Dierkes on authentic spirituality

Balder started an IPS thread on Dierkes' piece at Beams & Struts. My comments so far. See the IPS thread for ongoing discussion.

Two of Dierkes' points with which I agree:

"What if Gafni and Cohen aren’t in fact arguing over the exact same territory? What if their respective spiritual practices are each picking up on a distinct dimension or stream? What if they are in fact correctly interpreting the differing experiences they are having—since they are arising from different practices?"


"In a post-metaphysical framework, what we meditate on, how we practice, and how we understand what we experience all determine what actually comes to be.  These forms of awakening are being co-developed in and through the communities of practice and interpretation. They are each forging their own streams."

Where I disagree with this urge to integrate Gafni and Cohen with some third perspective that sublates the two, which is based on a dualistic (and kennilingual) form of Hegelian nondualism. We've also discussed that ad nauseum on this forum with an alternative, Madhyamaka-flavored postmeta interpretation. Granted Dierkes' pluralisitic point can be taken that there are other postmeta flavors, but all flavors are not postmeta. We must still maintain some qualitative criteria lest we come off as relative MGM! Balder's work with homeomorphic equivalence and polydoxy is another postmeta flavor to handle this.

I also disagree with an Absolute distinct from a Relative, and that nondual means their "integration" (again the dual nondualism). And that we directly access this absolute via meditation. Granted we are experiencing something (or no thing) when we do this, but this has been discussed ad nauseum in the states thread and contextualized more postmetaphysically, imo.

Some previous IPS threads for reference:

Evolution as metaphysics and spiritual violence
Authentic Enlightenment
This thread on states is also relevant, since it is often a particular state of consciousness these folks associate with authentic enlightenment.
Integral Postmetaphysical Nonduality
What "is" the differance?
Polydoxy