I came across this wonderful article on duality; a theme central to the WAKING GOD TRILOGY. Religion in general, and Christianity in particular, create a concept of good versus evil. This is duality. The good guys versus the bad guys, us versus them; a theme that has plagued humanity. WAKING GOD exposes this nonsense and tells of the destruction wrought by this dogma. As science reveals a truer nature of the universe, long known by the mystics, the end of the duality dogma will bring a new age of peace on Earth. But first, you must gain an understanding of the insidious nature of religion and come to a greater understanding that duality is but a myth.
WELCOME TO SCIENCE AND NONDUALITY
Dualisms shape our worldview. They include Mind/Matter, Self/Other, Perception/Reality, Quantum/Classical, Wave/Particle, Spiritual/Material, Beginning/End, Male/Female, Living/Dead and Good/Evil.
Wisdom gained through meditation, yoga and mystical experiences suggest these dichotomies are illusory. Eastern mystics know a single underlying reality called advaita, Brahman, the Tao, or Nirvana, from which all existence arises through consciousness. Nonduality is the philosophical and spiritual understanding that dualisms obscure a deeper reality of non-separation and fundamental oneness.
On the other hand, science depends on empirical data leading to reductionism, materialism and apparent dichotomies. But discoveries in quantum physics, brain sciences, consciousness studies, biology, cosmology, psychology and other fields have revealed nonduality in science as well, suggesting mysticism and science share a common source. Applying nondual perspectives in science, and scientific perspectives in Eastern spiritual approaches are the twin goals of this, the first public conference on the Science of Nonduality. Join us for three days seeking fundamental oneness in quantum physics, philosophy, consciousness studies, cosmology, art, Buddhism, psychology and spiritual metaphysics.
What is nonduality, anyway?
There are many shades of meaning to the word nonduality. As an introduction, we might say that nonduality is the philosophical, spiritual, and scientific understanding of non-separation and fundamental oneness.
Our starting point is the statement “we are all one,” and this is meant not in some abstract sense but at the deepest level of existence. Duality, or separation between the observer and the observed, is an illusion that the Eastern mystics have long recognized and Western science has more recently come to understand through quantum mechanics.
Dualities are usually seen in terms of opposites: Mind/Matter, Self/Other, Conscious/Unconscio us, Illusion/Reality, Quantum/Classical, Wave/Particle, Spiritual/Material, Beginning/End, Male/Female, Living/Dead and Good/Evil. Nonduality is the understanding that identification with common dualisms avoids recognition of a deeper reality.
So how can we better understand nonduality?
There are two aspects to this question, and at first glance they appear to be mutually exclusive, although they may be considered two representations of a single underlying reality.
The first aspect is our understanding of external reality, and for this we turn to science. The word science comes from the Latin scientia, which means knowledge. The beauty and usefulness of science is that it seeks to measure and describe reality without personal, religious, or cultural bias. For something to be considered scientifically proven, it has to pass exhaustive scrutiny, and even then is always subject to future revision. Inevitably human biases creep in, but the pursuit of science itself is intrinsically an evolving quest for truth. But then quantum mechanics turned much of this lauded objectivity on its head, as the role of the observer became inseparable from the observed quantum effect. It is as if consciousness itself plays a role in creating reality. Indeed, the two may be the same thing. As quantum pioneer Niels Bohr once put it: “A physicist is just an atom's way of looking at itself!”
The second aspect is our inner, personal experience of consciousness, our “awareness of awareness.” We have our senses to perceive the world, but “behind” all perception, memory, identification and thought is simply pure awareness itself. Eastern mystics have described this undifferentiated consciousness for thousands of years as being the ultimate state of bliss, or nirvana. Seekers have attempted to experience it for themselves through countless rituals and practices, although the state itself can be quite simply described. As Indian advaita teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj said: “The trinity: mind, self and spirit, when looked into, becomes unity.”
The central challenge to understanding nonduality may be that it exists beyond language, because once it has been named, by definition -- and paradoxically -- a duality has been created. Even the statement “all things are one” creates a distinction between “one” and “not-one”! Hardly any wonder that nonduality has been misunderstood, particularly in the West.
THERE IS MORE ON THIS TOPIC AND YOU CAN READ IT AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.sciencea ndnonduality. com/index. shtml
SCIENCE AND NONDUALITY CONFERENCE
October 21-25, 2009
Embassy Suites/Marin Civic Center
San Rafael, California
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