What is
Non-Duality?
Alan Watts about his world view.
The philosophy of Alan Watts – his world view – is essentially non-dual, just like that of Buddhists, Taoists and many Hindus. There are many ways to explain what non-duality is. Here are 7 different ways to describe the same thing.
#1 What is Non-Duality? "A philosophy"
Non-Duality is a philosophy about the nature of consciousness and life at large.
The central idea is that our brains created a "me"-lens (an ego) through which it observes the world and itself. This distorted perception of reality is considered the root cause of pretty much any problem, from lack of purpose to indecisiveness to fears and anxiety.
The solution? Seeing the lens, dissolving it ('ego awakening') and thereby surrendering to intuition, even when it's uncomfortable.
#2 What is Non-Duality? "Not two"
Non-duality comes from the Sanskrit word Advaita, meaning 'not-two'. The reason it's called not-two and not 'one', is because 'one' is still a conceptual idea of what is non-conceptual.
Time, space and the whole universe are considered a dream of Consciousness. You, me and everyone else are just this Consciousness experiencing itself from different angles.
So, we are one, but at the same time we are also 'none', as all of it is an illusion that's most interesting when both perspectives are experienced at the same time.
#3 What is Non-Duality? "Now, mindfulness, God"
Eckhart Tolle's teachings of living in the now and presence are non-duality.
Thích Nhất Hạnh's original teaching of Mindfulness is non-duality.
A Course in Miracles is non-duality.
Buddhism, most sects of Hinduism, Taoism and even Yoga philosophy are non-duality.
Even the teachings of Jesus can be interpreted as non-duality.
#4 What is Non-Duality? "Surrender"
Many people will often say that they'd choose their intuition over thought when making important decisions.
While we can choose whether or not to follow our intuition, we can't choose the direction of our intuitive feeling. It just comes to us.
Now, suppose you'd follow your intuition 100% of the time, who would you be? Non-dual philosophy implies that this is the way to be yourself. Giving up the control of your mental self – the Ego – for the intuitive self.
#5 What is Non-Duality? "Feedback loop"
Hold a microphone in front of a speaker and soon you'll hear a loud noise. Not because there was a loud noise, but because in this setup sound gets amplified in an endless loop.
The core idea of non-duality is that the thinker we experience as 'me' came into existence in a similar process.
Due to too much conceptual thinking of the brain, it eventually conceptualized itself and then made this conceptual me the creator of thoughts, while it's the other way around.
#6 What is Non-Duality? "Universe experiencing itself"
When you watch a movie, you do so to have an experience. In order to have that experience, you have to disregard that you know these are paid actors faking emotions in accordance to their script. This is called 'suspension of disbelief'.Non-duality is the idea that each of us is in essence the same Consciousness (or God) experiencing itself from different view points that have suspended their disbelief – about time, space and matter being an illusion – in order to have an interesting experience.
#7 What is Non-Duality? "Ultimate flow"
It might feel as if we are completely autonomous for as far as we dare to follow our will.
Yet, when on a dance floor, it feels wonderful to follow the impersonal organizing principle that moves all the dancers in spontaneous harmony. It's like an ocean – no drop can be held more responsible for the current than another.
Non-duality is the idea that such a surrender throughout life is the most natural and most exciting way of living imaginable – that it's actually what's already going on.
Self-Development and Spirituality
A good portion of self-development books is non-dual but it goes unnoticed. 20% of the world's population believes it, yet 75% of the population never heard of it.
Non-duality is often conflated with spirituality or even new age thought, but the difference is that non-duality is only about realizing the illusory nature of your perceived ego and walking through life looking from this awakened perspective. Although non-duality implies that time, space and, thus, even the materialistic laws of nature are merely an appearance, like a dream, it doesn't place any importance at one's abilities to defy the laws of nature.
In a way, a non-dual view of society is that it's a stage play with actors unaware of the play they are engaged in. Any social circle that doesn't operate from this mode of perception – however advanced in healing with energy, astral travels or foreseeing the future – is essentially egoic and still a stage play with unaware actors. It might be a nicer dream than the one ordinary society has to offer, but it's still dreaming. Non-duality is about waking up from the dream, not about making it nicer. But, waking up can bring a niceness to the experience, as you become authentic. Just like how being alone can feel nicer, despite the pain, than when you stay in friendships or relationships you don't like but that help you not feel lonely.
If you want to reduce non-duality to one simple principle, it's that living an authentic life is the most rewarding life, despite the discomfort it may bring at times. And to live authentic, you must eventually drop the comforting illusion called ego. A process that momentarily might feel like psychological death, right before it happens, but instantly feels like a big joke the moment after it happened.
“Ego awakening with the use of conceptual thinking is like getting chewing gum off your finger. Every time you try to get it off one finger, the gum sticks to the other finger. Yet, it always comes off, at some point, if you just keep going through the motions.”
~ Richard van der Linde
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