8. Middlepath: The Goal of Enlightment

by Dick Rauscher

Abstract

Middlepath is a state of mind, not a place. It is achieved only when all sense of duality thinking, the black and white thinking process that creates “otherness” is removed. This article describes the judgment and conflict that arises from duality thinking when our primitive ego insists on being right. Mature egos do not insist on owning “The Truth” All growth in self awareness is movement toward the a middlepath consciousness or a middlepath spirituality. Without growth in self-consciousness or self-awareness, authentic spiritual growth is not possible.

Middlepath is a state of mind, not a place. It can only be achieved when the ego has been emptied of all beliefs, all opinions, all certainties, all sense of duality thinking, and all concepts or categories of “otherness”. As one gets closer to a middlepath consciousness of one’s self-identity, the experience of happiness will increase and the experience of depression will diminish.

The best way to begin to understand middlepath is to picture two black and white primitive ego’s in a heated argument as to who is right on a particular issue. Black and white thinking is an early developmental stage of childhood where the world is broken down or split into all good or all bad, and all right and all wrong. Each primitive ego struggles to convince the other primitive ego that their view is the correct view. It will not be long before the discussion will turn into an argument, and if continued, will probably lead to conflict or violence. Two young children fighting on a playground comes to mind.

Unless these two young ego’s grow and mature, the human bodies that carry them will grow into adulthood but these “adults”will be children in adult bodies. The conflict and violence that immature, primitive ego’s can create in an adult body is virtually unlimited. Virtually all of the conflict and suffering we see in the world today is caused by adults using immature, primitive, black and white thinking.

Now let’s picture these two primitive egos becoming a bit more open to the other persons point of view. What has happened? Well, first, each person’s ego has now entertained the “possibility”that the other person’s ego might be a little bit “right”. In a metaphoric sense they have each taken a small step towards each other. They are no longer defending their understanding of the issue as “THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH”. They have moved from pure black and white thinking, to a slightly grayer point of view. They have become less “reactive”and are not experiencing each other as much a “personal”threat. The other is no longer experienced as “the enemy”who is trying to tell the primitive ego that it is “absolutely”wrong.

They are now beginning to listen a little more closely to what each other has to say. The noise level is beginning to drop. They are beginning to accept the possibility that there might be a bit of “truth”in what the other person is saying. They have moved from absolute certainty to a place of “not-knowing-for-certain”. The potential for conflict and violence between them has lessened. They are beginning to experience each other as a “person”who simply “thinks differently”about the subject they are discussing.

These two primitive egos have begun to mature. They are moving toward a middlepath consciousness. A place where truth is found in both points of view. A place of silence and listening. A place of openness and not-knowing. A place where the beliefs and absolute certainties of the primitive ego have been let go, or emptied. A place where there is less conflict and violence. A place where each person feels safer, heard, understood, and valued. A place of increased diversity. And most importantly of all, a place where duality thinking has given way to concepts of systemic-interdependence and unity. A spiritual place where the unity of all things is experienced, and both persons experience themselves and each other as brother and sister; children of the Creator.

If the ego in each person in our mental scenario continues to mature, they will eventually experience the unity of the middlepath; a spirituality of silence and non-violence where there is no “otherness”; a place of radical and infinite diversity. When a person has achieved emptiness of ego or middlepath consciousness, they do not do compassion, they become compassion.

How we view ourselves, and how we view the world is a mental journey that begins with the primitive, black and white ego of childhood, and moves toward a middlepath consciousness called enlightenment. Thus, all growth in self awareness, all growth in self-consciousness is movement toward the a middlepath consciousness or a middlepath spirituality. Without growth in self-consciousness or self-awareness, spiritual growth is not possible. The journey toward a middlepath consciousness, is the future of human evolution.

(For a more detailed discussion on the maturation of the primitive ego see my article on the web site called Spiritual Growth: The Primitive Ego Grows Up.