Let me ask you something.

Right now, are you sitting or standing?

Easy, right? One or the other.

Are you reading or listening?

Again - simple answer.

Now here’s where it gets interesting:

Are you your body or your mind?

Are you the wave or the ocean?

Are you separate from reality or ARE you reality?

Did you just pause?

That pause is the doorway.

You’ve been thinking in OR your whole life.

And it’s why nothing quite makes sense.

Why you feel fragmented.

Why you’re searching for something you can’t name.

Why the answers never feel complete.

The problem isn’t you.

The problem is the operating system you’re running.

You’re thinking in OR.

When reality operates in AND.

Let me show you what I mean.”

Most people don’t realize they’re thinking in OR.

It’s invisible. Like the water a fish swims in.

Let me show you how pervasive this is.

Think about your day today.

How many times did you ask yourself:

* Should I do this OR that?

* Is this right OR wrong?

* Am I happy OR sad?

* Should I speak up OR stay quiet?

* Is this person good OR bad?

* Am I thinking OR feeling?

* Should I be practical OR follow my passion?

* Is this my fault OR theirs?

Every. Single. One.

OR question.

Forcing you to split reality in half.

Choose one side.

Reject the other.

This is OR thinking.

And it’s not just you.

Our entire culture trains this:

School: ‘Is the answer A, B, C, or D?’ One right. Others are wrong.

Politics: ‘Are you left or right?’ Pick a side. The other side is the enemy.

Religion: ‘Believer or non-believer?’ Saved or damned.

Social media: ‘Like or don’t like?’ Binary reaction.

Relationships: ‘With me or against me?’ No middle ground.

Career: ‘Successful or failure?’ No nuance allowed.

Your mind learns: ‘Reality is binary.’ ‘Choose one.’ ‘Reject the other.’

But here’s the problem...

Reality isn’t binary.

Reality is paradoxical.

Reality is BOTH.

Always.

And when you split what’s whole...

You fragment your consciousness.

And fragmented consciousness...

Experiences fragmented reality.”

Let me show you what OR thinking costs you.

Every day.

Scenario 1: Internal Conflict

You want adventure. You want security.

OR thinking says: ‘Choose one.’

Choose adventure → constant anxiety about money Choose security → soul slowly dies

Both feel wrong.

Because you rejected half of what’s true.

You WANT both. You NEED both.

But OR won’t let you have both.

So you’re stuck.

Scenario 2: Incomplete Understanding

You meet someone. They do something that hurts you.

OR thinking asks: ‘Are they good or bad?’

Label them bad → lose the relationship, miss that they were hurting Label them good → tolerate harm, deny your experience

Neither captures reality.

They are a complete human being. With good AND harmful capacity. Like you. Like everyone.

But OR forces a false binary.

Scenario 3: The Endless Search

You read spiritual teaching: ‘You are consciousness’ You look at your body: ‘But I’m physical’

OR thinking concludes: ‘Which is true?’

Either body is illusion (feels wrong, body clearly exists) Or consciousness is just brain (feels wrong, awareness seems bigger)

Can’t find peace.

Because you’re rejecting half the truth.

Body AND consciousness. Both are real. Not separate.

But OR can’t hold that.

So you keep searching.

The pattern:

OR thinking creates:

* Internal conflict (fighting yourself)

* Incomplete understanding (missing data)

* Endless seeking (rejecting wholeness)

* Fragmented experience (reality feels broken)

Not because reality IS fragmented.

But because YOU’RE fragmenting it.

With OR questions.

You weren’t born thinking this way.

Watch a child:

‘I’m happy AND sad’ (yes, both) ‘I love you AND I’m angry’ (both true) ‘It’s a toy AND it’s a friend’ (imaginative AND) ‘I’m a person AND I’m a dinosaur’ (playful AND)

Children naturally think in AND.

Then we train it out:

‘Stop crying, you’re fine’ → Your feelings OR reality (choose one)

‘Be realistic’ → Dreams OR practical (can’t have both)

‘That’s just pretend’ → Real OR imaginary (separate them)

‘Choose: art or science’ → Creative OR analytical (pick one)

AND consciousness → OR consciousness

Wholeness → Fragmentation

But deeper than culture...

There’s evolution:

OR thinking is survival thinking.

Tiger or not tiger? (Quick decision, life or death) Food or poison? (Binary, no nuance) Friend or enemy? (Survival mode)

OR thinking evolved for physical survival.

It’s FAST. It’s CLEAR. It works for immediate threats.

But...

Modern life isn’t constant physical survival.

Most of what you’re dealing with:

* Relationships

* Meaning

* Purpose

* Identity

* Complex decisions

* Spiritual questions

These require AND thinking.

