The Book of No One: Talks and Dialogues on Non-Duality and Liberation

By Richard Sylvester

In this poignant book, humanist psychologist Richard Sylvester provides readers with unique insights regarding life's most difficult question: Who are we?

The human mind is compelled to search for meaning. But when we let go of our notion of the self, we are often confronted with the emptiness of the world. However, even in that emptiness, love and purpose can be found. In The Book of No One, Richard Sylvester continues to communicate the radical and uncompromising view of non-duality expressed in his first book, I Hope You Die Soon. With clarity, humor, and compassion, Sylvester answers many questions about the harsh truths of reality, especially the nature of non-duality, liberation, and enlightenment.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 095582902X
• ISBN13: 9780955829024
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Non-Duality
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

a review by no one

well I am enjoying the book very much.It is thought provoking,writen with a great sense of humor and is very clear and easy to grasp.So yes I am glad I read it and highly recommend the book.However having said that comes the tougher part-trying to see the book as a means to an end and how to live up to what I read.But that is only part of my lifes journey.

As strikingly clear as it gets

This book has a simply marvelously liberating effect like no other, always accompanied by fine british humor. There are not divagations included, no tempting spiritual ideas and elaborations, no - all this is consequently being erased until freedom alone remains. But there is no guarantee for this also! The chapters' introductions and the following dialogues are permeated by such a delightly flowing style that one cannot help to cheerfully smile or even burst out laughing at nearly every passage. And virtually everywhere along the way, the seed of liberation is being planted through the crust of the apparent person whose means of existence is constantly - oftentimes even rationally absolutely plausible - withdrawn. Hence my suggestion: Buy it. Then you'll clearly and plainly get to see what it is to receive here. That is, nothing and with it everything!

See Through the Mind's Wonderful Stories

PLAYFUL BOLDNESS: Richard Sylvester uses language with playful boldness. Look at the titles of his two books: I Hope You Die Soon (originally rejected by Hallmark Cards publishing) and The Book of No One. The latter is a play on Dennis Waite's The Book of One and firms-up the current stand-off between traditional advaita and neo-advaita. Traditional advaita, represented by Waite's The Book of One (and many other works), demands practice, association with a sage, and a course of study grounded in scriptures, mainly the Upanishads. Neo-advaita, or neo-nonduality, is represented by The Book of No One (and many other books), and is a confession, an utterance, a declaration: "This is it." No practice, study, guru, tradition, scripture, or process is necessary for seeing that "this is it." However, I want to make it clear that the debate between traditional advaita and neo-advaita is not the topic of this book. It is addressed along with many other topics. OVER 500 QUESTIONS: Richard addresses at least 500 questions and comments from Everyseeker, Everysearcher: "Is there any point in being at these talks or is it pointless?" "Can you speak about how the body is seen through? It seems so strong, this feeling that I'm a person who has a body." "I feel there have been glimpses of this and I've felt a real fear because of it." "When everything is seen as unconditional love, is it seen inside me?" "So if there's nobody there, what's left? What's telling the story?" "Richard, how do you know you're not kidding yourself?" Look at how he handles one question, bringing interest, spirit, and controversy to his response: "So does it matter which spiritual or religious story we listen to or don't listen to?" "No. It's completely meaningless. It has no importance whatsoever. Nevertheless, this story points as directly as possible to Oneness whereas most stories point directly away from it. And there are some stories that point towards this in an indirect way. But none of that matters at all. It's no better and no worse to talk about God in the sky that it is to talk about this. It's just that some of us are attracted to this story and some of us to different stories. There are different personalities with different flavours. "Of course in the world of phenomena where stuff happens, some of these stories tend to lead to a lot of slaughter, while others don't. This story doesn't tend to lead to slaughter. There hasn't been a Non-duality Crusade yet. But if more and more people become interested in the story of Non-duality, there may well be one. There may be a huge schism and eventually a Non-duality war." THE THEME OF STORIES: It may be seen that there is "this," all things arising in and as the mind of God, or light of consciousness. As waves arise and fall and yet are not separate from the ocean, so our stories about ourselves and our life rise and fall and are neither meaningful nor meaningless. However, as Richard tells us,