Three Simultaneously-True 'Levels' of Nondual Reality
jb's version of timothy conway's beautiful model
Note: I first shared this model within my ~10,500-word opus on the 2024 election. I felt it deserved its own post because I suspect I’ll reference it reasonably often. It is a useful model that helps frame various discussions. For example, it can be helpful to know that much of my writing lately has been ~entirely focused on the simple all-none of the ‘God level.’ I also added a section at the end that elaborates on why life is infinitely simpler than the model suggests.
With a grateful nod to the wonderful Timothy Conway and his model of the three simultaneously-true ‘levels’ of nondual reality, I hereby propose a similar model:
The conventional level: This is the ordinary human level. The dualistic ‘mundane’ world. The world of everyday experience wherein we live out spatiotemporally-bounded lives as men and women in a world of distinct, physical beings and objects. This is the level at which almost ~all of political discourse is focused. On this level, there is a lot of suffering. If one only perceives or only believes in this level, life can easily seem quite chaotic, random, or even nightmarish.
The soul level: This is the level of subtle, spiritual phenomena that is only perceivable by those whose psychic-shamanic sense has been at least somewhat awakened. This is the level of the various types of non-physical benevolent and malevolent beings, forces, and energies I have mentioned in this piece. This is also the level of soul evolution—where it is perceived that we all have immortal, non-physical souls that are on many-lifetime karmic journeys through infinite-dimensional reality, ultimately on an ~upward-spiraling Indra’s-net-interconnected evolutionary trajectory that leads toward an eventual ‘Apokatastasis’—the ‘redemption of all things.’ At this level of awareness there is a perfection perceived within all phenomena. All beings are seen to be perfectly mirroring all other beings at all times. Everything that happens is the perfect reflection needed to catalyze our next steps on the path Home to God.
The God level: This is the level of the context, the substratum: what all experience is actually made of. The groundless ground of being. God being God. God resting as God. At this level of awareness—discovered when the ‘mystic sense’ awakens—everything is seen to be entirely made of God. The totality and finality of God’s changeless, stainless, unstoppable, loving nature is discovered to be right here right now. Both of the other levels are discovered to be entirely made of God—always already made of Source. Eternity is seen to be right here right now—a radiant presence that continuously melts and morphs into new expressions of itself while never actually altering or departing from its fundamental nature. This fundamental nature is characterized by total peace, total independence, total completion, total harmony, total mystery, total infinity, total openness, total freedom, and a total joyful embracing of all phenomena in a ‘giant bear hug’ of Divine Love.
What I have just laid out is very similar to Timothy Conway’s model—mentioned above. My main departures from him are quite subtle—such as the way we are languaging God. He refers to the first two levels as ‘relative’ and the God level as ‘absolute.’ I don’t really like this language. I would simply prefer to say that all three levels are simultaneously true and real, but the first two levels are actually entirely made of the third level. They do not have an independent reality outside of God, for God is all. They are astoundingly, heartbreakingly poetic ways God is expressing God. God has shaped his/her/its God-ness into these unbelievable stories—these unfathomable master art-works. God has incarnated as these living sculptures. God is quite literally feeling and experiencing everything along with us. And yet simultaneously God always remains simply God, resting in the “peace that surpasseth understanding.”
It should be noted that this model is ultimately just a model, and no model can actually fully contain or articulate reality. It should also be noted that within, between, and around the first two levels—depending how you frame things—there are actually infinite (sub-)levels and dimensions of reality. Reality is a ‘hyper-dimensional kaleidoscopic Rorschach blot.’ It is basically everything to everyone in every way in every space at every time—and beyond all this. There are limitless subtle flavors, vibes, possibilities, textures, stories, and experiences within reality—and each of these could be said to be its own ‘level’ or ‘dimension.’ There are numberless ways to be with reality. It is important to understand that no matter how you map it, *all* the infinite ‘levels,’ dimensions, experiences, and phenomena—anything that could ever happen or seem to happen—is ultimately entirely made of God.
I find the ‘three simultaneously-true levels’ map to be a really useful one. It captures in broad strokes a great deal of what is real, what is true, and what is most relevant for human beings.
For me, what this map points to is truly the ‘good news’—the greatest news imaginable:
We are held. We are free. All is God. God is Love. God is Peace. We can entirely trust the journey. We can heave a sacred sigh of relief. It’s all okay. All rivers eventually lead to the ocean. Heaven is real and every soul is going there. In our heart of hearts, we are always already at rest with the Father. In a profound sense, THIS-HERE-NOW is already the finish line. Simply by virtue of existing, you already won. You are the finality. You are the totality. You are the great completion. We are all sailing upon the greatest adventure imaginable. All is well.
And it’s all so much simpler than this…
This model is a useful lens for speaking about a wide array of apparent phenomena we encounter in this earthly life. I’ll probably find it useful to refer to in various contexts.
Yet the great joke of all this…
A joke that is presently being seen about as clearly as ever over here…
Is that everything is so, so, so, so much simpler than these words suggest
Infinitely simpler.
The simplicity of now cannot be spoken.
All of this apparent complexity ultimately collapses down to the simplest simplicity.
Even to say ‘God resting as God’ is saying way too much.
You cannot say anything accurate about what this now-moment is.
You can talk endlessly about its infinite flavors and how they may seem to be in any given moment.
And this can be gorgeous poetry that is totally included in the simplicity of now.
Yet the words just don’t graze this simplicity…
The simplicity of fresh light snowfall on German grass as I peer out the window…
The simplicity of a bird landing gracefully on a branch…
None of this can be spoken whatsoever.
There is no absolute.
There are no levels.
There’s just this unimaginable simplicity of now.
About which nothing accurate can ever be said.
Just notice that thought cannot touch this…
See that this is unthinkable…
Then thought becomes less sticky and hypnotizing…
You just let thought do whatever it does…
And you rest as now.
Man or God?
Soul or Absolute?
Both, neither, far simpler than either.
Neither this nor that.
Neither form nor emptiness.
Neither name nor namelessness.
Too simple.
Too close.
“Too intimate for words.”
Rest as simplicity.
That’s freedom.
That’s love.
That’s grace.
Amen.
With Love,
Jordan
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jb is a mentor of creators, space-holder, rapper, youtube trickster, and author of five books