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I found this description of integral nonduality: My version of integral nonduality is that we are consciousness and that we are also the the manifested world. So it integrates instead of separates those two. Some other ordinary nonduality teachings may also integrate the two, but I want to use the term integral since I want to include Ken Wilber's transcend and include perspective.

"The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but it is really fear." -Mahatma Gandhi Hate comes out of fear and it requires that there is others. Fear = Duality (opposites) Love = Nonduality (no opposites)

@Forestluv The nonrecontextability is kinda what I was pointing to / what he was pointing to. @Javfly33 Because nonduality.

You're in the stage where you're trying to grasp the truth with your mind, which is inherently confusing. You must instead ground yourself in experience, become the thing you're so confused about. It also doesn't hurt to learn the finer distinctions between the relative and The Absolute. Nihilism, as a result of learning about nonduality, only happens when you're trying to appropriate The Absolute (non-duality) within the relative (duality), by trying to fit an infinite object into your finite mind. I've tried to boil down this fallacy in another thread which I hope doesn't make things more confusing :

One idea I now got is that reality is the difference between something and nothing. It's all one nonduality. I will take a look at these videos by Leo again:

One clue to the question about something rather than nothing is that Leo said that reality is a perfect symmetry. Because otherwise, if it had some shape or substance it would only have that in relation to something else! So from a nonduality perspective reality is difference and nothing. Because nothing also lacks shape and substance. I will see if I can get more clues from Leo's video, but that's a pretty interesting explanation. It's the both something and nothing aspect I haven't grasped fully yet. It's a duality which again needs to be combined into nonduality.

Sure, they are around, to various degrees. I'm not gonna waste my time guessing what other people have realized. I will just stick to what I have realized. Infinite Consciousness But it is not other than Nothingness and not-knowing. Infinite Consciousness is not a thought. Your own experience contradicts this. You can keep telling yourself that, but there are many things you are not yet conscious of. I disagree. It's not superior per se. And it's still nondual. What I say doesn't contradict nonduality. It is nonduality, just at a very high degree. Modern psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT and DMT are new. And just because people in the past used them doesn't mean their knowledge has reached your ears. It died with them. What I say fundamentally aligns with all mystical and spiritual traditions and teachings. It's just a question of breadth and depth of understanding. I know the Nothingness/Emptiness of which these Advaita and Zen teachers speak. But there's more beyond that. Your consciousness is the final arbiter of everything. Find out for yourself what is the case. I'm just pointing out things that you might otherwise overlook.

To break through into the transpersonal stage may require a radically different approach than the usual spiritual practices. Nonduality teachings often have a different approach, and especially Jim Newman who I believe "learned" it from Tony Parsons, has a radical and nihilistic-seeming nonduality approach presented in this video:

Centering Prayer is more a meditation practice than it is a Prayer. It’s a practice which helps one to cultivate non conceptual awareness. Cynthia Bourgeault claims that the salvation Jesus taught was in fact the perception of nonduality--and she's becoming famous for how she backs up this claim quite reasonably, relying on the Bible, church fathers, and especially the Christian contemplative tradition.The notion of nondual Christianity doesn't originate with her, of course, but she's prominent as one of the more articulate voices making people aware of it today. In this new book, she teaches the basics of Centering Prayer as a way to the perception of noduality. It thus will go a bit deeper theoretically/theologically than the other numerous Centering Prayer books, while still serving as a basic introduction. And in the fascinating third part of the book, she analyzes the Christian mystical classic Cloud of Unknowing , to find in it a model for living with nondual consicousness.

