在井邊 At the Well

Written in 2023 by James Mahu

中文翻譯校稿：AI+Dadael

在井邊 At the Well

有一天，在他們第一次在橋上見面的三個星期後，那個女人和那個男人又有了交集。缺水影響了整個山谷，而有一口井，又深又真，仍在不間斷地提供水。來自該地區各地的人們都會前往這口井。有些人步行，有些人坐馬車。

One day, about three weeks after their first meeting on the bridge, the woman and the man crossed paths again. A water shortage was affecting the entire valley, and there was one well, deep and true, that was still providing water without interruption. People from all over the region would make the journey to this well. Some by foot and some by horse-drawn cart.

這口井被廣泛地稱為 "頂石井"。當這個年輕人背著他的空水壺終於到達井邊時，已是深夜。在漸漸暗淡的光線中，他看到了與他談過的那個女人，她說那些更大的概念周圍沒有牆壁，因為它們不是由人類發明的。

The well was widely known as the capstone well. It was late in the evening when the young man finally reached it, carrying his empty water jug. In the dwindling light he saw the woman he had spoken with about the larger concepts that had no walls around them because they were not invented by humanness.

他走到她面前，無視那口井。"是你嗎？" 他的聲音聽起來很驚訝，甚至對他來說。

He walked up to her, ignoring the well. “Is it you?” His voice sounded surprised, even to him.

"必須有人是我，"她淺淺地笑著說。

“Someone has to be me,” she said with a thin smile.

"你還記得嗎？我們大約三周前在高橋上碰過面。"

“Do you remember? We met on the high bridge about three weeks ago.”

她點了點頭。

She nodded.

"你是來找水的嗎......我......我沒看到你拿著壺？" 他問道。

“Are you here for water...I...I don’t see you carrying a jug?” He asked.

"我想我是來找你的。"

“I guess I’m here for you.”

"我打算去拿點水，我把我的東西和你分享。"

“I was going to get some water, I’ll share what I have with you.”

她再次點了點頭，但這一次，有點聳肩。"我的胳膊受傷了，我不能把水拉上來，它太重了。"

Again, she nodded, but this time, with a little shrug. “I have an injured arm and Ican’t pull the water up, it’s too heavy.”

年輕人躍躍欲試，彷彿一個開關被拋開了。當他走到井邊，把井桶拉上來時，他意識到它實際上有多重。他把水壺裝到最上面，只灑了幾滴，然後回到女人身邊。在他走過他那滿滿的水壺時，他一直在想他要問她什麼問題。

The young man jumped to action, as if a switch had been thrown. When he got tothe well, pulling the well bucket up, he realized how heavy it actually was. He filled his water jug to the very top, spilling only a few drops, and then returned to the woman. The whole time he walked his full water jug, jostling his balance, he thought about what question he would ask her.

他一定要讓她喝第一口水，把水壺遞給她，然後才意識到水壺對她來說太重了。"來，讓我為你拿著它，"他提議。

He made sure to give her the first sip of water, handing her the jug, before realizing it was too heavy for her. “Here, let me hold it for you,” he offered.

女人緊緊地捧住她的手，他往她的手裡倒了一些水，她立刻喝了下去，接著是一聲長嘆。

The woman cupped her hands tightly and he poured some water into her cup of flesh, which she instantly drank, followed by a long sigh.

"謝謝你。我幾乎忘了我有多渴了。" "這是我的榮幸，"他說。

“Thank you. I had almost forgotten how thirsty I was.” “It’s an honor,” he said.

那個女人只站在幾英尺外，但在黑暗中，她的臉模糊不清。然而，他記得，在那個夜晚，她的聲音，成為她的全部特徵。太陽已經下山，但天空中仍有藍紫色和淡橙色的餘輝。

The woman was standing only a few feet away, but in the darkness, her face was vague and indistinct. Her voice, however, he remembered, and on that night, it became her full identity. The sun had already set, but there remained an afterglow in the sky of blue-violet and pale orange.

那人坐下來，拿起酒壺喝了一口。當他喝完後，他向婦女提供了更多的酒，婦女再次握住了她的手。

The man sat down and took a swig from the jug. When he finished he offered more to the women who again cupped her hands.

"我可以問你一個問題嗎？"

“May I ask you a question?”

她喝完了水，用親切的目光看著他。"當然可以。"

She finished her drink of water, and looked at him with kind eyes. “Of course.”

"在這一生中，你最感興趣的三件事是什麼？"

“What in this life are the three most interesting things to you?”

她想了一會兒，思索著這個問題，在她心裡想知道她是否真的知道答案。"我想如果我把範圍縮小到一件事，那就是在時空中有無限多的生命形式，然而沒有一個人有我對實相的確切看法。實相中的每一個點都是不同的。我們就像一個不斷擴大的點的球體，數量無限，而我們是不同的，每一個。然而，當我們想像我們的集體核心--過去的人類世代，過去的任何物種，過去的任何星球，過去的任何宇宙......如果我們真的回到我們產生的源頭。如果我們去到那裡，去到我們實相的核心，我們就會找到我們的源頭，在那裡我們是一體的。"

She thought about it for a while, pondering the question, wondering inside her if sheactually knew the answer. “I guess if I were to narrow it to one thing, it would be that there are an infinite number of life forms in spacetime, and yet not one of them has my exact view into reality. Every single point of reality is different. We’re like an expanding sphere of points, infinite in number, and we are different, every single one. And yet, when we imagine our collective core — past human generations, past any species, past any planet, past any universe...if we really go back to the origins from which we spring. If we go there, to our very core of reality, we find our source, and there we are one.”

她低頭看了一會兒她的手，然後把它們放在她的腿上。"對我來說，這是最有趣的事情。這種明白是如何以某種方式設法從我們的理解中溜走的，這是我最感興趣的另一件事。然後下一個......嗯，我想，是我們如何記住這個，並通過時空維持它。"

She looked down at her hands for a moment, and then set them in her lap. “That is the most interesting thing to me. How that realization has somehow managed to squirm away from our comprehension, that is the next most interesting thing to me. And then the next...well, I suppose, it’s how do we remember this and sustain it through spacetime.”

