the dualistic mindset that permeates western consciousness creates artificial divisions that fragment our experience of reality. by splitting existence into opposing pairs - good/evil, rich/poor, self/other, success/failure - this worldview generates the very suffering it often seeks to address. the illusion of separation becomes self-perpetuating, as we perceive lack where there is fullness, see catastrophic evil where there is temporary imbalance, and experience isolation where there is inherent connection. this dualistic infection runs deep through western institutions and thinking patterns. in politics, it manifests as unbridgeable partisan divides and zero-sum power struggles. in christianity and its offshoots, it appears as rigid distinctions between sacred and profane, heaven and hell, saved and damned - creating a cosmic drama of absolute good versus absolute evil that shapes how we view both spirituality and morality. in economics, it shows up as the perceived split between abundance and scarcity, creating artificial lack through the very belief in lack itself. even love becomes distorted into a quest for completion through another, rather than recognition of an already-present wholeness. the tragic irony is that attempts to resolve these perceived splits often reinforce them. religious teachings try to bridge divine and human while inadvertently emphasizing their separation. political solutions based on opposition perpetuate conflict. economic systems founded on scarcity generate actual scarcity. the very frameworks we use to understand and discuss these issues - our language, symbols, and concepts - are often rooted in and limited by dualistic assumptions. moving beyond this paradigm requires more than new solutions within the old framework - it calls for a fundamental shift in how we perceive and relate to reality itself.
United Nations