Dear Vedam,
I came across your article on Peace and Love (http://loveliveandlaugh.com/peace-love-duality/) while Googling duality and, having read it, would like to ask you to discuss this topic further.
I have been functioning the majority of the time the last few years in what some would call “negativity” or the “negative pole,” which predictably doesn’t make for an enjoyable or even peaceful life. I am fully aware of the sense of contentment, peace, etc. that imbues me when I open myself to love and let go of the energetic “knots” I otherwise maintain in myself, but I have reached a point where I perceive this love as something that will persuade me to continue to endure at least the *possibility* of negativity by remaining in a dualistic reality, whereas the negativity can at least motivate me to commit suicide and therefore potentially remove me from dualistic existence (or bring me a step closer in that direction).
I’m conceiving of love, peace etc., then, as the positive pole, and misery, hate, depression etc. as the negative. You say, however, that there is only loving or “not loving”, peace or “not peace.”
Now, do you maintain that love and peace inherently appear dualistic to the mind but in fact aren’t, or that “true” love and peace—Love and Peace, we might say—are beyond duality, while “smallcaps” love and peace are indeed dualistic?
Another way of putting it: would someone centered in Love, free from duality, feel a pull toward duality equally from a positive or a negative act, or does the positive always lead away from duality and the negative toward?
Lastly, if Love is beyond duality, wouldn’t it have to “include” all negativity?
Answer:
WOW! You have really done some deep thinking about this. Now, let me see if I can help bring even more clarity to this conundrum for you.
First of all, this world of existence, and your mind (everyone’s mind) is based upon the concepts of duality. It is what allows us to make choices, and allows us to see differences and contrasts in things. There is no way around it. We all live in duality, and we all experience it. One of the keys that unlocks the mystery of life is to realize this truth, see it for what it is, and use it while playing the Game of Life consciously, while not taking any of it seriously. When you begin to take it seriously by labeling something as either good or bad, this is when we get deeper into the conundrum. You see, when you are living life seriously, or buying into the judgments and/or labels, you are living your life from the mind’s perspective. The mind is running the show. This becomes the deeper problem because the mind is limited; the mind operates in a power and control game, and this is not the deeper purpose in having a mind. You see, the mind is to be used consciously, intentionally, and purposefully, rather than your being used by the mind and its antics, and believing what the mind is saying to you about any given situation.
Peace and Love are qualities the mind has come to know through life experiences and situations. Even though the mind has experienced those qualities, the mind still has a limited perception of the complete experience of Love and/or Peace. When the mind experiences the qualities of Peace and Love, the mind labels those experiences and sets up a ‘degree system’ related to how it feels while it is having the experience. Love (with a capital ‘L’) now becomes love, Peace (with a capital ‘P’) now becomes peace. The mind is judging the love and the peace, and the mind does not have the capacity to ‘take it all in.’ The mind is doing what it does naturally; there is no way around it. However, Peace and Love are both qualities that are, or they are not. Not from the perspective of opposites, but rather from existing or not; much like light either exists or it doesn’t. For example: Let’s say you are in a lighted room. You take a heavy, thick, and dense blanket and cover your head. In that moment, you are in the dark, but in actuality you have only covered yourself from the light and cannot see it. The mind often acts like that blanket; it obstructs the view of the light, but it does not have the power to extinguish the light.
Now, regarding the concepts of “positive” and “negative:” In the realm of duality there is positive and negative, while in the Realm of the Absolute, there is no positive or negative. From the perspective of the Absolute, things just are. It is the mind that labels something as either good or bad. This is determined by the person’s (the mind’s) perspective and/or judgments. As a situation occurs, it is your mind that is labeling something as positive or negative. And it is a conglomeration of negative judgments that are creating those ‘energetic knots’ you are referring to. You first labelled the situation as negative, then as more situations occur, you continue to label them as negative, and a ‘file’ or ‘belief system’ is created. It is those files or belief systems that are “running the show” of your life. In many situations, it is those belief systems that lead a person to commit suicide, because those belief systems are saying that life is too hard, too difficult, or not worth living. As far as ‘enduring life’ goes, if you remain living a ‘mind-based’ life, that is what you will continue to do; endure life! Have you looked up the word ‘endure?’ It means to suffer patiently! Life is not meant to be suffered through, but rather experienced, tasted, and enjoyed by making choices, and leaving labels and judgments, and suffering, out of the equation.
You obviously are a very intelligent man, and by that I mean the mind is very intelligent or you would not be asking these types of questions. Now, I am going to ask you to use that intelligence to make a choice to live beyond the mind. Use that intelligence to see the mind for what it is. Use that intelligence to see the mind, and what it does because of habits and conditionings, and to make the choice to see and live beyond that. There are a few ways of doing/being that. Meditation is one way, and will help you to live meditatively, which is the key. You may want some assistance in doing that, or ‘feel’ that having assistance with that would benefit you. I would be happy to provide that assistance. I know for myself, the help of my spiritual teachers have been a great assistance. The mind (Vedam’s mind) says that I could not have done it without their help. This is not the only way though, since I know that the Universe stays in a constant state of support through balance and nurturing; all you have to do is stay open to it.
I certainly hope this has helped. Let me know if there is more that I can do.
Much Peace & Namaste…
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