她把目光投向那個男人，就像兩個光球，在黃昏的天空中閃閃發光。

"為什麼這些是你最感興趣的東西？"他問。

She set her eyes on the man like two orbs of light, glowing in a twilight sky. “Why are these the most interesting things to you?” he asked.

"它們對你來說不是嗎？"她以一種驚愕的方式回答。

“Are they not to you?” she answered in a startled way.

他搖了搖頭。"不是的。"

He shook his head. “Not really.”

"那為什麼呢？"

“And why?”

"我們都是不同的。我明白，"那人回答。

"但一體(the oneness)部分。我沒有看到。自從我們上次談話後，我一直在不停地思考這個問題。想像我們的一體性。想像下一件事的背後是什麼，我看不到它。我感覺不到它。它似乎是......一個黑暗房間裡的蒸汽。"

“We’re all different. I get that,” the man replied. “But the oneness part. I don’t see it. Since we spoke last, I’ve been thinking about this nonstop. Imagining our oneness. Imagining what’s behind the next thing and I can’t see it. I can’t feel it. It seems like it’s...a vapor in a dark room.”

那個女人笑了。"嗯。"

The woman smiled. “Hmm.”

"嗯？"

“Well?”

"嗯，一體(the oneness)更難看到。你必須引導它進入你的生命，因為它通過 我們和我們的想像力活著。我們用來想像相互連結的東西，已經被訓練成想像分離，而不是相互連結。"

“Well, the oneness is harder to see. You have to guide it into your life, because itlives through us, and our imagination, the thing we use to imagine interconnectedness, has been trained to imagine separation, not interconnection.”

"那麼，我如何轉變那個......那個被訓練過的視角？"

“Then how do I shift that...that trained perspective?”

"你把你生命的全體部分都看作是相互連結的表現。"

“You see all parts of your life as an expression of interconnectedness.”

"所有部分？"

“All parts?”

"你已經做了。每個人都是這樣。每個人都知道他們與全體的生命是相互連結的。只是在不斷針對我們的分離宣傳的洪流中，這一點太難堅持了。我們在孩提時代就被訓練過，讓我們放下這種感覺，知道我們是相互連結的。而一旦我們放開它，要找到它並再次抓住它，可能是一個艱難的旅程。"

“You already do. Everyone does. Everyone knows that they are interconnected to all life. It’s just too hard to hold onto amid the torrent of separation propaganda that is aimed at us constantly. We are trained to let go of that as children — the feeling and knowingness that we are interconnected. And once we let go of it, it can be a difficult journey to find it and to hold it again.”

這個人部分地瞭解了，但有件事讓他很糾結。"但是，個體、群體和全體意識的部分，就是群體，那就是我們生活的方式--在群體中，"他感慨地說。"我們有家庭、工作團隊、我們的城市、州、政治、社區活動、宗教集會，我們有全部這些東西，它們為我們提供了連結的感覺。為什麼我們需要更多？"

The man understood partly, but something nagged at him. “But the part of the one, many and all consciousness that is the many, well, that is how we live — in groups,” he said with emotion. “We have families, work teams, our city, state, politics, community events, religious gatherings, we have all of these things and they provide us with our sense of connection. Why do we need more?”

"如果我們沒有把它作為我們在時空二元性中的基礎實相，我們就不會(註：需要更多)。因為我們生活在那個世界上，當我們有一個基本的相互連結的時候，我們就會有一個基本的分離，從這兩個東西，全體其他的二元性都會產生。群體是Sovereign和Integral之間的橋梁。在每個二元性中都有一座橋。訣竅是跨過那座橋，不要糾纏於掛在兩邊的分離之鏡。"

“We wouldn’t if we didn’t have it as our base reality in spacetime duality. Because we live in that world, the moment we have a fundamental interconnection, we will have a fundamental separation, and from those two things, all other dualities arise. The Many is the bridge between the sovereign and the integral. In every duality there is a bridge. The trick is to cross that bridge and not dwell upon the mirror of separation that hangs on either side.”

"你說我們都知道我們與全體的生命是相互連結的......怎麼會呢？"他問，臉上寫著疑惑。

“You said we all know that we are interconnected to all life...how?” he asked, with doubt written on his face.

"如果有什麼東西被排除在外，全體就不可能是相互連結的。"女人回答說

"沒有全體，一體就不可能存在。這很明顯，不是嗎？"

“If anything is excluded,” the woman answered, “the All cannot be interconnected. Oneness cannot exist without all. This is obvious, is it not?”

他可以看到她的頭在黑暗中晃動，但他知道這是個反問句。

He could see her head bobbing in the darkness, but he knew it was a rhetorical question.

"我們活在一個能量的海洋中，"她繼續說。"那能量都是一個無限的東西。它在分離中生活和運動，因為分離與"一體"和"全體"相連。在 "個體"、"群體"和 "全體"的意識中，"群體"是分離點，但它也是整合點，因此它是一座橋，但橋的每一邊都是一個獨立的實相。一邊是單一的生命，一個個體的實相；另一邊是全體(allness)的相互連結的實相。在這兩者之間，我們有群體中的Sovereign。它是意識的一部分，是我們人類世界中分離的設計師，然而它也是個體和全體之間的橋梁。"

“We live in a sea of energy,” she continued. “That energy is all one infinite thing. It lives and moves in separation, because separation is connected to the One and All. Within the one, many and all consciousness, the many is the point of separation, but it is also the point of integration, thus it is a bridge, but each side of that bridge is a reality unto itself. There is a single lifetime, an individual reality on one side; and there is an interconnected reality of allness on the other. And in between we have the sovereign within groups. It is the part of consciousness that is the architect of separation in our human world, yet it is also the bridge between the One and the All.”

"它究竟是怎樣的一座橋？"他問。

“How exactly is it a bridge?” he asked.

她清了清嗓子。"有一個關於一個女人的故事，她是一個藝術家 — 一個表演藝術家。她決定瞭解一幅畫在博物館裡被觀察時的感覺會很有趣。她安排把自己放在博物館的環境中，用帶子和鈎子掛在牆上。

She cleared her throat. “There is a story of a woman who was an artist — a performance artist. And she decided it would be interesting to know what a painting would feel like when it was being observed in a museum. She arranged to place herself in a museum setting and be hung on the wall with straps and hooks.