The purpose of this thread is to describe the nondual breakthroughs that I had on LSD on Saturday, April 11, 2020. I am going to film a video of myself explaining what happened to me with video clips of me (as God) trying to articulate the experience during the peak. I will post the video when it is uploaded to YouTube...it may take a few days to get it right. Attached is: A picture of a tree that I took while tripping and a picture of the cards that I pulled from my Tarot deck after asking "Should I trip today?" (the answer is a clear Yes!) I woke up at 9am and was getting very strong signs to do LSD in the forest beside my house. I had been reading "The Universe is a Dream" by Alex Marchand and "The Religion of Tomorrow" by Ken Wilber. My mind was very prepared to have a nondual breakthrough. I had been doing lots of self-inquiry and meditation as well. I packed a bag full of snacks and things to last me the day in the forest. Dressed very warm. And started heading to my desired location without any food in my stomach. I put 1 tab (not a precise dosage, could've been anywhere between 100ug and 200ug) of LSD under my tongue, left it there for about 10 minutes, and then swallowed the tab. As I was waiting for the effects to come on, I found a nice place to sit and meditate. I felt very calm, relaxed, and excited for what was about to come. After about 20 minutes of meditation, I began staring at a large tree in front of me and was trying to have insight into "What is it?" Just as with any contemplation, I was trying very hard to use my direct experience as guidance and to avoid philosophizing. Of course, as you look at the tree for a while, you start to wonder who is the one doing the looking? I tried to train my awareness on the fact that there is no difference between subject and object. The category of "subject" and "object" is clearly a fantasy, so I was just trying to be as aware of this fact as possible. As the effects were getting stronger, I felt a very powerful heart-opening experience. Suddenly, I was very conscious of my chest area and was breathing very deeply and fully into the heart area. My body buzzed with energy. I trained my consciousness on my heart area and realized how my heart-space is an infinite Void. As I breathed very deeply and fully into my chest, I was becoming more and more aware that the space that is in my chest is made of Pure Nothingness. This means that it can go inwards forever. Infinitely deep. It is possible for you to become aware, right now, that the space in your heart (especially when breathed into) expands Infinitely Deep (inwards) and also expands outwards forever. At this point, it is blatantly obvious that my entire sensory field is made up of this same Empty Space. We call it "Consciousness." What's so cool about this Pure Emptiness is that it is also Perfectly Full as it is made of itself. "Everything is Consciousness," I say to myself with a giant smile. It feels really really good at this point. The Empty Space in my heart permeates the entire sensory field (as it always has since Emptiness cannot be localized) and I feel Divine Love and Awe for the profundity of the present moment. It's important to clarify that the actual CONTENT of my experience barely changed. The trees, the little stream beside me, the sky, all looked pretty much the same. There were slight visual effects that made everything seem wavy and patterned. When you are in a mystical state, the CONTENT of the forms will probably look the same. But, you have a direct understanding of what the forms actually are (Pure Consciousness). At this point, I am only about 45 minutes into my trip. I had no clue what was coming for me. I felt a lot of energy as if I was a young child again. All I wanted to do was run around, play, and explore the beautiful forest that I was in. (which is made of Me) As I was exploring the forest, the thoughts were very contemplative. I was always trying to direct my attention to the present moment so that I can gain insight into what the present moment actually is. I sat in gorgeous patches of flowers with the sun shining through the trees. It was surreal. Everything is profound. Now is when it starts to get nondual. I just finished reading "The Universe is a Dream" by Alex Marchand and I was very conscious of my own tendency to project guiltiness onto others. A Course in Miracles talks about Forgiveness as a direct path to realizing your True Nature (as God). So, for the week leading up to this trip, I had been practicing forgiving myself and others for all the things that make me angry, sad, or emotionally triggered in any way. The forgiveness that I am talking about is not the typical forgiveness that we are familiar with. "You have done something wrong, but I'll forgive you anyway." True Forgiveness is about consciousness. "I am aware that your existence is a projection of my mind. I understand that the present moment is all that exists and that you were never separate from me. Therefore, I forgive you. You could never be guilty of anything. I forgive you. I fully accept you. I embrace you exactly as you are. I LOVE YOU! (because you're literally me)." The nondual breakthrough was triggered by fully forgiving MYSELF for anything that I have ever done "wrong." All of us carry "guilt" with us. Guilt is the belief that you are imperfect. Guilt is the belief that you are separate from God. Guilt is the belief that you are vulnerable, limited, bound by time and space, unworthy, even evil or bad. So, I tried to find a part of myself that I hated, despised, or disowned. I thought of myself getting into trouble as a young boy and being forced to sit in the principal's office. In the principal's office, I had to sit there and think about all of the things that I have "done wrong" because I was a "bad boy." There was a part of me that actually thought I was a bad boy and that I was guilty of "doing something wrong." BUT! There was also a part of me that KNEW, that I was INNOCENT! This thought actually began to trigger a nondual awakening within my consciousness. I realized that my TRUE NATURE was the Timeless Self. Pure Nothingness. Pure Love. Pure Innocence. Pure Being. I started screaming I AM INNOCENT! I AM INNOCENT! I AM INNOCENT! What was so astounding and so powerful was just HOW INNOCENT I truly am. I realized that I could commit mass genocide, and still be as innocent as a newborn baby. My true nature is PURE INNOCENCE. Untouched, Untainted Awareness. One without a second. Purity. I could rape and pillage millions of families and not even acquire a scratch of guilt on the perfect jewel that is my Innocence. Just the idea that I could ever do anything "bad" or "wrong" made me die of laughter. "I" actually died of laughter. Pure Bliss swept my heart and I experienced what the sages call "Unconditional Love." This literally means that if I was able to meet Adolf Hitler during WWII, I would give him a big wet kiss. What a perfectly innocent and beautiful manifestation of God. Made of Me! Self Love. My Self is Pure