Shooting From The Hip - 9 - Oneness, Wu Wei, Yin & Yang, Double Slit Experiment, Materialism

Oneness - noun 1.the fact or state of being unified or whole, though comprised of 2 or more parts. "the oneness of man & nature" : the state of being completely united with or a part of someone or something

Nondualism, also called nonduality or nondual awareness, originating in Indian philosophy & religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer & seen or nondifference of subject & object; the identity of conventional phenomena & ultimate reality, or the "nonduality of duality & nonduality"; & "the interconnection of all things." It may also refer to a negation of dualistic thinking; & to the mystical unity with God or with Ultimate reality.

Taoism & (Chan)Buddhism share common ideas, themes in philosophy & practice. They are nondual traditions, fundamentally, are an unveiling & understanding of aspects of our own wisdom-mind, rather than the worship of something specific outside of us like a deity.

Buddhist “emptiness” – is a technical term that can translate as “void” or “openness.” It points to the understanding that the things of the phenomenal world do not exist as separate, independent & permanent entities, but rather appear as the result of an infinite number of causes & conditions, intimately related to everything else.

Meaning of 'emptiness' can be an inner state of mind characterized by simplicity, quietude, patience, frugality & restraint. This mental framework can bring a Taoist into alignment with the ebb & flow, the rhythms of the Tao (everything). A reflection of all things, at all times. To be empty in this way means to have our mind empty of forcing thing into reality. It is instead a mirror the Tao(all things):

Wu wei - is an ancient Chinese concept literally meaning "inexertion", "inaction", or "effortless action" - an important concept in Taoism - describes a state of unconflicted personal harmony, free-flowing spontaneity & savoir-faire (ability to act or speak appropriately in situations), it denotes a state of spirit or mind

Yin & Yang a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces - universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin & yang & formed into objects & lives. Yin is the receptive & yang the active principle, seen in all forms of change & difference such as disorder & order

What is the double-slit experiment? It’s one of the most bizarre experiments in modern physics & cuts to the heart of the weirdness of quantum mechanics

Basically, waves that pass through 2 narrow, parallel slits will form an interference pattern on a screen. This is true for all waves, whether they’re light waves, water waves, sound waves

light isn’t just a wave - also a particle called a photon.

a single photon shot thru a double slits - even though there’s only one photon, it still forms an interference pattern - as if the photon travels through both slits simultaneously

weirder still: As an episode of PBS’s Space Time shows, just by observing the double-slit experiment, the behavior of the photons changes.

idea of double-slit experiment: even if the single photons sent thru slit 1 at a time, they still act like a wave; producing interference pattern

the wave is a probability wave, because the experiment is set up so the scientists don’t know which of the 2 slits any individual photon will pass through

in trying to detect, using sensors in front of slits to determine which slit the photon really goes through, the interference pattern doesn’t show up at all

This is true set up sensors to watch the slits. No matter what they do to observe the photons, the interference pattern fails to emerge

Even weirder still:
1 photon from this pair should go on to create the standard interference pattern, while the other observe by sensor, in an attempt to see the logic-defying behavior of photons

The weirdest part: It still doesn’t work. Even if the 2nd photon is detected after the 1st photon hits the screen, it ruins the interference pattern. This means observing a photon can change events that have already happened.
Currently we remain unsure how this happens exactly. One of the greatest mysteries of quantum mechanics.

What we perceive as our individuality is an illusion. This illusion is not just created by our senses but by our ego & our identity.

Separateness - The property of being separate - the quality of being not alike; being distinct or different from that otherwise experienced or known

Reductive Materialism - The view that only the material world (matter) is truly real

Philosophical Materialism - states that everything that truly exists is matter; everything is material, thus all phenomena we see are a result of material interactions: including mental states & consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialism, mind & consciousness are by-products or epiphenomena of material processes