Nonduality is a truly fascinating subject; it is the closest thing this planet has to a cross-cultural, multi-faith, and universal expression of the divine. In many Eastern religious traditions, it is the very core of the spiritual teaching. This is the case in Taoism, Zen Buddhism and the Hindu Vedanta. But nonduality is also found in the mystic traditions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism (Prendergast et al, p. 2, 2003). But the relevance of nonduality is not limited to the spiritual traditions. In the West, the growing field of Transpersonal Psychology has acknowledged the nondual as our best expression of that which is the ground of all being – the divine source from which we come, and the highest peak of consciousness to which we aspire (White, p. vii, 1972; Wilber, p. 205, 1996).
Nonduality and transpersonal psychology are both part of the same stream in our growth and personal awakening. It does not make sense to talk about nonduality as just a philosophy from the East, or just a religious practice. It is by definition the field upon which all other motions of life take place. Likewise, the psychology of growth loses depth and potential if we do not consider that it occurs in a nondual context. Our spiritual growth is a psychological process. And our psychological growth is a spiritual process.
Because nonduality represents a shared vision of the highest state of being across such vastly different traditions, it clearly deserves our respect and appreciation. Whenever disparate cultures reach similar conclusions without any recognizable contact, it certainly shows us something we ought to look into. If what we are doing on this planet is heading in any upward direction of evolution – spiritually speaking – we must seriously consider the nondual as the very structure upon which we climb. .
In my next few posts, I will talk a little more about nonduality – what it is and why it is just so darn elegant as a perspective on life, the universe, and everything. Then, we may see that it is integral to and inseparable from our discussion and our work of healing and growth.
