SPIRITUAL TERMINOLOGY AND MEANINGS
Browse spiritual terminology and meanings by letter:
Duality and Nonduality
What are duality and non-duality?
The term duality refers to the illusion of separation–of self and other existing in a world comprised of binary opposites.Examples of dualistic concepts:
- Good and evil
- Light and dark
- Love and fear
- Male and female
- Self and other
In Western cultures, duality is often perceived as opposing forces working against one another, such as with good vs. evil and light vs. dark. The mainstream interpretation of Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) fall into the dualistic category. These religions recognize God and humanity as two separate, distinct entities existing in a hierarchy.
Non-duality
Spirituality operates on a philosophy of non-duality.
Non-dualistic thought recognizes that binary opposites are an illusion arising from the illusion of separation. Rather than viewing good and evil as opposing supernatural forces acting upon them and ultimately attempting to vanquish one another, adherents of non-duality perceive light and shadow as forces which exist within them that require balance. Only when there is an imbalance of this internal force does it manifest outwardly as “evil.” This is closely tied to the model of the self in Jungian psychology.
Non-dual religions view humanity as a part of God rather than separate from it, and as such, they recognize the separation of self and other is an illusion.
New Age concepts that are rooted in non-duality:
- We are one
- Unity consciousness
- Love is the foundation of the universe
- We are all connected
- Nothing is separate from you
The Illusion of Separation
Incarnating into a physical human experience is what creates the illusion of separation, via the human ego, which is the mechanism through which the physically incarnate are able to perceive and experience separateness. The ego gives us a sense of separate identity from other humans as well as separateness from the spiritual realms.
The product of this separateness is duality in its most basic form: the presence of love and the illusion of the absence of love (which we label “evil”). When we perceive that there is an absence of love (particularly for ourselves), we create beliefs around that perception, our thoughts are based from that perception, we filter our experiences through that perception, and we take actions from that perception which harm those we perceive as an “other.”
Only when we recognize that love (particularly self-love) has never been truly absent or unavailable to us can we heal the separation within us, and within our society.
LEARN MORE

Escape from the Matrix: Social Constructs are the Key to Conscious Evolution
Full transparency: This is a really long read, but it’s going to completely change the way you view reality. *shrug* Learn about social constructs and how they’re deeply connected with metaphysics and spirituality.

Nonduality: Binary Thinking and Divine Dichotomies
Are you living your life from an either/or perspecitve? Or a yes/and perspective?

Fear Is Not A Dirty Word
Fear gets a bad rap in New Age spirituality. I’m here to argue that certain, very obvious kinds of fear need to fuck off, but other kinds of fear are actually quite helpful in helping you determine where your edges are.

How Separation Consciousness Masks Itself In Spiritual Unity
One of the main goals of spirituality is to move away from separation consciousness and ascend by achieving unity consciousness, but separation consciousness has infiltrated spirituality (!). Are you unknowingly embodying separation consciousness in the name of spirituality?

Why Fear-Based Belief Systems Are Distorted
A person lives in a fear-based belief system when they have not yet remembered who they really are and still cling to fearful beliefs and perceptions. When they have not yet realized that everything in their world is love, and the only thing that makes it appear as fear is their limited understanding of it.
Escape from the Matrix: Social Constructs are the Key to Conscious Evolution
Full transparency: This is a really long read, but it’s going to completely change the way you view reality. *shrug* Learn about social constructs and how they’re deeply connected with metaphysics and spirituality.
Nonduality: Binary Thinking and Divine Dichotomies
Are you living your life from an either/or perspecitve? Or a yes/and perspective?
Fear Is Not A Dirty Word
Fear gets a bad rap in New Age spirituality. I’m here to argue that certain, very obvious kinds of fear need to fuck off, but other kinds of fear are actually quite helpful in helping you determine where your edges are.
How Separation Consciousness Masks Itself In Spiritual Unity
One of the main goals of spirituality is to move away from separation consciousness and ascend by achieving unity consciousness, but separation consciousness has infiltrated spirituality (!). Are you unknowingly embodying separation consciousness in the name of spirituality?
Why Fear-Based Belief Systems Are Distorted
A person lives in a fear-based belief system when they have not yet remembered who they really are and still cling to fearful beliefs and perceptions. When they have not yet realized that everything in their world is love, and the only thing that makes it appear as fear is their limited understanding of it.
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