by Robert Atkinson,
Of the four forces of nature identified by physics (gravity, the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and the electro-magnetic force), it is not surprising that attractive forces appear overall stronger than repulsive forces. Nor is it surprising that seeking a theory of everything that would unify these four fundamental forces of nature has now become the Holy Grail of modern physics. This is the quest that leads us back to nonduality, that place where all things are understood as balanced parts of a greater whole.
Love, the most powerful attractive force in the entire universe, is the primary principle of a divine order. It was Empedocles, in ancient Greece, who suggested that the four primal elements—earth, air, fire, and water—are at the whim of the two opposing cosmic forces, Love and Strife. The attracting force of Love or the averting force of Strife dictates all change in the universe. He proposed alternating cosmic cycles of Love (or harmony) and Strife (or discord), in which unity and multiplicity alternate in cycles.
These alternating cycles operate in the affairs of humanity, as well. At times a natural balance may occur between the two forces; at other times it seems a true struggle ensues between them. A significant difference, however, is that in the cycle involving the primal elements it is the law of balance that is primary, while in the cycle involving our own collective evolution it is the law of perpetual progress that is primary, with love ultimately winning out over discord. Even these alternating cycles are expressions of a greater wholeness, a oneness that most characterizes the entire Creation, and that is the essence of nonduality.
Robert Atkinson, Ph.D., developmental psychology, is the author of nine books, including the 2017 Nautilus Book Award winner The Story of Our Time: From Duality to Interconnectedness to Oneness, from which this excerpt is taken; Mystic Journey: Getting to the Heart of Your Soul’s Story (2012); The Gift of Stories (1995); and, Year of Living Deeply: A Memoir of 1969 (2019). He is an internationally recognized authority in the techniques of life story interviewing, personal mythmaking, and soul-making, professor emeritus at the University of Southern Maine, board member of the Abbey of Hope, a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, and director of StoryCommons. www.robertatkinson.net.
Gate photo by Robert Atkinson.
