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Writer's pictureLona

Journey Through Duality

Beyond the safety of the mind is a blissful universe, waiting to show itself to you. The mind has worked so tirelessly to make us feel safe. What has it programed in the pattern of our thoughts to give us this illusion of safety? And what else does this pattern churn out: anxiety, depression, comparison? The mind created duality to help you survive, and to eventually, overcome. In both tantra, and magick we work to let go of this duality. To move into a non-dualist lifestyle.


Imagine duality as a coin. The heads side is, for example, acceptance. The tails side is rejection. The mind wants a quick way to establish rapport with other humans, and doesn't want to waste time on something that might not be as successful. So the mind judges things and people quickly to determine if you are accepted or rejected from a specific scenario.


Note: the scenario will continue to change. Sometimes things will flip as an acceptance in one scenario, but in a different scenario the same action will then be seen as rejection. The mind isn't taking this into account. It's job is to continually judge the changing scenario to keep you safe and sound. Congrats, you're alive. But this continual judgement of the current situation will not help you enter the present moment. Every time you make one of these dualistic judgements you are flipping a coin, and that coin is not in the present. The coin is a program of the mind.


Return to the present moment. Don't get distracted by this program running in the background. You cannot stop the program. You may be able to slow it, with time. But the mind will continue to attempt to keep us safe. Let it do it's thing. That's not your business. Your business is to enter the present moment fully. To find your center.


Find your center and rewrite your program with active awareness. Let's say you have a big meeting coming up and the thought runs through your mind that if you don't do well on this presentation, that your boss will reject your application to move up. You've just flipped the coin. The mind loves to flip the coin! Now there's so much more to think about. Like, what you would do if you lost your job. Or, what will your dad think if you didn't get this promotion. You've been wanting it so long. Omg. Where has my life gone!?... STOP! This can all be fixed by reframing the original concern.


Watch out for when the mind makes a dual judgement, and stop there. There's no need to go on. You are in control, not the mind. The mind is a doer, it just goes and does. You are not the doer, you are the watcher of these things. Watch for the coin flip.


Stop yourself, take in the awareness that the mind has used a dual word. Reject. Look at the facts realistically. The facts are that you are getting an opportunity to show your boss your skills, you have prepared pretty well, and you know your boss just encouraged you and believes in you. Then come up with a new phrase to replace that judgement, based on just the facts. You might say: I trust myself to know what I need to be ready for this meeting. You could also say: My boss is encouraging of my growth and potential and wants to see it.


These reframed concerns stick to the facts, don't jump into other dual concepts, and keep you in the present moment. Now, you can respond to thinking about the meeting with real action, not reaction. Maybe you want to go over the details to make sure you know it all. That's a realistic action to serve yourself. Maybe you feel prepared and supported so you decide to go read a book in the bath to support your mindset. You are free to move out of reaction to scenarios, and into finding the balance of not flipping the coin. Finding your center.


INSPIRED ACTION: Break out the journal! Finding your center takes practice and reflection. Reflect on your feelings toward rejection and acceptance. What comes up? Notice the program that plays so you can identify it later. Follow the thought pattern as far as you wish. Then find a few phrases you can rewrite. Use the word rejection and acceptance to describe something in your life. Then think of the facts that surround that scenario. Rewrite the phrases so they don't use dual language, stick to the facts, and stay in the present moment. Comment one of your rewrites!


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