Title: No Boundary
Author: Ken Wilber
Rating: 6/10 (this is a fantastic book but it is not an easy read, hence the lower rating)
I have long since been fascinated by boundaries and dichotomy – I feel the world is not at all black and white, but rather a swirling water colour. However, Wilber presented me with something quite novel, and that was the notion of the difference between lines and boundaries.
“For a line, whether mental, natural, or logical doesn’t just divide and separate, it also joins and unites. Boundaries, on the other hand, are pure illusions – they pretend to separate what is not in fact separable. In this sense, the actual world contains lines but no real boundaries.” (Wilber, 26).
I enjoyed Wilber’s distinction of a separate self or a little self within, who is composed entirely of memories (Wilber, 65). Without an experience of, or glimpse into that which is Unity Consciousness, we are but memories – “If you get a good grip on yourself, you are holding nothing but memory.” (Wilber, 65).
I found this to be very powerful, because memories create boundaries by which we identify and characterize ourselves.
I find myself asking’ “Who am I, really? Or rather, who/what am I not?”
Wilber talks about a descent into deeper, more expansive states of consciousness. Reading this book I found myself in deep agreement of this truth – reflecting on my own journey, I have felt a real dropping of, or opening into an expanded understanding of self and unity consciousness. Of course, I am by no means suggesting that I have reached that point (even though as Wilber suggests, Unity Consciousness is not a point or place), but what I mean to say is that I am able to identify and honour in myself the shifts of consciousness that I have made during my journey → with specific reference to the last 5 years.
Wilber also talks a great deal about resistance.When I began reading this book it felt rather heavy, heady, and intense. I laughed as I noticed resistance within myself, and a feeling of triggering that, at the outset might have seemed directed at Wilber for being and writing in a verbose, spiritual, ‘heyshoowaa’ kind of manner, but in actual fact was only directed at myself and the limitations I had created for myself.
In a personal capacity, I would like to explore and understand Wilber’s ‘Spectrum of Consciousness’ model better, and continue to use it as a tool of personal exploration – Where do I find myself (on the spectrum)? What boundaries am I creating? What boundaries am I projecting?
>> Where do you notice resistance in your life? And how open are you really to exploring that resistance?
This quote from Wittgenstein really resonated with me and has become a daily self-remembering for me;
“Eternal life belongs to those who live in the present” – Wittgenstein. (Wilber, 58)
If you found this review interesting, you can get your copy of 'No Boundary' here: