Most meditation involves a meditator attending to something—breath, body, thoughts. There's a subject (you) observing an object (experience). Non-dual awareness points to something different: recognition of awareness itself, prior to the split between observer and observed.
This is advanced territory, but the pointing doesn't have to be obscure.
What "Non-Dual" Means
The Ordinary Split
Normal experience: You (the subject) are aware of something (the object).
The structure: Experiencer and experience seem separate.
The assumption: There's someone here looking out at the world.
The Non-Dual Recognition
The shift: Seeing that awareness and its contents aren't actually separate.
The recognition: What you are is the knowing itself, not a separate knower.
The dissolution: Subject and object revealed as conceptual, not actual.
What It's Not
Not trance: Completely present and clear.
Not merging: Not a feeling of everything becoming one blob.
Not unconsciousness: Heightened clarity.
Not a state to achieve: Recognition of what's already the case.
Traditional Frameworks
Advaita Vedanta
The teaching: Atman (self) and Brahman (absolute) are not two.
The recognition: Your true nature is awareness itself, not the limited ego.
The method: Self-inquiry—"Who am I?"
Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhism)
The teaching: Rigpa—pure awareness, the natural state.
The recognition: Already present, only needs recognition.
The method: Pointing out instructions from a teacher.
Zen Buddhism
The teaching: Original nature, Buddha nature.
The recognition: What you fundamentally are, prior to conditioning.
The method: Koan, shikantaza, direct seeing.
Common Ground
The agreement: What you fundamentally are is not a thing, but awareness itself.
The difference: Various methods for recognition.
The goal: Not achieving something new, but recognizing what's already present.
Pointing Out Instructions
What They Are
The function: Direct pointers to help you recognize non-dual awareness.
The approach: Not explanation but indication.
The limitation: Words can only point; you must look.
Classic Pointers
"Look at the looker": Turn attention back toward what's doing the looking.
"What is aware right now?": Not the content of awareness, but awareness itself.
"Before the next thought, what are you?": In the gap, what remains?
"What is present when everything else is absent?": Strip away content; what's left?
The Looking
The instruction: Don't think about it—look directly.
The mistake: Trying to find an answer conceptually.
The recognition: Can only be direct, not figured out.
The paradox: What you're looking for is what's looking.
Direct Inquiry
Looking for the Self
The question: Can you find the one who is aware?
The looking: Actually search for it.
The finding: Usually, no locatable self can be found.
The implication: What you are isn't a thing that can be found.
Awareness of Awareness
The shift: Instead of being aware of objects, be aware of awareness itself.
The method: What is the awareness that is aware of this experience?
The recognition: Awareness knowing itself—not a new object.
The Space in Which Experience Happens
The pointer: All experience happens in/as awareness.
The investigation: What is this space? What is its nature?
The qualities often noticed: Open, empty, knowing, always present.
Before and After Thought
The inquiry: In the gap between thoughts, what's there?
The observation: Awareness remains.
The implication: You are not your thoughts—you are what knows them.
Common Experiences
Initial Recognition
The feeling: Often a dropping away, relaxing, or opening.
The simplicity: "Oh, it's just this."
The ordinariness: Nothing flashy—very simple and obvious.
The doubt: "Is this it?" Very common.
What Changes
Perspective: Less identification with thoughts, reactions.
Spaciousness: Experience feels more open.
Ease: Less efforting, more natural being.
Presence: More fully here.
What Doesn't Change
Experience continues: Thoughts, emotions, sensations still arise.
Life continues: Practical matters remain.
Practice continues: Recognition deepens with familiarity.
Common Misunderstandings
"I Need to Get Somewhere"
The confusion: Non-dual awareness is a future attainment.
The correction: It's what's already the case—only needs recognition.
"I Need to Stop Thinking"
The confusion: Thoughts must disappear.
The correction: Thoughts are fine—they appear in awareness, which is what you are.
"It Should Feel Special"
The confusion: Expecting fireworks.
The correction: Often utterly ordinary, even anticlimactic.
"I Got It and Lost It"
The confusion: Awareness comes and goes.
The correction: Awareness is always present; what changes is recognition.
"I Understand the Concept"
The confusion: Intellectual understanding equals recognition.
The correction: Concept is the menu; recognition is the meal.
Challenges in Practice
The Seeker Trap
The problem: Seeking presupposes separation.
The dynamic: The more you seek, the more it implies you don't have it.
The resolution: Stop, look at what's already here.
Over-Efforting
The problem: Trying very hard to recognize.
The irony: Effort is doing—non-dual awareness is non-doing.
The resolution: Relax and simply notice.
Subtle Duality
The problem: Creating awareness as a new object to grasp.
The dynamic: "I am aware of awareness"—still subject/object.
The resolution: Rest as awareness, not watching it.
Stabilization
The issue: Initial recognition fades quickly.
The need: Repeated recognition and familiarization.
The practice: Keep looking, keep recognizing.
Practice Approaches
Self-Inquiry (Ramana Maharshi)
The method: Ask "Who am I?" and look for the I.
The process: Not answering mentally—actually looking.
The recognition: No separate I can be found.
Resting in Awareness
The method: Let attention rest as awareness itself.
The instruction: Not focusing on any object—just being.
The quality: Open, spacious, effortless.
Noticing the Noticer
The method: In any moment, notice what's doing the noticing.
The instruction: Turn attention 180 degrees.
The recognition: What's looking can't be found as an object.
Open Awareness
The method: Wide, unfocused awareness of everything at once.
The instruction: Nothing excluded, nothing centered.
The quality: Panoramic, inclusive.
Integration
Bringing It Into Life
The work: Not just on cushion but in daily activities.
The practice: Recognize awareness while walking, eating, working.
The development: Recognition becomes more continuous.
Relationship with Thoughts and Emotions
The shift: Seeing thoughts as appearances in awareness.
The effect: Less reactivity, more equanimity.
The freedom: Not fighting experience, not lost in it.
It's Still Practice
The paradox: Nothing to do, yet practice continues.
The explanation: Recognition deepens, becomes more stable, more integrated.
The path: Continued familiarization.
Working with a Teacher
Why It Helps
Transmission: Something happens in the presence of realization.
Precision: Teacher can see your misunderstandings.
Pointing: Tailored instructions for your situation.
Confirmation: Validation of recognition.
Finding the Right Teacher
Authentic realization: They know what they're pointing to.
Skillful pointing: Can adapt to different students.
Integrity: Ethical conduct, no manipulation.
Books and Resources
Sam Harris: Waking Up app includes non-dual pointing.
Rupert Spira: Clear pointing from Advaita perspective.
Loch Kelly: Accessible non-dual instructions.
Traditional texts: Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Advaita teachings.
The Bottom Line
Non-dual awareness points to:
- What you fundamentally are: awareness itself
- Prior to the split between observer and observed
- Already present, only needing recognition
- Not a special state but the ordinary condition
Pointing out instructions help you look in the right direction—not at thoughts about awareness but at awareness directly. The recognition is usually simple, even anticlimactic, but it can transform your relationship with experience.
You can't think your way there. You have to look.
Return is a meditation timer that supports whatever practice you're doing—from basic breath awareness to advanced non-dual recognition. Simple, reliable, no distractions. Download Return on the App Store.