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WORK TITLE: Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers
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WEBSITE: http://www.richardsylvester.com/
CITY: London, England
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COUNTRY: United Kingdom
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http://blog.non-dualitypress.com/2016/08/12/qa-richard-sylvester-author-of-non-duality-questions-non-duality-answers/ * https://www.newharbinger.com/author/richard-sylvester
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Male.
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CAREER
Humanistic psychologist, therapist, and lecturer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Richard Sylvester is a humanistic psychologist, therapist, and lecturer who has used various spiritual practices during his thirty-year career. He has also trained in psychotherapeutic techniques and teaching counseling. Sylvester has written several books on non-duality, and he conducts meetings about non-duality in London and other cities.
Sylvester rejects describing non-duality as a tradition, a philosophy, or a movement, rather his concept of non-duality is a rejection of the self. In an interview on the New-Duality Press Web site, he explained: “There is no self. There is no separation. There is nothing to find and there is no one who seeks. There is only This, whatever is apparently happening. This is it and This is enough. There is unconditional love. If This is seen, it will be the end of what you think is your life.”
I Hope You Die Soon and The Book of No One
In 2006, Sylvester published I Hope You Die Soon, an introduction to non-duality. He explains that liberation comes from seeing that all phenomena arises in awareness without a person mediating them. Liberation is the loss of the sense that there was a separate individual who could choose to bring about liberation. With no sense of separating the individual, fear and vulnerability of the individual fall away, leaving behind relaxation and a life simply lived.
Sylvester’s The Book of No One: Talks and Dialogues on Non-Duality and Liberation, published in 2008, offers readers the answer to the question: Who are we? He uses humor and compassion to explain that we need to let go of the idea of the self. Even though this leaves a sense of emptiness of the world, it is necessary for the discovery of love and purpose. Teaching the view of non-duality, he answers many questions about the harsh truths of reality. Drink Tea, Eat Cake is Sylvester’s 2011 part travelogue of his book tour in Germany and part book of non-duality dialogues. The book collects his talks, commentaries, and observations during his travels as he is met with skepticism but also appreciation. He responds to audience questions and helps people understand the non-dual perspective.
Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers
In 2016, Sylvester wrote Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers: Exploring Spirituality and Existence in the Modern World, a thorough exploration of non-duality spiritual liberation, and seamless Oneness. The book is a compilation of 500 questions and answers that address a vast number of topics, such as karma, angels, anxiety, gurus, gratitude, meditation, suffering, God, death, fear, despair, predestination, relationships, reincarnation, and unconditional love. Sylvester contends that instead of struggling to realize oneness, we can simply forget the struggle, let go of the stories we tell ourselves, and just relax.
Admitting that readers new to the new age movement or spiritual path might find Sylvester’s material confusing, a reviewer in Publishers Weekly nevertheless noted that those who are more versed in spiritual liberation and the concept of non-duality will get more out of the book. The reviewer said: “For those curious about the little-understood movement and what it really means, this book will be a welcome guide.” Praising the book, Kristine Morris said online at Foreword Reviews: “Compassionate, provocative, and even humorous, Sylvester’s answers to the fundamental questions that often leave spiritual seekers frustrated provide clarity.”
Sylvester describes neo-advaita, or neo-nonduality, as a confession, an utterance, a declaration: “This is it,” without the need for practice, study, guru, scripture, or process and without creating narratives or stories. Online at This Is Nonduality, Jerry Katz said: “The Book of No One is one of the most rounded-out books in the neo-advaita or neo-nonduality genre, a solid contribution, and Richard Sylvester is one of the smoothest and plainest talkers about a topic that, as has been shown in this review, you can’t talk about.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly July 11, 2016, review of Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers: Exploring Spirituality and Existence in the Modern World, p. 63.
ONLINE
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com (August 26, 2016), review of Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers
This Is Nonduality, https://nonduality.org (March 12, 2017), review of The Book of No One: Talks and Dialogues on Non-Duality and Liberation.*
Richard
Sylvester
,
Biography:
Richard Sylvester is a humanistic psychologist, therapist, and lecturer. For thirty years he engaged with a variety of spiritual practices while training in psychotherapeutic techniques and teaching counseling. Sylvester has written three previous books on non-duality: I Hope You Die Soon, The Book of No One, and Drink Tea, Eat Cake. He holds meetings about non-duality in London, England, and elsewhere. To learn more, please visit www.richardsylvester.com.