But you’re still running OR software.

Trying to understand complex reality... With survival-mode binary thinking.

It’s like trying to run modern software on DOS.

It doesn’t work.

You need an upgrade.

From OR to AND.

And that’s what we’re doing.”

Let’s do something right now.

I’m going to give you a statement.

Notice your immediate reaction.

Ready?

‘You are your body.’

What happened in your mind?

Did you think:

Yes, obviously’ (agreement) or ‘No, I’m more than my body’ (disagreement)

OR thinking did that.

Forced you to choose: agree OR disagree.

Now try this:

‘You are your body AND you are more than your body.’

Notice the difference?

The either/or tension... releases.

Both are true.

Your body is real. You are physical. That’s true.

AND:

You have awareness. Consciousness. That experiences the body. Also true.

Not one OR the other.

Both.

Simultaneously.

This is AND thinking.

Let’s try another:

Statement: ‘You should follow your passion.’

OR response: ‘Yes, passion is everything!’ or ‘No, be practical!’

AND response: ‘I can honor my passion AND be practical about expressing it.’

See the shift?

OR = pressure to choose AND = space to integrate

One more:

Statement: ‘Change is necessary.’

OR response: ‘Yes, I must change everything!’ or ‘No, I should accept what is!’

AND response: ‘I can accept what is AND work to evolve it.’

Every time you shift from OR to AND:

* Pressure releases

* Options expand

* Conflict dissolves

* Wholeness emerges

This is the upgrade.

This is moving from fragmented to whole.

Not by changing what’s true.

But by HOLDING what’s true.

All of it.

Together.”

Here’s your assignment.

For the next 24 hours:

Step 1: Notice OR thinking

Every time you think:

* This OR that?

* Should I do X OR Y?

* Is this right OR wrong?

* Am I feeling X OR Y?

Just notice. Don’t judge. Just see: ‘Oh, I’m thinking in OR.’

You’ll be shocked how constant it is.

Step 2: Ask the AND question

When you catch OR thinking:

Stop.

Ask: ‘What if it’s AND?’

Example:

OR: ‘Should I go to the gym OR rest?’

STOP.

AND: ‘What if my body needs BOTH movement AND rest? What would that look like?’

The answer might be: ‘Gentle walk instead of intense workout.’

Example:

OR: ‘Is my coworker helpful OR annoying?’

STOP.

AND: ‘They’re helpful in some ways AND their communication style triggers me. Both true. How do I work with both?’

Example:

OR: ‘Should I save money OR enjoy life?’

STOP.

AND: ‘I can save for the future AND enjoy the present. What does that balance look like?’

Step 3: Journal one discovery

At the end of 24 hours:

Write down ONE moment where AND thinking changed your experience.

Just one.

What was the OR question? What became possible with AND? How did you feel different?

That’s it.

Three steps:

* Notice OR

* Ask AND

* Journal one shift

24 hours.

Do this before the next episode.

Because Episode 2 builds on what you discover here.

You need to FEEL the difference.

Not just understand it intellectually.

Go experience it.”

Here’s what’s happening:

You’ve been thinking in OR.

Splitting reality.

Forcing false choices.

Creating internal conflict.

Living in fragmentation.

Not because you’re broken.

But because you’re running outdated software.

This series is the upgrade.

Six episodes.

Six gates.

Each opens one door.

Episode 1 (current): You’re thinking in OR

Episode 2: Why OR fails for complex truth

Episode 3: How OR creates the problems you’re stuck in

Episode 4: Physical AND Metaphorical (reality is one thing)

Episode 5: You AND Universe (no separation)

Episode 6: Living in AND (practical integration)

By the end:

You’ll have moved from OR to AND.

From fragmented to whole.

From searching externally to recognizing internally.

But here’s the thing:

You can’t skip steps.

You can’t just ‘get’ Episode 6 without 1-5.

Each gate must be walked through.

Each recognition must be earned through experience.

That’s why I gave you homework.

The 24-hour experiment.

Do it.

Come back changed.

Then we continue.

Next episode:

‘Why OR Thinking Feels True (But Isn’t)’

Where we’ll explore why your brain defaults to binary...

And why reality doesn’t care about your brain’s preferences.

See you there.

But only after you’ve done the work.

Notice OR.

Ask AND.

Journal the shift.

Go.

One more thing.

That question I asked at the beginning:

‘Are you the wave or the ocean?’

You don’t have to answer yet.

But by Episode 6...

You’ll know.

Not because I told you.

But because you remembered.

See you in 24 hours.

After you’ve noticed OR.

After you’ve practiced AND.

After you’ve felt the difference.

Then we go deeper.

Until then...

Be whole.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit consciousmythos.substack.com