the Metaphysics of Duality
I posed for a 3 hour art class last night, which is a fantastic opportunity for metaphysical reflection. The body becomes merely an instrument, and the mind is free to wander with little outside stimulus. I wrote an email to Pax about it, and he promted even more reflection, which i liked, and wanted to share here. From the email:
> > I spent my three hours contemplating the importance
> > of the
> > differences between men and women (having the
> > differences
> > highlights the similarities, what it is to be human)
> > and deconstructing
> > the lyrics to “Phantom of the Opera” — there’s a
> > love letter to you in there somewhere.
>
> there you are in duality land again – talk with shayn
> about the differences and s/he will tell you about the
> blur which is gender. it is just lke this
> transendental right/wrong thing you are addicted to –
> give it up my love, it is a world of contradictions in
> which opposite things are both true and false in
> alternating moments.
> >
yes! It’s a continuum, constantly changing, duality and constancy existing together. The duality acknowledges the extremes (which are limitless), and reality exists somewhere between those poles, constantly shifting between them — I think the movement is in search of balance… maybe just in search of change. Understanding the nature of the poles can help in being more intentional about the change, or at least in understanding the journey more.
Rev Kate Adamson 
Next time I’m east, I’d like to come see Twin Oaks for myself.
Sure, Zith! Any idea when you’ll be out this way? Just drop me a line and we can make it happen…
So the next time you quote me, plz clean up my rapid type spelling.
So i still disagree about the duality representing the pole of a continuum of possibilities. My point is that it is not linear (with a dualistic frame) but rather it is a messy field, in which there is no single map of “reality”, “truth”, or “right”. There are transitory truths, self cancelling realities, contradictory correctnesses.
well enuf navel gazing
paxus leaving tekiah
agree with the non-linear nature of the map, but if you accept the mess, then you should have no trouble accepting that certain dualities can co-exist. the world is not divided up neatly but look to nature to see that north and south & positive and negative exist. your last sentence, however, is so loosely drawn as to be relatively meaningless. certain truths and realities exist both in nature and in human relations.
do you mean my last sentence, pongo, or pax’s? I was trying to give reason to the yearning to understand duality… If I understand the nature of yin and yang, I know better what to move towards if I feel out of balance on either side.
Oh i’m having a laugh over here in China reading Pax’s remarks about duality…I’ve had him in a box as a big polarizing agent for years…Good to see him in another way. lol.
Love, unlogged visitor #222
my comment was all about Pax’s, sorry, I should have been clearer…
A famous trans activist (i can’t remember if it was raven kaldera or les feinberg) once said something to the effect of: every time you draw a line, it cuts right through someone’s body.
– ephraim
a powerful statement, ephraim. The more I try to understand duality, I get a sense of a duality that doesn’t involve the necessity of drawing lines. In my imaging of it, there are two poles (which are more directions than limits), and the spectrum of existence is a continuoum between those poles. AND there are infinite continuums and sets of poles, forming a giant sphere of energy pulling outward and moving inward…
it’s so hard to put into words. Maybe that’s my dream (referencing IML’s recent post), to tease out an understanding of my mind and put it into a communcatable form…