Conatus: REVISED EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

C O N A T U S

discussions therefore often use the term ‘nondual’, meaning simply, ‘not two’. This is really the closest in words to describing the indescribable.

It is only by defining boundaries, and assuming parochial economies of human endeavour, that it’s possible to get to a place where statements can take on a meaning. Our statements and questions will then be qualified by the limits that are knowingly imposed upon us. One solution then would be to recognise suitable boundaries in our thinking and planning. The other solution however is more or less to embrace the mystery and recognise the universe as ‘nondual’ or ‘not two’. This is certainly the more difficult story, as people love their splits! Bringing things together into nonduality is a tough call, but at least a universe that is ‘One’ is the epitome of essence!

Past, present and future are likewise a convenient way of carving up reality. In a sense, time does not exist. People divide themselves up by thinking about what they would like to be in the future, or thinking about the things that they would like to achieve. The pursuit of a goal in life, for instance, makes a split between the person I am now and the person I will be when the goal is achieved. Again, whilst this is helpful in terms of making plans, it is actually a false split. There is no future me, or past me. I (and the reader) are all that we ever will be just in this moment. So, regretting the past or worrying over the future are pointless abstractions. Planning for the future in a reasonable manner however is to make use of an artificial split in the world.

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