What is the difference between dualistic and non-dualistic theological models of reality?

The primary difference between dualistic and non-dualistic theological models of reality rests on the nature and number of subjective presences.

Within a dualistic model, communion is strictly relational. If a divine presence is invited to dwell within a human, two separate subjects interact and coexist within the individual, but these presences never collapse into a single entity. The human subject remains intrinsically created and finite, while the divine subject remains uncreated and infinite. Intimacy is achieved, but absolute ontological separation is maintained. Two distinct knowing presences exist together simultaneously.

Conversely, according to the non-dual framework, no external presence exists to invite because no fundamental boundary exists between an inside and an outside. The single knowing presence is already the foundational reality of the localized individual. The individual’s sense of self is not an autonomous, separate entity, but rather a specific focal point of a singular universal awareness. This understanding aligns with Acts 17:28: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”

When the non-dual revelation occurs, the number of knowing presences does not change. Instead, the localized subject recognizes that the intrinsic capacity to be aware is the universal awareness itself. The sensation of being a separate, isolated knower relaxes, revealing the singular presence that is the fundamental reality. ●