UNITY AND DUALTY

Key Extracts from Lecture 143

© The Pathwork® Foundation 1999

In the unified plane of consciousness, there are no opposites. There is no good or bad, no right or wrong, no life or death. There is only good, only right, only life. Yet it is not the kind of good or the kind of right or the kind of life that comprises but one of the opposites of the dualistic planes. It transcends it and is of a completely different nature. That good, or that right, or that life which exists on the unified plane of consciousness combines both aspects of the dualistic way of life. In the unified state of mind, no conflict exists because the dualism is combined and the opposites no longer conflict with one another. This is why to live in a unified state, in absolute reality, is the bliss, the unlimited freedom, the fulfillment, and the unlimited realization of potentials that religion calls heaven.

When the road to the unified principle is chosen, soon what first appeared as one good and one bad ceases to be so, and one inevitably encounters good and bad on both ends. And when this ‘road’ is pursued still further, there no longer is any bad, but only good. The road leads deep inside into the real self, into truth that surpasses the fearful little ego interests. When this truth is sought deep inside of the self, the unified state of consciousness is approached.

What we call the real self, or the divine substance in man, or the divine principle, or the infinite intelligence, or any number of other names mankind has chosen for the deep inner live-center, exists in every human being. It contains all wisdom and truth that man can possibly envisage.

The unified real self can always be contacted, in every issue of man's life. Let us again return to our example in order to see exactly how this could be done in such a case. The act which appears to be the most difficult for man to perform, but which, in reality, is the easiest and most unstrained act possible, is to ask precisely ‘What is the truth of the matter?’ The moment an individual is more bent on the truth than on proving his right, he contacts the divine principle of transcendent, unified truth. If the desire to be in truth is genuine, the inspiration must come forth. No matter how much circumstances seem to point in one direction, man must be willing to relinquish and question that what he sees is all there is to the issue. This generous act of integrity opens the way to the real self. This act will be easier to follow through when man contemplates that it is not necessarily a question of either/or, but that there may be aspects of right in the other and of wrong in himself that, so far, he has not seen because his attention was not even directed to this eventuality. With this approach to a problem, man immediately opens the way to enter into the unified plane of existence and to be moved by the real self. This immediately releases an energy which is distinctly felt when this act is really committed to in a deep and sincere way. It brings release of tension. What he then finds out is always totally different from both what he hoped for and feared against on the dualistic plane. He finds that he is not as right and innocent as he thought, nor as wrong as he feared. Nor is the opponent. He soon discovers aspects in the matter that he never saw before although they were not necessarily concealed. He understands exactly how the quarrel came into existence in the first place, what led to it, what was its history long before its actual manifestation. With this, he gains insight into the very nature of the relationship, he learns about himself and the other, and he increases his understanding of the laws of intercommunication. The more vision he thus gains, the freer, stronger, and more secure does he feel. This vision not only eliminates this particular conflict and shows the right way and approach to straighten it out, but it also reveals important aspects of this person's general difficulties whose elimination becomes easier through this experience and its understanding. The vibrant peace through this extended understanding is of lasting value. It affects man's self-realization and has its beneficial results in his daily life as well. This is a typical example of unified, intuitive understanding and knowing the truth. After the initial apparent need for courage and the momentary resistance to seeing a wider truth than the egotistic one, it is so much easier than the struggle that ensues on the either/or plane of life. Before you can bring yourself to that way of thinking and being, the tension will mount, for as long as you are still on the dualistic plane, you struggle against this way of thinking because you believe falsely that the moment you admit and see a wrong in you and a right in the other, you submit and enslave yourself. You become nothing, worthless, pitiful; and from there it is only a step to annihilation in your fantasy life. Hence, you feel it as the greatest of danger to leave your dualistic plane. The tension must mount the more the conflicts tear you in several directions at once. But the moment you are willing to be in truth, the moment you are eager and prepared not to see merely your way, your little truth, nor to give in to the other's little truth in fear of the consequences when you do not, but when you wish to be in possession of the larger, more encompassing truth which transcends both of your little truths, in that moment a specific tension will be removed in your psyche. The way toward the manifestation of the real self will be prepared. Let me recapitulate here what I have often mentioned previously. The two most significant obstructions to the real self are ignorance of its existence and of the possibility to be connected with it, and a tight, cramped psychic state with tight, cramped soul movements. These two factors make contact impossible with the real self and therefore with a unified state of existence. As long as you are in a dualistic plane, you must constantly be in a soul cramp. You may remember how often I discussed the importance of observing your soul movement. When you fight against one dual aspect and press for the other, observe the soul movements coming forth… This simple act of wanting the truth requires several factors, the most important of which is the willingness to relinquish what one holds on to – whether this be a belief, a conviction, a fear, a cherished way of being. When I say relinquish, I merely mean questioning it and being willing to see that there is something else beyond this outlook and that conviction.

