Question:
I have a question to the following quote from your recent answer to a question about creation: ”The seed of ignorance is implied in the virtual duality created in consciousness knowing itself as both knower and the object of knowing. In that imaginary separation there is the potential of intelligence mistaking what it sees as something other than an expression of itself.“

My question: if each one of us is supposed to see everything one sees as “an expression of oneself”, how do you explain the contradiction that arises?

For example, in a relationship, I am supposed to see my partner as an expression of myself, but he is supposed to see me at the same time as an expression of himself. Who am I then in reality – myself or an expression of my partner’s self? And who is he – himself or an expression of me?
I am aware of monistic and dualistic approaches, and I understand that you basically hold a monistic view (unity consciousness) but I’d be grateful for an explanation of how therefore you see reality – how can everyone and everything be themselves and “the expression of others” at the same time without contradiction? Because, if everyone being themselves is ALSO part of that reality, then why is it not OK for everyone to also see others as realities in themselves, BESIDES being also an expression of ourselves????
Answer:
There are a couple of concepts that are mixed together that need to be sorted out first. To begin with, the technique of seeing one’s internal issues reflected in the behavior of someone else toward you, is not meant to be an ontological statement of the identity of your existence with someone else. Seeing another’s behavior as an expression of one’s internal beliefs, is meant to be a tool to understand and heal unexamined conditioning. The question of who exists and who doesn’t exist and whether there are differences in the world or not, is a linguistic problem, not a real one. Of course you exist and your boyfriend exists as well as the chair you are sitting in. Just as an ice sculpture is different from a cloud, and that is different from a water fountain, and there are real, legitimate distinctions between them. At the same time when these different manifestations are evaluated from a chemical perspective, they are all variations of H2O. So from that point of view, one could say the ice sculpture, cloud and water fountain are all just forms of water. That does not imply that the ice sculpture does not exist. In the same sense, in unity consciousness, when we are able to perceive that the core existence within us is the same existence within everyone and everything, we are affirming our dominant reality. That does not mean that the sensory world of differences ceases to exist. We still see and feel other people and objects, we still eat and drink and breathe. We continue to participate in the manifest world of diversity, but we are no longer fooled by that diversity and we are no longer subject to the fear and suffering that comes with only seeing ourselves as different and separate from everything else.
Love,
Deepak