A Taoist Understanding of Duality:
Contrasting pairs create all perceivable existence. The perceivable separation of the contrasting pairs originates from the Oneness.

Traditions and Reasons Overlays:
The concept of traditions and reasons overlays is that everyone filters all experience through these lenses to create their unique understanding of the world.

Some examples of traditions:
culture, language, knowledge, story, hope-fear, and persona.

Some examples of reasons:
imagination, judgement, feeling, and truth.

Having vs. Possessing:
Having vs. possessing is about unity with the Oneness vs. separation from the Oneness.

Having is passive acceptance of what is and does not evoke separation.

Possessing is active and evokes a solidified-separation relationship of possessor/possessed, in other words a realized subject/object relationship.

The Yin/Yang Measuring Tape:
• In the measure in which The Separator is separate. 
• Even though this info graphic shows the extremes of having vs. possessing there are varing degrees between them.   
• We can flow between these extremes. For example, when we lose our selves in play or work, we are in the state of Oneness. On the contrar when we experience anxiety or self-righteousness we are self-separated from the Oneness.

The Skeleton, the Book, and the Apple:
• Skeleton drawn in light pencil represents the imaginary separate-self as “the living dead” – concept from D. T. Suzuki, Zen Buddhism

• The Doer is done to. The Self ______er is self ______ed. (fill in the blank) Example: The Self-apprehender is self-apprehended – Tao concept that the Doer and the done to are the same entity.

• Snake-tongue bookmark as the recognition of the self-appointed victim – Genesis, The Bible

• If I say it’s so, it is sow – I am the storyteller of my life, shackled to my own limited narrative. Separation from the Oneness is a self-imposed action.

• When the apple of my eye is myself, it is the apple of Self-consumption – Genesis, The Bible  

On “Possessing” Traditions and Reasons:
• Doing from an objectified will. In other words motivated by a realized subject/object relationship – a will based on separation from the Oneness. 
• Only my traditions and reasons are correct and other’s traditions and reasons are discounted
• When we focus the energy flow on our separate-self, we heat up
• Slave to the material world
• Possessing = living dead, separation, hate, knowing, limited, hoarding, insecure, diseased, hell, difficult, struggle, objectification, judged, possessed, burdened, ignorant, holding on, slave, arrogant, holding breath, self-righteous. 

Back Story on the “Possessing” Section of Infographic:
• The addition of “MY” in front of the traditions and reasons is to evoke    possession.
• Chains represent the possessed self-part love.
• Flames are the heat created from self-focus, caused from blocking the natural flow of energy
• Drawn in black and white to represent hyper dualism  

On “Having” Traditions and Reasons:
• Being from an unobjectified will.           
• Everyone has unique overlays and together we can share them
• That there is energy that flows “Within You Without You”, Beatles
• Liberated from the material world
• Having = living alive, unity, love, unknowing, unlimited, eternal, sharing, secure, healed, heaven, ease, flexible, forgiven, letting go, freedom, awake, humility, breathing, righteous.

Back Story on the “Having” Section of Infographic:
• The flower and bee are one organism – concept from Alan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity
• Sunflower and bees represent the life energy that flows and pollenating between us and the universe, interconnectivity. Self-whole love.
• Sunflower is in full color to represent living alive

Download a printable PDF here.  

First Studies:
The following photos of the chalkboard when I first started playing with these concepts

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