The Honesty of Light and Shadow
The disciple asked: “Master, what do you consider important to gain further consciousness in Life?” The master responded: “From the perspective of society, man should behave with morality. However, observe what that person truly IS, he may not BE according to that value. For instance, someone who steals. Even though there is a moral law condemning stealing, there is stealing at different levels. Thus, inner dishonesty will appear. That is hypocrisy. Secretly; I am in a certain way that is my true behavior, but when surrounded by others; I behave in a different way. That clash of values is taking away our capacity for honesty. Without honesty we cannot observe what is. If we don’t have the capacity for that honest inner awareness; we are asleep although, pretending to be awake.”
The disciple then asked: “But how to practice honesty in a mostly dishonest environment?”
The master answered: “Honesty is not a practice. Although in the dictionary, dishonesty is the opposite of honesty; in Life to be insensible, unconscious, unaware is the opposite of honesty. Thus, how can there be practice of honesty if that is a quality of being awake? While in society we have been taught to make a strong distinction between virtues and vices, to practice one side and repudiate the other side; in Life what exists is what IS. That requires our full attention. This could be misrepresented by many. This is not permission to relentless express our vices. We need to observe, become aware with honesty of what IS without defending ourselves, then that quality of honesty will bring further changes. In Life everything is a process. A fruit doesn’t get ripe all of the sudden. Timing is important and everyone has a particular time.”
The disciple said: “I remember being taught to reject my vices also known as shadow and build my light, my virtues…”
Then the master replied: “Both make up a rope with 2 extremes. We call one extreme light and the other shadow. However, it is the same rope. As we gain further consciousness, that separation will not be. That is what is meant by integration. Light and shadow are together. How a shadow appears? When an object is in front of light. In spirituality, that object is the “I” or ego. The absence of that “I” will bring only light; but at that point it will not be called light, for there is no shadow to be its opposite. At that point, all labels and moral standards that we have learned will disappear. No more morality needed.”
The disciple said: “That is what probably most will call to be immoral.”
Then the master took a few seconds and said: “Perhaps Amoral. That one is beyond the duality of moral and immoral. That one doesn’t need established guidelines. That one IS ‘good’ for that is what he IS due to that integration of opposites, or dissolution of ego and not because he follows moral codes. That is where honesty is. We cannot teach someone to be honest. We could only manipulate that one to behave in certain ways and to repress who he may BE. Honesty is a self discovery. ”
“What is the need for morality in society?” Asked the disciple.
The master said: “Morality is necessary in a world of mostly unaware individuals. Because there is morality, then there is immorality. Morality is similar to a stake to straighten a tree. Stakes left for too long however, will hinder the tree’s development by not allowing the tree to experience only what IS.”
Exploring the Depth of Living 