Hi Physicalist et all.. I'll try and elaborate on a few points briefly since I  should be off on a few days trip right now  :P    

  I just want to reiterate here that THE topic here is extremely esoteric .. and the language used may vary from path to path. That being said  I' m still  "crazy" enough to try   : )     Always delighted to share ideas with open minded "souls"  <g>

PH  <<There is no soul so we are not dualistic but monistic.>>

*We agree here in that the individual BEing (whether they see themselves foremost as a physical entity or a non physical entity) is monistic in the sense that either way, they  perceive themselves as an individual  or separate entity.  Separate from "others,"  and separate from Source .. IF Source has been recognized.  * Hint.. WE are not DIFFERENT from Source ...  just as Dream and Dreamer are One and the same.  : )   But.. do NOT take my word for it.. go seeking.  Real Faith is essential. I have REAL faith  that the sun WILL in fact rise in the East tomorrow. That faith is based on something I have experienced for myself directly.  Blind faith belief is dangerous and has created many problems for humanity. 

  BTW   my name is Faith.. little cosmic joke.   Yes.. this world does have a great sense of humor.. once we get the joke.   Truely NOTHING here is what it seems.   The mind is nothing but an incredibly sophisticated Virtual Reality machine.                                        

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OK   I need to provide a few defintions here .. so we are at least in the same book.    

                        Dual vs Non-Dual

Wikipedia:   Nondualism implies that things appear distinct while not being separate.

The ancient (non-dual) philosophy of Kashmir Saivism  ..   is not actually a religion but more a VIEW of  Reality from its ULTIMATE perspective.  This rare perspective addresses  a constantly Changing reality  and  also its underlying  Constant Reality which is always supporting the dualistic perspective.  That's clear enough right?   LOL

In this usage Duality can be said to be ~ when the  individual mind  PERCEIVES itself as  a separate entity "Me"  or small self / i ,  while eveyone/everything else is considered to be " NOT Me" .. or  them.     So.. The Dualistic reality says ...   there is Me VS THAT which is NOT Me.  

One who is able to hold the Non-dual State (rare)  however perceives and Identifies with the WHOLE.. the pure essence of  everything.   This is the  " I "  or all inclusive SELF mode of Pure BEing.    ~ I AM THAT ~

 Is that helpful?  I think we can safely say that MOST people walking the earth today.. hold ONLY the Dualistic perspective. However there are those rare beings who are able to hold the Non-dual State as their constant reality, while others have had glimpses of THAT. This is NOT an exclusionary perspective but an all inclusive one.   Total ONEness with everything. Just as we might recognize that everyone in our dream.. is in fact us.. a product of our  own mind.   

 This is an extremely rare perspective and cannot be held by  intellectual  reasoning alone... just as a color blind person  cannot experience RED  no matter how hard they THINK about it OR how intelligent they are.     This Non-Dual Perspective is of a Transcendent nature. Still, It IS possible to KNOW ..    it can be sought...and will be sought once one is moved to do so.   Sound a bit mystical?  well yea  : )  it is to the mind which has yet to expand into this most esoteric reality.

It has nothing to do with any judgmental deity God of religion, but it does have everything to do with being able to eventually re-cognize our own True, and typically hidden, unlimited nature. 

 Religions (as I use the word) are just as contracted and trapped in duality as anyone.  Religion creates a dualistic God of Good Vs Evil because that is the way THEY see reality themselves.  It's just the way it is.  Religion sees God as being quite separate from themselves and to suggest otherwise would appear heretic to say the least.  This is because they have yet to recognize who THEY are. The mind IS veiled by the contracting ego. Still.. there is a reason for this.

Consider:  IF one is OMNIPRESENT  then they (their awareness) exists everywhere.  They cannot "GO" here and there... because they are already THERE.  For The ONE.. there is only HERE  and NOW.  There is no EXPERIENCE happening in this State of Pure BE~ing.  But contract that very same Awareness / Consciousness.. and suddenly The ONE gets do go places  DO things...  Via the contracted MIND  we can appear to have  experiences.    

