The Duality of the Polarity of Prejudice

11th October 2014

By Ethan Indigo Smith

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

According to the Hopi, there are red, yellow, purple and white people. Synonymous with the colors of corn, each color is related to an element. Red people are the guardians of earth, yellow people are the guardians of air, purple people are the guardians of water and white people are the guardians of fire.

People of any color can potentially lose their way and become two-hearted. The term two-hearted comes from the Hopi concept that people originally have one heart and are good natured. People who lose their way - who succumb to greed and ego, who lose the conscious connection that can only exist in the moment - acquire a whole other heart to feed.

The Duality of the Polarity

When it comes to the question of race, the only real differences are shades and hues. People are more similar than different. We are fundamentally the same, but appear in this reality in slightly different forms. And while our cultures and traditions may differ, they are all human traditions after all.

Yet, although we are all human and we are all one, we humans have subdivided, grouped and categorized each other into numerous more races than four. However, for the basic descriptive purposes of this article, four is enough of a distinction to draw.

Today, racial divisions are so nuanced and undefined as to be seemingly unnecessary, other than to perpetuate unconscious notions of ‘us and them’. It reinforces polarity in the human mind, which has been trained to look for opposites…. Good/Evil, Right/Wrong, Left/Right, Thesis/Antithesis.

The very inquiry into the origins of human thinking and being is posed through the duality of polarity, and yet it’s most often considered a singular polarity. Why are we the way we are? Is it the result of nature or nurture? The debate of nature versus nurture is posed in a single distinct polarization, yet the best question itself supersedes the mindset of the singular polarity. Traditionally, the question is viewed philosophically as a trinity of options - the thesis (nature), antithesis (nurture) and synthesis (both) of one and the other. And yet, in its natural state, this mode of thinking is actually a matrix of four.

Is it so? 

 

Is it not so? 

 

Is it both? 

 

Or is it neither? 

 

This is the duality of polarity.

Why are we the way we are? Is it the result of nature? Or nurture? Or neither? Or both?

Using the question of the origins of human behavior as an example, it becomes apparent how limiting the polarized thesis/antithesis, nature/nurture type of thinking truly is. It excludes the potential of synthesis, and most importantly, of nullesis – the infinite potential that exists outside of pre-defined theses and antitheses.

The Matrix of Four

The duality of polarity is apparent in the universe, human tradition, philosophy and even our biological make-up. Most importantly, it is apparent in how people think. And by understanding the matrix of four - the duality and the polarity - and acknowledging that it is apparent in everything, we are able to more clearly understand the totality of any situation or interaction. And when one understands the totality of a problem, one is better placed to actively fix it.

“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” ~ Albert Einstein

 

The matrix of four assists our understanding by providing a cross-reference system through which to examine the totality of a subject or object, even extremely complex ones, even those engrained deep into our consciousness. It is explored through the four ever-present philosophical alternatives: the thesis (is it so?), antithesis (is it not so?), synthesis (is it both?) and nullesis (is it neither?). The fourth, commonly ignored ‘nullesis’ part of this thought-set represents the expanded and unlimited alternative.

The duality of polarity can be applied to understand one of our oldest and most complicated social and political problems; prejudice. 

CONTINUE READING:

Previous articles by Ethan Indigo Smith:

• A Tangible Math Lesson – Four Types of Institutional Lies
• The Duality of the Polarity of Kindness
• Individuality and Spirituality in the Age of Institutional Rule (w/Andy Whiteley)
• The Matrix of Four Forms of Meditative Breath
• The Great Unsaid: What 1984 Can Teach Us About 2014
• Institutional Thinking – The Matrix, 1984 and The Allegory of The Cave
• A Little Green Revolution: the Rainbow Warriors will Heal the Earth Mother
• Saṃsāra and Nirvana – the Ultimate Duality
• We Have Sustainable Energy Technology – the Problem is the Oligarchy
• Why Governments Promote Deadly Nuclear Energy and Ban Beneficial Hemp
• The 5 Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation: 108 Movements to a Meditative Mind State
• Hate: The Ultimate Social Control Mechanism

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