Identity in Difference
There are two basic ways to relate one's internal world to the external world.
The first is via integration, and it is inclusive; it declares, by affirmation, "i am that" or "i am like that." That is, internally, there is a feeling of kinship with that which is outside of oneself; and this feeling is expressed through an empathy for, a conformity with, that which is seen as a sameness, or a similarity.
The second relationship is defined by difference, is exclusive, and is the rebellious voice declaring "i am NOT that" or "i am NOT like that." Internally, there is a sense of friction, or incongruity, with the outside world. There are things we gel with, and things that rub us the wrong way; there are experiences we embrace, and ones that we push away; there are people we have instant chemistry with, and others who immediately disgust us.
Of course, there are times we seek to define ourselves through difference. Traveling to a foreign countries and camping in the wilderness are two foundational experiences i've noticed myself seeking over and over again; there is something isomorphic about isolation. That is, there is a paradoxical beauty when you define yourself by difference, and the moment comes when you suddenly and unexpectedly have an experience of unity in a sea of difference, and the difference melts away to a referentially pure mapping of self onto other, and other onto self, and all the maps become the territory.
It's as if all the pixels of variegated difference are subsumed in phenomenal wholeness, or singularity. Eye-opening experiences like this are enigmatic, esoteric, and seem (to me) to be at the crux of foundational mystical and religious experiences. At some point, the experiencer's perspective radically shifts from that of objective observer of difference to that of subjective experiencer of bare-naked phenomena and sameness, and that moment opens the floodgates between self and other, between internal and external, and everything flows effortlessly to experiencer and fro from experience, and vice versa.
Some of the most powerful experiences of unity, then, can perhaps be found in the deconstruction, rejection, abstention, and isolation of the internal world from the external; indeed, maybe this is one of functions of deconstructing the self, and it's habitual nature to endlessly extend the ego to accumulate and conquer ever vaster territories in its own name. To liquefy it all, to become a deluge, a waterfall that pours itself into experience...
The first is via integration, and it is inclusive; it declares, by affirmation, "i am that" or "i am like that." That is, internally, there is a feeling of kinship with that which is outside of oneself; and this feeling is expressed through an empathy for, a conformity with, that which is seen as a sameness, or a similarity.
The second relationship is defined by difference, is exclusive, and is the rebellious voice declaring "i am NOT that" or "i am NOT like that." Internally, there is a sense of friction, or incongruity, with the outside world. There are things we gel with, and things that rub us the wrong way; there are experiences we embrace, and ones that we push away; there are people we have instant chemistry with, and others who immediately disgust us.
Of course, there are times we seek to define ourselves through difference. Traveling to a foreign countries and camping in the wilderness are two foundational experiences i've noticed myself seeking over and over again; there is something isomorphic about isolation. That is, there is a paradoxical beauty when you define yourself by difference, and the moment comes when you suddenly and unexpectedly have an experience of unity in a sea of difference, and the difference melts away to a referentially pure mapping of self onto other, and other onto self, and all the maps become the territory.
It's as if all the pixels of variegated difference are subsumed in phenomenal wholeness, or singularity. Eye-opening experiences like this are enigmatic, esoteric, and seem (to me) to be at the crux of foundational mystical and religious experiences. At some point, the experiencer's perspective radically shifts from that of objective observer of difference to that of subjective experiencer of bare-naked phenomena and sameness, and that moment opens the floodgates between self and other, between internal and external, and everything flows effortlessly to experiencer and fro from experience, and vice versa.
Some of the most powerful experiences of unity, then, can perhaps be found in the deconstruction, rejection, abstention, and isolation of the internal world from the external; indeed, maybe this is one of functions of deconstructing the self, and it's habitual nature to endlessly extend the ego to accumulate and conquer ever vaster territories in its own name. To liquefy it all, to become a deluge, a waterfall that pours itself into experience...
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