You feel complete when you respond to duality with, ‘It is what it is.’ But you feel incomplete if you claim, ‘I know what it is.’ And you are in the bliss of nothing, perceiving it as, ‘Dunno what it is.’
From Duality Hack #6.5 in Alexius’ Duality Hacks.
If your response to duality is, ‘it is what it is,’ you are in sync with dualism because the perception is twofold. But you are out of sync if your reaction is, ‘I know what it is.’ It is a single-minded perception, thus defying duality. Having the perception ‘dunno what it is,’ you do not reject duality but ‘dunno what it is.’ Ergo, you are in a world of duality but not of it. Below, we delve into these three ways of perceiving duality.
Always connected with the brain’s game of duality
You are bound to follow the brain’s script of duality. So, you are always connected, and you feel it when your response to duality is twofold. But if your reaction is singular, you reject duality, thus feeling disconnected.
You do not see something as specifically negative when your perception is twofold. Negativity interacts with its opposite, positivity, so you feel complete in duality’s interplay of opposites. But when your perception is singular, you see something as solely negative or positive, thus feeling incomplete.
However, positivity and negativity remain paired because that is the way of duality. Therefore, insisting on experiencing something as solely negative changes nothing other than you miss the constant interplay of positivity and negativity. Consequently, you do not feel completed by the duality flow.
when you feel bad and vice versa. [Photo: Alexius]
In sync with duality, thus feeling complete
A straightforward way into the duality flow is to perceive your singular response to something as ‘it is what it is.’ For example, if your single-minded response is that you are right, perceiving your reaction as ‘it is what it is,’ you see that being wrong complements being right. Therefore, since you are in the duality flow, neither you nor others are specifically right or wrong, but fine as they are.
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If you judge a movie as cheap because it uses furniture from Ikea, you probably are out of sync with its plot, thus feeling bored. However, that does not mean you must do something about your condemnation of Ikea to get in sync with the movie’s script.
All you need is to perceive your reaction to the Ikea furniture as ‘it is what it is.’ When you do that, your response is revealed as twofold. Ergo, there is no specific reaction to prevent you from being in sync with the movie and, therefore, enjoy it as it is.
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Out of sync with duality, hence feeling disconnected
Solely looking happy about something requires suppression because you must exclude your sadness to construct an expression of pure happiness. So, since your response is delayed, you are out of sync with the present. Feeling confused by this discrepancy, you become even more out of sync with the present if you spend time processing your confusion to find clarity. But you immediately get in sync with the present when you perceive your phoney reaction to it as ‘it is what it is’ because that reveals your response is not singular but twofold. Hence, it feels as perfect as any other moment.
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If you perceive yourself as a victim of the world, you are out of sync with the brain because it constructs your experiences to make you feel good in the duality flow. Fortunately, you can correct feeling victimised by perceiving it as ‘it is what it is.’ That reveals it is not singular but twofold, so you are part of the brain’s duality game: the constant interaction of opposites. Ergo, you are neither prey nor attacker but in sync with their interplay, thus feeling good in the duality flow.
Alexius perceives his reaction to everything as ‘it is what it is,’ thus feeling complete in the brain’s duality fantasy regardless of appearance. That said, sometimes he thinks he has a better way. But as that makes him suffer, he immediately changes his perception from ‘I know what it is’ to ‘it is what it is.’ So, since his single-minded opinion is revealed as twofold, suffering is replaced by fulfilment.
‘It is what it is’
Often, the special self preserves its friendly image by suppression unfavourable psychological issues from its awareness by projecting them onto problematic issues in the body. To prevent them from surfacing and exposing the special self’s peaceful image as fake, it never eases up except in a structured way. In contrast, the basic self mellows out. It has no specific image to preserve because it perceives its reaction to all feelings as ‘it is what it is.’ thus in the duality flow.
But nobody is perfect, so sometimes the basic self forgets to perceive its reaction to something as ‘it is what it is.’ Thankfully, it is never too late to perceive a past response as ‘it is what it is.’ Therefore, since you sense it is not definitive but twofold, there is no specific feeling to avoid.
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Perceiving every reaction as ‘it is what it is’ and thus having your response revealed as twofold is not an intellectual process. Therefore, if you perceive a hateful reaction as ‘it is what it is,’ you may not realise in words that love complements it. But you are touched by the intense loving sensation that replaces hate after a few seconds to one minute.
