In recent times there has been a misconception about what the sanskrit term "Advaita" refers to.

Advaita has been wrongly translated, mostly by westerners, as meaning "Oneness", when really it refers to "Not-Two", meaning that the Relative existence and the Ultimate or Absolute existence are in fact not two separate entities.Oneness coexists with separateness/differentiation. This is explained well in the excerpt form the Buddhist 'Heart Sutra' which states "Form IS Emptiness, Emptiness IS Form".

You cannot have one without the other.

To quote Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in "the Dawn of Tantra':"There is appearance and there is also shunyata (emptiness), but shunyata is not somewhere else, it is in the appearance". There isn't only Oneness just as there isn't only separation/differentiation. Both exist simultaneously. A paradox.

Our minds are trained to "know" or grasp one thing, such as only separation/differentiated material existence (which is probably where most of us started out with the understanding of at the beginning of our explorations and questionings of all this, knowing that there 'must be something else') or only Oneness or the Absolute/Emptiness.

Many first hear about these teachings from well meaning 'gurus' who will shun material existence, saying it is all a dream, it doesn't exist, or read about it in a book. This seems a great way to avoid feeling/emotion. So the mind, with an already existing program of denial or suppression of emotions (avoiding painful emotions more so) easily buys this, more seemingly 'evolved' or 'spiritual' tactic of avoidance or denial. And we call it "Oneness" , avoiding acknowledgment and/or responsibility for the material, differentiated, separate existence or Shakti.

It is a swinging of the pendulum, this preference of 'Oneness' over 'Separation/Differentiation', until we realize both co-exist. On the personal level, we are different, have different needs, boundaries, beliefs and we are One in Consciousness.

All is Consciousness, including emotions and all forms.

With the right understanding, all emotion is felt and accepted, not shunned by the mind through using thoughts such as "this is not real...", "this is an illusion...".

In true freedom , all is welcome and met in Consciousness, as Consciousness.

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