DANCING WITH DUALITY

I recently delved into the fascinating realm of Non-duality, a term that often pops up in spiritual circles. It refers to a state of being that could be called "pure awareness" or pure consciousness—maybe even rubbing shoulders with enlightenment! And guess what? This expression was on my mind while I was painting.

Now, for the past 15 years or so, I've been committed to a meditation practice. It has led me to fleeting moments (which I must say are quite rare) of what some might call a Non-dual state. Most of the time, though, my mind prefers to hop around from one distracted state to another—a never-ending dance of effortless effort, letting things be as they are. Talk about a wild performance!

As my curiosity deepened over the years about non-ordinary states of being and the occasional rendezvous with entheogens (that's the less eyebrow-raising term for psychedelics), I discovered that navigating the liminal space between pure awareness and everyday monkey mind became a bit easier. You could even describe it as a relationship between the relative and the absolute. The relative is how our awareness relates to our everyday experiences and interactions, while the absolute is a state of being where we recognize our inseparability from all things and the cosmos. It's like a cosmic high-five!

With all that swirling around in my mind, conscious or not, we're constantly engaged in a dance between the relative and the absolute. Or, to avoid imposing ideas, let's just say I'm quite fond of the metaphor of dancing between these dual and non-dual states. Sure, sometimes we get tangled up in our mental chaos and all the neurotic baggage we carry, but we also experience moments of transcendence—those awe-inspiring, love-filled, blissful moments of interconnectedness. It's like a rollercoaster of experiences!

One might think that bridging the gap between these states could be a worthy endeavor. So, here we are, dancing with duality, symbolizing the beautifully mirrored yet twisted and rhythmic dance within ourselves. Guided by our inner wisdom, we allow grace to guide us toward the eventual collapse of these divided parts. We dance with symbols, we dance with light, and we build bridges between ourselves and others. Aho! Let the dance continue!