A Step Beyond Duality
"An offering to a world enveloped in historical amnesia, numbed to its own heartbeat by the madness of modernity."
What’s introduced in this video, for me at least, is survival and sanity, as important to the heart and spirit as air and water are to the body1. Please watch first, then read.
For those grounded in one or more of the three Abrahamic traditions, an obvious caveat may arise: Isn’t this just creating a new duality? The indigenous people of the earth who “understand themselves as being beauty” versus European arrivals, who “were understanding themselves as being in sin”?
But though the ongoing disaster of colonialism is real and in fact incalculable, some of us know that the depth of Judaism, Christianity, Islam or all three is the opposite of this. In the depth of these faiths, as with other world religions, are wisdom, love, and unity.
The west has fallen in love with Rumi2, not knowing that his writings are directly based on the Qur’an, something obvious to Arabic and Farsi speakers. Reading the words of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish mystics reveals the obvious fact that they are all touching the same thing, something of inconceivable depth and beauty.
In my previous Substack post, “Now That You Know More”, I confronted my criminal stupidity in unwittingly promoting the concept of Palestinians and Israelis as roughly equal and opposite populations, estranged cousins as it were, struggling because there was not enough land.
In a sense it’s comforting to admit actual personal guilt, not just the historical guilt of white privilege. We all come from beauty, but many of us need redemption, not necessarily in a Christian sense.
Besides the possible contradiction of ‘unity, but one side is bad’, I’ve faced a further contradiction, experiencing the Presence of God from an early age and wanting to do nature rituals from childhood, but with no idea how. These things didn't conflict with each other, but both conflicted with the world outside.
My life choices have always reflected the mix of cultures in my ancestry. At a recent independent book publisher’s weekend3, I met a Choctaw attendee who asked if I was Native—the first time I’ve ever been spotted by a stranger. I could have kissed the ground.
Now that our Northern Paiute ancestry is finally acknowledged by my family, as well as probable indigenous ancestry mixed with our Spanish, I can breath a bit easier, but I still look white, so I still need shut up a bit and not take over in mixed gatherings.
Here’s my take-away: The movies, gatherings, and courses associated with this film really are for everybody. Because we’re all on this sinking ship together, the community behind it is called SAND (Science and Nonduality)—yes, nonduality— and ‘whiteness’ appears to be neither a bar nor an asset there. So, I’m joining!
While the last thing I need is yet another project, community, or commitment, it’s also the first thing I need. A worldwide event is coming up: “June 3-9 7-day gathering with indigenous voices around the SAND’s new film, The Eternal Song”. Go here to join4.
https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/the-eternal-song-film-premiere/
More properly known as Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
Independent Book Publishers Association https://www.publishinguniversity.org/
The video should appear either at the top or in the Footnote 1 link, but since the Substack Robot in its wisdom has given me exactly opposite video advice on two occasions, denied saying what it said the first time, and also told me that two things I eventually found easy were impossible, we’re at its mercy here. Inshallah!