I am glad I found this blog. Great information. Thanks for posting. …

Thanks. From your fingers to God’s ear.

Yes, it certainly is. Some religions say that outright. Some spiritual paths talk about this ‘reality’ as being a preparation for the work to be done upon death. I think there is definitely truth in what you’re saying.

By the way, my 14 month-old son is named Ahmed.

What we define as “reality”-is it possible it can be the same thing? That all matter as we know it does not exist-and our “true lives” begin after our deaths.

Now, I’m not dead yet, so I wouldn’t know. But is it possible?

My brother, what I think is that it’s all a matter of perspective. Spend your time striving for wholeness, for Tawhid (Oneness), and this may be what you find. Spend of your time in dunya (multiplicity) and that’s what you find.

Pamm,

That’s the paradox…we are both and we are neither.

Dr. Karen,

Yes. Each of us has a place and that place, that position, if you will, is perfect.

There’s a fascinating discussion going on over at Dawud Miracle’s blog about whether we have “parts” of ourselves or whether we are a “whole” misled by our language and habits of thought into thinking of ourselves in parts. (This guy is not just …

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m seeing as well!
Can’t have yin without yang and vice versa.

Ahmed:

I do think we are all “parts” of a greater whole. If we focus on our differences, we strengthen our perceptions and belief in them. If we can focus on our similarties, we can move toward a more collaborative way of living together on this earth. IMHO.

Karen

Yum.

We can see ourselves as “whole” or part”. And we can take it to another level, all of humanity. Are we all, even as different as we may seem, one extensive family-but still a “whole”? Or are we nothing more than separate tribes and clans?

Or is it a twisted variation of the two?

I love this…

Just because you spend time on a mountain looking down at a forest doesn’t take away that it’s composed of trees

True – in the ‘world of parts.’ You see, in the world of parts what we see is parts. So everything we look at or experience we do so from the perspective of their being parts.

However, there is another reality to all this that is about wholeness. When we live in or experience this reality (for lack of a better word) we see only wholeness in everything. Whether it’s trees or personalities – they are all one. Not figuratively, but literally – from that perspective.

We certainly move between ‘the worlds’ all the time. Most of us spend the great majority of our lives in the world of parts. But there are some who spend their life living in wholness. And we can each strive to that.

As you can see, the discussion quickly turns to metaphysics and spirituality.

You said:
“If you spend time in the ‘world’ of wholeness, there are no parts. And if you spend time in the ‘world’ of parts, there is no wholeness. It’s about perception and perspective.”

We live in an organic world that follows certain principles, so I can accept this if I insert some words->

If you spend time in the ‘world’ of wholeness, there no parts. And if you spend time in the ‘world’ of parts, there no wholeness. It’s about perception and perspective.

Just because you spend time on a mountain looking down at a forest doesn’t take away that it’s composed of trees+ and that somehow that collection of trees+ creates a fuller, more complex entity that you can be aware of from outside it.

And just because someone may be feeling lost in the woods and acutely aware of each and every tree and branch and sound doesn’t take away the more complex entity they are now part of.

I absolutely agree that it’s about perspective, but I think that our ability to “hold” onto a perspective shifts and changes. Sometimes you may be aware that you and I are part of the same Whole, but sometimes we are going to feel pretty separate parts of Gaia or greater Wholes.

Great stuff…

Karen

You ask some great questions…

I see it as the soul being closer in proximity to Oneness and the ego/mind as being in proximity to ‘parts’ (if you will). The heart lies in the middle being pulled in whichever direction has the strongest pull on our being. If our ego/mind is strong, our hearts tend toward parts. If our hearts tend toward the soul, we tend toward unity. So I think of the heart as a switching station or ‘battle ground’ for purification.

Karen,

This has been a very nice and interesting conversation. One that I’m glad continues.

I see that both are correct – wholeness and parts. For me, it all depends on from where you’re looking from. If you spend time in the ‘world’ of wholeness, there are no parts. And if you spend time in the ‘world’ of parts, there is no wholeness. It’s about perception and perspective.

Yet I have to go back to the brain and its networks and nodes and emergent wholeness of “Self”. (Of course — what else would anyone expect??

Let’s start with a metaphor. Is a forest the whole thing or the trees? Of course, it’s both — it can’t be a forest without having trees, but a tree alone doesn’t make a forest. Yet it has “parts” — different kinds of trees and other growth with different needs. It may not even be a forest to you if it doesn’t have wildlife, water, bugs, etc. All of these are “parts” of a forest, but not a forest by themselves. And they are only “parts” of a forest if we are referring back to the idea of the “whole” forest. By themsselves, they are “parts” at all, they’re wholes on a different scale. And each of them has its own “parts” (leaves, branches, roots) and each of these is a “whole” on a smaller scale.

So, yes, I do think we have “parts” — but we can only talk about our “parts” by recognizing at some level that we are really a greater Whole. If I talk about “part” of me, I’m acknowledging that I have a greater Whole me that includes all these “parts”. And I can’t have a Whole without my Parts and we can’t help but have our Parts emerge into creating a fuller Whole.

When I’m in flow, I’m not Whole, but I am changing my scale of attention to make the “part” a temporary “whole”. When I have a spiritual experience, I’m zooming out my scale to a larger “part” of a larger Whole — the Divine perhaps if I’m getting really close.

What I believe (i.e., this is just my opinion) is very special about the heart brain, and its communications with the head brain, is that it’s “scale” is always greater than our head brain and that it can share some of the information from that larger scale (larger in the sense of more complete)if we learn to listen.

Hope that contributes something. It’s been cooking in my head brain until my heart brain stuck some perspective in there .

Karen

IMHO, I believe they desire different goals. Whilst the heart is chasing one thing, the mind might be after another goal.

Maybe this why when we are occupied with one activity, a “part of us” would like to engage in another.

I reasoned that it happened/happens because what I am doing now (in the UK) brings me more completeness.

Ooh, I like that.

The most interesting thing for me is that you’re finding such positivity in your ‘new’ langauge. I think that’s amazing.

You know, by now, I love the conversation…that’s why I blog. And thanks for being a part of it.

I reasoned that it happened/happens because what I am doing now (in the UK) brings me more completeness.
e.g. being able to grow/stimulate my ‘talents’, freely writing my thoughts down, finding more and more caring friends when I use this ‘new’ language.

Not so weird after all then, just doing that what makes me happy, grateful and whole.

Thanks for keeping the questions and answers going

Karin H. H. (Keep it Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

Yeah, it is kind of wierd. It must have something to do with being engrossed into a culture and constantly experiencing (filtering out) the mass of stimuli from that culture. Don’t know if I said that well, but I think you’ll get it.