"有一個小柱子，她可以站在上面，離地面大約4英尺。她被綁在上面，因為柱子本身很窄。在各個方面，她都被當作是牆上的一幅畫，她甚至有自己的標語牌，描述她是什麼，她是用什麼材料製成的，她的頭銜......"

“There was a small post she could stand on, it was about 4 feet from the floor. She was strapped in, because the post itself was quite narrow. In every way she was treated as if she was a painting on the wall, she even had her own placard that described what she was, what material she was made out of, her title...”

"標語牌上寫的是什麼？"他問。

“What did the placard say?” he asked.

"靈魂上的皮膚，65英吋×21英吋，碳......是這樣的，但我想說的是，她提供自己成為兩個世界的橋梁：觀察者和被觀察者。在這種情況下，一幅畫和一個人類觀察者。"

“Skin over Soul, 65” x 21”, Carbon...it was something like that, but the point I’m making is that she offered herself to become a bridge between two worlds: The observer and the observed. In this case, a painting and a human observer.”

"那她的結論是什麼？"

“And what were her conclusions?”

"在幾分鐘內，人們在評判她，觸摸她，撓她的腳，用物體戳她的腿，罵她，總之，這對她來說是一個悲慘的經歷。然而，她的教訓是，她不是牆上的一幅畫，她是一面鏡子。一幅畫，如果畫得好，會把你帶入一個以前沒有見過的新世界。鏡子只是反映了已經存在的世界。"

“Within minutes, people were judging her, touching her, tickling her feet, poking her legs with objects, cursing at her, and in general, it was a miserable experience for her. Her lesson, however, was that she wasn’t a painting on the wall, she was a mirror. A painting, if done well, draws you into a new world that hasn’t been seen before. A mirror simply reflects the world that already is.”

那人在空中舉起了手。"這個故事如何回答我關於意識的一部分的問題，你稱之為群體，以及群體是個體和全體之間的橋梁？"

The man raised his hand in the air. “How does this story answer my question about the part of consciousness that you call the many, and how the many is a bridge between the one and all?”

"意識是我們的核心。人性是我們的表面。意識是個體，是Sovereign。它也是"群體"，在一個物種的群體中的Sovereign。它是全體的，它是每個時空裡的每個事物和每個人。個體、群體和全體的意識包括分離和其中的一切。Sovereign Integral是個體和全體，但當它活在人類實相中，在時空二元性中，Sovereign Integral變成了群體。它既沒有成為一個Sovereign，也沒有成為一個Integral，相反，它變成了人類、豪豬、鯨魚、橡樹或蜜蜂。它成為這些物質的化身。

“Consciousness is our core. Humanness is our surface. Consciousness is one, the sovereign. It is also the many, which is the sovereign in groups within a species. And it is the all, which is everything and everyone in every spacetime. The one, many and all consciousness includes separation and everything therein. The Sovereign Integral is the one and the all, but when it lives in a human reality, within spacetime duality, the Sovereign Integral becomes the many. It becomes neither a sovereign or an integral, rather, it becomes a human or a porcupine or a whale or an oak tree or a honey bee. It becomes these material embodiments.

"當它這樣做時，它就失去了對Sovereign Integral的記憶，它從實相的核心靜靜地看著。它觀察到分離的實相。它找到了進入其Sovereign自性的人類實相的方法，而那個人類的部分就可以成為Sovereign和Integral世界之間的橋梁。

“When it does this, it loses its memory of the Sovereign Integral, which quietly watches from the very core of reality. It observes the reality of separation. It finds ways to reach into the human reality of its sovereign self and that human part can then become a bridge between the worlds of the sovereign and the integral.

"在某種程度上，是群體 -- 群體中的Sovereign -- 引入了個體和全體，並允許他們在Sovereign中成為相互連結的。這麼一來，人類就會認同Sovereign Integral，他們的行為就會自然而然地與”相互連結”保持一致。他們不會拒絕分離，好像它是一個較小的實相，相反，他們把分離看作是創造和源頭之間的橋梁。"

“In a way, it is the many — the sovereign within groups — that introduces the one and the all and allows them to become interconnected within the sovereign. When this is done, the human identifies as a Sovereign Integral and their behavior is naturally aligned to interconnectedness. They do not reject separation as if it were a lesser reality, instead, they see separation as the bridge between creation and the source.”

那人舉起了手。"如果變成畫的女人實際上是一面鏡子，這個故事與橋梁有什麼關係？"

The man raised his hand. “If the woman who became a painting was actually a mirror, how does that story relate to a bridge?”

"鏡子代表現在。這是它能投射的唯一形象。鏡子沒有想像力。它沒有對未來的感覺。它對未來沒有任何投入。另一方面，繪畫，可以做任何事情。它沒有限制。它可以描繪出我們的想像力。

“The mirror represents the present. It is the only image it can cast. A mirror has no imagination. It has no sense of the future. It has no investment in the future whatsoever. The painting, on the other hand, can do anything. It has no limits. It can depict our imagination.

"橋梁也是如此，它們是我們從鏡子中釋放出來的想像力。"

“So it is with bridges, they are our imaginations let loose from the mirror.”

女人停頓了一會兒，然後雙手捧著，示意她想喝更多的水。男人為沒有提供水而道歉。他小心翼翼地從水壺裡倒水，然後自己喝了一口。

The woman paused for a while and then cupped her hands, signaling her desire for more water. The man apologized for not offering it. He carefully poured from the water jug, and then took a sip himself.

"能量是意識，是個體、群體和全體的意識，我們都是其中的一部分。然而，我們被允許成為Sovereign。擁有我們自己的實相，駕馭我們創造的東西。"

“Energy is consciousness, the one, many and all consciousness, of which we are all a part. Yet, we are permitted to be sovereign. To have our own reality, to navigate what we create.”

"我想這是有道理的...... "那人承認。"只是把一些邪惡的、糟糕的、醜陋的或不公正的東西，用想像力的魔杖揮舞在上面，突然把它看作是一個相互連結的Integral的一部分，這感覺不太對。" 他聳了聳肩，表示不相信。

“I suppose it makes sense...” the man admitted. “It just doesn’t feel right to take something evil or bad or ugly or unjust, and wave a magic wand of imagination over it, and suddenly see it as part of a whole that is all interconnected.” He shrugged his shoulders in a form of disbelief.

