Writer and researcher Jerry Katz spoke with Rollye James about nonduality, a type of consciousness that involves a sense of oneness or non-separation. It's the feeling a person gets when they are connecting with something bigger than themselves, he said.
In a sense, we don't exist at all, held back by a "conspiracy of the mind" to keep us from knowing our true selves, Katz commented, adding that in the dualistic state, the mind controls us rather than the other way around.
To get past one's dualistic nature, Katz suggested a practice of self-inquiry: Set aside a 15-minute stretch, to ask "Who am I?" and examine where your thoughts come from. We are something beyond our thoughts, emotions and anxieties. Entering into the state of nonduality, "you'll simply be able to relax into the universe," and be in touch with your true nature or source, he said.