Q&A: Richard Sylvester, Author of Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers
Posted on August 12, 2016 by Non-Duality Press
New this September, Non-Duality Press presents Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers, the latest book from humanistic psychologist, therapist, and lecturer Richard Sylvester. With compassion, respect, provocation, and humor, the book explores non-duality from a variety of angles, addressing questions on a wide range of topics—from A Course in Miracles to gurus to madness to zen and so much more. Here, Sylvester provides answers to many of our questions about non-duality.
What does non-duality mean to you?
This is the briefest way I can sum up non-duality: There is no self. There is no separation. There is nothing to find and there is no one who seeks. There is only This, whatever is apparently happening. This is it and This is enough. There is unconditional love. If This is seen, it will be the end of what you think is your life.
Would you call non-duality a tradition, a philosophy, or a movement; a stage, an absolute, or something else?
As soon as we turn non-duality into a tradition, a philosophy, a movement, or even worse, into a religion, we have turned it into yet another story, like the story of Buddhism, the story of Christianity, or the story of Existentialism. Immediately we have deprived it of its aliveness and turned it into a dead thing, a thing which the mind now feels it can safely deal with.
All that can really be said is that non-duality is an attempt to describe what is seen when the self is seen through. As this is actually indescribable, this attempt must fail. I think it was Alan Watts who put this most neatly when he said he was “trying to eff the ineffable.”
Ultimately we could say that those like me who write or speak about non-duality can only offer pointers. Yet even here, if we’re being honest, we have to add that we are pointing at that which cannot be pointed at.
How does non-duality differ from other spiritual paths (if it can be considered such a path)?
Non-duality is not a spiritual path and the seeing of non-duality renders all spiritual paths redundant. Spiritual paths are invented by the mind as a way of filling up the time between birth and death. The easiest way for the mind to stay in control—which is where it wants to be—is to set up an impossible goal and then persuade us that it can help us to reach it.
To this end, the mind creates the idea of a higher self, which must be developed, and a lower self, which must be eschewed. Now we are engaged in a war of purification with ourself and the mind can amuse itself with this war for years.
But there is no higher or lower self. There is only This.
Do you subscribe to a direct-path or progressive approach to non-duality (or something else)?
There is no path to non-duality, either direct or progressive. How can we approach that which already is the case? How can we get closer to what we already are? Both direct and progressive paths are invented by the mind to entertain ourselves with. They may be particularly needed for this purpose on wet Sunday afternoons.
What do you see as the main areas of controversy in the world of non-duality?
The monkey mind will always create controversy and the closer people are to each other in their view of the world, the more fiercely they will fight each other over the minor distinctions in their beliefs. Freud called this “The narcissism of small differences.”
The main areas of controversy where non-duality is concerned could be summed up like this:
There is such a thing as liberation. There is no such thing as liberation.
There is such a thing as a path to liberation. There is no such thing as a path to liberation.
Endless arguments take place on the Internet over this, sometimes generating a great deal of “web rage,” which is the Internet equivalent of road rage. In this way the mind is kept busy and therefore happy. Meanwhile This just goes on being This and none of this controversy matters in the least.
One of your previous books is titled I Hope You Die Soon—what does that title mean to you?
At a time in my life when, like many other people, I experienced a considerable amount of despair, I sometimes talked to Tony Parsons, author of The Open Secret. One afternoon I went up to him after one of his meetings, as usual in despair, and he gave me a warm hug and said, “I hope you die soon.”
What he meant was that he hoped that my sense of self would die, or in other words that my sense of being a person would disappear so that I might see liberation. Later on, this seemed like an appropriate title for my first book about non-duality.
Another of your books is titled The Book of No One—what inspired that title?
When liberation is seen, it is seen by no one. Indeed, it is the very presence of the sense that “I am a person, a someone” which prevents liberation being seen. When the sense of self collapses, there liberation simply is. So again, it seemed an appropriate title.
What was the motivation for your new book, Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers?
I had no motivation in the usual sense. I have no teaching, path, or practice to offer. What’s more, if you come across someone writing or talking about non-duality who does offer a teaching, path, or practice, I’d suggest that you run away from them as fast as possible.
I am simply trying to describe something. And I enjoy writing, particularly if I am sitting in a comfortable leather armchair in a coffee bar. Many individuals had written to me with questions over the years and I felt that the answers I had given to all these individuals might be of interest to a wider readership.
