A Nondual Reflection on the Illusion of Distinction
From a young age, we are taught to divide reality into two columns: what belongs to us and what belongs to others, what we can shape and what is beyond reach. This dualistic framework—“mine” versus “not mine,” “inner” versus “outer”—seems practical, especially when navigating the everyday world. But there comes a moment, often brought on by grace or deep inquiry, when this neat partition dissolves, and all that remains is undivided suchness.
From a conventional perspective, distinguishing between the self and the other is wise. One learns to take responsibility for thoughts, feelings, and actions while relinquishing attempts to control the mental and emotional weather of others. Yet this distinction is ultimately a mirage from the viewless view of Nonduality. There are no separate selves, no isolated thoughts floating inside “my” head, no truly foreign behaviour arising “over there.”
The very idea of control is a construct built atop the illusion of separation. In the deepest experience of pure awareness, even the one who seeks control disappears. There is only the arising of thoughts, feelings, actions, and phenomena within a seamless field of being. The idea that “my” thoughts are within “my” control is as illusory as the belief that someone else’s behaviour is truly “theirs.”
And yet, following such an experience, life continues. The body-mind returns to its rhythms. It begins again to label, to assign, to plan. What then? One doesn’t unlearn the insight. Instead, there arises a profound shift—a knowing that while dualistic functioning remains useful in relative existence, the truth of no-boundary consciousness pervades it all.
Over time, particularly as one matures into what Integral Theory calls the integral stage of development, a synthesis emerges. The subjective and the objective no longer stand opposed. Responsibility is no longer about control—it becomes an expression of harmony. One can hold space for others’ words and actions without trying to fix them, just as one can engage one’s thoughts and behaviours without clinging to the illusion of authorship.
There is no inside or outside. No one to control, and nothing to control. Just an unfolding—flawless in its mystery, unified in its movement.
Morgan O. Smith
Yinnergy Meditation/Neurofeedback, Spiritual Life Coaching & My Book, Bodhi in the Brain…Available Now!
Morgan O. Smith 