--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That all opposites—such as mass and…" description: "\"That all opposites—such as mass and energy, subject and object, life and death—are so much each other that they are perfectly inseparable, still strike..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/ken-wilber-1886_accepting_that-all-opposites-such-as-mass-and-ener_979391.jpg" --- # That all opposites—such as mass and energy, subject and… ![“That all opposites—such as mass and energy, subject and object, life and death—are so much each other that they are perfectly inseparable, still strikes most of us as hard to believe. But this is only because we accept as real the boundary line between the opposites. It is, recall, the boundaries…” quote by Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/ken-wilber-1886_accepting_that-all-opposites-such-as-mass-and-ener_979391.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/ken-wilber-1886_accepting_that-all-opposites-such-as-mass-and-ener_979391.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/ken-wilber-1886_accepting_that-all-opposites-such-as-mass-and-ener_979391.jpg) > “That all opposites—such as mass and energy, subject and object, life and death—are so much each other that they are perfectly inseparable, still strikes most of us as hard to believe. But this is only because we accept as real the boundary line between the opposites. It is, recall, the boundaries themselves which create the seeming existence of separate opposites. To put it plainly, to say that "ultimate reality is a unity of opposites" is actually to say that in ultimate reality there are no boundaries. Anywhere.” [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Opposites appear separate due to mental boundaries, but reality is a seamless unity. **In simple terms:** Boundaries create illusion of separation. Key Takeaway Transcend dualistic thinking. Themes philosophy metaphysics unity Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - conflict resolution - creative synthesis Key Concepts nonduality boundary perception Questions to Reflect On - How can we experience unity in daily life? - What practices dissolve mental boundaries? A Different Perspective Human cognition naturally categorizes, making unity hard to grasp. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Hard to believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-to-believe/) [Inseparable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inseparable/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [No boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-boundaries/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Opposites Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites-mass-1933188/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-boundaries-617484/) [Reality Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-unity-1057328/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Ultimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) [Unity Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity-opposites-909450/) ## Related quotes > [“P24- the power of school loss to divide social reality has no boundaries education becomes unworldly and the world becomes noneducational”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/p24-the-power-of-school-loss-to-divide-social-reality-has-no/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [Thinking in terms of two realms understands the paired concepts worldy-Christia n, natural-superna tural, profane-sacred, rational-revela tions, as ultimate static opposites...and fails to recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/thinking-in-terms-of-two-realms-understands-the-paired-concepts/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [When individuals are established in universal consciousness, they live the scientific reality of the unity of life spontaneously in accord with all the laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagelin/when-individuals-are-established-in-universal-consciousness-they-live/) [John Hagelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagelin/) > [In reality unity exist so long there is common agenda between peolpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiula-shagile/in-reality-unity-exist-so-long-there-is-common-agenda-between-peolpe/) [Kiula Shagile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiula-shagile/) > [“He believes in the unity of the opposites. And that is how life is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/he-believes-in-the-unity-of-the-opposites-and-that-is-how-life-is/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [THE ULTIMATE METAPHYSICAL SECRET, if we dare state it so simply, is that there are no boundaries in the universe. Boundaries are illusions, products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/the-ultimate-metaphysical-secret-if-we-dare-state-it-so-simply-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [I love great music - it has no color, it has no boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-love-great-music-it-has-no-color-it-has-no-boundaries/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [Man, there's no boundary line to art!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-parker/man-there-s-no-boundary-line-to-art/) [Charlie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-parker/) > [In a lifestyle where there are no boundaries, it becomes a challenge to find one's true self. If everything comes easily, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tami-hoag/in-a-lifestyle-where-there-are-no-boundaries-it-becomes-a-challenge/) [Tami Hoag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tami-hoag/) > [I will go wherever the truth leads me. It is secular scholarship, Rebbe; it is not the scholarship of tradition. In secular scholarship there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-will-go-wherever-the-truth-leads-me-it-is-secular-scholarship-rebbe/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I love performing on stage the most. It's getting that instant reaction from a live audience. There are no boundaries, you can take your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ellison/i-love-performing-on-stage-the-most-it-s-getting-that-instant/) [Jennifer Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ellison/) > [I love the idea of stepping out of the band situation into a solo world with no boundaries, no expectations, where nothing is out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-shaw/i-love-the-idea-of-stepping-out-of-the-band-situation-into-a-solo/) [Tommy Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-shaw/) > [There are no boundaries or borders in the digital age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karim-rashid/there-are-no-boundaries-or-borders-in-the-digital-age/) [Karim Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karim-rashid/) > [I have my team. Like if you see everyone around me - I have my hair and makeup girl, my assistant. They're very calm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergie/i-have-my-team-like-if-you-see-everyone-around-me-i-have-my-hair-and/) [Fergie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergie/) ## More by Ken Wilber > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [If Spirit has any meaning, it must be omnipresent, or all-pervading and all-encompassing. There can't be a place where Spirit is not, or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/if-spirit-has-any-meaning-it-must-be-omnipresent-or-all-pervading-and/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Evolution occurs in the world of time and space and form, whereas Spirit's primordial nature is finally timeless and Formless, prior to the of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/evolution-occurs-in-the-world-of-time-and-space-and-form-whereas/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The most striking feature of the perennial philosophy/psychology is that it presents being and consciousness as a hierarchy of dimensional levels, moving from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/the-most-striking-feature-of-the-perennial-philosophy-psychology-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Is this a topic whose time has truly come? The integration of science and religion? Or have I just written a clever book that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/is-this-a-topic-whose-time-has-truly-come-the-integration-of-science/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [In other words, the real problem is not exterior. The real problem is interior. The real problem is how to get people to internally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/in-other-words-the-real-problem-is-not-exterior-the-real-problem-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality... does not render the self content, it renders it undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-does-not-render-the-self-content-it-renders-it/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [When it comes to spiritual teachers, there are those safe, gentle, consoling, soothing, caring; and there are the outlaws, the living terrors, the Rude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/when-it-comes-to-spiritual-teachers-there-are-those-safe-gentle/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Conscious means "having an awareness of one's inner and outer worlds; mentally perceptive, awake, mindful." So "conscious business" might mean, engaging in an occupation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/conscious-means-having-an-awareness-of-one-s-inner-and-outer-worlds/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [I believe that evidence shows that there is a real spirit, a real Beach, but it is beneath no pavement whatsoever, for all pavements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/i-believe-that-evidence-shows-that-there-is-a-real-spirit-a-real/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Furthermore, it is not that Spirit is present but you need to be enlightened in order to see it. It is not that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/furthermore-it-is-not-that-spirit-is-present-but-you-need-to-be/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality is revolutionary. It does not legitimate the world, it breaks the world; it does not console the world, it shatters it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-is-revolutionary-it-does-not-legitimate-the/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [What's my philosophy? In a word, integral. And what on earth — or in heaven — do I mean by integral? The dictionary meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/what-s-my-philosophy-in-a-word-integral-and-what-on-earth-or-in/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Matter begins evolving back to Spirit and, when it's reached, the whole process begins over again for the billionth time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/matter-begins-evolving-back-to-spirit-and-when-it-s-reached-the-whole/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) [Explore all 200 Ken Wilber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That all opposites—such as mass and energy, subject and object, life and death—are so much each other that they are perfectly inseparable, still strikes most of us as hard to believe. But this is only because we accept as real the boundary line between the opposites. It is, recall, the boundaries themselves which create the seeming existence of separate opposites. To put it plainly, to say that \"ultimate reality is a unity of opposites\" is actually to say that in ultimate reality there are no boundaries. 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