There are many people teaching non-dualism as a practice that can be reached without any sort of path. To me, that seems ridiculous. There are some people who suddenly experience it, but it is a spontaneous awakening and not planned our even sought in these surprising cases. It just happens with some people for reasons beyond our comprehension.
I’ve spoken often about the Non-Dual state of mind that occurs after some Deep Jhana meditation sessions. I’ve also written here about how in 2007 a Non-Dual state of mind began sharing my consciousness with my ego-filled state. After 18 years of this, it seems to be permanent. Here is some more information about that if you’re curious: Vern’s state. I’ve also shared as many characteristics as I’m aware of for the Non-Dual state here. Full Non-Duality Index >
What is Non-Dualism?
Non-dualism is the understanding—or direct experience—that reality is not made up of two separate things. In its deepest sense, it means there is no subject-object split, no division between the observer and the observed, no self and other, no God and man, no mind and body. Just one seamless, indivisible reality.
But it’s not a belief system. It’s not an idea or a philosophy you mentally adopt like a religion. To attempt to feel it this way is nothing like the true state. Instead, it is something you experience when all the filters of ego and dualistic thinking drop away.
There is no dichotomy possible in the state. I share what the state is like as a mental experience here.
What Does the State Feel Like?
It can’t be stressed enough that just thinking about looking at the world in a non-dual state does not approximate the state in any way. The state is a second-order change away from our normal reality and so cannot be duplicated in normal consciousness.
There’s no “you” to feel it through the senses as you would normally (outside of the state).
There’s not a “you” having the experience—it’s just raw experiencing, without a sense of separation. Some descriptions:
- No center – There’s no reference point of “I am here watching that.” It’s just THIS, happening. There is open awareness but it is not running through the filter of our mind, the filter of past experience, the filter of the me/i/ego/self.
- Effortless presence – Everything feels immediate, obvious, and fine. There is nothing to fix. Nothing that causes pain or anxiety. There is no past or future, only the moment.
- Boundless awareness – You might still see, hear, walk, talk, but there’s a complete loss of the “self” watching it all happen.
- Intimacy with everything – No boundary between “you” and “other.”
- Thoughts are absent – No thoughts pop up or intrude in the state.
People call it all sorts of different things: pure awareness, the Self (capital S), the Tao, Buddha-nature, Brahman, God, Consciousness—it depends on the tradition. But the core is the same: non-separation.
How Hard is it to Reach a Non-Dual State of Mind?
That depends. For most people? Incredibly hard. For some people? Instant.
Some stumble into it during a mushroom trip, a car accident, a walk in the woods, or a deep meditation retreat. Others spend decades trying, only to realize they were chasing what was always here.
The thing is, you can’t “do” anything to get it, because the one trying to get it is what has to fall away. That’s the paradox.
But, this is what most teachers are confused by. There certainly IS A PATH. Most people who have experienced either a temporary or some sort of shared permanent state with the ego-filled self have followed a clear path to reach the non-dual state.
However, for the state to COME – there can be no striving for it, there can be no ‘getting it’ or doing anything to ‘attain it’ or ‘make it happen.’
It happens in a vacuum where there is no you trying to attain it.
This is the same way it happens for everyone.
Who Can Reach It?
Literally anyone. There’s no spiritual resume needed. No belief system. No religion. Some teachers say kids spontaneously dip into it. You don’t even need to be “good.” I agree with this. There is no specific morality you need to follow in order to have the state visit. However, going through Deep Jhana certainly purifies you in a sense. You have only compassion for other people and animals and wish them no harm.
But a stable glimpse often takes a lot of mental effort resulting in ego deconstruction, and honest inner work—unless you’re one of the lucky ones who just wake up.
Why Reach It? What’s the Point of Non-Dualism?
- Freedom from suffering – No “you” to suffer = no more suffering.
- Radical clarity – Reality is just as it is. The mind doesn’t render reality different than what it just is.
- Truth – People who wake up often say it’s the only thing that felt true, like all else they’ve ever experienced was like a dream.
There are many benefits to experiencing either a temporary or semi-permanent Non-Dual State. For some, it becomes an instant reset of the ego-self and allows the person to act less emotionally in situations that are normally charged with emotion.
Is It Temporary or Permanent?
It can be both.
- Some people get a glimpse—a non-dual experience that lasts seconds, minutes, days, even months—and then the ego rebuilds.
- Though finding someone truly in this state has proven impossible so far, some insist they are permanently in a Non-Dual State. For them, it becomes the default. There’s no falling out because there’s no one left to fall.
- Some have a shared state of consciousness in which the Non-Dual State and Self State share it and co-exist.
Who Claims to Be in Non-Dual Awareness Continually?
Ancient & Traditional
- Ramana Maharshi – One of the most famous modern Indian saints. Taught self-inquiry as a direct path to realization.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj – Author of I Am That. Hardcore non-duality from Bombay.
- Shankara – Indian philosopher who formalized Advaita Vedanta in the 8th century.
- The Buddha – While he never used the word “non-duality,” his teachings of anatta (no-self), emptiness, and dependent origination point right at it.
Modern
- Adyashanti – American teacher who talks a lot about the shift from ego to no-self to unity.
- Rupert Spira – British non-dual teacher from the Advaita school. Teaches about awareness.
- Mooji – Jamaican spiritual teacher with a large global following.
- Douglas Harding – Created the “headless way,” a direct approach to realizing non-dual perception.
