Both, Neither, & Far Beyond Either
The answer to every question...
A few months ago I published ‘The Answer to Every Question.’
In that piece I introduced “both, neither, and far beyond either”—a mantra/koan received via ayahuasca that seems to me to be one of the most accurate ways to answer any dualistic, this-or-that question.
I continue to find myself applying this answer across a wide variety of situations, and I am consistently impressed by its ability to point to the multi-dimensional, always-beyond nature of reality.
I thought it would be fun to list out some intriguing this-or-that questions and to apply this universal answer to all of them. So, if you like, consider the following series of koans:
Applying “Both, Neither, & Far Beyond Either” to a Whole Bunch of Questions
Do I have free will or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Am I God or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is the Absolute prior to consciousness or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is anything actually happening, or no?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is reality change or changelessness?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is form emptiness and emptiness form, or is form form and emptiness emptiness?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is there such a thing as ‘enlightenment,’ or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are all beings already enlightened, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is the price of truth everything, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is the world real or an illusion?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is everything perfect or is everything imperfect?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is the New Earth about relaxing into what we already are and seeing the magic of ordinary life, or is it about reclaiming our True Power and rising to birth “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is everything beautiful or is everything ugly?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is everything love or is everything hate?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is everything sacred or is everything profane?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is everything miraculous or is everything mundane?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is everything magical or is everything boring?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is God omniscient or does God know nothing?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are mountains mountains and lakes lakes, or are mountains not mountains and lakes not lakes?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Neo-Advaita a complete teaching, or does Neo-Advaita tend to overlook/bypass many valid, pragmatic, important truths of what it is to be human?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Does everything matter or does nothing matter?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Earth ascending, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is she your twin flame, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Do other people exist or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is there death or is there no death?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Can we transcend suffering or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is reality meaningful or meaningless?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is reality purposeful or purposeless?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Do you have a soul or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Do you have a purpose on Earth or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Does everything happen for a reason or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Do astrology, tarot, Human Design, Gene Keys, I Ching, and so forth contain valuable wisdom, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Should you trust non-dual teachers or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Jed McKenna the real deal or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Was Osho a great sage or a narcissistic cult leader?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is reality subjective or objective?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are channeled teachings valuable or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is manifestation real or no?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is “both, neither, and far beyond either” the answer to every this-or-that question, or is it absurd mumbo-jumbo?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.” ^_^
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Is “all of the possible articulable answers, none of the possible articulable answers, and far beyond either” the answer to every open-ended question, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are there universal laws or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is the map the territory, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is the tao that can be told the eternal Tao, or no?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are all ideologies false, or no?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are all beliefs false, or no?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is hip-hop the greatest genre of music, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is kinesiology a reliable way to discern truth from falsehood, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is there any difference between true and false, or is there no difference?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Absolute Awareness the sole reality, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Can we do whatever we dream, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are we all geniuses, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Jesus, Buddha, Trump, Biden, Kanye, and Socrates devils, or are they angels?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is there a difference between good and evil, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are honor and integrity important, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are you your body-mind, or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is existence a playful dance or chaotic war?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is reality harmonious music or screeching incoherent cacophony?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Did Jeff Epstein kill himself or not?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Jordan Bates a sage or a deluded, insane, narcissistic, inflated, ungrounded, megalomaniacal, demonically-possessed, cult-leading ass-clown?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is JB just that dude who be chillin’, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is reality a mystery, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are Democrats more woefully incorrect than Republicans, or is it the other way around?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is “Coronavirus” real or a ruse?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are the Corona vaccines life-saving miracle serums or poisonous soul-stealing devilry?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are schools child-indoctrination prisons or valuable public institutions?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Do heaven and hell exist, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Sitting quietly, doing nothing, does Spring come and the grass grow by itself, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is spontaneous enlightenment a thing, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is it better to chatter about delusion and enlightenment or to gab about the Chiefs crushing the 9’ers while slamming a few cold ones with the fellas?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Was Ryokan a fool or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Buddhism amazing or overrated?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is LOSTBOYEVSKY your childhood imaginary friend on hemp leaves, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Does that which doesn’t kill me make me stronger, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are star-seeds and past lives and ghosts and ascended masters and crystal healing real, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is it funny that Leo Gura’s last name is so similar to “guru” or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Lil Dicky a hilarious medicinal genius or an offensive idiotic moron?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is there no one here or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Frank Yang correct when he says Leo Gura is not fully enlightened, or is Leo Gura correct when he says Frank Yang is not fully enlightened?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Martin Ball’s critique or Terence McKenna valid and insightful or does it reveal Martin’s own shadows/blindspots?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Peter Brown the best modern articulator of enlightenment, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is Timothy Conway’s critique of Neo-Advaita definitely worthwhile reading, or nah?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is the best cartoon of all time Dragonball Z or Dragonball Z?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Are KOOL AD, R.A.P. Ferreira, Dunzo Donalds, MF DOOM, and Offsite the greatest rappers ever, or are Kota the Friend, Mac Miller, Del the Funky Homosapien, Kendrick Lamar, and Kool Keith the greatest rappers ever?
“Both, neither, and far beyond either.”
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Is it all Love?
Yes. ^_^
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Bear Hugs,
JB
JB is both, neither, and far beyond either. Join us in the Ouroboros Soul Family and JB’s Treehouse communities on Telegram to connect more deeply—all are welcome.
For me it is the: "on a certain level" the ultimate answer.
Off course it does work for all the problems too... on a certain level :D
keep it comeing bro!