"為什麼？"

“Why?”

"因為如果我把邪惡看作是整體的一部分，那麼我就接受了邪惡是可以的。邪惡是可以辯解的。而這不就只是利用我們的實相，為邪惡提供更多的空間嗎？"

“Because if I see evil as part of a whole, then I am accepting that evil is okay. It is defensible to be evil. And wouldn’t that only avail our reality to make more room for evil?”

"我們在這裡是為了體驗一個無限的表達舞台，然後我們被賦予自由意志，在那個世界裡創造。一旦那個世界看到相互連結，而不是分離，就可以在這兩種基本力量之間創造出更精細的平衡。"

“We are here to experience an infinite stage of expression, and we are then given free will to create within that world. Once that world sees interconnection instead of separation, a finer balance can be created between these two, fundamental forces.”

她停頓了一會兒。"你是對的，那些被貼上壞或邪惡標籤的東西是全體事物的一部分，但那個全體事物已經浸泡在時空二元性的混亂和泥濘的水中，它採用了分離，因為倖存比相互連結更直接、更有力。"

She paused for a moment. “You’re right, the things that are labeled bad or evil are part of the all, but that all has been dipped in the confused and muddy waters of spacetime duality, and it has adopted separation because survival looms with more immediacy and power than interconnectedness.”

"那麼，你是說，我們越是在道德上指責、排斥邪惡，邪惡就越是強大？"

“So, you’re saying that the more we point the moral finger and ostracize evil, the stronger evil becomes?”

"是的，這是我的觀點。邪惡源於分離。人類越是認識到它與生命的相互連結，那麼邪惡就會退到一個平衡點，在那裡它不那麼強大和極端。它將變得像一個被狠狠咬了一口的煩人的東西，但它的刺痛只在片刻之間，所以很容易繼續前進和寬恕。

“Yes, that is my perspective. Evil stems from separation. The more humanity perceives its interconnectedness with life, then the more evil will recede into an equilibrium where it is not as strong and extreme. It will become like an annoyance that bites hard, but whose sting is felt for only a matter of moments, so it is easy to move on and forgive.

"這對你來說不符合邏輯嗎？"

“Is this not logical to you?”

"是的......但仍然存在著愛或善的問題。如果邪惡被帶入一個更緊密的平衡內，那麼愛和善不也會減少，因為正如你所說的，它們具有同等的代表性？"

“It is...but there remains the issue of love or goodness. If evil is brought within a tighter equilibrium, then would not love and goodness also be reduced, because as you said, they are equally represented?”

"但你又來了，你已經把相互連結看作是善，而把分離看作是惡。而我是說，那些把這兩樣東西分開的牆，就像元素一樣相互連結和分離，它們必須被拆掉。兩者是一體的，把它們分開就是混淆我們自己，從而生活在混亂之中。

“But there you go again, you have seen interconnection as good, and separation as evil. And I am saying that those walls that separate those two things, as elemental as interconnectedness and separation are, well, they must be torn down. The two are one, and to separate them is to confuse ourselves, and thus live in confusion.

"然而，在時空二元性中，連在一起的相互連結和分離，可以被看作是一種交通工具，而所有的時空體現，則是該交通工具的集體駕駛員。在平衡狀態下，司機可以引導車輛走向相互連結。在不和諧的情況下，司機可以引導車輛走向分離。

“However, the conjoined interconnectedness and separation, in spacetime duality, can be looked upon as a vehicle and all spacetime manifestation, as the collective driver of that vehicle. In equilibrium, the driver can steer the vehicle towards interconnection. In disharmony, the driver can steer the vehicle towards separation.

"我們可以這樣想像，"她繼續說。"在我們的核心，我們是一種東西；在我們的表面，我們是另一種東西。我們是生活在一個身體裡的兩種生物。我們的核心是意識，我們的表面是人性--由我們的身體、腦力、心、自我和潛意識為代表。我們的意識部分與為所有一切提供動力的能量場相連結。我們的人性部分則與分離的文化相連結。

“We could imagine it this way,” she continued. “At our core, we are one thing; at our surface, we are another. We are two creatures who live in one body. We are consciousness at our core, and we are humanness at our surface — represented by our body, mind, heart, ego, and subconscious. The consciousness part of us is connected to the energy of the field that powers everything. The humanness part of us is connected to the culture of separation."

這些構成了基本的二元性，所有其他的二元性都是由它產生的。這個基本的二元性是我們的實相。它已經融入我們的實相，我們甚至看不到它。生活在一個身體裡的兩個生物需要成為夥伴。他們需要找到一個新的對齊方式，一個新的相互連結的北極星。他們需要看到，分離的文化讓他們無法想像自己作為「個體、群體和全體意識」的一部分所具有的力量。

“These comprise the fundamental duality, out of which all other dualities arise. This fundamental duality is our reality. It is so baked into our reality that we do not even see it. The two creatures that live in one body need to become partners. They need to find a new alignment, a new North Star of interconnectedness. They need to see that the culture of separation has left them diminished in imagining their power as a part of the one, many and all consciousness.

"而這種削弱讓他們變得依賴、挑惕、焦慮和掙扎，而與此同時，他們還有這個其他生物 -- 意識 – 本可以拯救他們。

“And this diminishment has left them dependent and judgmental and anxious and struggling, and all the while they had this other creature — consciousness — that could have saved them.

"那本可以拯救他們... "那可以拯救他們...”

"That would have saved them... "That can save them...

"那將會拯救他們...”

"That will save them...

"那已經拯救了他們。"

"That has saved them."

那個人望著遠方，陷入了沈思。突然，他彷彿醒了過來。"它能以何種方式拯救他們？意識怎麼能拯救任何東西？它又不是物質。"

The man looked far away, lost in his thoughts. And then suddenly it was as if he woke up. “In what way would it have saved them? How can consciousness save anything? It isn’t material.”

"意識是那個合一場的一部分，"她回答。"合一場是集體能量的力量生活和運動的地方，也是它的實相所在。而它的實相包含了這個實相--人類的實相，人類的實相是以時空的片刻為中心。"

“Consciousness is part of that field of unity,” she replied. “Unity is where the power of collective energy lives and moves and has its reality. And its reality encompasses this reality — the human reality, which is centered in a moment of spacetime.”

