The Dilemma of Duality

As an ex-physician and scientist, I find it exciting to see spirituality and quantum mechanics physics melding into one in recent years. Of course intellectually we can acknowledge they have always been one – in the same way that we can all agree that duality is simply illusion. However, as much as we can understand the concept of duality and discuss it at dinner parties and such, we still find it hard to not be attached to its existence in our daily lives.

Werner Heisenberg, one of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics (remember the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle?) and Nobel Prize winner (for physics in 1932) once said: The common division of the world into subject and object, inner world and outer world, body and soul is no longer adequate. As spiritual warriors, how do we see this powerful observation?

Today, more than ever, I feel we have a clear understanding that these divisions exist solely within the conceptual structure of our minds. Indeed, we possess the ultimate power and capability to eliminate those divisions and change our reality. However, if we do not take the action to embrace our birthright of infinite awareness, we will live and die in an illusion feeling victimized by the “outer world” and life circumstances.

We can say that the pain we experience in life is the result of our attachment to duality and our lack of awareness of its non-truth. The key to effectively dealing with duality is in engaging our awareness in both the way we think, and in the way we use the word to create our reality. It is extremely common for us to speak using judgmental words which create separation without awareness. We say things like: I had a terrible day today, or That person was so irritating, or The president is such an idiot! Not only are these statements common examples of our lack of awareness, but they are not truth in any sense of the word.

A great place to begin understanding how we engage in duality is to practice seeing the world as it is to the best of our abilities. For example we can re-word those statements above to read as such: This day did not meet my mind’s expectations in any way, shape or form! or Gosh, I took that person’s behavior personally today and allowed them to bother me, or I do not feel that the president is taking actions that are serving us and I would take a different action if I were in his place.

Can you see the difference between both sets of statements? The first set makes it seem that we are the victims of life and contains judgments perpetuating duality. The second set of statements shows responsibility for ones perception and is simply stating what is from ones personal point of view. To be even clearer - there is no right or wrong, and there is no such thing as them and me - as Werner Heisenberg is sharing in his famous statement above.

I hope you also notice that the second set of statements are not emotional in any way, whereas the first set of statements are very emotional. Remember, if you speak with judgment you will always be creating emotional reactions in both yourself and the person to whom you are speaking to. And in the end you will not be supporting the oneness of life; instead you will be contributing to further separation and pain. So are you ready to end your attachment to engaging in duality, and meld quantum mechanics and spirituality together in your own heart and mind? I encourage you to start doing so right now by practicing re-writing your communications. See for yourself how wonderful the results can be!

As always, I wish you the best on your path.