under, over or around the work to reach your Light. The only way is through. And more importantly, once you begin the journey there is no turning back. As you learn, you cannot unlearn. But you can forget.      

Deepak also says, “There is divinity inside us that is full of laughter and when we lose touch with that laughter that is when we have problems.” Aahhhh, the importance of laughter. It's been years since I had this experience and I know I need to find more humor in my life to keep this awareness alive. I'm way too serious for my own good sometimes.  

Still my conclusion from this and many other similar experiences is that I know that conscious awareness of ourselves in a world of duality can open a person up to compassion and love for Self and others. That’s going beyond.

Beyond is transcendence. Beyond is the experience of one’s true Self as Divine Consciousness, the experience of our connectedness to everything as Unity Consciousness, and the experience that we are a human body within a soul, not the other way around, as Pure Consciousness. If more people worked to remember and to live with this awareness of themselves to the best of their ability, I can only imagine the effect that could have on our physical world. We are all imperfect and that is perfect! We are all the same, yet completely unique. We are all connected and essential, yet insignificant and individual.

Joseph Campbell said, “The privilege of a lifetime is being who we are.” He also said, “The god you worship is the one you’re capable of becoming.”

So when I began my own journey, Duality and Beyond became a kind of mantra for me. And as I continue on my path it also continues to guide me. When I decided to become an Astrologer to assist others on their personal growth journeys and create teaching products to get messages of insight out to the world, the name “Duality and Beyond” was an easy choice for my business. It represents my intention to show how knowledge and understanding of your own duality and how you work with it can provide a wonderful foundation for spiritual awakening. All the greatest spiritual teachers speak about knowing yourself, understanding what parts of you are ruled by love and what parts are ruled by fear, meditation and more, all as ways to connect to your truest, purest Self and Source. To me Astrology is just another amazing tool to use on this path. It can provide  priceless insight into your own personal nature and help to discover how you can better navigate life with more awareness and truth. It's my passion, constant support and objective reminder of who I am in this life, as well as who I am not.         

I hope this begins to answer the question and I wish you all the best on your journey of Duality and Beyond.

Nameste