"你的意思是......包含？"他問道。

“How do you mean...encompasses?” he asked.

"意識的實相，作為合一的場域，是力量居住的地方。你可以把這種力量帶入人類的實相，以促進對相互連結的理解，或者你也可以用這種力量來促進對分離的理解。一個是擴展到Sovereign Integral；另一個是以個人為中心--在人類中的個人，在那裡分離是強大的和被弘揚的。

“The reality of consciousness, as the field of unity, is where the power lives. You can bring this power into human reality to advance the understanding of interconnectedness, or you can use this power to advance the understanding of separation. One expands to the Sovereign Integral; and the other centers upon the one — the individual in humanness where separation is strong and promoted.

"他們表面上是一種二元的關係，但核心卻是合一的。這就像呼吸。有一種節奏，它不需要思想、意志、技術或努力。吸氣與呼氣的功能不同，在完全不同的方向運動，但它們的目的相同，都是讓我們活著。沒有這兩者，我們就會滅亡。「個體、群體和全體意識」籠罩著呼吸的行為。它籠罩著全體的事物，因為這就是它的本質。它不是一個創造或贏得的選擇，它是一個實相。"

“They have a relationship of duality at their surface but unity at their core. It is like breathing. There is a rhythm and it does not require thought, will, technique or effort. The inbreath has a different function than the outbreath, moving in entirely different directions, yet they share the same purpose, to keep us alive. Without both, we perish. The one, many and all consciousness envelopes the act of breathing. It envelopes all things because that is what it is. It isn’t a choice created or earned, it is a reality.”

"那麼你是說，我們活在多重實相當中，只有一個是真實的？"那人問。

“Then you’re saying that we’re living in multiple realities and only one is real?” the man asked.

"是的。" 她嘆了口氣，坐在環繞著水井的乳白色石灰石塊上。"當你有一種關係時，它創造了一種紐帶。隨著時間的推移，這種紐帶的性質是，兩人之間的區別變得不那麼重要，共同的時間和經驗是共同感知的輸入，這就創造了紐帶。「個體、群體和全體意識」的實相是人類實相的紐帶。它們在時空中的關係，是那種相互連結和分離的基本二元性的結果。

“Yes.” She sighed and sat on the cream-colored limestone blocks that encircled the well. “When you have a relationship it creates a bond. The quality of that bond, over time, is that the distinctions between the two become less important, and the shared time and experience are the inputs to a shared perception, which creates the bond. The reality of the one, many and all consciousness is what human reality is bonded to. They have a relationship in spacetime as a result of that fundamental duality of interconnectedness and separation.

"每個物種都有它自己與它的實相和合一的實相的關係。這在DNA中是固有的。當我們成為一個物種的一部分時，我們學習如何生存，並從這種學習中成為一個獨立的個體。在我們來說，我們是一個人類的個體。分離的個體只有一種關係：二元性。

“Each species has its own relationship with its reality and the reality of unity. This is inherent in DNA. As we become part of a species, we learn how to survive, and from this learning we become a separate entity. In our case, an individual of humanness. An individual of separation with one relationship: duality.

"我們每個人都通過時空二元性，學習如何在二元性的力量中作為一個Sovereign Integral來生活。在這一旅程中的某個時刻，我們渴望推進相互連結的核心實相，而不是分離的表面實相。這成為一個有意識的選擇。當做出這個選擇時，我們可以把我們的心和腦力結合起來，把它們融合在這個目的中。當這樣做的時候，我們所創造的化身就會推進相互連結性。他們成為合一的代表。"

“We each learn, through spacetime duality, how to live our lives as a Sovereign Integral among the forces of duality. And at some point within that journey we desire to advance the core reality of interconnectedness over the surface reality of separation. It becomes a conscious choice. And when this choice is made, we can bring our heart and mind together, fusing them in that purpose. And when this is done, the embodiments that we create advance interconnectedness. They become exponents of unity.”

那人嘲笑了一下，轉向那女人。"你真的認為人們想要理解這種......這種抽象的東西嗎？你所分享的東西在我們的日常生活中其實並不重要？也許就像你說的那樣，核心和表面是一回事，但表面才是每個人生命中最重要的，否則那些艱難而緊迫的事情......它們只會越來越艱難。"

The man scoffed a bit and turned to the woman. “Do you really think that people want to understand such...such abstract things? The things you share don’t really matter in our day-to-day life? Maybe the core and the surface are one thing, as you say, but the surface is what matters in everyone’s life, otherwise the things that are hard and pressing...they only get harder.”

"這是我們的日常生活，"那女人回答。"我們只是沒有被教導如何認知到我們的核心和表面實相的合一，然後在我們的生活中實現這種合一。如果我們這樣做了，表面的實相就會反映出我們核心的實相，而在我們的那個核心裡，是那最重要的東西，在那裡，我們既是一個Sovereign也是一個Integral。"

“It is our day-to-day life,” the woman answered. “We just haven’t been taught how to recognize our core and surface realities in unity, and then live this unity in our lives. If we did this, the reality at the surface would reflect the reality within our core, and in that core of us, is the thing that matters, where we are both a sovereign and an integral at once.”

"但我們的老師，甚至整個社會，總是告訴我們，我們是罪人，如果不是罪人，那麼我們內心深處就是動物，僅此而已。你在重新定義我們的核心。那你有什麼證據？你如何證明我們的核心不是我們所被教導的？"

“But our teachers, even entire societies, have always told us that we are sinners, and if not sinners, then we are animals deep inside, and nothing more. You’re redefining our core. And what proof do you have? How do you prove that our core is not what we have been taught?”

"那核心是活在一個生物內的意識。但這不是一個我們曾經看到、聽到、理解、意識到或記住的生物。因此，我們不知道這個生物是什麼--"

“The core is a consciousness that lives within a creature. But this is not a creature that we have ever seen, heard, understood, realized or remembered. And thus, we do not know what this creature is–”

"等一下，"那人打斷道。"為什麼你一直稱它為生物？當你用這個詞來描述它時，讓它聽起來很危險。"

“Hold on a moment,” the man interrupted. “Why do you keep calling it a creature? It makes our core sound dangerous when you use that word to describe it.”

