11 advanced approaches

1. Paradoxical questioning: Use questions that challenge the very premise of the client’s perceived problem. For example:

•    “Who is it that’s struggling with this issue?”
•    “Can you find the one who’s confused right now?”
•    These questions point to the absence of a separate self, inviting a direct recognition of nondual Awareness.

2. Reversing subject-object relationships: Guide the client to explore whether they are aware of their thoughts, or if Awareness is simply aware of thoughts arising. This can lead to a profound shift in identity.

3. Collapsing time: Invite the client to notice that past and future only exist as thoughts in the present moment. Questions like “Where is the problem right now?” can reveal the timeless nature of Awareness.

4. Embracing contradictions: Encourage the client to hold seemingly opposite truths simultaneously. For instance, “Everything is changing, yet nothing ever really changes.” This can short-circuit habitual dualistic thinking.

5. Direct pointing: Use precise language to indicate the ever-present nature of Awareness. “Notice what’s noticing right now.” This immediate pointing can bypass conceptual understanding.

6. Deconstructing experience: Guide the client to break down their experience into its basic components (sensations, thoughts, emotions) and notice the aware space in which all these arise.

7. Leveraging metaphors of space and emptiness: Use analogies that highlight the boundless, contentless nature of Awareness, such as comparing it to the space in a room that remains unaffected by objects within it.

8. Inquiry into the nature of knowing: Explore with the client how they know what they know. This can reveal the fundamental knowingness that underlies all experience.

9. Playing with perspective: Invite the client to view their situation from increasingly expansive viewpoints, ultimately including all of existence. This can reveal the limitless nature of their true identity.

10. Exploring the “not-knowing” state: Encourage resting in uncertainty and the space before thought arises. This can reveal the pure Awareness that precedes conceptualization.

11. Investigating the sense of “I”: Guide the client to look for the source of the “I” thought, potentially revealing its insubstantial nature.

These techniques require a delicate touch. They work by disrupting habitual patterns of thinking and perception, creating openings for direct recognition of nondual Awareness. The skill lies in applying them without turning them into new concepts for the client to grasp. Instead, they should serve as pointers, inviting the client to dive into their immediate, non-conceptual experience. The aim is not to add anything but to strip away layers of misidentification, revealing the simple, ever-present truth of Awareness.

Nondual tool: The Pause of Pure Noticing

In any moment during the coaching session, especially when the client is caught up in their story or struggling with a problem, gently interrupt and say:

“Let’s pause for a moment. Right now, in this very instant, simply notice what’s aware of your current experience. Don’t try to change anything or figure anything out. Just notice what’s noticing.” Then allow silence for a few breaths.

This does several things simultaneously:

1. It breaks the momentum of thought and brings attention to the present moment.
2. It shifts focus from the content to the aware space in which all experience occurs.
3. It points directly to the client’s true nature as awareness itself, beyond all concepts and identifications.
4. It reveals the inherent peace and clarity that’s always available, regardless of circumstances.
5. It demonstrates that insight doesn’t require effort but simply a recognition of what’s already here.

This “Pause of Pure Noticing” can be used repeatedly throughout a session, gradually training the client to recognize and rest in their true nature more easily and frequently. It works equally well for beginners and advanced clients. For some, it may trigger an immediate and profound shift in perspective. For others, it plants a seed that can flower into deeper understanding over time.

Your role is to hold the space of clear, open awareness while guiding the client to recognize this same quality within themselves. This single tool, when applied with skill and sensitivity, has the potential to catalyze the most fundamental insight of nonduality – the direct, mind-less recognition of true nature as boundless, ever-present awareness.