Exploring Non-Duality
One of the most widely respected non-dual teachers today is Adyashanti, who originally studied Zen formally but began to teach more direct path style after his awakening. Adyashanti recommends trying out the inquiry “what am I?”, which I found to land better than Ramana’s “who am I?”. The word “who” can tend to evoke dimensions of identity, which c
... See moreJude Star • Exploring Meditation 3: Non-Duality and Direct Path
Introductions to non-duality
I still think that one of the best introductions to non-duality in general is the conversation series Angelo had on ZDoggMD’s YouTube channel (part 1 is a fantastic intro, but parts 2 and 3 really get into it).
My sense, based on personal experience and observing others, is that you taking to the practice depends on your ability to catch a glimpse of non-duality. Try it out, and if you don’t experience an opening in any way after some exploration, I advise to return to a “bottom up” approach, with my usual recommendation being Vipassana practice as it’s s
... See moreJude Star • Exploring Meditation 3: Non-Duality and Direct Path
With nondual recognition, this is not the case. You can directly observe and explicitly think about the fact that you don't feel like a self and don't have a self-based reference point precisely while you feel that way or are doing some activity. This is a key way in which flow state is not the same thing as nondual recognition. Both are situations... See more
Waking Up - A New Operating System for Your Mind
The difference between non-duality and flow state
Anecdotally, though, people experienced in non-dual states tend to report:
• Less emotional activation
• A greater sense of sacredness
• More absorption in surroundings
• A heightened sense of interconnectedness
• Less preoccupation with neurotic thoughts
• More available feelings of meaning and purpose
Sasha Chapin • A Non-Definitive Guide to Non-Duality
During non-dual experience, there tends to be a de-emphasis of that stressed-out inner monologue, and—as we all know—the stressed-out inner monologue can help you remind yourself of things like, “Fuck, fuck, I hope I don’t forget the milk, if I forget the milk again, I’m a fucking failure.”
Qualitative research has shown that people who have persist
... See moreSasha Chapin • A Non-Definitive Guide to Non-Duality
everything you are perceiving, right now, including that fabricated sense of a “center” of consciousness, is an output of your mind
Sasha Chapin • A Non-Definitive Guide to Non-Duality
The Headless Way is a really fun and funny set of pointing out instructions with an Alice in Wonderland aesthetic, which feel very different from traditional meditation stuff. There’s a great Headless Way course on the Waking Up app.
Sasha Chapin • A Non-Definitive Guide to Non-Duality
Non-dual experiences are experiences of feeling like the self/other boundary has thinned dramatically, or even dissolved. Non-dual practice is a way of intentionally bringing about this quality of experience, increasing its depth, and, eventually, perhaps, after some amount of practice, installing it as the default flavor of consciousness