One You

Duality is a ripe and rich fact of human consciousness.

Any thing is more clearly defined when you see what it isn’t as well as what it is. And when you see both as one perfect thing – that is the essence of insight and enlightenment.

The One You 2 Points of View, basically inner world and outer world, can also be seen as You and Not You.

Here are some other useful variations of the 2 Points of View:

Inner You (the You you see) and Outer You (the You others see)

Manifest reality (what is) and immanent reality (what’s possible)

How clearly can You see the one perfect thing?

The 7 major chakras, or energy centers, provide another ancient tradition that integrates well with the One You philosophy.

The organization and function of the chakras  relate to the 4 Kinds of Intelligence and also to the 8 Ways of Being.

The three lower chakras (root, sacral, solar-plexus) enable you to know, focus and accept the material world through your physical intelligence.

Similarly, the three higher chakras (crown, third-eye, throat) enable you to know, focus and accept the immanent world through your spiritual intelligence.

The central heart chakra enables you to fuse the accepted energies of what is and what’s possible, to become the effective heart of One You.

One You integrates the Buddhist tradition of an 8-fold path (Understanding, Thinking, Mindfulness, Concentration, Speaking, Action, Livelihood and Effort). Any philosophy that has survived for thousands of years, and maintained its integrity, must be well worth living.

Understanding, Thinking, Mindfulness and Concentration are internal and personal while Speaking, Action, Livelihood and Effort are external and inter-personal.

In One You, the 8-fold path becomes the 8 Ways of Being: Knowing, Focusing, Accepting, Thinking, Relating, Doing, Working, Investing.

Knowing what is available to you, as well as how to discover, invent or create the resources necessary for you to experience those possibilities. The Buddha’s “right understanding” sees only suffering and desire. There is much more in the world of possibility, and you are free to consider any and all of what can be.

Focusing on what appeals to you, and setting your intention to channel your resources to serve an effective realization of those possibilities. Here you can freely explore impending realities, in as little or as much detail as you please, before committing your self to live in them. Here you can also monitor your vision as it unfolds, and explore whatever adjustments might serve you better.

Accepting what comes. Through your experience in and of the world, what is possible becomes what is. Your experience moves and shapes two worlds: the world of possibility and the world of manifestation. Ripples cascade throughout both worlds as you accommodate your experience of manifesting a possibility that appeals to you.

Thinking clearly. Your thinking is the conduit through which you exercise your power to perceive, interpret and influence the worlds of possibility and manifestation. Here the world of possibility meets the world of manifestation. Here your inner experience meets your outer experience.

Relating to one and all. One way in which you conduct your outer experience of the world is through your relationships with other people. Your experience is determined by whether or not you communicate and, when you communicate, your experience is determined by the content and nature of your communication.

Doing “that which is before you to do.” Another way you conduct your outer experience of the world is through whatever you do, just for the sake of doing. Your experience is determined by whether or not you are active and, when you are active, your experience is determined by what you do and how you do it.

Working to pay your way in the world. Another way you conduct your outer experience of the world is through the work you do to pay your way. Your experience is determined by whether or not your work is necessary and sufficient to earn your livelihood. When you under-work, you may depend on others to support you. When you over-work, you may affect your other inner and outer experiences, as well as the experiences of those around you.

 Investing in yourself and others. Lastly, you may conduct your outer experience of the world through the investment you make in yourself or others. You make investments without an expectation of immediate payback and/or without an expectation of payback for yourself. You do what you can to contribute to, and improve, the world, your own life experiences and the lives of those around you.

Most people accept that You create your own reality – if not fully, then at least to some extent.

Everyone sees clearly the separate points of view of your inner reality and your outer reality – the internal and the external worlds.

And it is relatively easy to accept that You can be master of your inner reality, even if that can be a challenge. For many, it is more difficult to accept that You can master the world around you.

“The map is not the territory”. When you consider creating and mastering both your inner and your outer reality, which is the map and which, the territory?

These two points of view are a critical aspect of One You.  They serve to illuminate many other aspects.

For example, the 8 Ways of Being are clearly organized into inner being and outer being.

In the 4 Kinds of Intelligence, thinking and feeling are inner processes. Sensing and intuiting are more subtle: You may perceive your outer reality, but the knowing is an inner process.

I begin the story of One You not at any real beginning or even at a logical beginning.

I begin with the four kinds of intelligence that are an integral part of the One You, because it makes sense to begin there and that is as good a place as any to start.

You have physical, mental, emotional and spiritual intelligence. Together, they enable You to perceive and interpret reality – both the manifest reality of the world around you and immanent reality yet to unfold.

Physical intelligence is your body sense of the material world. The body has the capacity to perceive manifest reality fully and accurately.

Mental intelligence is your mind sense of the material world. The mind has the capacity to interpret what the body perceives.

Spiritual intelligence is your intuitive sense of the non-material world. You have the capacity to perceive immanent reality fully and accurately.

Emotional intelligence is your felt sense of the non-material world. You have the capacity to interpret what the intuition perceives.

Each of You creates a unique experience of the constant interplay among your four kinds of intelligence.

Each of You has a personal signature that develops as you exercise your four kinds of intelligence in different combinations and to varying degrees.

Each of You draws differently on your capacities to perceive the world of what is, to think clearly, to feel cleanly and to perceive the possibilities of what may be.