Nondual States Are Not a Thing: This Inspiring New Age Spiritual Idea is Neither Advaita Vedanta Nor Psychology

The term 'nondual states' is often used in psychology and New Age contexts to describe experiences where the sense of self is softened or expanded. This paper argues that such usage is incompatible with the original meaning in Advaita Vedanta, where nonduality is a metaphysical concept about the nature of reality, not a description of a mental state. The author contends that applying the term to psychological states lacks the precision needed for a scientific construct and improperly inserts New Age metaphysical ideas into psychology. The argument is grounded in the author's study under a lineage-holding teacher of Advaita Vedanta.

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Abstract

The term “nondual states” has gained some currency as applied to states of mind in which the sense of self is softened, expanded, or shifted from conventional experience. Nonduality is a metaphysical concept about the nature of reality, commonly associated with the Advaita Vedanta school of Indian religion. New Age religious thought has applied the term “nondual” to states of consciousness that are believed to contact or apprehend this speculated metaphysical ideal. However, this use is incompatible with lineage-based teachings of Advaita Vedanta, inadequately precise to serve as a psychological construct, and improper as an insertion of New Age metaphysical notions into a psychological context. The paper draws on the author’s personal engagement with doctrines of Advaita Vedanta received from a scholar and lineage-holding teacher, Carol Whitfield.