As long as man is totally identified with his separated ego, he must, as I said, cultivate more separation – hence self-idealization must be a consequence. Self-glorification and idealization is, from this point of view, then, the apparent salvation and guarantee to assuage your existential fears. To put this in simpler terms, the ego thinks, ‘If everyone around me thinks that I am special’ – especially good, or smart, or beautiful, or talented, or happy, unhappy, or even bad, or whatever the specialty you have chosen for your own personal idealized self-glorification – ‘then I will receive the necessary approval, love, admiration, agreement that I need in order to live.’ This means that somewhere deep down you believe that you can exist only through being noticed, affirmed, and confirmed by others. You feel that if you go by unnoticed, if no one knows of your existence, you cease to live. This may sound exaggerated, but it is not. It explains why some people's idealized self-image is destructive and negative. They feel more confident in making themselves noticed than through positive specialness. So your salvation seems to lie in others who would acknowledge your existence only if you are different – that is, special. At the same time, the misinterpreted message from the real self wants you to master life, but you master it on the wrong plane and believe that you must vanquish every resistance that is put in your way. Each personal pseudosolution is a way in which you hope to eliminate the obstructions put in your way. Which pseudosolution you have chosen depends on individual character traits, on circumstances and early influences. Whatever they are – and you know that there are three basic ones, the aggressive, the submissive, and the withdrawal solutions – they are designed to triumph over others and establish your ‘freedom’ and ‘fulfillment’ in this way.

Of course, all these reactions and beliefs in you can only be ascertained as existing when you have learned to admit them, when you question the meaning of a particular reaction and look behind the facade and beyond what you pretend they mean. Once this admission is made, it is easy to verify that all these misconceptions govern you and rob you of the beauty of reality. You will further come to see – not as a theory, but as a reality experience – that your life does not depend on other people's affirmation of your existence; that you do not need to be special and separated from others; that this very claim traps you into loneliness and confusion; that others will give you love and acceptance only when you do not wish to be better than they are, or special or different from them. Also, this love will come when your very life no longer depends on it. When you have truly attained knowledge, when you are truly accomplished in whatever field this may be, it cannot have the effect on others that it has when accomplishment serves to set you apart. In the one case, your accomplishment will be a bridge to others because it is not a weapon against them. In the other instance, it will create antagonism because you wish to be accomplished in order to be better than others – which always means that others should be less. When you need to be better through your accomplishments, what you give to the world must turn against you because you offer it in a spirit of war. When you give of your accomplishments in order to enrich life and others, you and your life will be enhanced by it because what you offer is given in a spirit of peace. In the latter case, you become a part of life. In taking from life – the live-center within yourself – and giving it back to life as an integral part of it, you act according to the unified principle.

The moment you go through this opening up movement, and you have the courage to want the truth, and you envisage the possibility of a wider and more complete truth than you can see at the moment, in whatever the issue is, you will come to a new peace and a new intuitive knowledge about the way things are. Something in your hardened psychic material will have loosened up and further prepares the way for total self-realization.

The only way you can truly enter into the unitive state of life, in which you can truly be master, is by no longer needing to triumph, to win, to be separate, to be special, to be right, to have it your way, by finding and discovering the need in all situations, whatever they are, whether you deem them good or bad, right or wrong. Needless to say, this does not mean resignation, nor does it mean fearful giving in or weakness. It means going with the stream of life and coping with what is as yet beyond your immediate control, whether or not it is according to your liking. It means accepting where you are and what life is for you at this moment. It means being in harmony with your own inner rhythm. This will open the channel so that finally total self-realization takes place… May every one of you comprehend that the truth is in you, everything you need is in you. May you find that you actually do not have to fight and struggle as you constantly do. All you have to do is see and recognize the truth wherever you stand now… Be blessed, continue your wonderful path, that path which will bring you to the realization that you already have what you need and are where you need to be. You merely look away because you are geared in the opposite direction.