Duality: Self and No-self
We interpret life. We typically do not observe.
It is a wonderful sight to observe how daylight appears from nighttime. The label we use is “dawn.”
That perception of pristine light may be called “paradise,” and darkness “hell” or we can change labels in duality and call them “good” and “bad,” “right” or “wrong,” etc.
Nevertheless, when there is a preference for an experience, a rejection is born out of that preference. The night is not cherished as much as daylight.
“Hell” is despised despite its continuous occurrence and need to be there, for “paradise” to happen.
The above is the belief system and moral standard of many at this time. It is called duality.
Our culture has taught us to “choose” one side considered “good” and reject the other.
Embrace the day and reject the night.
That vision is the cause of inner and outer conflicts.
That vision takes a person into mental and psychological issues.
There is absolutely nothing that “we” have to “do” for nighttime to become daylight again. It will happen by itself, without “our” help.
Do we see that?
What it needs to change is our vision, our attitude in life.
Nighttime offers an experience and so daylight.
When we embrace both without judgment as life experiences, then we don’t reject; but we integrate.
We have been taught that “angels” reject the darkness of the light. They fight for light and conquer evil.
A being of light or an “angel” does not reject any part of duality. A being of light does not reject “hell” and chooses heaven. A being of light integrates both perceptions and experiences so his life remains in joy, in appreciation and in balance according to the movement of time.
Embracing the Totality is what we call harmony. A being of light is harmonious in life.
Life is harmony… if “I am” the Totality, why I am not harmonious?
That is the question. The answer may be the sense of self. There is no flowing in life when we are not life itself.
The symbol of “yin and yang” expresses that beautifully, although that symbol is open to interpretation according to the consciousness of the viewer.
Some will say: “ It is the concept of duality forming a whole.”
That concept is worthless, intellectual stuff.
The symbol of “ying yang” represents life itself, the Totality. That symbol is meant to be in movement just like life.
“Tai-chi “ is that slow movement which represents life. To consciously balance the different energies in the self.
When we truly understand harmony then we can start seeing something different. There is no fight needed. Nothing to conquer.
A life without harmony does not experience joy. That joy “NOW” is the most important item in life from my view.
As long as there is a rejection of a part of life, we will have an internal issue, an emotion that will need to be healed.
Typically we say that “acceptance” of life is needed, but there is no such a thing as “acceptance” when there is “no-self” to be life itself.
Thus, to bring that harmony, there are many elements that life offers in our experience. To use those according to time and circumstances is the art.
Whatever we choose to do or to be matters, as long as there is harmonious joy, balance in living.
That is the bottom line.
The above observation was expressed in a different way by another culture with the word “yoga.”
It is union. It is not the “union” of the “self” with something else, such as “life,” “God,” the “divine,”etc.
It is the union that happens when there is “no-self.”
Is self “bad”?
That question is called “misinterpretation.”
No.
It is just a different experience.
We are so in-tune with “self.” We understand the world in “self.” We follow religious beliefs in “self.”
Through these writings, the invitation is to explore “no-self” and to embrace both,self and no-self; to integrate both experiences, to be harmonious just like the yin-yang symbol.
Want a teacher, a guru for that?
Observe Nature, the plants and the animal kingdom. Learn from their “ignorance” and open your heart to appreciate with thankfulness the marvelous opportunity to feel life by being aware, conscious of it.
Exploring the Depth of Living 
Aaron,
The risky aspect of these sharings is that we could get caught up in dualistic words. These words are not meant to be taken literally but rather to “smell the aroma” as we smell the fragrance of a Rose.
“Harmony” is to mix coffee with milk. Some may use sugar to create a balance within them, others may not. Some may call sugar “bad and junk food,” but yet it is “good” for the sense of enjoyment of that person.
To flow with life is to go beyond words and definitions. Life is neither harmonious nor non harmonious. Life “is what is.” If I use the word “harmony” it has a greater acceptance than using “life is non harmony,” That acceptance is necessary for someone to be open to understand and be open for other things conveyed in this blog.
“Discord” for some may be harmonious for others. Rap is music for some. For others it is not. We make the duality with our words and attitude behind our beliefs. To realize that everything has the right to manifest as “it is” for that is “its expression” is to appreciate that singularity rather than label it with a dualistic word.
I like the yin-yang picture that you have chosen to represent you, Aaron. That shows your balance. 🙂
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Thank you, this is really refreshing to read! I agree that the imbalance of worshiping the light and suppressing the dark leads to psychological illness and causes many of my problems, thank you for the validation. Also, you posed the question, “Life is harmony… if “I am” the Totality, why I am not harmonious?” My answer is that even life and harmony have their dual opposites–death and discord, so when I am Totality, I am both harmony and not harmonious. Even discord can be beautiful and useful. Is that true for you? – Aaron
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