Double Vision: A 21st Century Survival Guide
In my last two articles, “Is the Universe Real?” https://medium.com/p/b04a660f52e9 and “Do We Have To Take the Universe Seriously?’’ https://medium.com/@brucemcgraw/do-we-have-to-take-the-universe-seriously-48235aed86f9 I first argued that the universe is not a tangible thing but an experience and in the second article, I contended that despite the universe’s unreality, we must still take it seriously.
Now the question becomes how to do that. How do we find that balance between the universe’s unreality and our need to take it seriously?
Finding this balance is critical because we are heading into some terrible and chaotic times, which will only worsen. To not become overwhelmed, we must develop new perspectives on ourselves and our relationship to external events. We must realize what life is and isn’t on this planet. The first thing to understand is that we live in two worlds: The Relative and the Absolute. I explored this new relationship in my previous article, “Is the Universe Real?”
The Relative World
The relative world is this everyday world with all its problems, along with all our problems. It’s relative because it is not absolute, meaning it’s only temporary where nothing is permanent, with expiration dates on everything, including our planet and sun.
That might not be very comforting, but is it a perspective that can give us some detachment from the everyday bombardment of issues that assault us, whether they be personal or global. It gives us additional space to face these issues and not bury them in our subconscious, out of sight, out of mind so to speak.
That detachment is achieved because we also live in the other world, the absolute world, which grounds us in Reality.
The most effective way to gain a deeper understanding is to approach all this scientifically. The relative world is fundamentally matter, composed of atoms. For a long time, people believed atoms were indivisible pieces of matter, like mini billiard balls or BBs. The Greek word for atom is “atomos,” which means “uncuttable” or “indivisible.”
Scientists Discover Atoms Are Not Things
In the early 20th century, scientists violated this definition by splitting the atom. They discovered it was mostly empty space, suggesting matter doesn’t exist. There is no material substrate underlying Reality. Those seemingly solid tables, chairs, mountains, and even our bodies are no more solid than a dream.
The upshot: we don’t see the world as it really is, but only as our sensory apparatus and brain present it to us.
The Absolute World
So, while the relative world “appears” to be made up of matter, the absolute world tells us there is nothing or “no-thing” there. I say no-thing because without matter we don’t have things, but that doesn’t mean we have nothing. We have no-thingness, which is really somethingness, only it isn’t material, but spiritual.
This world is also referred to as the world of potential because it is where all things are born and to where all things go when they die. It is Ultimate Reality. If we plug into that, then we develop the detachment necessary to handle life in this world.
Living in Both Worlds Simultaneously
The key is knowing how to exist in both worlds simultaneously, learning to use one to balance the potential extremes of the other. If we are materialists, believing only in the relative world, we likely would eventually be overwhelmed by events, both internal and external, that arise. Seeing this as the only world, we would be completely attached and identified with it, so if the world situation or our lives worsened, we would be at its mercy, crumbling as the world crumbled around us.
However, if we have experienced this absolute world, we can, when times get tough, retreat to it, to be refreshed and renewed. However, we must be careful. Some find this absolute world and decide they can stay in a blissful state of mind forever, so won’t have to deal with the world’s problems and their own. These people feel they have found a way out, so what’s the point of engaging with the world?
Using this escape hatch would be a grave mistake. It’s called “spiritual bypassing,” and it’s problematic because we still have a body, thus we have to live in this world. We can’t escape it. If the going gets tough, we can reconnect to the absolute world for renewal and inspiration. Here, we generate new ideas and ways of being that motivate us to re-engage with the world. The point is, we have to stay involved because we still have potential to be actualized.
So, rather than living in one world or the other, we must strike a balance. The absolute world gives us detachment and creativity, and the relative world offers us a chance to grow and develop by showing who we are. The relative world is an illusion, but one we must take seriously.
It’s a gift to be alive on this planet. It’s a miracle we are even here. To show our gratitude, we must take care of our beautiful planet – and one another. It is our responsibility as stewards of earth.
However, we must also remember that individually, we can only do so much. We are put here to do our work, and we discover what that is by immersing ourselves in the absolute world, where we can gain deeper insight into who we are and what our purpose is. For those who don’t believe in, or have no experience with this absolute world, I will demonstrate, in my next article, that you have already had experiences of it, but just aren’t aware of them.