Being, Infinity and Nothingness at once. The Entire Kosmos. And Love is the totally self-less embrace of ME. So Self Love can also be phrased as "Universal Embrace" or Selfless Love True love can only be experienced by Form-less Being. This is because having one particular form (like a human body) comes with the side-effect of having an ego. Therefore, anything that threatens my ability to continue being a formed thing, a separate self, will feel the wrath of my hatred, rejection, and repression. Luckily, I am a perfect Formless Being. Pure Awareness. Being so Pure and Formless, I have the total freedom to take any form that I want. After all, the mechanism of creation is Pure Thought. If I can imagine it, it exists. The Universe is created by God (Nothing, Me) making DISTINCTIONS (which are made of Nothing and grounded in Nothing) within myself. I laugh when it is said that proclaiming yourself to be God is "egoic, selfish, or arrogant." It's literally the exact opposite XD. Being aware of your True Self takes ultimate selflessness! Pure detachment! Pure Innocence! Pure humbleness! The best part is that YOU ARE GOD! Hello! Hi! You wrote this post! The formless witness that I am, IS THE EXACT SAME FORMLESS WITNESS THAT IS IN YOU!!! That's why hating another is always a form of self-hatred. Rejection of YOURSELF! Imagine a newborn baby. So Pure and Innocent. It hasn't even made a distinction yet in its mind. Let alone the distinction between "good" and "evil." It is very difficult to HATE a newborn baby because it is such a Pure Manifestation of Being. Pure Awareness. But now, remember, that as the baby grows older, it will always be Pure Awareness. Perfectly innocent. There may appear to be a veil of selfishness, egotism, greed, evil, that develops as the baby grows into an adult. But, remember always, that is a projection of your own selfishness! The baby has always been Completely and Totally Innocent. Even if that baby grew up to be Adolf Hitler, its Innocence would remain untouched. Now realize that all "bad" or "evil" things are a projection of your own self-hatred! (rejecting a part of yourself) Your seperate-ness is projected onto the world and onto other people. A sage who has purified himself of his own selfishness sees with Christ-Consciousness. Unconditional Love for all Beings. Because all of Being is an equal manifestation of your Supreme Self. You are the Imperishable One! Nothing "good" or "bad" has ever happened to you or anyone. How could Pure Nothingness ever be affected by anything? IT IS EVERYTHING ALREADY! At this point, my body was overwhelmed with Power, Freedom, and Love. I jumped up and down and screamed like a monkey. I smashed sticks against trees as hard as I could. Why? Just for fun. There's nothing else to do here in this present moment except for Realizing Who You Are and having fun with it! Other insights from this awakening: I AM! (this is the highest and most important insight because it captures the essence of nonduality) Self-realization is forgiving everything that you hate… The awareness in me is the same awareness in you! How do I know? It's what I am! I see you! Consciousness cannot be mainstreamed because pure innocence is fertile soil for the projection of guilt. Pure innocence is true authenticity. For me to be fully authentic, I would have to be conscious of my true nature as God! But, although I am totally selfless, it is very easy for ego's to unconsciously project their own guilt, arrogance, and ignorance upon me. Check out many of the negative comments under Leo's "I am God" videos. Thankfully, this projection makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. Because I am conscious that I am the only One who is projecting (onto myself)! Consciousness is powerful (absolute freedom). Dangerous for the established social systems because it sledgehammers rigid belief systems. The Heart is the Seat of the Soul. It appears as if the source of awareness is right at the very center of your being, the heart. Live from this place! "A distinction" is a distinction. I was still peaking as I began to continue walking through the forest. It was a beautiful day and other people were out walking as well. I was in a very vulnerable state and was afraid of making eye-contact with people. Whenever I walked by someone, I felt such a strong urge to look them in the eyes so that I could share my Love. But, each time, I was afraid of being judged by them. I must have walked by 10 different people and each time I was super awkward about walking by them. It was a good time to contemplate "What is an other?" Finally, I wanted to make eye contact with the last person I passed. It was a father with a baby on his shoulders. As I walked by, I awkwardly smiled at them. I looked up at the baby and made strong eye contact with him. "How's the view up there?" I asked jokingly. The baby and I locked eye contact. At this moment, I realized instantly that I was looking directly in the mirror. The baby's gaze was totally pure and free of self-judgment of any kind. I was staring into my own eyes. I recognized myself instantly and he recognized me (which is the same). I kept walking and came to a wide-open field where I was able to relax and enjoy my elevated consciousness for the next few hours. I called my friend on the phone who has also had nondual experiences and my friend realized that he was getting a phone call from God. It was awesome. Occasionally, if I wanted to experience ultimate rapture, I would train my awareness on my own Purity. I would remember how Innocent I am. Instantly I would fall to the floor and scream and laugh hysterically. I'd fall on my back with my legs over my head and die of laughter. I would literally perish in my own innocence. In my bag, I had packed with me one very small book. I had never even read this book before, but something told me to bring it with me. At this point, I took the book out and opened it. "The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi" published by Shambala Pocket Library. I'll leave you with some extremely powerful excerpts that took my trip to a whole new level. Reading these words as God for the first time (even though I wrote them) was one of the peak experiences of my entire life. Let these words echo in your consciousness: Questioner : How can I attain Self- realization? Ramana Maharshi : Realization is nothing to be gained afresh; it is already there. All that is necessary is to get rid of the thought `I have not realized'. Stillness or peace is realization. There is no moment when the Self is not. So long as there is doubt or the feeling of non-realization, the attempt should be made to rid oneself of these thoughts. There's a lot more: https://www.mountainrunnerdoc.com/beasyouare.html This is not the exact dialogue. I believe the full dialogue can be found in the book "Be as You Are." However, I just stumbled upon this beautiful synthesis of the teachings. The essence is the same. Thanks for reading! Hopefully this inspires you to remember Who You Are!

