The unification of opposites techniques are mental tools to help us unravel the knots of the mind. They offer a very fast way to balance our lives and wake up and were given for this particularly accelerated time we are living in. They are age-old principles, truths from the ancient mystery schools and traditions, and have been revamped and streamlined for the modern era.

The following seven chapters progress from the basic method, polarities, to a more evolved level of processing, which includes: the triangles and squares techniques, some advanced applications of the techniques, as well as developing and strengthening the neutral observer, or witness. The methods may seem like simple little diagrams, but they are actually incredibly precise renditions of deep metaphysical laws.

Since you probably have a pretty good idea by now as to why you would want to clear the ego, the purpose of this section is to offer the methods of how to clear the ego. The first three chapters of Section Two contain the three primary exercises associated with The Marriage of Spirit teachings-polarities, triangles and squares. Each one works at a slightly different level of awareness, relative to mind, emotions and body.

Working with the first exercise, polarities, brings about fundamental shifts in consciousness that are most closely aligned with mental processes, or with one of our subtle bodies called the mental body. It is the simplest of the techniques, and each chapter progressively builds on its principles, moving into more advanced techniques.

Working with the second exercise, triangles, effects significant changes and clearing in the emotions, or what we call the emotional body. This level of consciousness is often more difficult to address because the triggers that cause emotions in each one of us are so buried in our subconscious.

Working with the third exercise, squares, helps to manifest the deepest and most lasting changes in consciousness-so much, in fact, that we can heal and raise the vibration of the physical body.

The combination of these three exercises results in a holistic approach of clearing and healing-effecting change in the mental, emotional and physical bodies. It is not important, at this point, that you completely understand the distinctions between the exercises. In more advanced stages of practice, when you have been working with the exercises for a while, you will be able to intuit which exercise is best for specific instances in your life. You will also be able to move back and forth between techniques as necessary to achieve the best results for your particular situation. We have presented the exercises in this order because of the way they build on each other.

The remaining four chapters in Section Two contain suggestions for getting the most out of the exercises, as well as offering some more advanced techniques. They also talk about combining and/or modifying exercises to achieve specific goals.

Before exploring what clearing ego actually is, let's also take a look at some of the things it is not. First, the clearing work is not about fixing or rearranging the egoic structure. Most psychological work and many other forms of personal growth work are associated with restructuring the personality so that it is more functional and healthy. Having a healthy, functional egoic structure is very important in order to move into Self-discovery more deeply. But clearing is a defining characteristic of the Marriage of Spirit work. The Marriage of Spirit work transforms and clears the ego so that eventually nothing remains but the Self, so that the clear light can shine through, unobstructed. The best analogy is the one Ram Dass has used, likening the ego to a prison. We don't want to rearrange the furniture inside the prison; we want to open it up so that it is not a prison anymore.

Second, this work is not about doing. Many people get confused about this aspect of the egoic clearing work. They wonder, "If enlightenment is about not doing anything, then why do I have to do this work?" It is not a doing; it is an un-doing. We are undoing the personality, which leads to letting go and to moving into the neutral witness.

Third, the work we are presenting here is not about getting rid of the ego. Sometimes people misinterpret the egoic clearing work for this. The confusion is based on a misconception that because we are trying to clear the ego, we are implying that the ego is bad or that there is something wrong with having an ego. Most people in this world are in the ego and will stay that way. This is a world where one learns with an ego. An ego is just a structure. It is a way of organizing consciousness so that it can take form. It would be very difficult for consciousness to be here in the world without an ego or without a structure on which to base itself. The ego is the teacup, and the consciousness is the tea, held and contained by the cup. The consciousness has to have a structure to hold it in form so that it can be present in the world. It is not an issue of good or bad at all. A misinterpretation like that would come from the little child-the little inner child who is concerned about being bad, or not being bad, or wanting to feel good, and defending that it is good rather than bad. This work that we are doing is beyond good and bad. It is about moving into unity consciousness and improving our lives. We are seeking a completely new kind of egoic structure-something that is not blocked or clouded with a lot of extraneous, unnecessary detail, old memories of bad experiences from childhood, or all sorts of ideas that are obsolete, have no power, or that affect our lives in a negative way. These are things that we are better off without. We can live much more easily without them. The new form is wise, all encompassing, and grounded in truth.

So, if the processing seems as though it is an attack on the ego, that would be in your interpretation. It would be about feeling attacked yourself, and of course, you are not the ego anyway. The ego is just the structural organization that allows consciousness to exist in this world. You are clearing the structure so that its lines are simple, clean, aesthetic and balanced. You will still have a form for consciousness when you finish this work. It will be more balanced because you will know who you truly are-you will no longer be identified with the personality.

