June 5 – From Either/or to Both/and
Non-dual consciousness is the ability to hold the tension of opposites without letting go of either side. Richard Rohr
Gregg’s Reflection
For much of my life, I lived in the world of either/or: success or failure, right or wrong, in or out. That thinking served me in business — you made the sale or you didn’t, you hit the target or you missed it. But as I moved deeper into calling and spiritual life, I began to see that God’s world is often not either/or but both/and.
I started noticing it in small ways at first. In conflicts, there were often valid points on both sides. When others could only see and either/or, I began to see a both/and. In Scripture, I saw how Jesus could be both fully human and fully divine. In life, I experienced moments that were both joyful and painful at the same time.
Richard Rohr describes paradox as the ability to live with contradictions, realizing they can often be both/and instead of either/or. That shift doesn’t come easily — our minds crave clarity and resolution. But when I’ve been willing to sit in the tension, a new way often emerges, one that honors truths on both sides without dismissing either.
Both/and thinking doesn’t erase differences. It allows them to coexist in a larger frame. It asks us to trust that God’s truth is big enough to hold more than one perspective. The more I live this way, the more I see it’s not about compromising values — it’s about expanding vision.
Scripture
My prayer is… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
John 17:20-21
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.
Romans 15:5
Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Philippians 2:2
Ancient Quotes
We will not take possession of our birthright of never-ending joy until we find ourselves fully gratified with God and all his actions and judgments, loving and nonviolent toward ourselves and toward all our fellow seekers, and able to love everything God loves.
Julian of Norwich, The Showings of Julian of Norwich
Modern Quotes
Non-dual consciousness is the ability to hold the tension of opposites without letting go of either side.
Richard Rohr, The Naked Now, p. 63
Things rightly understood tend to be complementary rather than contradictory. And the capacity to appreciate the complementarity of opposites rather than a contradiction of opposites is a characteristic of adulthood.
Thomas Berry, in Bill Plotkin, Nature and the Human Soul, p. 435
Journaling Prompts
- Where in your life do you feel most pulled toward an either/or choice right now?
- How might you reframe that situation as both/and?
- What would it take for you to hold space for two truths at once?
- How could this shift deepen your relationships?
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 23 Reflection: Non-Dualistic Thinking