..or in other words, here's a problem which you cannot solve simply by being present to the moment I want to present to you here something which happened to me in alternate reality (it definitely happened within consciousness and my awareness at least) which felt absolutely as real as me typing right now. Imagine there is a woman (now every representation here was probably tailored to me and my experience so for another it might be a different entity/representation and not a woman, but the so the story went) who is suffering greatly - being raped and tortured, in the middle of the forces of darkness and the only way to save her is to go in her place and be tortured so that she can be free. She was like a very close mother figure kind of woman and she was strong in being able to take the suffering, thats how it felt, but you want her to be free and happy. Here's the deal tho, in order for her to be free, you have to go in her place and be tortured. True love is selfless, but to what extent, if you are honest right now, would you swap and feel extreme pain for Her in order to save Her? Now what happened in my hallucination or experience, that I tried to do it, but as soon as the pain and suffering came, I was so afraid!! I mean the pain is so real, its so real but no guru is talking about it, they all say "suffering is an illusion" but they might not know something. I was moving in different dimensions and being chased to be tortured, but I was so afraid of the pain I kept running and I guess when they caught me and the pain went too much I died to that reality and went to another, in which something else happens... And it was God that was chasing me but I was trying to outmanoeuvre, to outrun, being scared of what I had signed up for trying to be selfless. But God was within me and I felt my heart and life as myself threatened, I felt so vulnerable, God could destroy me as he created me. Here I am talking about my normal human self, which I was throughout that whole thing. Then She said "Let him sleep" she was crying to let me back to sleep because She was so protective of me, she would do anything. She would actually take the pain that I was running from. And how quickly did I run, it felt like I am running from the pain that I actually did deserve. Like a mother taking the hit for her son from an abusive father. That's how it felt. Truly there are things to fear in this reality, I do not think its wise to say that all is well. That's like poking the hornet nest or like disregarding possible extreme pain that actually exists and is super real if you've experienced something like that. Its more real than sitting on a cushion and feeling empty of content. When you are in that place, you wont be able to find the space to meditate, because you would be chased by someone and you would need to actually play the game and fight for the Good and for peace, not just saying its all good already. Nonduality is like a permission slip for evil, you can normalise it in that way by saying its all good, all one. Yes it is One, but it is also many. So there might be a spiritual battle going on and we are asleep to that and just looking after our own egoic enlightenment where we feel great here and now, but not acknowledging there might be Pure Evil lurking somewhere that is NOT KNOWN to others. That is the most horrific thing, someone right now could be suffering greatly in the real world as well from the hands of pure evil and nobody BUT GOD would know about it. I guess I had to get that out of my chest. I wish to bring the light of love in the corners of reality where things are hidden and there is pain right now and nobody knows about it and nobody is trying to help. May God help those who are forgotten, weak and unjustly hurt. May God bless all who are not wicked. I dont know if anyone will read this cause it became quite lengthy.. So what would you do, would you suffer greatly for someone you love or someone who has decided to suffer greatly for you? Like a sinister game, a nightmare...

