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Seeing Differently


Two years ago, I was anticipating my first symposium as a student in The Living School, a two-year program of Richard Rohr's Center for Action and Contemplation. I had read Father Richard's work for more than a decade and was excited for this opportunity to grow in my practice of nondualism as a contemplative activist.

My life experiences had introduced me to the concept of nondualism long before I knew the term. I had previously thought of it as thinking out of the box or moving beyond common perspectives. The most significant lesson in my earliest life was probably the mystery of God as three persons in one. Another lesson was presented when my family entered the Catholic church in my racially segregated hometown's only parish. Segregation is a clear and extreme operationalization of dualism. It discourages intellectual curiosity by maintaining clear and distinct options that are in essence no option. 

Prayers offered during the Triduum introduced me to a way of praying for people of other and no faith traditions in a way that recognized humanity's universal search for truth without praying for everyone to convert to Catholicism. This was definitely thinking out of the box in a society where the only overly simplified measure of faith was the answer to one question of faith "Are you saved?" 

The truth has the capacity to transcend our beliefs because we are incapable of fully comprehending or expressing it with human language. In seeking the truth we experience nuance as it frees us to move into an unforeseen space where we can experience a deeper level of understanding. It also enhances our ability to move beyond the practice of quick judgments and exclusionary practices. We begin to see differently and come to recognize that theology and science are not adversaries.

One conversation remembered from my childhood was between my father and one of my mother's aunts who was known for speaking with authority. On this occasion, she stated that the theory of evolution contradicted the Bible's story of creation. Disagreeing, my father replied that evolution does not deny our belief that God is the Creator. As a child, I was simply amazed by the nondual assumption offered by my dad. It was not a matter of "either or", but one of "both and."

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