Balanced Duality – The Mendocino Beacon

Wikipedia describes yin and yang as a concept that comes from Chinese philosophy and “expresses complementary, opposing forces that work together to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the combined parts and the parts are important to the cohesion of the whole.” As an expression of the unified whole, in the yin/yang graphic a small part of each is contained within the other. This cooperative opposition can be expressed as “passive contraction” relative to “active expansion” or “being” relative to “doing.”

The same dynamic is expressed at any boundary whereby energy or experience moves inward or outward relative to an individual, such as inhaling and exhaling. Similarly, consciousness can be described as perception and will. There is an element of will in choosing our focus of consciousness and an element of awareness in every act of will when we are paying attention.

The point is that these seemingly opposing forms work in balanced cooperation for the benefit of the overall system. When one part is prioritized over the other, the system becomes unbalanced and distortions occur, eventually leading to collapse. Imagine trying to hold your breath forever.

Classical physics viewed matter as differentiated particles with specific positions in space and time. This corresponds to our “normal” view of the world, as we experience ourselves as separate individuals. However, the quantum revolution has theorized and shown that matter also has wave-like properties that are eternally connected, without discrete distinction, and are specified by frequency and amplitude. This wave/particle duality has been confirmed by technologies such as LEDs, computers, solar cells and lasers that have transformed our society.

What is important is that if you look for particles, you will find particles, and if you look for waves, you will find waves. Since there is no inherent reality, your choice of perspective determines your physical experience, and therefore a conscious choice changes your physical experience.

There is a biological parallel. Our brain has two hemispheres that go through very different processes. The left hemisphere processes information serially, paying attention to order and differentiation. When reading, for example, the order of words and the differentiation of letters changes the meaning. The right hemisphere processes information in parallel and experiences wholeness, like when we look at a photograph. No real “beginning” or order is required.

In her book My Stroke Of Insight, Jill Bolte-Taylor describes her experience with a massive aneurysm in the left hemisphere of her brain. When her left brain failed, she lost her sense of her “self” as an individual and her language skills disappeared. What amazed her was a growing experience of universal love and her connection to the entire universe as her right brain consciousness predominated.

Instead of a balance between opposites and cooperation, our dominant global culture is rooted in separation and denies the deeper, connected reality. The resulting imbalance is expressed throughout society, not just in misogyny and racism, as I mentioned last week, but especially in our economic system. A few people own billions of dollars and still strive to acquire more. At the same time, billions of people suffer from a lack of essentials such as food, water, housing, education or healthcare. Global wars resulting from this inequality consume $14 trillion annually. We accept and reward such economic distortion while worshipping the fiction of the “marketplace.” But this deviation has now become so great that it threatens the survival of our entire society as an increasingly unbalanced climate destroys the planet.

Jill Bolte-Taylor experienced love when she opened herself to the interconnectedness of the universe. The alternatives to love are fear, guilt and condemnation – feelings associated with separation. It is no coincidence that these emotions are the currency of fundamentalist religions and most commercial advertising. Trump and the Republicans operate primarily on fear and retribution.

Each of us has the ability to create change within ourselves and work to bring our experience of reality back into balance. Mindfulness meditation is one way to turn down the volume of the left brain chatter, emphasizing our experience of individual differences, and allowing the quieter right brain to allow for increased awareness of interconnectedness.

Another technique is to consciously choose what we focus our attention on. Gratitude is connected to awareness of our interconnected reality. When you wake up, start by thinking about everything in your life that you are grateful for. Once you have exhausted this list, you will be better prepared to deal with all of life’s problematic challenges. If you start with the problems, you will never get to the things you are grateful for. This will change your entire perspective on your day.

By restoring our own balance, we help to restore society into balance.

Crispin B. Hollinshead lives in Ukiah. This and previous articles can be found at cbhollinshead.blogspot.com.

Learn more about The Mendocino Beacon