Here’s the human condition, as far as I can tell.
It’s you versus the world, right? Sometimes the world gives you what you want, but most of the time it doesn’t. Each of us has moments of peace and happiness, but in between those moments are long stretches of just waiting for the next thing. Life becomes tinged with insecurity and disconnectedness, doesn’t it?
For many people who’ve reached this point, it’s natural to ask: is there another way? Speaking from personal experience, I can say that yes, there is.
My name is Rey, and I have a background both in science—I studied computer science at Stanford and worked on AI at Google—and in the contemplative life. I’ve been meditating for close to a decade. I’ve had existential questions my entire life, and they’ve been most satisfyingly resolved in the philosophical framework known as non-duality. I’d love to share that system with you in this video.
We’ll talk about what non-duality is, how we can practice it, and what benefits it can bring to our lives: peace, joy, creativity, connectedness, and that’s just naming a few.
What nonduality is (and isn’t) ⚖️
Let me be clear about one thing: non-duality is not a belief system. It doesn’t ask you to abandon your existing beliefs. What it is, is a philosophical framework found at the core of many spiritual and philosophical traditions throughout history. It doesn’t ask you to take on new beliefs so much as shift your perspective—to enable a new way of being in the world.
It’s a practice. And at the center of non-duality is the claim that what makes us suffer is being mistaken about who and what we really are. The path is one of discovering who we are, and letting go of our mistaken and limited identities.
To that end, what we’ll explore most in this video is the topic of non-dual awareness—something we can actually practice right now.
Introducing awareness 👁️
Let’s start with the second word in that phrase: awareness.
If you’re familiar with meditation, you’ve probably heard advice like “be present” or “be here now.” But think about it—it’s actually impossible not to be here now, unless you’re a time traveler. It’s only when we interact with the world through our thoughts that we can imagine being somewhere else.
However, when we zoom out from the tunnel vision of living in our heads, we encounter a world of sensation, space, and presence. That’s awareness.
Awareness is simply the present experience. The contents of experience can change—you might hear a car alarm, or taste a sip of tea—but awareness itself remains constant, at the base of all experience.
So this practice is about shifting from a thinking-based mode of existence to a present, embodied, sensory awareness-based one.
A guided meditation to access awareness 🌬️
Let’s take a couple of seconds to step into that.
Take a deep breath. As you breathe in, notice how your belly expands to take in air. As you breathe out, notice how it contracts. Do that a couple more times.
What we’re doing is deliberately paying attention to sense experience, not to thought. This helps us tap into awareness.
Once you’ve settled on the breath, you can expand awareness: notice body sensations, like your feet on the floor or the heaviness of the chair. Expand further: notice the space of the room, the sights, the sounds. Include your entire present experience, because all of it is arising in awareness.
With practice, you’ll find that you can return to this spacious, peaceful awareness as a refuge amidst everyday busyness.
Subject/object nonduality and the story of self 🪞
Now let’s explore the first term: non-dual.
Duality means separation into two. So “non-dual” means that on some level, things aren’t as separate as they seem.
The main separation we’re concerned with here is the subject–object split. Fundamentally, we perceive ourselves as the subject and everything else as the object. That’s not wrong—but we tend to over-identify with the sense of self as subject. And that self may not be as real as we think.
When we look closely at our experience, we find objects—tables, chairs, sights, sounds—but we don’t actually find a tangible self. We only find a series of stories.
There’s nothing wrong with telling stories. But stories are limited. They can’t capture the totality of life. And when we identify too much with those stories, we limit ourselves.
The non-dual path is about loosening our grip on these stories. Letting in a little openness, a little not-knowing, that allows new actions to emerge. We move from a limited, separate sense of self toward a more spontaneous and mysterious way of being.
The non-dual path isn’t about becoming “nobody.” It’s about letting go of who you thought you were, and discovering who you really are.
My personal experience 🙋
Let me share my own experience.
Before I began meditating, I was a very cerebral, self-conscious overthinker. A few years of mindfulness meditation helped a lot—it got me back into my body, more calm, more grounded. But then I reached a turning point.
Dualistic mindfulness frameworks can help you improve your sense of self. But the non-dual approach helps you get over yourself entirely. And if you’re willing to take that leap, it’s incredibly rewarding.
After a couple of years of non-dual practice, I found surprising new qualities emerging:
A font of unselfconscious creativity.
A sense of authenticity and naturalness in all situations.
More peace and relaxation with whatever the present moment offered, good or bad.
A more open and flexible approach to life, no longer limited by my self-image.
And most importantly: a deep desire to help others.
Because one of the main discoveries in non-duality is that we’re not as separate from the world as we think. We’re deeply entangled and interconnected. And when you realize you’re free, what you naturally want to do is help.
A path of presence and non-doing 🍃
So here are a few tips if you’re interested in this path.
First: this is not about chasing peak experiences or building toward some future state. It’s about being deeply at peace with this present moment, whatever it is. There’s no “over there” to get to—there’s only right here, right now. Every moment, whether good or bad, becomes unique and precious, because you’re no longer judging it in the same way.
Third: this isn’t a path of doing more. It’s actually a path of doing less. All that self-centered rumination drains energy. As you let it go, you free up energy for embodied, present living.
Where to go from here 🧭
To recap: the non-dual path is one of becoming so fully present in this moment that the sense of separation begins to dissolve. You discover a deeper, freer sense of self, more vast than you imagined.
If you’re serious about the non-dual path, the good news—and the bad news—is that there are infinite teachers and techniques out there. I know, because I tried far too many. My advice: don’t hoard teachings. Pick one or two good ones, and stick with them.
I’d be happy to assist you on your journey. I write about non-duality for free on Substack at thelabyrinth.substack.com. When you subscribe, you can reply to your welcome email and tell me where you are on the path and what you’d like to learn. I’d love to help.
If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below.
Thank you so much for watching, and I wish you nothing but the best of luck on your path.
Rey ☀️
