Awakening to Wholeness is a series of prompts, reflections, and teachings about how holding the tension of opposites can help us to heal division and experience wholeness. If you feel moved to share your own reflections, we invite you to email us with the subject line “Wisdom of Opposites.”
Sometimes, the longing for wholeness is so holy, it hurts. There are tensions so deep and wide that they seem to tug beyond stretching, into truly torn. We feel torn by two, perhaps because the memory of One lingers, always, beneath the surface of our lived experience. As one, I recall my Divine Source. I recognize that I am made in the image and likeness of the Holy One. As two, I realize my human nature is finite, limited, not-yet complete.
Remembering and catching glimpses of Oneness is part of what makes living in twoness so tough. In twoness, I am torn, pained by the struggle of living between sets of opposites. In my own personal trajectory, there have been persistent expressions of being torn by sets of two: in my childhood, torn between mom and dad because of divorce; in young adulthood, torn by the choice for lifepath between monastic or married; as a parent and wife, torn daily by the temptation toward the mood of irritability instead of a deeper state of peace.
Each of us have our own particular expressions of being torn by twoness, and collectively, our inner sense of torn forms deep patterns. Depression and anxiety. Shame and blame. Fear and anger. Under-functioning and over-functioning. These are powerful pairs. The forces at work, though shadowy and implicit, are persistent and consequential. It is easy to become swept up in and taken down by their presence.
Especially when we are caught in the muck and mire and mess caused by the forces that come along with our sense of being torn by twoness, it can be helpful to remember that “one” is always bigger than “two.” The power of “one” always envelops the depth and breadth of “two” because it is singular, not separate, nor divided. Paradoxically, One is always more than Two. No matter how terrible and persistent it is to be torn by two, if the force of Oneness can be called Love, then Love always wins. If God is Love, and we are made in the image and likeness of the Holy One, then no matter how much holy may hurt, the force of Love always pierces and persists more.
Contemplative Questions
We offer the following questions as prompts to help you reflect on the presence of opposites in your spiritual practice and your life.
- When have you felt most torn by “two” in your life? Can you think of examples from childhood, young adulthood, recently?
- “Depression and anxiety. Shame and blame. Fear and anger. Under-functioning and over-functioning.” What patterns describe your own feelings of being torn?
- What helps you remember the power of Oneness? (Particular teachings or prayer practices? Time in nature? Close relationships?)
Join the conversation! If you feel moved to share your reflections, we invite you to email us with the subject line “Wisdom of Opposites.”
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Christine Luna Munger
Christine Luna Munger, PhD currently serves as the director of the Episcopal House of Prayer. She previously served as Coordinator of the Spiritual Direction Certificate and Professor of Theology at St. Catherine University. She regularly writes, teaches, and leads group prayer sits at EHoP.
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