At the heart of non-dualism is the recognition that all distinctions — self and other, subject and object, mind and body — are ultimately illusory. Reality is a singular, indivisible whole, beyond all conceptual divisions.

The sense of an isolated, individual “I” is seen as a mental construct arising from identification with thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. This separate self is not an inherent reality but a transient appearance in consciousness.

Mystical traditions emphasize direct realization or experiential insight over intellectual understanding. Words, doctrines, and concepts can point toward the truth but cannot capture it fully.

Non-dual awareness is always here and now. Liberation or realization isn’t in some distant future; it’s discovered in the immediacy of present experience, when one sees through the mind’s habitual tendencies to grasp, seek, or divide.

In many traditions, particularly Mahāyāna Buddhism, there’s the teaching that form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. This means the world of appearances isn’t separate from the formless reality; they are expressions of the same essence.

The absolute cannot be fully described or contained by language. Any attempt to define it creates duality. This is why many mystical teachings rely on paradox, silence, or negation (like the neti neti — “not this, not that” — of Advaita).

Realization often leads to a natural letting go — of rigid identities, beliefs, and the need to control. This doesn’t mean detachment in the sense of indifference, but rather a freedom from clinging. Life flows with effortless spontaneity when not filtered through the lens of separation.