Among those of us who find ourselves “on the path”, there are those who tend to speak in terms of “Metaphysics”, and those who prefer to speak of “Spirituality”. One might wonder which is the more useful or more accurate description. Is there even a material difference between the two? My answer: yes, and no.
First, let’s parse “Metaphysics”. Literally, beyond physics, or what comes after physics. Which makes sense. Physics as a science is focused on Spacetime, on four dimensions, i.e., three of space and one of time. Go beyond four-dimensional Spacetime – i.e., contemplate Multi-Dimensionality – and you have gone beyond physics. Hence, “Metaphysics”.
Now, let’s look at “Spirituality”. Which is about the Duality between spirit and matter. Spirituality, obviously, is about the “spirit” side of that Duality. Matter is the four-dimensional “stuff”; it is about Spacetime. The “spirit” side of the Duality, it follows, is what lies beyond three dimensions of matter and one of time. That is, Spirituality is about dimensions beyond those four; once again, Multi-Dimensionality. Yes, we tend to wrap “Spirituality” up in concepts of “God”, but there is a reason for that, which I will explain momentarily. The point to note for now is that Metaphysics and Spirituality take you to the same place, albeit from opposite directions. They take you to a bridge. The bridge between spirit and matter; the bridge where Spirituality and science meet.
If “Metaphysics” is your preferred path to the bridge, the direction is from science, searching for spirit, meaning, significance – the “why” of creation. You begin from the physical, and you reach up, into the metaphysical, the Multi-Dimensional. The focus is on the design – the science – of the spectacular creation in which we adventure and explore.
If “Spirituality” is your preferred path to the bridge, you are coming from the opposite direction. That is, you approach from the direction of contemplating or wondering about “God” – and how one might reach up to touch the essence of “God” (or at least catch some glimpse of it). You begin by contemplating what might lie beyond this physical existence, and you reach to somehow pull that Spirituality down into your Earthbound experience. The focus is on what I call “Source/God” as creator of the design – rather than on the design itself.
My point: same bridge. A bridge between science and Spirituality. Connecting the dots so that the Duality of spirit and matter can reveal itself as the Oneness that is the true essence of any Duality.
As I wrote in EARTH GAME The Next Level, our reality involves two fundamental Dualities. One I think of as horizontal: the divine feminine and the divine masculine. The other seems vertical in nature: spirit and matter. (Think in terms of “As above, so below”.) With each of these two fundamental Dualities, the evolutionary challenge for an awakening humanity is to put the two aspects together. In the one case, the divine feminine and the divine masculine, intertwined as imagined by the beautiful “Yin/Yang” symbol. In the other case, science and Spirituality; no longer at war, no longer sent to their separate corners only to periodically slug it out.
The present challenge: to build that bridge between science and Spirituality. It matters not which end of the bridge you work from. It only matters that the bridge comes together.
Which aspect of the Duality should you reach from? Whichever one you are more comfortable with. The important thing is to complete the circuit. If, however, you are shying away from “Metaphysics” because long ago you felt traumatized in science class, maybe it is time to get over that. Or, if you prefer to eschew “Spirituality” because it conjures up old images of an angry, judgmental, smiting “God”, then similarly leave that in the past. Whether you approach the bridge from the direction of science or the direction of the spiritual, you want both. You want that beautiful Duality reunited, merged, wedded. That will catapult you into the Metaphysical and Spiritual experience you came here to pursue.
Note that you don’t venture into Metaphysics and Spirituality in order to escape or renounce physicality. Rather, you do it – paradoxically – so that you can fully enjoy the physical. Because, when you have the bridge in place, the physical world is no longer so dense, so dark, so frightening. You are freed up to focus on fully experiencing the sensations and delights of the physical world. Which, by the way, was the plan all along. The notion of that beautiful freedom conjures up for me a lyric from a very old Sam Cooke song: What a wonderful world this would be.
Build that bridge. Whether you prefer to think of your work in terms of “Metaphysics” or “Spirituality”.