How Does Non-Duality Differ from Solipsism?

In this conversation about solipsism and non-duality, a woman asks: if her essential nature is consciousness, and the world is the dream of consciousness, does that mean that the world she experiences is a projection in her own mind?

Rupert says: ‘According to solipsism, all reality consists of is your mind; but that’s not non-duality. What we perceive as the world is a result of an interaction between reality – infinite consciousness – and the mind through which it is perceived. So, the world as we know it derives its reality from infinite consciousness, but borrows its appearance from the finite mind.

‘We could say the world is the dream of the universal mind, but not just the dream of an individual mind. Just as the world you dream of at night appears in your single individual mind, this world that we experience in the waking state appears in a single awareness, a single universal mind – but not a single finite mind.

*This video is from one of Rupert’s in-person retreats at The Vedanta, 3–10 June 2023. To view and book for upcoming retreats (many of which can be attended online via livestream) go to:

Timestamps:

0:00 Is the World a Projection of My Mind?
2:23 The Same World, Different Points of View
3:23 What Is the Reality of the World?
4:36 Reality Is More than the Mind
6:11 What Is Solipsism?
8:39 Consciousness Experiencing Itself

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RS23080i

[RogerioLupoArteCientifica]

there's a missing piece in Rupert's discourse that could help clarify the difference between solipsism and nondual perspective.

In our dreams, although everything is happening inside our own individual mind, we're not alone in there. There's an infinite number of dream characters and our dream self is not the dreamer, but just another character. In this sense, we could say that the dreamer is not the somewhat conscious and limited character we represent in the dream, but the unlimited unconscious mind.

From that unconscious mind, all the other characters and elements of the dream arise. They are not the fruit of the imagination of our finite and limited dream self, but come from the infinite and unlimited unconscious mind (which by the way could be considered as being the same collective unconscious mind, which in turn equals infinite awareness).

That's why we can ask any of our dream characters a question and be totally surprised by the answer we get. We are also surprised by thoroughly unexpected events in the dream, since the content of the dream does not arise from the conscious imagination of the individual dream self that we represent, but from the content of our unconscious mind. In other words, the dreamer is not the individual character we play in the dream, but the whole mind of the one who is sleeping in bed.

However, the individual imagination of the dream self that we are in our dreams can influence and create some things in the dream too. But the influence is very restricted and doesn't ever take over. The supreme is always leading the dream.

In this sense, within the dream, we're not the character. We are just EVERY SINGLE element of our dreams. We are the sky in our dreams, the ground, the wind, the landscapes, the dream self, and also all the other persons and living beings. We are the whole dream. And this wholeness is the ultimate dreamer.

The same goes for our "waking" life. It's not our individual self who dreams this universe, but our whole, supreme self, which is the same in everyone, a dimension of being we all share. It's not even a share, as there's no individual self. The only thing that exists is the dream. Individual self is an optical illusion.

In some sense, we could call this supreme self the superconscious mind, which contains everything, including our individual and our collective unconscious mind. The superconscious is the dreamer of the whole, the one who sends us intuitions and wisdom, guidance, signs, and synchronicities. It is what we are, but not as persons. It is what we ultimately are. All these aspects that appear in our reality don't need to arise in our limited imagination before they appear in our lives. They come from another dimension of our mind, an infinite and supreme dimension.

That doesn't mean we don't have any influence in the reality. Our individual state of being can cause a lot of change. But it doesn't ever take over. However, the more we relax the contraction and expand our being, and the more we disidentify from our limited minds, the more we also expand our influence on the world. That influence doesn't take imagination, at least not primarily. It takes the right state of being, which ends up also influencing our imagination, of course.

Obs.: it's important to point out that the definition of solipsism is often mistaken (even by Rupert) as the belief that the individual mind is all there is and everything sprouts from that. But in truth, solipsism is not a belief, but the actual observation that no one can prove to oneself the existence of anything or anybody else, except oneself. Every strategy one tries to design to prove it would necessarily have to deploy external tools, which inevitably are part of the very existence that one is trying to verify. This is precisely what led Descartes to ponder "What can I be absolutely sure of, after all?". His conclusion was the famous "I think therefore I am" - which by the way is a mistaken conclusion, as thought is not proof of existence. The ultimate proof would perhaps be "I perceive, therefore I exist" (who knows?).

