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#2851 - Friday, June 22, 2007 -
Editor: Jerry Katz
The Nondual Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
Read the book inspired by the Highlights, One: Essential Writings on Nonduality: http://tinyurl.com/2blmhy
Three new books are featured.
The latest 2007 version of
HISTORY OF MYSTICISM:
The Unchanging Testament
by
IS NOW AVAILABLE AS A FREE EBOOK!
This is the celebrated classic History
regarded by many as the new Bible of contemporary
spirituality. I wish to make it available to all my friends
throughout the world; and so I am offering it free of charge to
all who request it. I am hopeful that you will help me in
this effort by forwarding it to your friends, and they to their
friends, until it reaches everyone with a desire for the
knowledge of God.
To get your copy of this 442 page Ebook (3.90 MB of
RAM), just send an email with the words History of
Mysticism in the Subject line to me at abhayanand@aol.com,
and I will send you by return email attachment your copy of this
life-changing book, at no charge to you.
I expect to be swamped with requests, so please be
patient if there is a delay in getting this Ebook to you. And
please visit my website: www.swami-abhayananda.com, where you can learn about my other available books
and read my latest articles. Many thanks to you all,
With my blessings,
Swami Abhayananda
cee's book, The Way of Knowledge, has been published and can be order here: http://www.booklocker.com/books/2942.html
. I have a copy of this book and it is a guidebook in self-inquiry.
You may also order it from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Way-Knowledge-cee/dp/1601451709/ref=sr_1_1/102-5936403-4980917?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182595902&sr=1-1. The description on Amazon says, The Way of Knowledge explains Enlightenment. Clarifying the ancient wisdom tradition of Advaita Vedanta, it points the way to deep spiritual knowledge. Meditations and "ponder points" offer an experiential method of understanding this advanced philosophy.
Here is an excerpt which was published in issue #2760. I'll post another excerpt in the near future.
To Do or Not to Do
There has been some confusion spawning from
a few modern day teachers of Advaita Vedanta that teach
"there is nothing you can do." This has spurned in some
people a lazy and ineffective "method" of spiritual
practice. Let us spend a moment to clear up the confusion. The
Way of Knowledge recommends effort in practice as long as there
is any semblance of an ego. The inquiry should be practiced until
complete and perfect enlightenment at which time spiritual
practice falls away spontaneously.
It is true that there is a real ego that is
a performer of actions. And it is true that the perfect nondual
Self is not an entity that can partake of action. As you delve
into inquiry, freedom and happiness become natural. You may
discover that right actions are occuring without much effort. You
may find that there is no one doing anything. There is simply no
doer. Is the body itself actually performing actions? The fleshy
body of blood and bones certainly has no power of its own. Is
there someone or some thing inside or outside the body who is the
performer of actions? As you become more adept at the inquiry
there may be a relinquishment of attachment to doership.
Similarly, you may find that there is no one
thinking anything. Where exactly is the one who thinks? Hidden in
the brain somewhere? Who thinks "your" thoughts? If you
find no thinker, do you still exist? Of course. To know there is
no particular entity causing your thinking is liberating indeed!
If thinking goes on, so what? Don't think twice about it. To be
free from thought is a tremendous relief.
Still, there should never be confusion over
what to do. The practice of inquiry is simple and straighforward.
You should put in great intention and effort toward your own
liberation and enlightenment. Do not let the statement, "Who
you really are is beyond doing and thinking," be an excuse
to avoid the work of disassembling the false identity. Just
because the ego turns out to be unreal, is no excuse not to
examine the ego. Who performs the enquiry? The enquiry itself
will answer the question. The inquiry starts out as a doing. It
is an effort made by the one who seems to be in bondage. If you
assume you are somebody, you cannot avoid the effort of spiritual
practice. You make a heroic effort until you understand real
Existence without a single doubt, until you are utterly free.
What starts out as doing ends up as _being_. The inquiry, "Who am I?" ends up as Existence - Consciousness - Bliss, pure Being. Real Existence has no actor or action. Once realized, it is understood that there was no action taken, the entity who thought they were not enlightened never existed, and no time was involved. "Being" is spontaneously revealed. _Until then, do practice!_
The book,
A review and excerpt was published in issue
#2836: http://www.nonduality.com/hl2836.htm
Here is the Amazon link:
This is the review I wrote for Amazon.com:
Fusion, paradox, and a gateway
This book is overflowing with enthusiastic,
pioneering,
sparkling, nonduality talkers. Each contributor gives 110%.
There's a sense of urgency to communicate. Thus this book is
very alive.
"Nondual consciousness is experienced
as the basis of contact,
the most intimate contact one can have, with oneself and
others," writes Judith Blackstone, revealing the cornerstone
of this book.
The authors consider the paradox of
nonduality: that you can
talk as if you know the nondual, and there is no one to know
it. Kaisa Puhakka says, "...that paradox is an antidote to
seriousness, and so a gateway to openness and humility."
This book is an excellent introduction to
nonduality. Read it
for that reason alone. The purpose though is to show how
nonduality is inherently fused to psychotherapy. Buddhist
teachings are mostly the backdrop for this work. Therapists
will appreciate that the authors speak their language, and
will benefit from the practical side of this book. All readers
could benefit, as the pursuit of nonduality is often an
intense psychological adventure.