Marshall Davis, a retired Baptist minister and contemplative teacher, wrote Unitive Awareness: Talks on Christian Nonduality as a collection of reflections on the realization of unity with God, a theme that lies at the heart of Christian mysticism.
The book presents Davis’s understanding of what he calls “Christian nonduality,” which is the direct experience that there is no real separation between the individual and the Divine. Drawing from his long journey as a Christian pastor, as well as from his engagement with contemplative traditions both within and beyond Christianity, Davis offers a simple but profound articulation of awakening to divine oneness.
The book opens with Davis describing his own discovery of nonduality, a perspective often associated with Eastern spirituality but deeply rooted in Christian mystics such as Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, and John of the Cross. He explains that the language of nonduality refers to the realization that all apparent divisions are ultimately illusory, that God and creation are not two, and that the essence of every person is already one with the divine life. For Davis, this is not a philosophical claim but a direct spiritual experience that changes one’s perception of reality.
Davis emphasizes that this realization is not something to be achieved through effort or merit. Instead, it is a recognition of what is already true. The problem, as he sees it, is that people identify with the egoic self, the small, separate identity created by thought, rather than with the divine presence that animates all life. In Christ, he says, we see the perfect revelation of this unity. Jesus did not merely speak of union with God but embodied it. When Christ says, “I and the Father are one,” Davis interprets this as a statement of the unitive nature that all people share, though few realize it consciously.
Throughout the book, Davis speaks in an informal, meditative tone, as if offering spiritual talks rather than theological argument. He invites the reader into a contemplative awareness that transcends doctrinal boundaries. The goal of Christian nonduality, as he presents it, is not to adopt new beliefs but to awaken to the truth that God’s kingdom is already present within and around us. Salvation, in this sense, is not a future reward but the unveiling of what has always been.
He also contrasts unitive awareness with dualistic religion, which divides the world into sacred and profane, God and creation, heaven and earth. Dualism, Davis argues, produces fear, judgment, and alienation. Nonduality, by contrast, reveals love as the essence of all being. When a person sees that there is no separation, love naturally flows, because the boundary between self and other dissolves. This awareness does not abolish individuality, but it reorients it: one becomes a transparent vessel through which divine life expresses itself.
Several chapters explore how Christian symbols and language can be reinterpreted in light of nonduality. The Incarnation, for example, becomes a universal revelation that God takes on flesh in all of creation, not only in Jesus. The Cross becomes a symbol of the death of the ego, and the Resurrection a metaphor for awakening to new life in divine unity. Davis’s approach remains deeply Christ-centered, but he reads the gospel through the lens of mystical awareness rather than traditional dogma.
Davis also addresses practical spiritual life. He encourages silence, meditation, and simple presence as ways to rest in God rather than striving to reach God. He points out that nonduality is not about mystical experiences or altered states of consciousness, but about seeing the ordinary world as it truly is, infused with divine reality. The shift, he says, is one of perception rather than of place. God is not distant or hidden; God is the very essence of being itself.
A recurring theme is humility and surrender. Davis warns that even the idea of “attaining” enlightenment can reinforce the illusion of a separate self. Instead, awakening happens when the self is seen through, when one recognizes that there never was a separate self to begin with. In that recognition, peace, joy, and compassion naturally arise. The Christian life, in this light, becomes not a journey toward God but a realization of oneness with God that has always been true.
The book concludes with reflections on how unitive awareness transforms one’s relationship to the world. Seeing all as divine, one cannot help but act with compassion and nonjudgment. Suffering is seen not as punishment or absence of God, but as part of the divine play in which all things are embraced. Davis affirms that Christian nonduality is not a departure from Christianity, but a fulfillment of its deepest insight, that God is love, and that love is the unity of all existence.
Unitive Awareness: Talks on Christian Nonduality thus stands as both a contemplative guide and a modern articulation of Christian mysticism. Through its accessible and pastoral voice, Davis bridges the language of traditional Christianity with the universal insight of nonduality. His message is clear: there is only one reality, and that reality is God. To awaken to it is to awaken to life itself.