I don't think any guru would say something like that. They might say "you suffer because you are under illusion (attachment, ego, etc.)", but suffering itself is definitely real and not an illusion. In fact the Buddha said "life is suffering" as his opening statement, so.. Suffering is not an illusion. Maybe it is in the final analysis, but the illusion is real and so the consequences are real in a certain sense, too. Not if one has truly understood nonduality. You don't walk around seeing all the suffering in the world and brush it off, saying "oh that's nice, that's good, nobody's suffering". Quite the opposite is true - you walk around seeing all the suffering, saying: "oh that fact is not good - it's suffering and it's real despite the fact that it is GOOD". Of course it is GOOD. But its suffering and suffering is real to those who suffer. The illusion is also Real, that is nonduality. Maya and Brahman are identical and so all the suffering is just as real as Brahman. If someone hears about Zen for the first time, they might think something like "oh well, apparently I'm the Buddha anyway and so I can do whatever I want to do! Time to wear filthy clothes, steal things, be selfish, be violent, I'm the Buddha, I'm enlightened, I'm God, I can do as I goddamn please!" - but that only shows, that one hasn't yet truly understood, because if you did understand and you really knew it to be true, you wouldn't have to say or do it! @Dodo But I understand the predicament. Depends on the person I guess. How much guilt is involved? You said she was like a mother figure, so maybe one feels guilty towards her and thinks that it is your duty to suffer, in order to... what - expiate? Would you feel guilty if you wouldn't take away her suffering? Observe this guilt, what is it? It also selfishness. So what are you to do? - Not to help is selfish and you feel guilty because of it. - To "help" doesn't happen out of love but out of the selfish desire to get rid of you guilt by expiating! So you always end up being selfish. And then you feel guilty for that. It's a perfect trap. All you can do is realize that the trap isn't real and that there's nobody trapped - and then what? Well then you realize that you can't do anything wrong. And so this question about whether to help this poor person or not has no right nor wrong answer.