"生物只是我使用的一個詞，因為它暗示著不分類的東西。有時我把我們的這個核心，稱為一種東西，然而，這個名詞並不意味著一個有生命的智能，不是嗎？而我們核心的那個東西，嗯，它既是非常有活力的，又是有智慧的。它只是沒有我們表面實相中的哪怕一個粒子。它就像一個Sovereign身份，生活在一個全體性和合一性的世界裡，而當它進入時空二元性時，它自願放棄這個記憶，而選擇表面的實相。

“Creature is just a word I use because it implies something uncategorical. Sometimes I just call this core of ourselves, a thing, however, that noun doesn’t imply a living intelligence, does it? And that thing at our core, well, it’s both very much alive and intelligent. It just doesn't have even one particle of our surface reality within it. It is, um, it’s like a sovereign identity that lives in a world of allness and unity, and when it enters spacetime duality, it willingly forgoes this memory, in favor of the reality at the surface.

"生物 "也是一個好詞彙，因為它意味著自由的、甚至是不可預測的東西，因為它是自由的。一個野生的生物不同於一個豢養的生物。表面世界試圖馴化我們的核心。要使它與我們的人性相一致。居住在核心的Sovereign和我們自己Integral的部分是野生動物，因為它們的意志來自不同的實相，而這個實相是相互連結的。

“Creature is also a good word, because it implies something that is free and even unpredictable, because it is free. A wild creature is different from a domestic creature. The surface world seeks to domesticate our core. To make it fall in line with our humanness. The sovereign and the integral parts of ourselves, that dwell at the core, are wild creatures, because their will stems from a different reality, and that reality is interconnected."

在某種程度上，它是一種動物，但「個體、群體和全體意識」不是你能看到的身體，原因很簡單，怎麼會有人看到全體的Integral？你必須在它之外，而一旦你在它之外，那麼你就不是全體性的一部分。你已經創造了一個新的世界，而現在你住在那裡。"

“In a way, it is an animal, but the one, many and all consciousness is not a body that you can see, for the simple reason, how can anyone see the whole of all? You would have to be outside of it, and once you are outside of it, then you are not part of allness. You have created a new world, and now you live there.”

"我還是不喜歡「生物」這個詞。"

“I still don’t like the word creature.”

"那就建議一個更好的詞。"

“So suggest a better word.”

"你說，Sovereign和Integral，個體和全體，構成了我們的核心。"

“You said that the sovereign and the integral, the one and the all, constitute ourcore.”

她點了點頭。

She nodded.

"那為什麼不稱這個核心為，Sovereign Integral？"

“Then why not call this core, the Sovereign Integral?”

"這是個口誤...... "她從嘴角說了出來。

“It’s a mouthful...” she remarked out of the corner of her lips.

"那麼，把它簡稱為SI，"他建議。

“So, shorten it to SI,” he suggested.

"我會同意你的建議，如果它對你有幫助的話。"

“I will agree to your proposal, if it helps you.”

"我認為它是。它給我的印象是，我們剛剛從詩歌走向了哲學。我其實沒有詩人的眼光。"

“I think it does. It gives me the impression that we just went from poetry tophilosophy. I don’t really have a poet’s eye.”

"SI吧。"她鬆了口氣，接著繼續說道。"SI......在我們的一生中，我們從未經歷過這種意識。這就像我們從一生都活在裡面的山洞深處走出來，然後，一瞬間，我們發現自己飛到雲層之上。你沒有從那個實相到另一個實相的單一視覺線索。

“SI it is,” she relented, and in the next breath continued. “The SI...we have neverexperienced that consciousness in our entire life. It would be like walking from the depths of a cave that we have lived in all of our life, and then, in an instant, we found ourselves flying above the clouds. You would have not a single visual thread from that reality to the other.

"人類和SI的經驗之間的差異是如此的巨大。SI是它自己的物種。通靈、星光旅行、藥物引起的幻覺、清明夢；這些都發生在人類創造的另一種實相中。這些實相是每個物種所特有的，這讓你知道這些實相的維度到底有多巨大。然而，SI有它自己的一套實相，而這些實相與任何時空二元性的人類結構沒有任何共同的線索。

“The difference between the human and the SI experience is far greater. SI is its own species. The psychic arts, astral traveling, the drug-induced hallucination, the lucid dream; those are all happening in alternative human-created realities. These realities are specific to each species, which gives you some idea of how vast these dimensions of reality really are. Yet, the SI has its own set of realities, and those realities share no threads with the human fabric of any spacetime duality."

我正在努力表達的是，當我們體現在時空二元性裡時，我們不知道自己是什麼。也正因為如此，我們無法表現出我們是什麼。而當我們處於心與腦力之間的平衡點時，我們所有人都明白這一點。這就是我們對他人的慈悲。我們明白，相互連結和分離的二元性是我們想玩的遊戲，而你玩這個遊戲的唯一方法是，你分離。你從一個細胞分離成兩個，從四個到十六個，一直一直下去......

“What I am struggling to express is that we don't know what we are when we are embodied in spacetime duality. And because of this we cannot behave as we are. And all of us understand this when we are in that place of equipoise between the heart and mind. This is the compassion we feel for one another. We understand that the duality of interconnectedness and separation is the game we want to play, and the only way you play that game is if you separate. You divide from one cell to two, from four to sixteen, and on and on...

"在群體裡面--社會團體和附屬--我們有著分離，這滋生了衝突，這創造了需要學習的課程和需要理解的意義。每一個進入這個維度的生命都明白生命的這個基本方面。每一個人開始時都有一塊新的石板，一個充滿活力的核心，加上不斷增長的稠密度和要讓公民遵守而發展的基本程序。

“Within the many — the social groups and affiliations — we have separation, which breeds conflict which creates lessons to learn and meanings to understand. Every single being who comes into this dimension understands this fundamental aspect of life. Every one begins with a fresh slate, a vibrant core coupled to a growing sense of density and an underlying program developed for citizen compliance.

