The one in relation to the other
Duality is a major source of our suffering. We see ourselves as separate from the other, separate from nature and its animal world. I and the other. I and God. Apart from all the institutions that benefit from our dualistic thinking, it is also something we seem to have inherited physically. Two ears, two eyes, two nostrils; even our mouth tastes differently on the left than on the right. In our multidimensional world, we can hardly avoid seeing everything in a dual character. In everything we experience, we are confronted with duality, whether consciously or unconsciously.
The grass is always greener on the other side!
The mysticism of Emptiness
If duality is a source of suffering, there must also be something opposite it that eliminates suffering, or where there is no suffering. The logical answer is, of course, 'yes'; there is a way of experiencing in which duality plays no role, in which no separation can be perceived. But how can you perceive in a non-dual way, perceive that there is no separation and everything is one? Everything is Emptiness . It is meditation that holds the key to Emptiness.
Meditation
Meditation is used in every religion to gain insight. People often think it is something 'Eastern,' but that is a misconception. Meditation is a way to quiet the mind and focus solely on, for example, breathing. The mind is the driver of dual perception; breathing, on the other hand, gives you the space to connect with the higher self. When you first start meditating, it sometimes seems like a ping-pong match: “when you start thinking about what you perceive, the perceived self is already gone.”
Meditation is learning to let go, is being in the Now. The Now knows no space and time, no you and me. In the Now, everything is one!
Written August 28, 2008