Extremely Difficult Realization

One of the most challenging aspects contemplating a non-dualistic thought system is the dualistic nature of contemplation and the sensating subject of such inquisition. It’s quite a paradox.

If oneness is true then perception must be an illusion. Yet who is the I that is considering this contradiction?

The esteemed British philosopher Dame Iris Murdoch insightfully describes this conundrum as “the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.”

Extremely difficult realization indeed.

Consider these lines from A Course in Miracles:

Only in the past,—an ancient past, too short to make a world in answer to creation,—did this world appear to rise. (T-26.V.5)

Reading these words from an apparently sentient experience certainly seems to belie such a basis. Nevertheless, the course reiterates:

The world is an illusion. Those who choose to come to it are seeking for a place where they can be illusions, and avoid their own reality. (W-pI.155.2)

And therein lies the source of extreme difficulty. The intentionality of delusional selfhood. We made up a world in order to comprehend a we. More specifically, a me.

We then perpetuate the misconstruction through an exceedingly complex narrative of life, drama, death, and philosophy. All for the purpose of proving prominence. I am that I am.

But there is another way of “seeing” that leads beyond our imagined reality, transcending the puzzle of conscious dualism. One that results in an experience of perfect peace in the union of all. An extremely blissful realization awaiting but our choice.

Join me in Thursday’s class where we’ll explore the nature of duality and practices we can undertake to move beyond the pain of alienated perception. I look forward to seeing you then.