10-05-2015, 07:16 PM
Sometimes the Law of One comes under criticism because it expounds upon the concepts of polarity. The term “polarity” or “polarizing” can be a rather emotionally charged and have some baggage attached. In a general sense, I would share a hesitance to the idea of something that promotes “polarization.” For instance, we view the polarization of opinions on controversial topics (such as politics) as a bad thing, right? Polarity as a concept seems to imply a sort of separation. Were I not familiar with Ra’s description of the positive path, I would probably cast prejudgment on the term as well.
Recently I’ve been attempting to reconcile the concepts of non-duality, a concept promoted by many of the great mystics and seemingly enlightened spiritual systems, and the concept of polarity in the Ra material. It seems that those seeking and promoting concepts of non-duality are rather consistently of a positive nature. In my interpretation, non-duality is a perspective of identification with the Creator, a form of contact with intelligent infinity. It is a state of dissolution of the concepts of object and subject, where everything is seen and experienced as unified in nature without division. Descriptions by mystics who experience this state seem to touch upon the peace, joy, and acceptance that I feel are hallmarks of the positive path. To realize and experience a state of non-separation with the world around us and allow it to inform our actions and behaviors in the physical just seems to be a wholly beneficial thing from a spiritual standpoint.
But how does that relate to polarity as described by Ra? Ra encourages polarization in consciousness in the sense of positive and negative paths. The ethical terminology of “service to others” and “service to self” seems to cause some confusion with people who are not familiar with the full explanation within the material. It’s easy to understand how this seems to cause separation of self from others, and imply that one involves loving others with exclusion or at the expense of self, and vice versa for the other. But closer examination of the material will show that in the path of service to others, the self is not excluded, and in fact work upon the self is a central tenet to that particular path. The positive path is an acceptance of and service to all, including the self. On the other hand, the service-to-self path is described in a very specific sense in the material. It is not a simple care or love of the self, but rather has more to do with how one may relate to and use others for the benefit of the self with focus upon control and separation. It is, in fact, a distinctly different thing from the love of self one would find on the positive path.
To a proponent of non-duality, any promotion of polarity may seem incompatible. But doesn’t the idea of non-duality itself imply a polarity? At one end of the polarized spectrum there is non-duality, and at the other there is duality. One could travel this spectrum in either direction, realizing and acting upon realizations of unity or realizations of separation. A person on the positive path will act, either upon faith or upon direct realization, in accordance with unity with self, other-selves, and the world around us. A person on the negative path will act in accordance with separation and control of self, other-selves, and the world.
I feel that this spectrum of non-duality and duality are a slightly variant perspective on the polarization that Ra promotes. I think that the Law of One gives some amazing tools for clearing the barriers in our perception that inhibit realizations of non-duality, and helps us in giving a map for the positive path towards unity. It is in this sense that I think the concepts of non-duality and promotion of polarity can be reconciled. We can see the positive path as one of non-duality, and the negative path as one of duality. I feel the Law of One is even more inclusive, in a sense, in that it promotes an acceptance of the negative polarity as a valid path of spiritual evolution. While it remains the shadow of the positive being, the shadow is to be accepted as all other aspects of the creation.
Would you agree that the positive path is one that tends towards non-duality, or could ultimately result in direct non-dual experiences? Not to say that seekers upon this path will have perfect realization of this unity and non-duality. We’re all on a journey and have our own distortions to work upon, but these distortions are, I think, distortions between the self and non-duality. We may not always have full awareness of when we are not being accepting or service-oriented, but the conscious attempt to clear these distortions and move in the positive direction is a testament to our polarity and the seeking of non-duality.
Does anyone know of any non-dual school of thought which expounds upon the idea that duality and non-duality imply a type of duality through polarity?
Recently I’ve been attempting to reconcile the concepts of non-duality, a concept promoted by many of the great mystics and seemingly enlightened spiritual systems, and the concept of polarity in the Ra material. It seems that those seeking and promoting concepts of non-duality are rather consistently of a positive nature. In my interpretation, non-duality is a perspective of identification with the Creator, a form of contact with intelligent infinity. It is a state of dissolution of the concepts of object and subject, where everything is seen and experienced as unified in nature without division. Descriptions by mystics who experience this state seem to touch upon the peace, joy, and acceptance that I feel are hallmarks of the positive path. To realize and experience a state of non-separation with the world around us and allow it to inform our actions and behaviors in the physical just seems to be a wholly beneficial thing from a spiritual standpoint.
But how does that relate to polarity as described by Ra? Ra encourages polarization in consciousness in the sense of positive and negative paths. The ethical terminology of “service to others” and “service to self” seems to cause some confusion with people who are not familiar with the full explanation within the material. It’s easy to understand how this seems to cause separation of self from others, and imply that one involves loving others with exclusion or at the expense of self, and vice versa for the other. But closer examination of the material will show that in the path of service to others, the self is not excluded, and in fact work upon the self is a central tenet to that particular path. The positive path is an acceptance of and service to all, including the self. On the other hand, the service-to-self path is described in a very specific sense in the material. It is not a simple care or love of the self, but rather has more to do with how one may relate to and use others for the benefit of the self with focus upon control and separation. It is, in fact, a distinctly different thing from the love of self one would find on the positive path.
To a proponent of non-duality, any promotion of polarity may seem incompatible. But doesn’t the idea of non-duality itself imply a polarity? At one end of the polarized spectrum there is non-duality, and at the other there is duality. One could travel this spectrum in either direction, realizing and acting upon realizations of unity or realizations of separation. A person on the positive path will act, either upon faith or upon direct realization, in accordance with unity with self, other-selves, and the world around us. A person on the negative path will act in accordance with separation and control of self, other-selves, and the world.
I feel that this spectrum of non-duality and duality are a slightly variant perspective on the polarization that Ra promotes. I think that the Law of One gives some amazing tools for clearing the barriers in our perception that inhibit realizations of non-duality, and helps us in giving a map for the positive path towards unity. It is in this sense that I think the concepts of non-duality and promotion of polarity can be reconciled. We can see the positive path as one of non-duality, and the negative path as one of duality. I feel the Law of One is even more inclusive, in a sense, in that it promotes an acceptance of the negative polarity as a valid path of spiritual evolution. While it remains the shadow of the positive being, the shadow is to be accepted as all other aspects of the creation.
Would you agree that the positive path is one that tends towards non-duality, or could ultimately result in direct non-dual experiences? Not to say that seekers upon this path will have perfect realization of this unity and non-duality. We’re all on a journey and have our own distortions to work upon, but these distortions are, I think, distortions between the self and non-duality. We may not always have full awareness of when we are not being accepting or service-oriented, but the conscious attempt to clear these distortions and move in the positive direction is a testament to our polarity and the seeking of non-duality.
Does anyone know of any non-dual school of thought which expounds upon the idea that duality and non-duality imply a type of duality through polarity?
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The only frontier that has ever existed is the self.
The only frontier that has ever existed is the self.