"然而，正是所有這些東西使人們能夠學習和理解分離。最終分離如何被利用，使人類在與分離的平衡中，表達其相互連結的感覺。它不是要來消滅分離。它的出現是為了分享、合作和管理分離的奇思妙想。這是在時空二元性中的合作，這正是將發生的事情，但沒有人知道如何或何時發生。"

“However, it is all of those things that enable the learning and understanding of separation. Of how separation can ultimately be put to a use whereby humanity expresses their sense of interconnectedness in a balance with separation. It is not coming to vanquish separation. It is emerging to share and partner and steward the whims of separation. It is a collaboration within spacetime duality, and this is precisely what will happen, yet no one knows how or when.”

女人停頓了一下，示意年輕人再給她點水，他提供了水。

The woman paused and motioned the young man for more water, which he provided.

在她喝完後，她點頭表示感謝。"生活在這些海拔高度，"她說，"......需要幾年時間來適應稀薄的空氣，但你確實適應了。然而，當你話說很多的時候，你還是會沙啞的。它是如此乾燥。你永遠不會完全適應這個。"

After she finished her drink, she nodded her gratitude. “Living in these altitudes,” she said, “...it takes years to adjust to the thin air, but you do adjust. However, when you talk a lot you still get hoarse. It’s so dry. You never quite adjust to that.”

那人點頭表示理解，然後臉上掠過一絲疑惑的神情。"如果SI是一個獨立的物種，它在時空二元性中的實相與我們人類的實相不同，是不是就沒有交集？"

The man nodded his understanding, then a puzzled look crossed his face. “If the SI is a separate species, and its realities within spacetime duality are different from our human realities, is there no intersection?”

她點了點頭。"這是個好問題。總是有重疊的實相。物種的實相之間存在交集的點。必須有，否則就不會有將全體事物連結在一起的整體性。"

She nodded. “That is a fine question. Yes, there are always overlapping realities. Points where an intersection exists between realities of species. There has to be, or there would be no wholeness holding all things together.”

"那是什麼？"那人急切地問。

“And what is it?” the man asked eagerly.

"嗯...... "她喃喃道。"如果我能指給你看，你也看不到它，所以收起你的希望吧。" 她閉上眼睛，轉身像石頭一樣動也不動。"實相中的每個點的交匯都是不同的。它不是一個東西。它是一個無限的東西。最接近的交匯點總是“感覺”，以及對相互連結的想像。然而，我們必須同時意識到，我們的想像力正在駕馭我們的感覺和思想，所以它可以成為這些交叉點的探照燈。

“Hmm...” she murmured. “If I could point to it, you would not see it, so put away your hope.” She closed her eyes and turned as still as a stone. “The place of intersection is different for every point of reality. It is not one thing. It is an infinite thing. The closest intersection is always the feeling, and the imaginative envisioning of interconnectedness. However, we must at the same time, realize that our imagination is harnessing our feelings and thoughts, so it can become a searchlight for these intersections.

"我們收集SI的碎片，並在我們的世界中重建它們。然後我們指向我們所創造的這個重建，認為我們的SI形象是每個人也應該看到的，也應該相信的，也應該崇拜和讚美的。但這些碎片拼湊在一起，並不能顯現出整體事物。" 她突然向外張開雙臂。"那整體永遠無法進入這些時空二元的世界，就像你無法進入變形蟲的家一樣。"

“We gather pieces of the SI and reconstruct them in our world. Then we point to this reconstruction that we have created, thinking our image of the SI is what everyone should also see, should also believe, should also worship and adulate. But these pieces cannot be put together and show the whole thing.” She suddenly spread her arms outward. “The whole thing will never enter these worlds of spacetime duality, anymore than you can enter the home of an amoeba.”

她停頓了一下，睜開眼睛。"你明白嗎？"

She paused and opened her eyes. “Do you understand?”

"也許有點......至少比我以前做的要多。"

“Perhaps a little...more than I did before, at least.”

他嘆了口氣。"每個物種都有自己的實相--甚至他們自己的夢境、星光界和心智的世界？這些其他維度都是不同的，在宇宙中無處不在？怎麼可能有任何腦力......掌握這個範圍？" 他開始難以置信地慢慢搖頭。

He sighed. “Every species has its own realities — even their own dreamworld andastral and mind worlds? These other dimensions are all different, everywhere in the universe? How could any mind...grasp the scope of this?” He began to slowly shake his head in disbelief.

"它不能，這就是我的觀點。"

“It cannot, and that is my point.”

"所以甚至不要嘗試？這就是答案嗎？"

“So don’t even try? Is that the answer?”

"如果我們總是在追逐SI的影子和短暫的交叉點，我們就會像彈球一樣在我們的實相中跳來跳去。然而，我們卻有幸以最高的能力去想象它、體驗它。這樣，我們就能從我們的核心中汲取 SI，並在我們的表面將它表達出來，我想言語是最簡單的表達方式"。"

“If we are always chasing the SI’s shadows and ephemeral points of intersection, wewill be bouncing around our realities like a pinball. Yet, we are privileged to imagine it and experience it to our highest capacity. In doing this, we can draw the SI from our core and express it at our surface, and I suppose words are the easiest way to express it.”

"所以言語就成了證明...... "那人說，彷彿一團火已經熄滅。

“So words become the proof...” the man said, as if a fire had died out.

"言語有力量。它們將我們與場域連接起來。從我們的核心產生的言語，不同於我們在表面上發現的言語，那些是群體的言語。言語引導我們走向擴張，或者引導我們走向個體的人性和分離性。但它們都是指引，這一點無庸置疑。"

“Words have power. They connect us to the field. Words that arise from our core are different from the words we find at our surface. Those are words of the many. Words guide us to expansion or they guide us to individual humanness and separation. But they are guides, make no mistake about it.”

"你的話感覺不像是來自核心。"

“Your words don’t feel like they come from the core.”

"為什麼？"

“Why?”

"核心是一切的發源地，從那裡擴散開來--------。最終，到達一個顯現的表面。核心是一個單一的點。所以表面更大，而核心是......微小。你的話語並不覺得小。它們感覺比我在市場、工作場所或餐桌上聽到或讀到的話語更有力量。"

“The core is the place where everything originates, and from there it spreads out —ultimately, to a manifested surface. The core is a single point. So the surface is larger and the core is...tiny. Your words don’t feel small. They feel larger than the words I hear or read in the marketplace or workplace or my dinner table.”