The neti neti method might be useful as a stepping stone towards nonduality, but notice that's it only goes half the way. Why? Because when we say "not that" about anything, that's a duality perspective. The nondual perspective includes everything. That of course means that it even includes the neti neti method but it's more than that. It's a totality perspective. So the neti neti method should only be used as a stepping stone or it becomes a duality trap.

I have heard people, maybe mostly nonduality teachers, talking about how the material world is like a mirror. And when we believe we alter things in the world that's actually an illusion! Absolutely mindblowing. But it makes sense from a consciousness first perspective. Changing reality is like putting lipstick on the mirror. Our ordinary experience is that putting lipstick on our own lips will make a difference. And of course on that level it does cause a change. But the nonduality idea is that all changes we make on the external level are projections of consciousness, since according to the common nonduality perspective everything material is just a projection of consciousness. So maybe it's possible to make a humongous shift of perspective, a total recontextualization where consciousness becomes the ground of being even experientially instead of experiencing the material world as the ground where change happens. The material world then becomes the "mirror" and consciousness the projector.

The world doesn't change overnight. Mindfulness meditation becoming mainstream is one baby step in the right direction. For the world to switch from the materialistic paradigm to nonduality requires much more than just a couple of apps becoming available on your phone. It requires immense development on multiple fronts: collective spiritual development, scientific paradigm shifts, social, political, cultural etc..

@Javfly33 Nonduality. Learning and teaching is duality, a false separation. A desire to teach is a desire to learn, both student and teacher are one. Teacher learns from student, student teaches teacher. You can't cause anyone to learn or understand anything, they ask and because there are no separate minds, another can be in tune with the answer to receive it. We're all learners and teachers, and Awareness/Love is the ultimate Knowing, and also the ultimate Openness and Curiosity and Desire to know. It's what we're already made up of. I mean... isn't it brilliant?

Do you understand that nonduality includes everything and every nothing? It is not just transcendent, unmanifested reality. It is also infinite discrete dream selves, all of which are infused with the same God. God is what is, and God is what is not. Dismissing yourself or myself as empty illusions, with no inherent meaning or purpose, ignores the reality of the Atman. Each self is worthy of honor in its own right. Each of us is the Atman, which is the direct manifestation of the infinite God. We are all one, we are all the same, and we are all holy. For you, it may be just a word. When our spiritual eyes open, we directly realize that God is Love, and we see God in everything. Don't confuse the Love of God with human emotion; it is infinitely pure, transcendent Love that can only be directly realized and resonated with, as the essence of who we are. Telling people that they are an illusion, with no purpose or value, is not helpful. Jesus taught selves to love one another. The Buddha taught selves to learn not to suffer. They saw more clearly than most of us do, and they valued these "illusionary" selves, which some on this forum insist on dismissing as meaningless.

@Someone here Do you notice when you went from nonduality to love there, you went from not two, to two? Exactly who needs this explained ‘over & over again’? Nothing you’re saying is common sense.

