The confusion of non-duality
Among the many iterations of modern spirituality one that has become trendy in recent times is what is loosely called ‘non-duality’, a set of somewhat mixed beliefs that raids elements of Vedanta and introspective practices to come to the essential conclusion that consciousness is all there really is. Exactly how this is spelled out varies from teacher to teacher, and the result is a complex set of sometimes contradictory claims. For the most part they are making either verbal or written arguments to claim that consciousness is not thought but rather pure awareness that exists beyond all form and mind, a claim they apparently are not aware is contradicted by the act of their mind contemplating its own consciousness, suggesting at the very least some entanglement of consciousness and thought, since ‘I am’ is a verbal thought after all, whatever ‘I’ might mean. But however you might work out this claim the underlying focus of their spirituality is an important one — subject, or consciousness, is all there really is, hence ‘non-dual’.
Somewhat strangely this is the opposite side of the coin from a materialist, who would argue that matter, or ‘object’ is all that constitutes us, evidenced by the fact that our brain can be reduced to physical laws and interacting particles, and the fact physical acts…
