Nondual awareness includes the ability to allow - and accept - our own dark and hidden side!

As I mentioned earlier, I was able to read quite a bit of Franciscan friar Richard Rohr's recent book, "What the Mystics Know," while camping at Yellowstone. Here is another passage that I found especially meaningful:

"Any allowing of the hidden side of things, the dark side of things - while also holding onto the attractive and knowable side - usually marks the beginning of nondual consciousness. Whenever we can appreciate the value of something, while still knowing its limitations and failures, this also marks the beginning of wisdom and nondual consciousness. Most humans are not very good at such 'allowing'; it often feels like what Paul calls 'groaning.' In recent centuries, no one has shown us exactly how to do this . . . But the more deeply we enter into the mystery of Christ, the thinner becomes the line between joy and suffering, according to people who have gone down that road. Such people sometimes have to think twice to realize whether they are feeling joy or sorrow."

While traveling around Yellowstone, I had ample opportunity to witness evidence of the "hidden" and "dark" side of the Earth coming to the surface in the form of steam, erupting geysers, hot springs and boiling mud. The forces that cause these phenomena also bring immense destruction in the form of volcanoes, earthquakes and the like. But the beauty of Yellowstone's thermal features helped me see my own hidden and dark side as possessing a beautiful quality, even though I - or others - may not see it at first.

Geologists report that 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes - most of them unfelt - occur each year at Yellowstone. These are necessary to maintain the hydrothermal activity of the Park by keeping the underground "plumbing" system open. They tell us that "without periodic disturbance of relatively small earthquakes, the small fractures and conduits that supply hot water to geysers and hot springs might be sealed by mineral deposition." Yet we all know that these same earthquakes - when occurring on a large scale - cause horrific damage. Applied to our own inner lives, this means that the destructive forces present within us also have a positive role to play. Our own inner faults keep us reaching out toward others who are gifted in ways we are not, thereby bonding us all together into a single whole. Our faults also form the "gas" that fuels the spiritual journey. As Tibetan Rinpoche Chogyam Trungpa says: "Ego is the PERFECT fuel for enlightenment!"

As Rohr points out, everything - including our own beloved spiritual path - has its limitations and flaws. Learning to accept and embrace these limitations and flaws - and those of others - is a quantum leap forward in the evolution of nondual awareness  :)

Photos: (Top) Shelf Geyser; (Middle) Emerald Pool; (Third and Fourth) Pools in Porcelain Basin; All four photos were taken in Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, WY, September 6, 2015