Spirituality, Dichotomy, and Compartmentalization

I have always proudly stated that I am a very "black and white person." I've always worn it as a badge of pride and in many ways have used it as a measurement by which to gauge the morality of others. Everything was good/bad, black/white, god/devil, etc. I'm sure many of you are wondering what the problem is. Well, the problem is this, the Universe simply does not work that way. It's not comprised of dichotomous opposing forces. It is not compartmentalized for our ease of use. It is, in fact, comprised of many and varied complementary principals. The concept of all differences being opposing is the root of many of the issues that we see every day. Some of them are rather confusing and complex.

Spirituality-Many indigenous cultures do not have a clear cut belief of good vs. evil. Many times you will just hear stories of opposing forces, but they are mostly used to illustrate balances via personification of various elemental components found in everyday life. Things such as sunrise/sunset, sun/moon, fire/water, etc. Even in popular movies such as Avatar. The fire nation wasn't innately bad. The issue that the other nations had with them was that they caused imbalances and disconnection from the Spirit world. In Ifa, from what I have learned so far, there are also opposing forces. I have never heard them being called evil. Why? I assume that it is because everything has a purpose and that purpose is to maintain balance. Many times we call things evil if we don't understand them. We are connected to all things and all things are connected to us, so if anything is evil that evil will also be reflected in us as a whole.

Dichotomy- Here is the definition from good old Merriam Webster- a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities ; also : the process or practice of making such a division. Now, further down it also talked about "two seemingly opposing forces". I am reading the book Yurugu by Marimba Ani and she speaks about this topic a lot because it was birthed from the European thought in order to satiate their need to control. Dichotomies have a tendency to separate and not appreciate. Think about it in regards to the American school system. Segregation was cool except for the fact that the differences between the two were not appreciated or view as equal. One was considered good and the other evil. One was considered strong while the other was considered weak. They never did and probably never will reach the point of being seen as separate or different, but equal. We should, in all things, seek to see the complement rather than the dichotomy even when one of the parts is unbalanced. Nothing is truly mutually exclusive or contradictory, those mindsets come from oppressive mentalities rather than from Spirit.

Compartmentalization-When I was in the church, I remember hearing people constantly spouting, in order of importance, the  things in their lives. It usually sounded something like, "God first, my family and friends, my job, and then everything else." In indigenous beliefs/culture/concepts all of those things are one and the same. They cannot be separated and were never meant to be separated. You may have also heard someone say,"We are all made up of 3 parts. These parts are mind, body, and spirit." or something like that. In indigenous thought we view ourselves as whole beings and as part of, but not separated from, all things in the universe. We are not to view ourselves as pieces and parts to be improved on or ignored independently from the rest of the being. Everything and everybody is connected, and not in the hierarchical sense that many of us have been taught. We are NOT more important than water, animals, rocks, etc. We are all a very minute yet infinite part of a infinitely large universe. You can do nothing without causing changes somewhere else. Our existence is not comprised of a bunch of file cabinet drawers to be pulled out and tended to at our whim. We are whole beings in a whole culture, but have been tricked into believing that we are separate and broken by the belief in a culture not our own.