However, love does not last long. It’s a rapid shift. Soon, hate returns. But then, love quickly takes over. This intense cycle of love and hate, each taking over the other in rapid succession, goes on until replaced by another dance of opposing elements.
This constant interaction of the raw expressions of opposing elements, such as love and hate, joy and sorrow, defines each other as genuine feelings. It is like being on a seesaw. By constantly going up and down, the two opposites define each other. Nevertheless, you soon forget about being up or down. The thrill is in the interaction of opposites.
So, in the case of hate and love, you may forget about them after their first interaction and, instead, be in the liveliness of their interaction, the duality flow. Eventually, since you do not remember that opposites initiate this vitalisation, you are not in duality but non-duality. That is how the duality flow goes to non-duality
‘It is what it is’ leaves nothing specific to upset you
Most reckon that feeling unwanted comes from how the world reacts to them, but it comes from how they expect the world to respond. The root of this misconception often can be found by walking down memory lane. But it may take a long time, and you may miss it.
Fortunately, the misconception is quickly corrected when you perceive feeling unwanted as ‘it is what it is.’ It takes the distinctness out of the feeling, so it does not have a specific effect on you. Hence, next time you are about to create an attitude that disguises feeling worthless, you laugh because ‘it is what it is.’
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If you always perceive your reaction to something as ‘it is what it is,’ you do not try to prevent the brain’s script from unfolding. Hence, the Enlightenment of that which is One is close at hand. However, it is not because the brain’s story built up to it. But because nothing specific blocks out the Enlightenment of that which is One, when you perceive your response to the brain’s experiences as ‘it is what it is.’
‘I know what it is’
The special self constructs a perception of every experience that does not seem to endanger its default assumption, ‘I know what it is.’ Hence, it can continue believing it is in control, even though it does not know who it is.
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When your reaction to something is perceived as ‘it is what it is,’ you do not feel imprisoned by definitive opinions. Thus, there is no need to escape anything. In contrast, when your perception is ‘I know what it is,’ you must avoid everything contradicting your specific opinions.
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If the perception of your response to an experience is ‘I know what it is,’ you feel important but also exhausted because it requires much manipulation to appear outstanding. That is why the special self always needs more energy. In contrast, the basic self has nothing to live up so it does not need more energy to appear special.
What do the expressions of Alexius’ cat, Wincent, mean? Alexius cannot know, but if he reckons that he does, he gets stressed from trying to establish he knows. In contrast, if he perceives his response to Wincent’s expression as ‘it is what it is,’ there is nothing to prove, thus no stress.
‘I know what it is’ versus ‘It is what it is’
Alexius’ cat, Wincent, has had the same routine for many years. He leaves the house early in the morning and returns when Alexius is still in bed. Then Wincent greets Alexius and lays down next to him, waiting for Alexius to get out of bed and prepare Wincent’s food. At least, that is the apparent conclusion because as soon as Alexius gets up, Wincent runs to the kitchen.
If Alexius believes he knows what Wincent wants, he goes from the perception of the basic self, ‘it is what it is,’ to the perception of the special self, ‘I know what it is.’ In that case, Alexius stressfully plans how to feed his beloved cat to establish he is in the know. But Wincent does not get his food any sooner than if Alexius had remained the basic self and perceived his reaction to Wincent’s behaviour as ‘it is what it is.’ The brain’s script runs its course, no matter how we perceive it.
Therefore, the basic and special self differ only psychologically. Doing something is effortless for the basic self but stressful for the special one because it needs lots of energy to maintain, ‘I know what it is.’
Saying, ‘I know what it is,’ is not the same as saying, ‘I do not care.’ Yet, they are the same in the sense they are both definitive statements. So, since they establish you as single-minded, you are stuck in duality, not going with the duality flow to non-duality. You get into the duality flow by saying, ‘it is what it is’ because that is not a definitive but twofold statement. [Photo: Alexius]
Stating ‘I know what it is’ is stressful, but saying ‘it is what it is’ is relaxing
Both the basic and special self is bound to follow the GPS coordinates from the brain. They can only change how they perceive their reaction to the scheduled journey. Basically, the basic self perceives it as ‘it is what it is.’ So, since it enjoys the journey as it is, it feels fulfilled. In contrast, the special perceives the journey as ‘I know what it is’ and, therefore, is frustrated because the journey is never as expected.
