Imagine the ocean as the totality of existence, boundless and whole. Waves arise and fall, each seemingly individual, with distinct shapes and movements. From the wave’s perspective, it might feel separate, unique, or even isolated. But what is the wave made of, if not the sea? The wave doesn’t exist independently—it is the sea expressing itself in a transient form. Similarly, non-duality suggests that the sense of separateness—our "wave-ness"—is an illusion. We are not "in" the universe as distinct entities; we are the universe, momentarily shaped as individuals, but fundamentally inseparable from the whole. The sea is never divided by the waves it creates; they are one and the same. Imagine you’re in a cinema, completely absorbed in the movie. You’re laughing, crying, and feeling all the emotions of the characters as though it’s real. You forget, for a moment, that it’s just a projection on a screen. The drama seems so real because you're caught up in it. Now imagine suddenly realizing that no matter what happens in the movie—whether it’s a love story, a tragedy, or an action-packed adventure—the screen remains untouched. It’s always there, constant, unaffected, and unchanging. The screen doesn’t become happier in the joyful scenes or sadder in the tragic ones. It simply is. The “screen” is like the underlying reality, the essence of all existence—pure being or awareness. The “movie” is life as we perceive it: thoughts, emotions, experiences, and the sense of being an individual moving through time and space. The realization that makes people go "wow" is this: the apparent "you" watching the movie isn’t separate from the screen. The idea of being an individual separate from life is part of the movie. In truth, there is only the screen—always present, always whole, and already complete. When this is seen, it’s as if the "viewer" dissolves, and there’s just the effortless play of the movie happening. Life goes on, but it’s no longer taken personally—it’s just what’s appearing on the screen, free and unbound. Direct Experience Over Conceptualization: Non-duality isn’t a theory to be proven or disproven but a description of direct experience. It's about noticing that the sense of separateness is a narrative overlay, not an empirical fact. No Doer, Only Doing: For example, when walking happens, the sense of "I am walking" is an interpretation layered onto an impersonal process. The "I" claiming agency is like a shadow trying to take credit for the movement. The sense of "me" is just a mental construct—a pattern of thoughts, memories, and sensations that the brain organizes into the idea of an individual self. But if you look closely, there’s no tangible "me" to be found; there’s only a stream of experiences happening—thoughts, feelings, perceptions—but no separate entity controlling them. The "me" feels real because the brain creates a narrative center for survival and coherence, much like how it creates a sense of continuity in dreams. Just as a mirage appears real but has no substance, the "me" is a story overlaid on the raw, impersonal flow of life. When this is seen, it’s obvious that life was always just happening—without anyone "in here" making it happen. ''If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.'' -William Blake, 1757-1827