The problem with non-duality is that, despite everybody’s best intentions, it always turns into a head trip. It just turns into concepts and concepts and defining words, even though the actual definition of it is that concepts are the problem. You can’t cure concepts with concepts. That’s just simple logic; it just makes sense. So what do we do about that?
First, the number one thing that needs to get added into non-duality teachings is some humor because it’s really such a funny thing. Like, I get questions all the time, “What is ego? Can I see my ego? If the ego doesn’t exist, then I can’t see it, blah blah blah blah blah.”
So what nonduality says to do is every single question that you have, twisted around. “Can you see your ego?” “Yes, now look. Now look. Try to look and see your ego. Maybe if you’re really, really lucky, you’ll notice that what’s really happening is that your ego is trying to see your ego, and of course your ego can’t see your ego. But if you see it, it dissolves into the thing that it’s supposed to be, which is literally just a tool to help you live your life.
Is there a self? No. Now look at that. Well then, if there’s no self, who’s asking the question of is there a self? Then turn it around. Is there a self? Yes. Like, okay, so what is it? Now you have a challenge. Find it. Wait a second, who is it that’s trying to find the self? Is the self trying to find the self, or are you trying to find the self?
See how you can use these things to just kind of, um, first of all, mix yourself up. But if you have some humor in it, then you’re like, “Oh, you know, there’s that punchline in every joke where all of a sudden you see two things that don’t make sense with each other, and you can laugh. Like, who’s on first base? No, who’s on first base?” Remember that whole thing? Goes on and on and on because there’s a guy named who. So is who on first base, or who is on first base? I mean, the whole thing is just silly, silly beyond silly. And that’s what’s so funny about it. Is there a self? Yes, there is. No, there isn’t. Who’s on [Laughter] first?
And then finally, hopefully, maybe the thing you’ll start doing is realizing, “Okay, who is laughing at all this? What’s this ‘me’ that is here, here laughing at all this?” And the laughter itself just literally doesn’t need concepts. Laughter happens when the concepts pop and break like, “Ah.” But the concepts break, you start laughing. You don’t disappear, you’re right there, more present than you’ve ever been when you’re really, really laughing at a joke. So really, maybe the problem with non-duality is everybody gets so serious about it.
You’re trying to discover the biggest joke that has been pulled on you, convincing you that you don’t know who you are. And see how when I reach that point where no, no words describe it anymore, that’s when I’ve reached that point where truth is starting to come in. And hopefully, you know, my sentences kind of just go along and just kind of stop. I kind of talk myself into a circle all the time, and it’s just like, feel that silence. There’s where we are. This is the human being, this is me, this is you, there’s no problem in that.