Dualistic thinking Options

Dualistic thinking is very relevant to people following spiritual paths of any kind, since it involves believers who claim to see and experience another existence and others who having not experienced anything they would describe as other-worldy, disregard these claims and it therefore divides people into two camps.

The language used is also a form of dualism as it separates entities into good and bad and places into discrete areas thus: Heaven and Hell.

Is dualistic thinking useful and a good way of hanging ideas on hooks for further exploration or does it lead to extremes of thought that lack balance and settle people into positions that are hard to find their way out of?

It depends on how you approaching a concept. For example, you say "breathing vs. not breathing", from that approach it is dualistic, but I would see it "I am breathing vs. I am underwater and drowning, drawing water to my lungs (I try to breath, the body function is performed but I draw water instead of air) vs. I am in coma in emergency room in hospital and oxygen is provided to me in mechanical way (am I breathing or not breathing in this case? my body is oxygenised, but I am not participating in the function) vs. I am holding my breath (I am not breathing by my will) vs. I am dead (I am not breathing).

I believe that in any case of dualistic statement, it is possible to unify it or break it to more separate elements depending on the approach (a Taoist would probably be able to unify the above statement in one).

The same with "dualistic vs. non-dualistic", "not dualistic" includes monism and pluralism, which have nothing in common (not of common origin) and consequently are separate categories. So it is “monism vs. dualism vs. pluralism”.

In the case of "Thinking vs. not thinking" again, if you approach it as “What to think?” on a subject the alternative options can become countless. Even in case of negative/ positive, in between them is zero which is neither.