@Moksha "truth doesn't care about your feelings ". If you don't like the truth that won't make it false. When it's derived at.. from direct experience that there is no separate self.. That is nonduality. We are not saying there is no self.. We are saying there is no separate self. Because all is one. There is no self precisely because all is Self. And there is no other. Because there is no self. And that is Self. It's just one. And what the Self is honestly.. It's not this not that. For some reason I'm the only one here who realize that "Love" is just a word. Here it is.. L o v e. Four litters. That is what love is. From direct experience. On a relative more monkey mindish level.. Love is a human emotion. You love your mom. You love your kids. But you don't love to eat s*** on breakfast. The actual substance out of which reality is made is reality itself . It's not "love". Or any other word. It is what you are seeing it right now. Already. You don't need to label it. It didn't ask you to label it. It's already itself before we fight over what should we label it. Everything I'm saying is common sense yet for some reason I need to explain this over and over again.

It is a broader reference, not directed specifically at you. I removed the reference to drugs, if that doesn't inform your insights. I am addressing the general sentiment from some in this forum that there is no you, and by implication, that life is empty and nothing matters. I stayed silent on this out of not wanting to argue, but now I'm seeing people affected by it, and am choosing to speak up. People new here read limited knowledge like this, and lose any sense of hope or purpose in their lives. Some have left the forum because of it. How is it possible to love yourself or any other self, when people only see that there is no self for them to love? How is there a place for love in a world where everything is an illusion? Where is the morality or meaning in this view? We are not only dream forms. We are also Atman. You are a child of God, and so am I. We are all the same God, expressing itself infinitely. When you look at yourself in the mirror, what do you see? When you pass someone on the street, what do you see? When you contemplate a tree, what do you see? Are your spiritual eyes open enough to actually see the God that is in you, and in everything else? The Mystery of God runs far deeper than some seem to understand. God is not only outside of the dream world, God is infused into the dream world. That is the meaning of Atman. Nonduality is everything and every nothing. That is the wholeness and the holiness of God. That is why love matters.

I found this new dialog between Rupert Spira and Swami Sarvapriyananda. I randomly selected a part of the video where Spira said that nonduality teaching has evolved. That sounded interesting so I think I will check out the rest of the dialog.

All difference is imaginary from the perspective of Absolute consciousness. But this is not the place we live life from. This is her mistake. Because no matter how much she holds this position, her body and mind still must survive in the relative world. Voting is pointless if you don't care about dying and suffering. But of course you care extremely much about dying and suffering. Even if you are enlightened you STILL care about minimizing the suffering of others. Yes, it is of course an illusion. But when illusion is all that can ever exist, this point isn't as strong as she thinks. This is a common trap, to conflate relative matters with absolute matters. Just because you understand nonduality does not mean that your mind will properly reason about society or politics. Telling spiritual people not to vote is extremely irresponsible and ignorant, no matter how enlightened you are. Enlightenment does not automatically grant sound political reasoning. All survival happens in the relative domain. If you give up the relative domain, you must also give up survival. You can do that, but do you really understand the severity of what you're doing? When your child is being raped, are you gonna be okay with that? << Those are the real stakes here. That's what politics boils down to. It's very serious stuff. Contrary to what most people think, politics is about as serious a topic as there could be. It's all about life and death and suffering. Which is why people get so ideological about it. If it wasn't important people would not become political radicals. And the choice to do nothing, politically-speaking, is still a choice. So you cannot escape politics. Politics will happen regardless, even if you decided to ignore it. Basically she's being an ostrich sticking her head in the sand, hoping that someone else will solve all the political problems while she basks in the Absolute. Which is actually a selfish position.

There is no such thing as nonduality. It points to what it is not: duality. Nonduality is not the opposite of duality. This misinterpretation is the duality which is pointed to.

Nonduality teacher Roger Castillo often points out that what he means by peace of mind (Ramesh Balsekar's concept) is NOT pleasure, pleasure, pleasure. Life is sometimes pain and sometimes pleasure he says. I think that's correct at the personal stage. However I believe that the foundation of the transpersonal stage is inner peace and that it feels very pleasant compared to many of the nasty emotions at the personal stage. Here is a recent satsang video:

?‍♂️ Is not. Not is. There is no you in Nonduality. There is no separation in Nonduality. There is no appearance in Nonduality. There is no dream in Nonduality.