This book represents the essence of my work, as far as it can be
conveyed in words, with individuals and small groups of spiritual
seekers during the past ten years, in Europe and in North America. In
deep love and appreciation, I would like to thank those exceptional
people for their courage, their willingness to embrace inner change,
their challenging questions, and their readiness to listen. This book
would not have come into existence without them. They belong to
what is as yet a small but fortunately growing minority of spiritual
pioneers: people who are reaching a point where they become
capable of breaking out of inherited collective mind-patterns that have
kept humans in bondage to suffering for eons.
I trust that this book will find its way to those who are ready for such
radical inner transformation and so act as a catalyst for it. I also hope
that it will reach many others who will find its content worthy of
consideration, although they may not be ready to fully live or practice
it. It is possible that at a later time, the seed that was sown when
reading this book will merge with the seed of enlightenment that each
human being carries within, and suddenly that seed will sprout and
come alive within them.
The book in its present form originated, often spontaneously, in
response to questions asked by individuals in seminars, meditation
classes, and private counseling sessions, and so I have kept the
question-and-answer format. I learned and received as much in those
classes and sessions as the questioners. Some of the questions and
answers I wrote down almost verbatim. Others are generic, which is
to say I combined certain types of questions that were frequently
asked into one, and extracted the essence from different answers to
form one generic answer. Sometimes, in the process of writing, an
entirely new answer came that was more profound or insightful than
anything I had ever uttered. Some additional questions were asked by
the editor so as to provide further clarification of certain points.
You will find that from the first to the last page, the dialogues
continuously alternate between two different levels.
On one level, I draw your attention to what is false in you. I speak of
the nature of human unconsciousness and dysfunction as well as its
most common behavioral manifestations, from conflict in relationships
to warfare between tribes or nations. Such knowledge is vital, for
unless you learn to recognize the false as false — as not you — there
can be no lasting transformation, and you would always end up being
drawn back into illusion and into some form of pain. On this level, I
also show you how not to make that which is false in you into a self
and into a personal problem, for that is how the false perpetuates
itself.
On another level, I speak of a profound transformation of human
consciousness — not as a distant future possibility, but available now
— no matter who or where you are. You are shown how to free
yourself from enslavement to the mind, enter into this enlightened
state of consciousness and sustain it in everyday life.
On this level of the book, the words are not always concerned with
information, but often designed to draw you into this new
consciousness as you read. Again and again, I endeavor to take you
with me into that timeless state of intense conscious presence in the
Now, so as to give you a taste of enlightenment. Until you are able to
experience what I speak of, you may find those passages somewhat
repetitive. As soon as you do, however, I believe you will realize that
they contain a great deal of spiritual power, and they may become for
you the most rewarding parts of the book. Moreover, since every
person carries the seed of enlightenment within, I often address
myself to the knower in you who dwells behind the thinker, the
deeper self that immediately recognizes spiritual truth, resonates with
it, and gains strength from it.
The pause symbol after certain passages is a suggestion that you
may want to stop reading for a moment, become still, and feel and
experience the truth of what has just been said. There may be other
places in the text where you will do this naturally and spontaneously.
As you begin reading the book, the meaning of certain words, such as
“Being” or “presence,” may not be entirely clear to you at first. Just
read on. Questions or objections may occasionally come into your
mind as you read. They will probably be answered later in the book,
or they may turn out to be irrelevant as you go more deeply into the
teaching — and into yourself.
Don’t read with the mind only. Watch out for any “feeling-response”
as you read and a sense of recognition from deep within. I cannot tell
you any spiritual truth that deep within you don’t know already. All I
can do is remind you of what you have forgotten. Living knowledge,
ancient and yet ever new, is then activated and released from within
every cell of your body.
The mind always wants to categorize and compare, but this book will
work better for you if you do not attempt to compare its terminology
with that of other teachings; otherwise, you will probably become
confused. I use words such as “mind,” “happiness,” and
“consciousness” in ways that do not necessarily correlate with other
teachings. Don’t get attached to any words. They are only stepping
stones, to be left behind as quickly as possible.
When I occasionally quote the words of Jesus or the Buddha, from A
Course in Miracles or from other teachings, I do so not in order to
compare, but to draw your attention to the fact that in essence there
is and always has been only one spiritual teaching, although it comes
in many forms. Some of these forms, such as the ancient religions,
have become so overlaid with extraneous matter that their spiritual
essence has become almost completely obscured by it. To a large
extent, therefore, their deeper meaning is no longer recognized and
their transformative power lost. When I quote from the ancient
religions or other teachings, it is to reveal their deeper meaning and
thereby restore their transformative power — particularly for those
readers who are followers of these religions or teachings. I say to
them: there is no need to go elsewhere for the truth. Let me show
you how to go more deeply into what you already have.
Mostly, however, I have endeavored to use terminology that is as
neutral as possible in order to reach a wide range of people. This
book can be seen as a restatement for our time of that one timeless
spiritual teaching, the essence of all religions. It is not derived from
external sources, but from the one true Source within, so it contains
no theory or speculation. I speak from inner experience, and if at
times I speak forcefully, it is to cut through heavy layers of mental
resistance and to reach that place within you where you already
know, just as I know, and where the truth is recognized when it is
heard. There is then a feeling of exaltation and heightened aliveness,
as something within you says: “Yes. I know this is true.”
CHAPTER ONE
YOU ARE NOT YOUR MIND