- Tony Parsons – Radically uncompromising teacher. No practice. No path. Just “this.”
Vern’s Take
I have yet to see anyone in a permanent Non-Dual State, yet people claim it all the time. Thing is, a person cannot live in a true Non-Dual State without the self/ego/i/me. There must be a self that is interested in doing all the things the person does on a daily basis. Nobody without a self and in a Non-Dual State is making YouTube videos, writing books, teaching classes, going on vacation, addressing groups of people, etc.
In the Non-Dual State, there IS NO DRIVE POSSIBLE TO DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS. It comes from the ego.
What Are Some People’s Direct Experiences?
- Eckhart Tolle – Had a complete mental breakdown one night and woke up with no ego. Wrote The Power of Now and became a spiritual rockstar.
- Suzuki Roshi (Zen) – Said enlightenment is like “you and the universe becoming one,” but also that “nothing special happens.”
- Michael A. Singer – In The Untethered Soul, he describes being absorbed into pure awareness.
- Jill Bolte Taylor – A brain scientist who had a stroke and lost her left-brain ego temporarily. Wrote My Stroke of Insight.
What Religions Talk About Non-Dual Experience?
Hinduism – Especially Advaita Vedanta. Clear statements like “You are That” (Tat Tvam Asi).
Buddhism – Especially Mahayana (Zen, Dzogchen, Mahamudra). Sunyata (emptiness) and anatta (no-self) are core.
Taoism – The Tao is non-dual. The one that can be named is not the eternal Tao.
Christianity (Mystical) – Meister Eckhart, St. John of the Cross, and other Christian mystics describe merging with God beyond separation.
Sufism (Islamic mysticism) – Rumi, Hafiz, and others talk about losing the self in union with the Beloved.
Judaism (Kabbalah) – The Ein Sof is the infinite without end. Deep mystical tradition with non-dual overtones.
Is It in the Visuddhimagga?
No, not directly. The Visuddhimagga is more about step-by-step purification and jhana practice leading to insight. It leans heavy into the Theravāda Abhidhamma framework, which tends to be dualistic in approach.
However, non-self (anatta) is a major theme, and realization of anatta is often what opens people to non-dual glimpses. So it’s kind of a doorway, even if it doesn’t use that language.
Is It in the Pali Canon?
Yes—but it’s subtle.
- Bahiya Sutta – “In the seen, there is only the seen…” That’s non-dual awareness described directly.
- Anatta-lakkhana Sutta – Stripping down the idea of self until nothing is left.
- Dependent Origination – Points to the illusion of a separate self.
- Some could argue that the Deep Jhanas can sometimes lean into Non-Dual space, especially the formless ones (5-8) but including Fourth Jhana.
Is Non-Dualism in the Bible?
Not overtly. But you can read certain passages as non-dual if you’re tuned to it.
- “I and the Father are one.” – Jesus (John 10:30)
- “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” – Luke 17:21
- Christian mystics often went beyond the Bible into deep contemplative experiences that feel very non-dual.
In Mormonism?
Not really. Mormonism is highly dualistic—God and man are separate beings. There’s an eternal progression toward godhood, but not a collapse of duality. Mystical experiences might occur, but the theology doesn’t support non-duality as a goal or realization.
In Catholicism?
Sort of, but only in mystical subcultures. The official doctrine holds a clear separation between Creator and created. But people like Meister Eckhart, St. Teresa of Ávila, and St. John of the Cross had mystical experiences that suggest a sort of non-dual unity with God.
Methods to Reach It
- Self-Inquiry – “Who am I?” from Ramana Maharshi.
- Meditation – Especially silent, open awareness (Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Zen shikantaza).
- Pointing-Out Instructions – Used in Dzogchen and some neo-Advaita teachings.
- Letting go – Some say awakening happens when you surrender completely.
- Psychedelics – Ayahuasca, psilocybin, DMT, etc., can drop you into a non-dual state, but not necessarily in a stable or integrated way.
- Deep Jhana practice – Deep concentration states can lead to ego dissolution. It can be temporary post-Jhana and eventually turn semi-permanent, as in always available but not always turned on.
The path can be difficult, nebulous, and seemingly impossible if you are consciously trying to make a non-dual state happen. The drive to know truth must be more important than comfort, more important than identity, more important than spiritual trophies.
Last Word
Non-duality is not a philosophy. It’s not a technique. It’s not something you can capture in a book or teaching.
It’s the raw experience of reality before you divide it into “me” and “the world.” It is direct experience that is not run through the filter of the mind. It is without meaning in the state, it is without emotion, without love or any other emotion or realization except the world looked at through Non-Duality – that actual STATE of it, is a feeling that everything is as it is. There’s no naming of things seen. There is no activation of the mind other than the senses being able to work on their own, purely from a biological standpoint, but the conditioned mind has no influence in any of it.
It’s not exotic—it’s what’s here when the illusion of a separate self disappears. It’s not magical, but it’s the end of all seeking.
People say you cannot pursue it. There is no path to it. There is no practice that can bring you to it. All of this is completely wrong. You can follow a path that leads you to it. Nearly everyone who has experienced a Non-Dual State has followed a very clear path to it.
However, the actual arrival of a Non-Dual State of experience is not initiated by the self/ego/me/i.
It simply comes on it’s own schedule.
For More on Non-Duality – see the Non-Duality Index >