[sadafpouriliyaei]

Thank you so much Gabrielle, your question was my question too. And, my mind was exploding until I found this video. And Thanks a million to Rupert for being so wise and nice🙏

[Auraspure]

What i found really liberating is the fact that we don't know anything for fact and will never be. So speaking of solipsism (what i believed aswell in the past) is like rupert said: "A believe". So you can either believe it or u dont. What ever you decide to be true can be illusionary true. If you feel negative about it or positive, doesn't matter.
The only thing what is ultimately true is what happens right now. Sound of passing cars, thoughts, breath. What ever you can experience is true. Even the act of believing is true in the moment you catch that believer thought. But clinging to it to make it your reality is not true.

[tsbinlv]

I had a long struggle with Solipsism and I believe it is a form of madness, or disassociation. I was able to get out of it by gradually re-teaching myself to acknowledge that reality cannot be reduced to my singular consciousness. I am not controlling what appears, I am interacting with it.

[EnergiCodes]

I'm glad we have you to answer these questions Rupert. Once waking up we have so many questions that we cannot ask our friends without sounds crazy

[arturtarnowski]

It has to be not easy to answer so many questions with this responsibility that lies on mr Spira.

[jasonkim]

Thanks Rupert!!! I've been trying to get my ACIM teacher explain this to me in a way that makes sense for ages!!! This just explained it in 1 minute flat! I'm amazed. What a relief. 😂

[helmutwalch]

Rupert 🥰. Just as the sea is everything, and every wave (player) borrows its existence from the sea! But however beautiful the wave may be, it is always the sea itself 😜🥳🪄
And there is nothing else that would be 🥰

[ZenSolipsist]

I’m glad he answered this specific question. I see myself in everyone as Consciousness, but I don’t believe this is only my dream. I think the former is important to experience to feel true empathy, while the latter is the dangerous egoistic trap we can fall into when awakening from the illusion of being an individual begins, like the last trick it pulls before dying. I’ve heard solipsism defined as the belief that the self is the only thing that can be known to exist, I think that self is consciousness/awareness or the Beloved in the nondualistic sense. Everyone including myself as equally precious. In that sense, I’m not afraid to call myself a solipsist. I might be splitting hairs, but I’m very interested in this topic.

I just think like Rupert once said, once you know we’re One not to let it get to our heads. Feedback is welcome if I didn’t cover my bases or you sense my thinking may be off💯

Thank you Rupert 🧡

[vicenteramirez]

Solipsism is a synonym for non duality...
Ther is only one being GOD experiencing existence through infonite "lenses" of perception...
You interact with yourself...that is why we are all ONE...

[adamkallin]

The problem with this explanation is that Rupert always asks us to look at our direct experience. But my direct experience doesn’t indicate that there is any other awareness than my own.

[baharam]

I wonder if at some point in our experience of life, we've felt as the questionnaire has. Thank you Rupert for the wonderful and easy to understand explanation.

[yatutgg]

the distinction between non-duality and solipsism is subtle yet profound, touching upon the very nature of reality and our perception of it. To explore this difference is to delve into the essence of existence and the nature of self-awareness.

Non-duality, at its core, is the recognition of a singular, unified reality beyond the illusion of separation. It reveals that the apparent dualities and distinctions we perceive are ultimately expressions of a deeper, singular essence. In this view, all forms and phenomena are interconnected manifestations of one underlying consciousness. Non-duality acknowledges the existence of the world and other beings while emphasizing that they are not separate from the essential unity of existence.

Solipsism, on the other hand, is a philosophical perspective that suggests that only one's own mind and its perceptions can be known to exist. It posits that everything outside of one's own consciousness is uncertain or illusory, reducing the reality of the external world and other beings to mere projections or constructs of one's own mind. This viewpoint can lead to an isolationist perspective where the external world and others are seen as non-existent or irrelevant to one's own experience.