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You undo your conditioned opinion about others by not perceiving your reaction to them as ‘I know what it is’ but ‘it is what it is.’ The latter reveals your response is not specific but twofold, thus not establishing a restricted opinion.
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Triumph and disaster are not perceived as equally entertaining by the special self. It avoids the interaction of opposites by stating, ‘I know what it is.’ But since the basic self perceives its reaction to something as ‘it is what it is,’ it is in the interaction of opposites. So, triumph is part of disaster and vice versa.
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If you try to see reason, coherence, purpose or something else that makes your life seem spiritual, you will never get the relaxation and satisfaction from the perception that ‘it is what it is.’ Instead, you get the stress and despair from seeking thoughts that seem to confirm, ‘I know what it is.’
When you perceive something as ‘dunno what it is,’ you do not know what you have perceived as ‘dunno what it is.’ That does not mean you cannot follow a street sign, for example, but you do not attribute it with any value because you ‘dunno what it is.’ In short, although you appear in a world of duality, you are not of it.
‘Dunno what it is’
Roughly speaking, the special self always assumes, ‘I know what it is.’ But since it does not know who it is, it feels confused. In contrast, the basic self sticks to the brain-generated perception, ‘it is what it is,’ so it gets the completeness of duality. The non-self does not get anything because it says, ‘dunno what it is.’ Therefore, since it does not experience the opposing elements in the duality pairs to make a difference, it is in the bliss of nothing.
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Should you want to speed up the undoing of the belief in more than one, you say, ‘dunno what it is,’ thus not establishing more than one. However, that does not mean you will be transformed, or more than one will be replaced by that which is One. Instead, you are in a state of not-knowing, having a break from the belief in more than one until you judge someone as significant. See Duality Hack #9.10.
You are the brain, and it is a duality tale
TThe brain, a master storyteller, employs five per cent of its capacity to shape your conscious experience of being. However, a much larger canvas is needed to give this experience a sense of reality. Hence, the brain weaves the rest of its space with tales of you in a dualistic world beyond its borders.
These duality stories connect you with the brain when your reaction to them is perceived as ‘it is what it is’ because that perception is twofold. But if you react with singled-out memories, feelings and imaginations to establish, ‘I know what it is,’ you feel disconnected. You are the experiences the brain makes – and they are not singular but twofold.
The above is said in the context of experiencing something, which is only possible in the brain. However, in reality, you are neither in the brain nor somewhere else because it takes more than one to be somewhere, and reality is that which is One.
‘I know what it is’ versus ‘It is what it is’ versus ‘Dunno what it is’
The perception of the special self rests upon ‘I know what it is,’ hence avoiding what will make it relax, namely the bliss of nothing, arising from the perception ‘dunno what it is.’
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When you perceive your reaction to an experience as ‘I know what it is,’ it feels like something is missing. That is because the perception is singular, so your reaction misses its counterpart. In contrast, if you perceive your response to an incident as ‘it is what it is,’ you feel fulfilled by twofoldness. However, the perception of ‘dunno what it is’ does not result in anything but the bliss of nothing.
The duality flow
It is impossible to feel something in non-duality as that takes more than One. Therefore, you must imagine a world with more than one to feel something. However, you cannot feel anything without something else defining it, like night hot defines cold and vice versa. Therefore, in a world of duality, every experience comes in pairs of opposites that, like two sides of a coin, collaborate to determine each other. Joining this interplay, you are in the duality flow.
But in the constant interaction of opposites, you cannot feel excited without feeling disappointed, and vice versa. That is fine with the basic self because it does not need to make a difference. However, the special self wants to have a significant effect or influence on something or someone so it avoids the constant interaction of opposites.
For example, it claims to know what love is. Then, the special self does not need hate to define love. However, since the special self does not get a genuine experience of love but an intellectual understanding, it feels disappointed. In contrast, the basic self feels satisfied by genuine feelings because it is in the constant interaction of opposites. However, the non-self does not get anything else than the bliss of nothing.
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The duality flow is a psychological experience. Yet it may feel as if the duality flow touches the body – like when a t-shirt touches it, and it feels good in the body, although the shirt is outside. It is as if you are touched by heaven when you go with the duality flow.
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