Duality is just a stage to be understood and .....

[Still_Waters]

"Duality is just a stage to be understood and overcome".

--- Edward Selim Michael

[Unseeking Seeker]

True and yet the obvious challenge presented to evolving consciousness is how, why & under what circumstances does it shift the fulcrum of its attention from the duality visible to oneness invisible?

***

[django]

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

"Duality is just a stage to be understood and overcome".

--- Edward Selim Michael

I disagree with a few of the words. First the word 'just' should be removed because it devalues duality, which is a stage that we are in for decades, and is the stage that our spiritual work is played out on.

'Understood' is true but too limiting, deep healing has to take place beyond just understanding.

And 'overcome' is too oppositional, there's not a war, I think duality has to be worked with, and that work leads to ever greater integration, not splitting off.

[django]

"Not knowing who we are and yet trying to identify with impersonal existence is simply taking our lack of self-knowledge to the next level of ignorance." - Anadi

[Rah nam]

As long as we exist within a physical universe, there will be duality.
Physicality is based on duality. It can not be without it.

[neil]

Originally Posted by Rah nam

As long as we exist within a physical universe, there will be duality.
Physicality is based on duality. It can not be without it.

Rah nam...How is physicality based on duality.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by django

"Not knowing who we are and yet trying to identify with impersonal existence is simply taking our lack of self-knowledge to the next level of ignorance." - Anadi

That is why I believe that the word "understood" is included in the Selim quote.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by django

I disagree with a few of the words. First the word 'just' should be removed because it devalues duality, which is a stage that we are in for decades, and is the stage that our spiritual work is played out on.

'Understood' is true but too limiting, deep healing has to take place beyond just understanding.

And 'overcome' is too oppositional, there's not a war, I think duality has to be worked with, and that work leads to ever greater integration, not splitting off.

That is precisely the problem with words, and that is exactly why great masters whom I have met communicate in complete and utter silence. (Obviously, silence is a form of communication most unsuited to the general public. )

Most people will not be satisfied with any verbal explanation of the inexpressible, and that is understandable. I understood the point Selim was making despite the use of words.

In any case, your points are well-taken. Thanks for sharing.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Rah nam

As long as we exist within a physical universe, there will be duality.
Physicality is based on duality. It can not be without it.

That is exactly why Selim states the following in other parts of his book, "Obstacles to Enlightenment and Liberation".

- "She (he alternates between masculine and feminine pronouns) must find within herself the middle way, which alone can allow her to keep her attention partially turned toward the interior of her being, while she continues to respond to the call of the external world."

- " If, in the course of her various concentration exercises, the aspirant does not succeed in attaining a particular state of being that will allow her to live in both worlds at the same time, she will never be conscious of herself in the way she must really be and, consequently, it will not be possible for her to become a channel between the Celestial world and the created world."

Your point is well-taken, and I'm sure that you realize the difficulty of expressing in words the two different simultaneous perspectives (at least two) from which the Reality can be perceived.

Even with more words, there will be some whom the words will not satisfy. That is inevitable.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Unseeking Seeker

True and yet the obvious challenge presented to evolving consciousness is how, why & under what circumstances does it shift the fulcrum of its attention from the duality visible to oneness invisible?

***

As you duly noted, it is indeed a challenge initially regarding how, why and under what circumstances does it (the evolving consciousness) shift the fulcrum of its attention from the duality visible to oneness invisible. Eventually, it is less of a challenge as one abides more and more in the "oneness invisible" and shifts attention when one's pure intuition directs one to do so.

The "how" should generate an interesting discussion as I'm sure that there are different approaches to that.