What we’re about
What is Nonduality? Such an obvious question! But what if 'Nonduality' can't be described in terms of a "what"? If nonduality was a thing, in external objective reality (so-called) then that would immediately lead back to the division between subject and object that was concretized and systemetized by Rene Descartes. So, the mind will conclude, if it's not 'out there' it must be 'in here'.........but that's the same split......me 'in here' and the world 'out there', subject and object, us and them.
I was recently asked "what is nonduality?" and found myself saying "it's about realising that conventional reality isn't the real reality" but I could also have said "it's about liberation" or "the realisation that this moment, actually, is the only moment that we really have" or even "it's about exploring the answer to the most profound question of all...........Who Am I?". This group is intended as an informal get-together for those of us who are interested in waking up out of the dream, out of the matrix, of personality and convention.
Cartesian dualism kicked off when Rene Descartes came up with the idea:- "I think therefore I am" and then proceeded to believe himself (i.e. believe his thoughts) and build a whole system of analytical thought and philosophy based on that thought. What he was basically asserting was that THOUGHT IS PRIMARY and the "I am" is dependent on, or created out of the thinking process.......welcome to the modern world!
What Nonduality is pointing to is that there is a more fundamental reality that lies behind and gives rise to the possibility of thought. It is tricky to name that reality because to name it requires the use of language and therefore thought. Many people would say that one way of naming the fundamental truth of existence is "I Am"......that is, "I Am" is the one thing we can be sure of without reference to any philosophical conjecture or outside authority. By this reckoning Descartes put the cart before the horse......"I AM" is the primary reality, everything (every thing) (the world of objects) is dependent on, and secondary, to that.
The beauty of Nonduality is that it is healing........because it is whole. It is the wholeness that precedes the fractured reality produced by discriminative thinking. Not that discriminative thinking is wrong or bad but that it has become the default setting for most (western) people and is no longer balanced by knowing who it is that is thinking. Nonduality is designed to point you back in the direction of the truth of who you are, beyond any religious or philosophical system or any thoughts you might have about yourself......welcome to the world of truth........welcome back home!
