Aloha everyone! I hope that you are all doing well on MLK day. Today I felt called to talk about the nature of duality; especially when it comes to our minds and how we view the world. This concept has been coming up a lot for me recently, as I am starting my second quarter of graduate school and this is something that we discuss a lot in all of my classes. One thing that I really love about this life and experience as a human is that I am constantly learning about myself and about reality. My ideas and thoughts are always changing with what is happening inside of me as well as outside of me. It is very exciting! Especially because I am an individual that likes change. Maybe that is why I enjoy learning so much….

Anyways, duality! What is it? Duality is seeing two things as separate or different from each other. Again, we all have our own interpretations of everything, so this is the way I see it (for now). A lot of the time when two things are considered dual they are considered in opposition with one another. Hence the term dual! Now what does this have to do with my blog? Well, this term has shown up in consciousness, spirituality, and specifically the mind and our perceptions.

When we have a dual mind we see things are separate from ourselves. For example, when we see someone that is outside of us such as a friend, a plant, a rock, etc. we consider them to be a separate entity. We picture boundaries between us. When we see ourselves as separate from everything it is much easier to treat something badly or to not care about the outcome of our actions and how it might affect everything else. One idea that comes to my mind is our relationship to nature. We see nature as separate from us, when in fact we are nature! A lot of human see themselves (myself included) as more evolved than the natural world or perhaps higher up on the hierarchy of life. But this is not true, we have just severed our connection with the natural world and so we do not see it as a living organism that is capable of much more than we think.

When we also possess a dual mind we can close ourselves off from life. We judge, we isolate, and we feel alone. Most of us have a dual mind as that is how we humans have evolved with the modern world. It is not something to be ashamed of, it is the way things are. But we can help ourselves to connect more to a boundaryless existence. One in which we are open to what is all around us. Where we see ourselves in everything. One way to do this is through meditation! Meditation has helped me so much to connect to a deeper feeling that is within me. One that is within all of us and connects us to everything. Meditation does not also have to be sitting with your legs crossed for hours. It can look different for everyone. Perhaps its taking a walk outside, cooking, running, etc. Whatever gets you into a flow state.

Duality can also be the act of seeing things as black and white, this or that, one or the other. This can also be a limiting mindset as it puts us into boxes that we are not meant to fit into! Life cannot fit into a box, it is too large and full of beauty and the changing winds to be stuffed into something it cannot flow out of. Life is a spectrum not a checklist.

Our experience can sometimes be hard to connect to. We are all so busy running around we can forget to stop and really take time out of our day to feel our existence fully and what it means to be a human at this time. I know I have a very difficult time with this, I am constantly running around! I have to force myself to make time for mindfulness and connection each day. But it has been worth it for me and has made my life much richer.

Mahalo for reading humans! Feel free to comment or message me with questions, concerns, debates, additions, whatever!

Peace,

Rylee