WHAT IS NONDUALITY?

All the world’s great spiritual traditions tell us that “the world is one.” Though the language changes from tradition to tradition, with deistic paths saying “God is One,” while other paths talk about “the unitive state” or “awakening,” or “enlightenment,” humankind has always had a sense that there is an underlying seamlessness between ourselves and the universe, despite the fact that we so often feel alienated from ourselves and the world.

Nonduality, rather than being only a mystical experience, is simply a good way to describe the way things actually are. Seen this way, reality includes both wholeness and separateness; they are not at odds but dependent upon each other for existence. Here is an example: in many approaches to nonduality, the personal ego is seen as the source of many of our troubles. And the antidote? To eliminate or subdue the ego. Our approach is different: since the universe constantly creates individual egos or beings that have a sense of a separate self, there must be some way in which this ego can reveal itself to be the principal actor in our search for freedom. Our approach is to heal this ego so that it can become a reliable vehicle for the beauty of being a human being.

This work is important because by having intimacy with all of who we are—including our imperfections—we become whole human beings whose innate nature is to love and foster life. We begin to see how we can reduce our own suffering and the suffering of others, how we can live lives of fulfillment and service, and how, by being completely human, we learn to actualize our true nature.

We invite you to peruse these pages and hope that the materials you find here unfold and enrich a new way of thinking and being for you.