Beyond the Worldview of Separation

Many pressing global issues—from war to corruption to suffering—stem from the same root cause. We must uncover that cause if we are to create a society that is fundamentally peaceful and just.

A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.

— Albert Einstein

Everywhere we turn, the seams of society seem to be unraveling. Turn on the news and, within minutes, you’ll hear stories of conflict, corruption and the destruction of our planet. Humanity seems to be under the spell of a strange force—the gravitational pull of division.

If we’re honest, the same tension lives in us too. In the privacy of our minds, the voices of fear, frustration or dissatisfaction whisper their well-worn stories. This silent undercurrent of suffering has become so familiar, we’ve come to mistake it for our natural state. Our emotional temperature is rising alongside the sea levels.

What is going on? What is the root of this suffering—in our world and in our minds?

There is no shortage of explanations: economic inequity, political corruption, corporate greed, social disconnection, the shadow of colonialism—and the list goes on.

But here’s what most people miss: these are not true explanations. They name the effects of the problem, not the problem itself. This is akin to a doctor who treats the symptoms of an illness but fails to heal the underlying condition.

If we fail to uncover and resolve the root cause of our collective unrest, our ‘solutions’ will amount to little more than band-aids, temporary fixes at best. A new set of symptoms will eventually emerge. Corruption will wear a new suit. Oppression will assume a new form. The core wound of suffering will be dressed in different language. And the underlying issue will remain unresolved.

Our analysis must go deeper. If we cannot solve the problem with the same kind of thinking that created it, then we are being pressed from all angles—placed in a pressure cooker, if you will—as the crises of our world demand an evolutionary leap in understanding. We need a rapid and full-bodied transformation in how we think, feel and relate as human beings.

We must go straight to the heart of the matter—to the very essence of our existence—if we are to break the cycle of suffering we inherited from the past and build the future we know is possible.

The Myth of the Separate Self

If the many forms of collective and personal suffering are all branches of the same root, then what is the root?

The root cause is a single misconception: the assumption of separation, or the belief that we are essentially separate beings—separate from one another and separate from the natural world. This assumption claims that the consciousness that animates each of us is limited and separate—alone, vulnerable and destined to die.

From there, it’s a short step to believing we can harm an ‘other’ without harming our self. It’s also a short step to the suffering that has plagued the human heart over the millennia. The belief in separation—the idea that consciousness is limited—has silently underpinned nearly every form of destruction and suffering throughout human history. It creates war in the world and in our minds.

More than a mere belief, the assumption of separation is a myth. You might naturally wonder how the separate self could be a fiction. After all, isn’t it obvious that you are an individual—one that is essentially separate from me? And that both of us are essentially separate from the natural world and all other forms of life? Indeed, nearly everyone believes in the reality of the separate individual.

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time in human history that a widely accepted idea turned out to be false. Indeed, we once thought the earth was flat and at the center of the universe. We should know by now: an idea might be popular, but that doesn’t make it true.

In fact, myths are far more common than we think. In Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari described how myths—what he called ‘shared imagined realities’—are the glue that holds human behavior together. Money, nations, borders, capitalism, corporations—these are just a few of the fictions that shape human behavior today.

As a species, we have the unique ability to imagine things that aren’t true, then act as if they are. So it’s reasonable to assume that many of today’s most cherished ‘common sense’ ideas will be revealed as false tomorrow.

The question is not whether we are collectively participating in a shared myth. The question is: which myth?

In my view, it’s the myth of the separate self—or ego.

Of course, I am not denying the existence of difference. Indeed, when we examine our thoughts, feelings and sense perceptions, all we discover is difference. We have diverse body-minds, each with private thoughts and feelings on the inside and a unique physical appearance on the outside.

I am simply suggesting that there is no difference in our essence, our core identity. The sunlight that fills my home is no different from the sunlight that fills yours. Likewise, the presence that animates my mind as I write these words—and your mind as you read them—is the same in essence. As Francis Lucille said, be ‘open to the possibility that we are like two flowers looking at each other from two different branches of the same tree.’

This does not imply that the notion of a separate self is inherently bad or wrong. In fact, developing a healthy ego is a necessary stage of human growth. As a child, it’s important to know this body is me, and that tree is not me. This process of individuation is important, and it naturally continues into adolescence and early adulthood.

