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About the association

Nondualistiska Föreningen — Nonduality Sweden — is a non-profit association exploring some of the most fundamental questions we can ask, without requiring religious belief, metaphysical dogma or pseudoscientific claims.

Purpose

What we are for

What is consciousness? What is the self? What can science tell us about the nature of reality — and where do the limits of our models begin?

We bring together philosophy, consciousness research, phenomenology and contemplative practice. Science gives us extraordinarily powerful models of the relationships between observable phenomena, and yet fundamental questions remain. Why is there subjective experience at all? Is consciousness produced by matter, or could consciousness be more fundamental? Is the distinction between subject and object as fundamental as it appears? Can the observer ever be found among the objects being observed?

Across philosophical and contemplative traditions, people have questioned whether the individual self is what it appears to be. Today, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, neuroscience and consciousness research approach some of the same questions using very different methods. We are interested in where these investigations genuinely intersect — and equally interested in where they do not.

We are not here to invent another theory of consciousness. Robert Lawrence Kuhn and Closer To Truth have already gathered and categorised hundreds of them. Our aim is to make serious dialogue between existing perspectives possible, to examine their assumptions, and to explore where they converge and where they fundamentally disagree.

Everything the association does is offered free of charge. Donations are welcome and fund the work.

Language

Why this site is in English

Writing a Swedish association’s website in English was not an obvious decision, and we went back and forth on it. What settled it was that the questions this work is about are not Swedish questions. Whatever turns out to be worth anything here should be as available to someone in Lisbon or Taipei as to someone in Södermalm, and English is simply the language that makes that possible today.

It is a choice about reach, not about audience. Everything we do can be done in Swedish, and often is. Between us we work in Swedish, English, Romanian and Chinese, and both of us are equally at home in Swedish and English. If you would rather have a conversation, a seminar or a workshop in Swedish — or in one of the others — say so, and that is what we will do.

If a Swedish version of these pages would genuinely help you or the people you work with, tell us. It is on the list.

The founders

Who you would be talking to

There are real people behind this, with names, histories and opinions of their own. Here they are.

Portrait of Jin, co-founder of Nonduality Sweden

The contemplative phenomenologist

Jin

Psychiatrist · Engineering, University of Oxford · Medicine, Karolinska Institutet · Certified in mindfulness instruction

My deepest wish is to help reduce human suffering.

Born in China and raised in Sweden, I have spent many years exploring the meeting point of science and contemplative wisdom. I work as a psychiatrist, have studied engineering at the University of Oxford and medicine at the Karolinska Institute, and am certified in mindfulness instruction. My path has also been deeply influenced by Zen, Taoism, and the nondual teachings, for which I am especially grateful to my teachers Peter and Kalyani Lawry.

I live in Stockholm with my wife and our two young children. Family life continues to remind me that awakening is not separate from ordinary life — it is discovered in the midst of it.

This forum is not about adopting new beliefs or following a teacher. It is an invitation to discover, through your own direct experience, the peace, love, and freedom that have always been present.

It would be a privilege to walk this journey with you.

The analytical philosopher

Alex

Serial entrepreneur · MSc Business Administration, Stockholm & Shanghai universities · eMBA, Quantic & Harvard

I was born in Romania, grew up in Sweden, and in many ways began to know myself in China. My path has moved between business, law, science, philosophy, and entrepreneurship — but for a long time I still tried to find myself in roles, achievements, and ideas.

I first came across the idea of nonduality more than 20 years ago, but for a long time it remained just that — an idea. Only much later did it begin to feel relevant in a more direct and personal way, gradually changing how I thought about spirituality, science, and the self.

Today, my interest lies in the meeting point between philosophy, direct experience, and consciousness research. I do not see spirituality as a rejection of rationality or science, but as an invitation to examine what is most immediate: that we are conscious, aware, and experiencing.

Through Nonduality Sweden, I hope to create a space for open inquiry, dialogue, and direct exploration — without dogma, unnecessary mysticism, or the need to adopt new beliefs.

“Wisdom tells me I’m nothing. Love tells me I’m everything. And between the two, my life flows.”
Nisargadatta Maharaj. Yes — the analytical philosopher is the one who keeps this on the wall.

Taking part

An association is supposed to grow

Someone had to start this, and we did. That is a fact about how it began rather than a description of what it is meant to be. What we would like is a place where a lot of people think carefully about these questions together — and disagree in public, at some length, in good faith.

We both do this alongside full-time work. That sets a natural pace, and it is also why we would genuinely welcome people who want to help carry it: running a discussion group, contributing to the research work, translating material, checking our reasoning, or simply arguing with us from a position we have not considered. You do not need credentials, and you certainly do not need to agree with us. Curiosity and care are enough.

If any of that appeals, write and say so. Membership of the association is open, and joining it costs nothing.

Get in touch

Position

What we declare, rather than hide

The written guide the programme follows takes no position on the ultimate nature of reality, and its practical part requires no metaphysical commitment from anyone. Separately, and clearly marked as optional, it sets out a philosophical leaning towards a science-compatible idealism.

That leaning is stated as a wager, not a proof: a reasoned position taken under uncertainty. It does not replace scientific results, it is not required of any participant, and a considered physicalist, Russellian monist, panpsychist or religious thinker may weigh the same arguments differently and use the exercises exactly as they are.

We put that on the About page rather than in a footnote because concealing it would undermine everything else we say about keeping observation, interpretation and metaphysics apart.

Formalities

The association, on paper

Name: Nondualistiska Föreningen — Nonduality Sweden
Organisation number: 802552-3963
Form: Non-profit association (ideell förening), Sweden
Registered address: Box 582, 101 31 Stockholm, Sweden
Email: info@nonduality.se
Charter: stadgar (PDF, in Swedish)

We are not a health care provider, we keep no patient records, and nothing we offer is medical care.