"但是你看，核心是把你和全體相互連接一起的東西。它並不微小。它就是全體。"

“But you see, the core is the thing that interconnects you, to the all. It is not tiny. It is the All.”

"那麼......證據是什麼？"他問。

“Then...what is the proof?” he asked.

"每個人都想要證明，"她大聲喊道，舉起手來，"好像證據就應該給他們！"！它應該是顯而易見的。每當我看著鏡子，它就應該在鏡子裡。它應該在我生命中的每一個轉折點等著向我呈現。它不是這樣的，它也不是應我們的要求這樣做的。那個東西，那個生物，那個不可知的全體性，那個Sovereign Integral，它希望在一個與它分離的世界中被隱藏和未知。而因為我們是源頭，所以我們是一致同意結盟。"

“Everyone wants proof,” she exclaimed loudly, throwing up her hands, “as if it should just be given to them! It should be obvious. It should be in the mirror whenever I look. It should be waiting to present itself to me at every turn of my life. It does not work this way, and it does not work this way at our request. That thing, that creature, that unknowable allness, that Sovereign Integral, it desired to be hidden and unknown in a world that is separate from it. And because we are source, we are aligned in agreement.”

"但沒有證據......我們只是信徒，"他說，搖了搖頭。"而信徒們總是在他們的信仰中迷失，總是在尋求下一個證明，證明宇宙或任何人想稱呼的那個生物......那個SI，正在聽他們的祈禱。如果有一個精靈，我們稱它為上帝，我們不請求它實現我們的願望就是白痴了。對嗎？"

“But without proof...we are simply believers,” he said, shaking his head. “And believers have always been lost in their faith, always seeking the next validation that the universe or whatever anyone wants to call that creature...that SI, is listening to their prayers. If there was a genie, and we called it God, we would be idiots not to ask it to give us our wishes. Right?”

"是的，在某種程度上，你是對的。"她的回答令他吃驚。"但精靈就是我之前說的合一場，而這個場域可以通過我們的核心進入。當我們融合我們的心和腦力，把這種相互連結帶到我們實相的表面時，我們的核心就可以進入，我們的人性就活在那裡。而這個過程，在時空二元性中，成為我們的證明。我們創造的化身不僅是我們的證明，也是我們都是其中的一部分的整個合一場的證明。"

“Yes, in a way, you’re right,” she answered to his surprise. “But the genie is the field of unity I spoke of earlier, and that field is accessible through our core. And our core is accessible when we fuse our heart and mind to bring this interconnectedness to the surface of our reality, where our humanness lives. And this process, in spacetime duality, becomes our proof. The embodiments we create are not only our proof, but proof to the entire field of unity of which we are all a part.”

那人看著遠方，深邃的目光，彷彿在尋找新的地平線。"我們為什麼要費力地從我們的核心實相中挖掘出這些文字？這以前不是已經做過無數次了嗎？為什麼我們要分享這些言行，甚至是我們的思想和感受？為什麼？"

The man looked away, deepening his eyes as if they sought a new horizon. “Why do we bother to mine the words from our core reality? Hasn’t this been done before, like a million times? Why do we share these words or actions or even our thoughts and feelings? Why?”

那個女人對他的驚嘆笑了笑。"一百年後、一千年後、在一萬年後。你不認為會有人類以任何形式挖掘這些表達，並呈現在他們時空的媒體上嗎？你看，媒介在變化，因此信息也在變化。我們的意識在演變，因此信息也在演變。這對合一和分離都是如此。只要存在著時空二元性，就會有這種媒介和信息的演變。

The woman smiled at his wonderment. “In a hundred years. In a thousand years. In ten thousand years. Do you not think that there will be humans mining these expressions in whatever form they take, and presenting them on the media of their spacetime? You see, the medium changes, and therefore the message changes. Our consciousness evolves and therefore the message evolves. This is as true for unity as it is for separation. As long as there is spacetime duality, there will be this evolution of medium and message.

"總是會有藝術家、詩人、作家、科學家、哲學家和智能尚未到來。這是不可避免的。而那些選擇分離的人，正是那些選擇相互聯繫的人回歸的原因。而那些選擇相互聯繫的人，也成為那些選擇分離的人回歸的原因。這是二元性的兩個基本要素之間的大型舞蹈，以及它們如何通過物種來表達自己。"

“There will always be artists, poets, writers, scientists, philosophers, and intelligences yet to come. This is inevitable. And those who choose separation, they become the reason that those who choose interconnectedness return. And those who choose interconnectedness, they become the reason that those who choose separation return. It is all a very large dance between these two fundamental elements of duality, and how they express themselves through a species.”

"這感覺太基本了，"那人說。"我的意思是......你所說的對我的一部分來說是有意義的。而另一部分，也許是更大的一部分，對我揮舞著手指說："不要被這種抽象的東西吸引。它不會把你引向任何你需要去的地方。"

“It feels so fundamental,” the man said. “I mean...what you say makes sense to a part of me. And another part, perhaps the larger, wags its finger at me and says: Do not be drawn into this abstraction. It leads nowhere that you need to be.”

"那就聽它的吧，"她說。

“Then listen to it,” she said.

"你的意思是走開？"

“You mean walk away?”

"是的。"

“Yes.”

"但我的一部分仍然渴望著。它仍然想瞭解這一切。如果能知道到底發生了什麼，為什麼，以及這一切與我有什麼關係，那將是一種莫大的解脫。這不是很有意義嗎？"

“But a part of me still hungers. It still wants to understand it all. It would be a big relief just to know what is really happening and why, and how it all pertains to me. Doesn’t that make sense?”

在昏暗的燈光下，他的眼睛閃爍著期待的光芒。

He looked with expectant eyes that glistened in the dim light.

"原來這些石頭和我想像的一樣硬。" 她笑了笑。女人指著遠處隱約可見的一棟朦朧的建築。"我們去那棵松樹下坐坐吧，享受松針鋪成的柔軟地毯。我會嘗試在那裡回答你的問題。"

“It turns out that these stones are as hard as I thought they would be.” She smiled. The woman pointed to a hazy structure that loomed in the distance. “Let’s go sit under that pine tree and enjoy its soft carpet of pine needles. I’ll attempt to answer your question there.”