The system of human existence, what we like to call the separate system, or the system of duality, is a structure held in place by each person's unconscious acceptance of its rules. It is a structure that is, for the most part, hidden in our subconscious. As soon as we become aware of its existence, the rigid hold that this structure has on our lives begins to diminish.
Pain and anger don't seem so real when we see that they have love or joy as an opposite. When we realize that the system is just many frequencies that pass through us, we can take it all much less seriously, and we become much less immersed in it. The content of life, the window dressing, is what fools us all the time. We get deceived by the ever-changing scenery. We don't see that the underlying structure is just a game-the game of life, of course.

As we begin to explore how the game of life works, we become liberated from it. Being liberated does not mean that we go away and never play anymore. We play more easefully and feel freer. We are not as bombarded or as hurt by the content. It no longer seems so real. We have more fun with it when we know it is not real.

So, in this book we examine the structure of human consciousness as a way of analyzing the system in which we live. To give an analogy-if you want to learn about a large building, how would you proceed? You may take the elevator up to the tenth floor, perhaps, and look down so that you get a different view on it. You may peek into one of the rooms, and you get an idea of what is in it-gilt-edged mirrors, paintings and fine furniture. But basically what you are looking at is the surface, the content, the furnishings of the building. If you want to get to know it a lot more explicitly, the obvious solution would be to go down to City Hall and to pull out the blueprints, the plans created by the architect in the process of designing the building. If you want to make the acquaintance of it in fine detail, you need to see how it has been structured and put together. You need to locate the plumbing and electrical installations, the switch boxes, the elevator shafts and everything that is hidden when you are inside the building, getting a whole different viewpoint on the building. That is what we are doing. We are taking a new look at human consciousness by pulling out the blueprint to see how it all works. We will have a much clearer idea when we have seen it right to its core. We are not simply taken in by the gilt-edged mirrors, the fine furnishings, and the trappings of life, the superficial joys of the building.

By doing this, we begin to see that the Self permeates the whole building. The Self is throughout the building-in every atom of it, even in the air in the rooms. There is nothing it is not. However, until we have examined the blueprints and the underlying structure, we are generally not conscious of this. It is only after going to City Hall and waking up to the underlying structure that we are no longer fooled by the surface appearance. In doing so, we become conscious-we become the witness to the whole thing. Becoming the witness is the birth of awakening to our true nature as the Self.

And that is life. Most people see only the surface. But if you want to wake up, you need to see the blueprint-because when you do, you see yourself. You examine the world through your own personality. The edges of your personality are actually the edges of the world-your world-your description of the world.

So it is time for you to examine and look carefully at who you are or who you think you are in your human form. Because as you get better at it, as you progress, you will awaken to a new you-the real you-and you will surrender your old form. That does not mean you will disappear in a puff of smoke and vanish without a trace. No, there will still be a body there. If you stand in front of a mirror, you will still see a body. Other people will see a body; you will look just the same. But you are not; you are different. Inside, you see the world differently. You have a different description of who you are, because you have seen the blueprints. This gives you a tremendous advantage in dealing with your life because you have mastery of the egoic self, rather than its having mastery over you. Rather than being swept along by the roller coaster of life and being fooled by the trappings of the world, you are living from soul consciousness. You are seeing the world with clear eyes and living in truth.

In order to see our patterns of thought and behavior, we need to dis-identify with the personality-with the emotions, thoughts, and physical pains/joys that make up daily life. To this end, we can view our world from a more detached perspective, a perspective somewhat similar to the fulcrum point on a teeter-totter. As emotional triggers send the egoic self spiraling up or down a range of emotions based on ingrained patterns of response, there is a part of us, that connection to the Self, that remains a detached observer of everything that is going on. From this neutral witness's perspective, as we are increasingly able to access it, we will be able to understand why things happen the way they do in life, which is the first step toward making positive change.

How do we initially access and cultivate a relationship with the neutral witness? Paradoxically, it would seem, a natural by-product of working through the exercises in Section Two is the development of what we call the neutral witness. It is a scenario of which comes first, the exercise or the witness? In this case, you need to get into the exercises in order to practice being aware from a detached perspective. As your neutral witness develops, the exercises will take less time and yield more powerful results.

