21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

our hopes should lie with the feminine in all aspects of life.

However, a certain ambiguity has been observed that is inherent in all of this process. I suggest now that this ambiguity is most apparent in our relation to the cosmos, to nature and to our own inner nature. As the earlier chapters of this work hopefully made clear, the apparent contradiction at the level of the universe — form and formlessness — is only resolved by the ultimate unity of all things — nonduality. But of course this resolution really just means to accept the inherent paradox of viewing the cosmos as ‘One’. (Even our science hits against this paradox as it considers such things as the birth of the universe, infinity and eternity.) This in turn is reflected in the wildness of nature — a wildness that we somehow cannot quite accept and therefore seek to tame. And the wildness of nature is right within us, in our own bodies and in our minds and souls. The essence of who we are is wildness. In sexuality in particular, and sexual desire, these contradictions come to the fore. Furthermore this is not a contradiction that needs to be ‘solved’ or ‘resolved’ in some way. For ourselves, as embodied persons, it is — or could be — a cause for celebration, as we see the paradox of all of nature played out in our own lives. Thomas Moore says this:

‘Desire is the proper atmosphere of the sexual kingdom. It keeps us alive and moving along. It keeps us in touch with memories, warm and sad, and it allows us entry to the world of imagination when all around us practicality is insistent. From the viewpoint of the soul, desire simply is; it need not be satisfied….

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