The nondual teaching is like a painted sign on a clear glass door that from the outside says, "Bizarrely complex, hard to understand, bit woo, maybe not for me." But from the inside the same sign reads "Simple."
And it's easy for a teacher - well me - to forget. Even though I wrote a story to illustrate this theme (https://www.sarapriestley.com/the-river/).
Than, I speak to people who haven't been immersed in this conversation - y'know, normal people. Naturally they look at me like I've got two-heads.
So, I thought I'd try to make the sign say, "Simple," from the outside, too.
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What does "nondual" even mean?
- Technically, it means "not two" or "not divided". We're using a specialised meaning here: The "not two" indicates we see no division or difference between the physical and the non-physical. Then we go another step, and add that the non-physical is our primary reality, with the physical to be understood in that context.
- More simply, it means that the most direct and most constant aspect of experience is being knowingly aware. In other words, you know you're aware - and that comes first. Literally, everything else comes after.
- Even more simply: Are you aware? Is there anything you can know without first being aware?
If this is your integrated understanding of reality, perfect. From there, we use self-enquiry, logic and experiment to uncover the implications.
TL;DR: If we can establish that your primary experience is awareness (and we've explored the implications), that is nondual awakening. Simples?
With Love, Sara
Photo by Béla Bakó on Unsplash
