Nonduality Explained: Definition, Perception, & Experiences

By Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
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Nonduality is one of the most profound insights in spiritual awakening. It points to a reality beyond the apparent separation between self and other, subject and object, or observer and observed. Yet, even after the intellectual understanding that there is no permanent self and no ultimate boundaries, our day-to-day experience often remains rooted in a sense of separation.

The journey into nonduality involves slowly dissolving these apparent separations in perception, the senses, and emotions, revealing the underlying unity of all experience.

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What is Nonduality?

Nonduality, sometimes called non-dual awareness, refers to the understanding and direct experience that apparent separations—between self and other, subject and object, or mind and world—are ultimately illusory. In ordinary consciousness, we perceive the world through a dualistic lens: there is “me” and “not me,” “here” and “there,” “good” and “bad.” Nonduality reveals that these distinctions are mental constructs rather than absolute realities.

At its core, nonduality points to an unbroken, unified reality in which all phenomena arise and dissolve within a single field of 'all that is'. It is not merely a philosophical idea, but an experiential insight: the sense of a separate self gradually softens, and one begins to experience life as a seamless whole.

Nonduality can be approached on multiple levels:

Perceptual nonduality: the realization that space, time, and location are created by thought, rather than existing as fixed realities.
Sensory nonduality: the merging of the five senses, where sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell are experienced as aspects of one continuous flow.
Emotional nonduality: the recognition that sensations labeled as fear, bliss, pleasure, or pain are not inherently separate, but arise from the same underlying energy.

In essence, nonduality is the direct experience of reality beyond conceptual separation, where the distinctions that define ordinary life are seen as provisional, fluid, and empty of intrinsic boundaries.

Nondual Perception: Seeing Through Space and Time

Prior to awakening, we see the world as a collection of separate objects located in space and unfolding over time. We feel our body to be at the center of this spatial arrangement, observing events as if through a lens that separates “me” from “not me.”

However, as awakening deepens, this sense of space can start to shift. We begin to notice the subtle role of thoughts in creating the appearance of distance and location. When a dog barks in the distance, our mind immediately interprets it as coming from the left side and “far away”, for example. When someone touches our shoulder, a thought tells us the sensation is located on our shoulder. Even reaching for a door handle involves subtle mental calculations of distance. These are all mental constructs that maintain the illusion of space.

In nondual perception, these constructs begin to dissolve. The thoughts that once created a sense of distance or separation stop arising as automatically. Suddenly, a bike passing behind you may surprise you because you didn't realize how close it was. You may feel the water from the shower pouring over you without being able to locate that sensation in space. Or you may walk past a tree branch and feel like it jumps out at you. The solidity of the world begins to waver, revealing that space itself is a product of thought. Although this can be disconcerting at times—especially while driving—it also opens the door to a profound freedom: the realization that space is not a fixed reality but a malleable field, just like a dream.

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Nonduality Exercise: Exploring Thoughts That Create Space

Download Nonduality Worksheets Here.
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Step	Instruction	Your Observations / Notes
1	Notice the Object: Focus on an object in your environment without immediately naming or analyzing it.
2	Question Distance: Ask yourself, “How far away is this object?” Note the thought that arises.
3	Investigate Thought: Ask, “Can I know the distance of this object without using thought?” Observe any direct awareness beyond labeling.
4	Examine Location: Ask, “How do I know where this object is located in space?” Notice the mental labeling.
5	Sense Without Concept: Ask, “What is space without thought? Can I experience the object without labeling or locating it?” Rest in any awareness that arises.
6	Reflection: What did you notice about how thoughts create the sense of space? Did anything feel different when you allowed awareness to exist without labeling?

Nondual Experiences of the Senses: Senses Merge

Beyond perception, nonduality also often manifests in the sensory experience. In daily life, the senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—are typically experienced as separate channels. Yet, in advanced nondual awareness, these boundaries blur. The merging of the senses allows one to experience interactions with the world as a interconnected arising.

Sound is often the first sense to reveal this merging. Modern life conditions the brain to filter out most of the subtle hums and vibrations of the environment. But as attention deepens, one may begin to notice a constant underlying resonance—sometimes described as a sound current or the hum of “Om.” This sound is everywhere and nowhere, blending with ordinary auditory experiences. As awareness opens, this current merges with other sensory inputs. Sight, touch, and even internal sensations start to overlap with sound, creating a sense of undivided experience.

The dissolution of sensory boundaries is not merely an abstract observation—it is lived. Sitting in a park, one may notice that the sound of birds, the sensation of their sounds, and their visual appearance are all one. They are experienced as a single, unified expression of 'all that is'. Touch and sound, vision and sensation, all become aspects of one continuous field, and the self, too, is part of that field.

Nonduality Exercise: Exploring Thoughts That Create Touch

Download Nonduality Worksheets Here.

Step	Instruction	Your Observations / Notes
1	Notice Sensations: Focus on sensations in your body or objects you touch without immediately labeling them.
2	Question Labels: Ask, “What am I feeling?” Notice how the mind categorizes the sensation as soft, hard, warm, or uncomfortable.
3	Investigate Thought: Ask, “Can I feel this touch or sensation without labeling it?” Observe raw awareness of the sensation.
4	Sense Without Boundaries: Notice if the sensation feels connected to other sensations or the environment when labeling stops.
5	Reflection: What did you notice about how thought creates the experience of touch? Did the sensation feel more unified or fluid without labeling?

