The second leads you astray

Second. Noun, verb, ordinal number. It's a convenient word with much serviceability, having been in our lexicon for well over one-thousand years.

But in this article I'd like to consider a second perspective on second. And for that we'll quote the Indian mystic poet Kabir: "Behold but One in all things; it is the second that leads you astray."

The second leads you astray.

Within the metaphysical framework of non-duality, reality is a state of infinite oneness. There is no separation, no division, no distinction, no uniqueness. No subject-object correspondence or relevance. Oneness is eternal is-ness.

Yet that clearly is not our experience. This realm of me, you, other bodies, relationships, drama, life, death, space, and time most definitely consists of objective form. How can that be?

The second led us astray.

Reality is now. The past is gone. The future does not exist. The second shepherds time, literally. More than a double entendre, the second births the self. All concepts and experience proceed from a contemplating, conscious self. Oneness splintered into duality. Two. The second has led us astray.

The unconditional perfection of oneness, though, has not been lost. Merely forgotten. We may yet "behold but One in all things" by returning attention to the sovereign state of pure awareness. From such a placeless place the self transforms into heavenly light and joy and peace. The same second that led us astray now enables the undoing of all suffering. This second coming leads us home to the first; One.

Join me in Thursday's class where we'll explore these concepts in greater depth, as well as practices for experiencing the deep peace toward which the teachings lead. I look forward to seeing you then.