"How wonderful that we have met with a paradox.
Now we have some hope of making progress."
-Neils Bohr
Having a term that reflects the both/and paradox is a step in the right direction, and yet calling it Uniduality doesn't address the difficulty that the human mind has with embracing paradox. It's understandable -- they're a mind fuck. Even though they're around us all the time, we naturally struggle to wrap our mind's around them because they appear so illogical -- how can the truth be something that contradicts itself!? We naturally gravitate towards binary, black and white thinking because contradiction can give us mental indigestion, so it can be helpful to intellectually explore a shift in logic that will allow our human minds to befriend the incredible world of paradox that Unidual perception ushers you into. While Unidual experience is beyond the intellect, and language can only point to it, I've found that it's incredibly important for our egos to assimilate the implications of it. Getting rid of our egos is not an option, and part of embracing them is honoring and supporting, rather than shaming and belittling our healthy psychological need to cultivate a coherent narrative of what we experience in "non-ordinary" states of consciousness. This is a crucial aspect of the integration process that is dangerously missing in many modern "non-dual" teachings. The fact that maps are not the territory, doesn't make them any less important. When we aren't able to integrate unitive states of consciousness into our mental mapping of reality, we run the risk of destabilizing ourselves psychologically, and the possibility that our egos, in an understandable effort to protect our sanity, will shut down our spiritual explorations.
Let's dive into what Tim Freke refers to as paralogical thinking, which helps our logic-loving minds make a shift from either/or to both/and thinking (without getting rid of the former) and explains why we need it to get to the heart of matters, i.e. the deepest truths.
Let's dive into what Tim Freke refers to as paralogical thinking, which helps our logic-loving minds make a shift from either/or to both/and thinking (without getting rid of the former) and explains why we need it to get to the heart of matters, i.e. the deepest truths.
The paradox is one of our most spiritual posessions.
Only the paradox comes near to comprehending the fullness of life
- Carl Jung