Unity of Opposites

Duality is an everyday experience which we move into on awakening. If I experience sadness, I am aware that there is the opposite of that and vice-versa. Everything has the flipside, thus duality. Some people take this as an experience of fragmentation and they can never find stability in life, thus it is the source of their unhappiness. So if something joyful comes to them, they always live in the fear of the sadness that might me awaiting them round the corner. In this way, they never live their experience of joy to the full, causing deep unhappinees in their psyche. This because they constantly live in fear that something will happen to unbalance them. This sometimes becomes pathological and does not let them experience long periods of peace.

Many spiritual traditions have unfortunately encouraged this way of thinking by creating a chism between what is good and what is bad. The duality is emphasized and people are encouraged to choose one part which they call ‘good’ if they are to be happy and save their soul. This has harmed many because it has created a conflict within some people since it has created a psychological struggle which to them ends at death.

In every spirituality, there are the rules of the religious part which is so to speak, the rules of the club which empasizes the duality part. However, every spirituality also has the mystic part which goes beyond, with the belief that duality is not the real human experience. The personality is experiencing wholeness through integration of the opposite poles. Thus it does not experience it as a split in personality but deeper integration and maturity. By rejecting one part one can never experience unity of opposites.

An example of this is the relationship some people have with their sexuality, where they are afraid of thoughts that come to them and struggle to reject them. This is an experience of opposing attitudes that come up of their own accord. Because of this, many people go through life riddled with guilt which is often misplaced. They can only achieve balance if they accept all their experiences as sacred, not to be suppressed or rejected. This can be done by unlearning some of our beliefs and basing our spiritual life on the mercy of God.

When in a conflicting situation, it is wise not to suppress one part but to allow both sides space to manifest in ones life. If we believe that ultimately all human experience is one of unity, it is only there that we can find balance and happiness, thus allowing conflict a place in our life.