Human beings by nature tend to practice dualism, by naming and categorizing things into this or that. Even a religion is essentially a way of turning things into this or that. Dualism can lead us into making good or bad determinations, in which one thing is seen as being better than the other. The dualistic human ego is interested in defining things as superior or inferior, up or down, and good or bad.
On the other hand, Mysticism, which transcends the religious tradition, doesn’t concern itself with naming or categorization. The mystic path leads us to the awareness that all things are one — and thus not dualistic. When the human ego is allowed to dissolve and rejoin the mystic source, things become simply what they are, which is the nature of living.
Mystics who have had spiritual awakenings understand that the world of dualism is an illusion. They seek to reach a point of unity and oneness in which all things can be embraced in their totality or oneness; mystics who speak from their experience of transcendence talk in a non-dual way. From the mystic’s standpoint, things are neither good nor bad, they are simply experiences, and everything is possible.
Featured in this series: Fr. Richard Rohr, Timothy Freke, Rabbi Aubrey Glazer of Congregation Beth Shalom, Mary Reed, Lama Palden Drolma, Paramacharya Sadasivanathaswami at the Hindu Monastery in Kauai, Dr. Carol Weyland Conner Murshida of Sufism Reoriented, Sufi Hadi Paul Reicherz, Shankina Reinhertz, Pamela Desvernie, Itara O’connell, and Guy Douglas.
Be sure to subscribe if you’d like to receive notifications of new videos!
Leave a Reply