The key distinction lies in the recognition of interconnectedness versus isolation. Non-duality embraces the interconnectedness and unity of all existence, acknowledging that while individual experiences and perceptions may vary, they arise from a shared essence of consciousness. It invites you to see beyond the illusion of separateness and recognize the fundamental oneness of all things.

Solipsism, however, confines the understanding of reality to the limits of the individual mind, questioning the existence or relevance of the external world and others. It reflects a more self-centered view that does not necessarily acknowledge the interconnected and interdependent nature of existence as described in non-duality.

To align with non-duality is to embrace the unity and wholeness of reality, recognizing that your own consciousness is not separate from the essence of all that exists. It is a profound realization that transcends the isolation inherent in solipsism and reveals the shared, interconnected nature of existence. By resting in this understanding, you find a deeper connection with the essence of all beings and the true nature of reality.

[paulharper]

Life is not worth living, if i give up learning about my Infinite (SELF).
Life can only get Better, Knowing we are each other's unified ONENESS!
Thank you Rupert Spiral! 🙏

[taminora]

It's like the screen and the movie, the screen is universal consciousness, and the movie is our personal consciousness.

[gra]

I once had a dream and in that dream someone asked me, if this is a dream who’s dreaming it? My first inclination was to say “it’s my dream so Im dreaming it.” Then it occurred to me that if I gave up the ownership of the dream then everyone, and everything in the dream could clam the dream. That’s when I began to understand “no self, no other.

[jordanlafontaine]

In my own current understanding I personally prefer not to make the distinction that "a finite mind" dreams our private dreams at night and a "universal mind" dreams all possible waking state perspectives.

I see it as one Universal Mind or Infinite Consciousness - which we all are - dreams BOTH private dreams and all waking state perspectives. I strongly intuit that waking state perspectives do correlate and CORRESPOND with each other to create what some people refer to as a "consensus reality."

In a sense, I think there is SOME truth to both the solipsistic view and non-solipsistic view in that I intuit that YES we (Infinite Consciousness) are experiencing our own fully self-created dream even in the waking state AND there are bound to be other perspectives within Consciousness that correspond with the one we are currently experiencing now, all of which are self-created.

Consciousness is so infinitely flexible, creative and free that it could have infinite private "non-consensus" dream experiences and infinite "consensus" dream experiences where perspectives "match up" with each other such that when I am done writing this, there is also a perspective where someone is reading it.

[sumittrox]

I have to differ with him this time:

Having been a practitioner of OBE (Out of Body Experience for 15 years), everything that you see outside of your material body through consciousness (being a part of God consciousness of one consciousness) exists in a reality that is either parallel, or the world where we go after leaving the body post death.

There are many realities that exist commonly one time, that's why you see many of our loved ones, friends, past life incidents, or even a version of a person who is alive in that world of one consciousness when in sleep that we call dream

It exists, & you can feel it when you are not in body, that's why when you are about to experience a fall in a dreaming state or any incident that scares you, immediately after returning to body, you experience a jerk like feeling, that's a sign of consciousness returning back ..

I'm a big time follower of Rupert & love his work,

[KK-sggl]

I’ve heard non duality speakers describe “what is” just like she did. I bet that’s why she was confused.

I’d bet $20 that if you looked through 100 hours of Rupert’s talks, you’d even find him saying something like this.

What about this question? If, before your body dies, you do something that affects the world (and all the other minds) in a profound way? It could be in a good way, or a terrible way. Either way, even when you’re gone and your mind is no longer projecting this reality to you, what you did is still affecting the realities of everyone else. Yet these speakers would say that that’s not true. That what we “DO” is irrelevant.

Well if what we do affects the projected reality of other minds, then of course it’s relevant.

I would have asked this question as a follow up after hearing the answer presented here.

[sevi]

What an amazing answer from an enlighten man!!! 🙏 Infinite love 💕 Rupert