– updated August, 2026

When you don’t perceive experiences as yours but as symbols of Oneness, they do not establish you as a separate being – they establish you as a symbol of Oneness.

Duality Hack #3.1 from the free eBook Alexius’ Duality Hacks.

Alexius realised everything is a symbol of Oneness

Years ago, Alexius was stranded in the rainforest for two days without food or water. He had left the official path to follow a dried-out river down the mountain toward the sea, still on the right track. Yet the rainforest grew increasingly dense and impenetrable the closer he got to the ocean. So, by the end of the first day, Alexius had to give up digging through the thorny lianas and endure a cold but beautiful night in the forest.

After a sleepless night, exhaustion and dehydration led to dreamlike experiences. Combined with the sounds of the forest, they deepened the tranquillity. In this state, it became easy to accept the possibility of not surviving another cold night. With no unfulfilled longings, continuing individual existence appeared unimportant.

To his immense surprise, a helicopter noise resounded in the air at the end of the second day. As this noise appeared to absorb the perceived person of Alexius, an impersonal presence emerged. This presence wanted only to give back immediately what it had received psychologically. See Duality Hack #1.9.

At first, the implication of this was not clear. Fortunately, forgetting the need to understand led to the sense that immediately returning what was received would, psychologically, expose time and space as illusions. Since illusions cannot exist without reality, a world defined by time and space then becomes a symbol of Oneness. It is one perpetual present, so nothing moves forward without also moving backwards (Duality Hack #2.3).

Recognising this, it became clear that immediately giving back what is received psychologically symbolises the reality of Oneness. Consequently, every experience – including the one described here – becomes a symbol of that which is One.

There’s no fiction without reality

The feeling of being a substantial being in a physical world is not as solid as it appears. The brain fabricates this experience, just like a dream. It organises events and sensations to persuade us that we are tangible beings in an external physical world.

But there’s nothing false without something real. Therefore, if you perceive the fake experiences of you as a substantial being in an external world as symbols of reality, namely Oneness, they become different stories symbolising the same reality. Hence, gently undo your belief in being a substantial being in an external world.

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As repeatedly said, there’s no more than that which is One, as it’s formless and, thus, endless. Consequently, since Oneness is unable to create anything, you’re lost in a fantasy if you’re reading this. Still, there’s no fantasy without reality, namely Oneness. So, if you perceive your fantasy of more than one as a symbol of Oneness, everything in your fantasy becomes a positive confirmation of that which is One.

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Appearing in a world with more than one is like playing a character in a video game. The illusion of being there persists until you stop using thoughts and feelings to make your role feel real. Instead, use them as symbols of reality. Then, you see yourself not as a specific being, but as a symbol of the formlessness of Oneness, and thus released from the bounds of being someone definitive.

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It’s a myth that you get fat from eating fat. It’s like concluding you get green from eating greens! You burn fat by consuming the right fats, which helps you lose weight. It’s also a myth that you can be a specific person, because Oneness is formless and thus endless. Hence, every appearance is fictitious. However, as mentioned, there’s no fiction without reality. So, appearing as someone specific, you symbolise that which is real: the formlessness of Oneness.

Seeing more than one as a symbol of that which is One

A menu card doesn’t contain food – only symbols of it. Similarly, in a world with more than one, there’s nothing real, only symbols of it.

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A computer is not part of the world displayed on its screen, but it’s the reason you can experience it. That’s why the screen world symbolises the computer. Likewise, a world with more than one everything symbolises that which is One.

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We accept Santa Claus as real until we question it. In the same way, we believe in a world with more than one until we challenge this belief. When we do, we realise all experiences are make-believe. Thus, there’s nothing to undo except the belief in seeing something that is not there.

One way to undo this belief is to perceive our experiences as symbols of Oneness. The more we do this, the less their apparent differences seem to make a difference. Eventually, separation does not obscure that there is no more than that which is One.

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Since Oneness is formless and thus endless, experiencing a world with more than one is an illusion. To undo this illusion, you must first acknowledge that you believe it’s real. You do this by living in correspondence with a world that has more than one. Then undo the experience of such a world by consciously reinterpreting it as a symbol of Oneness.

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We don’t confine something by time and space when we acknowledge that everything in the world defined by time and space is a symbol of Oneness. Thus, eventually, no shape seems able to hide the formlessness of Oneness.  

Perceiving everything as symbols of Oneness is vitalising

When everything experienced is perceived as a symbol of what cannot be recognised – Oneness – there’s no need to understand anything

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None of the illuminated appearances in a dark room resembles electricity. It’s neither inside nor outside them. Still, they symbolise electricity because it makes them visible. In the same way, although Oneness is not in a world with more than one, and nothing resembles it, everything symbolises Oneness, since it is formless and thus endless, so without it you could not believe you see more than one.

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Life does not know what or where you believe you are. Like electricity, it does not see the world illuminated by an electric bulb.

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In music, you may prefer beats for dancing and the flute for relaxation. But if you’re interested in what makes those sounds possible, both ways feel just as vital, as they symbolise Oneness.

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Thoughts seem to hunt you when you seek out specific ones to interpret your experiences in line with a particular belief system. But if you see your experiences as symbols of Oneness, you don’t need specific thoughts to confirm a belief system. Consequently, you don’t perceive thoughts as troublesome.

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When you perceive the experience of more than one as a symbol of Oneness, nothing seems to make a difference. This abstractness reveals glimpses of Enlightenment (Duality Hack #11.2).

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As Oneness is formless, it’s everywhere. However, while you believe in a world confined by time and space, this belief seems to obscure the formlessness of Oneness. Luckily, the more it’s seen as a symbol of what makes belief in something specific possible, the more this belief is gently undone.