Nondual Experiences of Emotions

Perhaps the most startling aspect of nonduality emerges in the domain of emotions. Ordinary experience divides sensations into positive and negative, labeling them as fear or bliss, pleasure or pain, joy or sorrow. Nondual awareness (deep into awakening) reveals that these distinctions are mental constructs, not inherent qualities of experience.

As the subtle self—the egoic “me”—loses its grip, intense nondual experiences can arise with no separate self to shield or reinterpret them. One may suddenly feel waves of fear that are indistinguishable from waves of bliss. In this state, terror and ecstasy are recognized as two sides of the same underlying sensation. The conceptual labels that once separated pain from pleasure dissolve, revealing that these experiences are ultimately empty of inherent meaning.

This phenomenon is supported by psychological research. Studies measuring physiological responses to positive and negative stimuli have found that the body often reacts similarly to both, with differences emerging primarily through cognitive labeling (Mauss et al., 2005). In nondual awareness, the mind no longer labels sensations as good or bad, and one experiences raw energy directly.

Nonduality Exercise: Noticing Thoughts and Emotions

Use this worksheet to explore how thoughts label and categorize your emotions, and how desires or aversions shape your experience. Download Nonduality Worksheets Here.

Step	Instruction	Your Observations / Notes
1	Notice an Emotion: Bring awareness to a current emotion, without judging or labeling it.
2	Identify the Label: Ask, “What am I calling this feeling?” Notice any mental label like fear, anger, joy, or sadness.
3	Observe Thoughts: Notice what thoughts arise about this emotion. Do you judge it as good or bad? Do you want it to change?
4	Investigate Desire and Aversion: Ask, “Am I trying to hold onto this feeling or push it away?” Observe how attachment shapes your experience.
5	Sensory Awareness: Notice where and how the emotion is felt in your body. Try experiencing it without labeling or judgment.
6	Reflection: How did noticing the thoughts, labels, and attachments change your experience of the emotion? Did it feel more fluid or unified?

The Role of Thought in Maintaining Duality

Prior to awakening, our minds are constantly at work—labeling, categorizing, and interpreting every moment of experience. This process is automatic: when we see an object, hear a sound, or feel a sensation, the mind immediately assigns it a name, a category, or a meaning. A tree becomes “a tree,” a sound becomes “loud” or “soft,” a touch becomes “pleasant” or “unpleasant.” These mental labels create the illusion of duality and separation—between “me” and “not me,” “here” and “there,” or “good” and “bad.”

Thought not only distinguishes one thing from another but also colors our experience with personal preferences. We instinctively attach desire thoughts to what we like and aversion thoughts to what we dislike. A sound we enjoy becomes “pleasing” and is grasped; a sensation we dislike becomes “painful” and is resisted. Even neutral experiences are interpreted through the lens of our expectations, fears, and cravings. This habitual mental activity turns raw experience into a story: “I like this,” “I don’t like that,” “This should be different,” or “I want more of this.”

By continuously categorizing and attaching, thought reinforces the sense of a separate self navigating a world of distinct objects and events. Our interpretations, rather than the experiences themselves, define reality. Space, time, and emotions appear solid and fixed, but they are largely shaped by the mind’s labeling and evaluative activity.

Recognizing this pattern is a crucial step toward nondual awareness. By observing how thought constructs categories and fuels desire and aversion, we can begin to loosen the grip of dualistic perception. Experiences can then be encountered more directly, without the constant overlay of mental commentary, allowing a deeper sense of unity and freedom to emerge.

Practical Ways to Explore Nondual Awareness

There are several ways to cultivate nondual awareness in daily life:

Observe Your Thoughts: Pay attention to how concepts of space, separation, and identity arise. Notice how labeling a sound or sensation shapes your experience.
Explore Sensory Merging: Engage in mindful listening or touch exercises. Notice how one sense blends into another when fully attended. For example, listen to sounds while feeling your surroundings, without attempting to separate them conceptually.
Embrace Emotional Waves: When intense sensations arise, allow them to be fully experienced without labeling or resisting.
Try Mindful Movement: Simple activities like walking, reaching, or stretching can reveal the role of thought in constructing spatial experience. Notice moments when your sense of distance or location becomes vague or fluid.

Nonduality in Daily Life

Experiencing nonduality does not mean abandoning ordinary functioning. Driving, cooking, or interacting with others still requires attention and coordination. Yet, even in these activities, nondual insights can arise. One may notice the fluidity of space, the blending of sensory experience, or the neutral nature of emotions. These moments offer glimpses into the deeper reality underlying everyday life.

Over time, nondual awareness stabilizes. Space, sound, and emotion are no longer divided into separate pieces but seen as expressions of a unified whole. It becomes obvious that reality was always this way. Our minds just distracted us from seeing what was always here.

Final Thoughts on Nonduality

Nonduality invites us to see beyond the apparent separations that define ordinary consciousness. Perception, the senses, and emotions all reveal their underlying unity when observed deeply. By cultivating nondual awareness, we move beyond the dualities of good and bad, self and other, pleasure and pain. We begin to experience reality not as fragmented, but as a seamless, interconnected whole. This spiritual realization is not merely an intellectual insight—it is a lived, embodied experience that can profoundly transform how we move through life.

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