At this point, it is simply enough that you understand the concept of the neutral witness and desire to access it for your own personal growth. Say a prayer about it and ask for help. You can also use some of the suggestions in Chapter 14-Developing the Witness to encourage progress. There are some simple signs that will help you judge whether you are truly in a neutral witness state at various times in your life. On a mental level, you may acknowledge from time to time your connectedness to people and things around you. You may also experience mental understandings of truth, which could result in a newfound tolerance and love of others, or in wisdom. On an emotional level, you may experience an episode of sadness and crying, but you also maintain a sense of being okay. You descend the negative spiral, but are conscious and detached about the descent. You may also experience states such as compassion, generosity and humility, which are also indicators of the witness state. On a physical level, even in the face of stressful situations, you may feel an inner calmness and sense of overall peace, a lower heart rate and slow, deep breathing.

So, we have two sides of a pair of opposites. Right in the middle is the point of balance, the fulcrum. That is where the neutral witness is situated. (See the illustration below.) Neutrality has great power. If you can maintain a position of neutrality, you can detach from negative experiences even as they happen to you.

The neutral witness

Remember that in the beginning it is very difficult to detach. We run on automatic and get caught up in life's dramas because we cannot help ourselves. We may even see ourselves choosing to get caught up, but we cannot stop it. We just find ourselves in the same old behavior patterns of ego, which is like a loop in a computer program. That is why it is important to stick with the exercises, continuing to devote time and energy toward doing inner work-which will eventually enable us to assume the role of the neutral witness, at will, under any circumstance.

Take your time with each chapter; they are not meant to be rushed through. Each technique will help you move a lot of stuck energy, and so it is important for you to honor yourself and your body as you learn to process. It is best to pace yourself throughout this section according to your own discernment. You will get the most out of it if you spend at least a week or so on each chapter, as each technique will take some time to master and as the exercises at the end of each chapter are designed to take a few days to complete. You can turn this section into a seven-week course. Or if you prefer a more formless approach, just move through it at your own speed. Especially, it is most important to spend plenty of time digesting and practicing the technique in Chapter Nine-Polarities, as this is the foundation for the rest of the techniques.

The ultimate goal is to make the processing techniques your own. There is no right and wrong to any of this. There are some suggestions for putting theory into practice at the end of each chapter just to help you get started. Please don't let this format restrict you. The tools are offered in the spirit of service, so that anyone can freely take them, adapt them, build on them, enhance them and use them however is best. Get creative with the techniques. Make up your own style. Share them with others.

The techniques are presented in their current order because each chapter's method builds on the previous chapter's method. But when you have finished learning all of the methods, you can use them in any order you wish. Apply them to your life as you see fit, according to your own intuition and discernment.

You can use any personal blank notebook to do any of the methods. If you are serious about change, it is an excellent idea to keep a good notebook. As you continue to do the clearing work, you will be exploring your patterns of thinking and behavior more deeply. Because life cycles around, you will want to review what you did previously. You will see how we all return to cycle through the same thing again and again. The chances are that the second time you do the process, you will go a lot deeper. Keeping a good journal also helps to ground your experiences in the physical world. You bring it from the realm of ideas and formlessness into form and make it more tangible.

The Marriage of Spirit methods are not intended to be the only tool you use. It is best to supplement your processing work with other forms of spiritual practice, such as: meditation, hatha yoga, emotional release therapy, or others.

There is a story/testimonial at the end of each chapter. Each was written by a person who had profound transformational experiences with the Marriage of Spirit processing techniques. I hope their examples will deepen your understanding of the potential for processing and inspire you to continue with your processing work. It is important to remember that these examples make good stories because they are about spectacular issues. Remember that often it takes longer to get these kinds of results. The degree of change you see in your own outer world depends on how ripe for transformation you are and how dedicated you are to your own spiritual growth.

Here are some suggestions to make your processing pleasant and successful:

• Pick a suitable time with no interruptions, allowing enough time to complete at least one full exercise. Especially in the beginning it is important to give it your full concentration. Initially, you may find yourself spending a few days reading through a chapter and working on your first exercise concurrently, and this is to be expected.
  
• Choose quiet surroundings.
  
• Turn off your phone's ringer.
  
• Get a new notebook and dedicate it exclusively to processing.
  
• Get two different colored pens or a highlighter.
  
• A thesaurus and a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms are also helpful.
  
• Remember to date each processing session.

If the techniques are helpful, you may find that using them becomes a way of life. There are many people for whom this is true. Hopefully you will find that by using them, they help you master the art of life in the world of duality. Life becomes much more easeful, joyful and uplifting, as you dance with grace.

This is an excerpt from The Marriage of Spirit, by Leslie Temple-Thurston with Brad Laughlin.
ISBN# 0-9660182-0-6
Copyright © 2000 by CoreLight Publishing. All rights reserved.
Introduction to Section Two webpage developed by Christopher Cooke.