So  its the SAME Consciousness in both instances.. in its INFINITE  non--dual State and also in Its FINITE  dualistic State.  We ARE that ONE Consciousness... however we are literally trapped in this dream of duality.. and NEED to awaken from it.  This True Awakening, to our own unlimited Higher SELF is what True Seekers seek  and eventually find. This Higher unchanging SELF is the same in all, it is the actual essence of everything.

* Note.. This was/is the REAL  purpose of  those such as Jesus, The Buddha, Jnaneshwar, and other rare Enlightened BEings.  Not to get us to some heaven, which is yet another plane of duality... but to awaken us to our own unlimited Consciousness.   To awaken our contracted awareness from this dream of "OTHER", limitation , and perceived imperfection. 

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Duality deals with opposites.. as in ...  Good VS Evil,  High VS Low, etc.   It is a State of judgment  where one thing or being is perceived as being DIFFERENT from another.  But from the NON-Dual State  the pure ESSENCE of ALL things/BEings is recognized .

An example might be...   There is this ONE block of Gold (Consciousness).. now an artist ( the mind)comes along and makes  a RING, a GOBLET, a LADLE, a KNIFE.    OK now lay them all out.    Someone who is in DUALITY  will ONLY be able to perceive them as DIFFERENT individual objects... rings, goblets, ladles, knives.. etc. also  they may PREFER the knife to the ladle.  While the Non-Dualist will be able to see BEYOND the individual forms and see that they all are the same perfect GOLD  (Consciousness).  

It is ONLY when the contracting ego  (That which LIMITS Pure *Consciousness ) is recognized that we have a chance to perceive the true  ESSENCE of our own BEing. This subtly vibrating esssence is at the core of all reality.

* [Consciousness here being the core Essence of all that is...  not only so called physical matter but all subtle sub atomic energy which supports that matter.    Think String Theory here] 

 Consciousness is our own AWARENESS of self ( typically as an individual entity)  as well as Unlimited  SELF  ... as ALL that IS... and IS Not.      See?  Pretty esoteric  : )

  Special note here on the "soul". : The best way I can but it for now is The soul is that non -physical part of us that is the seat of our individual awareness .. so, IF you know you exist.. it is the soul which holds this awareness.  Take away the physical form and what we ARE remains.  One therefore can leave their physical form and STILL be self aware.    But that's a long topic  which NO ONE should BELIEVE... they could though simply stay OPEN and then when they have an OOB.. (out of body experience),  they will receive the proof they need,and should insist on.   Until that happens though  .. and it could happen at any time why not stay neutral?    The mind being what it is.. to make a statement, such as.. there is no soul.. etc. actually works to cut one off from the very experience one NEEDS  to know they have more than a physical reality to them.   YES.. the mind IS that powerful.. and very subtle.   

  Also consider:  As a child we hold  this sense of 'self'  and at the age of 68 we STILL.. with all that water changed out, all those cells replaced, continue to maintain this same sense of "self'. What IS that sense of self that remains unchanged?  This is a great thing to ponder.

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Basically I have found that there are two types of people ... those who can only hold an ACCEPT /Reject perspective and those who are comfortable with yet a third option  which I call Fence Sitting.. .. being able to state simply   I DO NOT KNOW .. and remain NEUTRAL and truly OPEN to not only the possibilities but also some perceived impossibilities.  THIS requres some patience... a virtue that modern man seems to lack sadly. 

The main reason this  later view is so difficult to hold is  because of ... the EGO, which always likes to have an opinion of things... The EGO really finds it unpleasant to admit it might not know something  <g> 

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CHEM  << I agree you cannot prove there is a god but at least both of us are open to receiving such proof. Until then I think it is ludicrous to believe in ancient texts (Bible, Koran or Torah) from which you derive your fundamental info.>>

FAITH ~  I could not agree more on this point.   Blind faith is dangerous.   That being said... Even in old wives tales there is quite often a grain of substance to them... one might want to look deeper then instead of simply throwing out the baby with the bath water as they say.    The moon may not be made of cheese, but still there is a moon yes?  : )

 And on that note  I realy gotta run..   Later Dear Ones