That said, development doesn’t stop when we turn 18. We continue to grow and evolve throughout our lives. And some people grow beyond the persona of the separate self. They come to recognize: I am not the ego but the awareness that knows it.

Ego is a phase of human evolution, not our final destination. It was never meant to live forever—and it was certainly never meant to rule the world.

One might naturally wonder how a single misconception could wreak havoc on our planet. The reason is this: the myth of the separate self is not just one isolated idea—it’s an entire worldview. It’s a collective framework for interpreting reality. It informs nearly everything—from how we think and feel to how we structure society.

Many of the seemingly separate problems in our world today are not truly separate events. Global inequity and personal suffering are not two separate events. The destruction of our planet and your child’s anxiety are not two separate events. The problems we face—in public and in private—are not unrelated. They are symptoms of the same underlying issue, appearing both outside us and within. They are different branches of the same root. And they are all telling us:

The old paradigm is breaking down. We are experiencing a crisis in our received worldview.

So, what do we do?

One Witness, Many Eyes

We must have the courage to question our received worldview. If humanity remains stuck—that is, stuck identifying with ego—we will remain caught in the cycles of destruction and suffering we see in the world today.

If these cycles are fueled by a single misconception, then it’s that misconception we must address. The misconception—the myth of the separate self—is, at its core, a misunderstanding about what we truly are. Thus, the solution is self-knowledge: the clear, experiential understanding of our essential self. It is the understanding of what ‘I’ truly am and, by the same light, what ‘others’ and ‘the natural world’ truly are.

We must have the courage to seek truth above all else—to ask: What am I really? If I am not a separate self, isolated and alone in a world full of others, then what am I? What is the nature of the subjectivity that is peering through my eyes?

The subjectivity that is peering through your eyes is pure presence, the essence and fabric of existence. It is the reality in which everything appears and the substance out of which everything is made, as Rupert Spira says. It is what physicists call ‘reality’, what mystics call ‘God’ and what you call ‘I’.

Pure, formless consciousness—this is the ontological primitive, the fundamental ‘stuff’ out of which everything is made. This is what you are.

Your self—pure consciousness—is the exit from suffering and the portal to peace. A beam of light can never be harmed. Likewise, pure presence cannot be touched by any form of hardship or suffering. Thus, your essence is peace.

This presence—the light of pure knowing—does not depend upon anything other than itself. Thus, you are inherently free.

As the essence of everything, presence knows no other. Thus, your essence is love.

This recognition has been referred to as ‘enlightenment’ in the contemplative traditions, implying a form of knowledge that is esoteric, difficult to attain and reserved for a select few. Quite the contrary, self-knowledge is the only form of knowledge that is available to all of us, without exception. It is universally accessible. After all, everyone experiences their self. No one has privileged access.

Self-knowledge requires no formal education, no self-improvement and no loyalty to any authority figure other than your self. It doesn’t ask you to accept anything on faith, give your money to any particular person or institution, or adopt someone else’s way of living. It doesn’t matter how much you may struggle in life—your self is always here. Presence is ever-present.

Because our self is universally accessible, self-knowledge is the only form of knowledge that is impervious to corruption. No one can give us the experience of our self, and no one can take it away. It is impossible to block, deny or corrupt one’s access to oneself.

For this reason, self-knowledge is ontologically more powerful than the paradigm of separation and is ultimately destined to defeat it. As this knowledge spreads, it will catalyze a total transformation—igniting the very best in the human spirit. In this sense, self-knowledge is the source of true power.

Beyond being universally accessible, the experience of our self is the one experience we all share. Our thoughts, feelings and sense perceptions are varied and private, but the presence that knows them is singular and shared. Whether you are a Muslim or a Jew, a Black trans woman or a cis white man, a priest or an atheist, a politician or an anarchist, a shaman or a scientist—our essence is the same.

This doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to unethical behavior or corrupt institutions. Quite the opposite, we want society to reflect this understanding—‘as above, so below’. How does it do that? Through social institutions that are fundamentally balanced and just. Self-knowledge shines in society as justice. It is the silent force behind our desire to end oppression.

Once humanity understands that our true identity ends neither at the boundaries of the skin nor at the borders of a nation, we will begin to treat everyone and everything as our self. It is this understanding—and this understanding alone—that will heal human suffering: the recognition that we are one being with many bodies, one witness with many eyes.

Dear reader,

Thank you for the great gift of your time and attention.

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With love,

Kyra