I have now written four books about non-duality and I feel that Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers will probably be my last. The book I am writing at the moment is not about non-duality. Provisionally titled Confessions of a Seeker: Adventures in Spirituality, Therapy, and Belief, it gives a rather naughty account of my thirty years of seeking before I came upon non-duality. So it is quite different to my other books. I suppose it could be considered to be the prequel.
You could say my motive was to have fun. Or we could just say that writing the book simply happened, that it is a book about no one, written by no one.
Learn more about non-duality with Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers—available September 2016.
Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers: Exploring Spirituality and Existence in the Modern World
Publishers Weekly. 263.28 (July 11, 2016): p63.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers: Exploring Spirituality and Existence in the Modern World
Richard Sylvester. New Harbinger, $16.95 trade paper (400p) ISBN 978-1-62625-818-1
Humanist psychologist and lecturer Sylvester (Drink Tea, Eat Cake) boldly dares to answer, in his own brash fashion, the big questions of existence throughout this argument for nonduality, spiritual liberation, and oneness. In his simplest description, nonduality encompasses a certain set of beliefs such as "There is no one, there is no separation, there is nothing to find and there is no one who seeks, there is only This." This compilation of questions on the subjects of anxiety, turmoil, suffering, God, death, fear, and despair approaches nonduality from no particular angle and in a seemingly random way. Those new to the new age movement or early on their spiritual paths might find Sylvester's interpretations baffling. For example, Sylvester's answer to "What is a person?" is that a person is a process, rather than an entity, an ever-changing flow of thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and sensations. In response to "How do you know there is no God?" he says there is no satisfactory answer. By the author's own admission, few people are interested in learning about nonduality; however, for those curious about the little-understood movement and what it really means, this book will be a welcome guide. (Sept.)
Non-Duality Questions, Non-Duality Answers
Exploring Spirituality and Existence in the Modern World
Reviewed by Kristine Morris
August 26, 2016
What if, instead of struggling and straining to realize oneness, or working hard to become “totally present,” there was a much easier way? Humanistic psychologist and nonduality expert Richard Sylvester suggests that there is: we can just forget the struggle and relax. In order to do that, we have to let go of the stories we tell ourselves.
Calling nonduality “the great destroyer of stories,” he writes, “You can have stories about meaning and purpose and endeavor or you can have presence, the simplicity of leaves rustling in the breeze. You cannot have both,” adding that keeping our stories will cause us to miss the joy that comes with being present in the now, making our moments into shadows drained of life energy.
A response to the huge numbers of questions on nonduality and spiritual experiences he received over a ten-year period, Sylvester’s book covers topics that include karma and liberation, angels, anxiety, gurus, gratitude, meditation, paths and practices, quantum physics, predestination, relationships, reincarnation, suffering, the witness, unconditional love, and many more.
Compassionate, provocative, and even humorous, Sylvester’s answers to the fundamental questions that often leave spiritual seekers frustrated provide clarity on what nonduality is and what it isn’t; they paint a compelling picture of what a life lived in nondual awareness could be like, and offer confirmation that liberation through nondual awareness is within reach.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Review: The Book of No One, by Richard Sylvester
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The Book of No One
by Richard Sylvester
(ordering links are below)
Reviewed by Jerry Katz
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, “Once the sense of separation arises, once self-consciousness arises, the mind starts creating wonderful stories around what all this apparent drama must be about.”
The more complex and complicated stories are, the more magnetic and effective, and the harder to see through.
Richard writes, “The story that ‘I will be happy when I’ve found the perfect Versace dressing gown’ is not a very good one because it’s too easy to see through. The Freudian story or the Tibetan Buddhist story are much better because they are wonderfully complex. The Catholic story is beautifully complicated. The committee of theologians discussing Limbo for a year is just one tiny part of it.”
Stories can adhere close to the bone of nonduality. Even self-enquiry can only take you so far, Richard says, still leaving a person. Thus, you can see and talk about liberation without being free.
THEMES LIKE FLYERS ON A TELEPHONE POLE
This book is like a telephone pole downtown, covered in message-bearing flyers, except that it is organized. Stop and stare:
“Talking about non-duality is also a story. Anything that can be put into words is a story.”
“What is it that brings about the change which enables us to see all of this as a story?”
“We have to use words unfortunately. Well, we don’t have to. We could sit here and just drink tea.”
Numerous topics and questions are brought-up and addressed. The tricky topic of mind is closely considered. There’s some spiritual autobiography about the author. Non-duality itself is talked about several times. Here’s one instance: “There are two things it might be helpful to remember about non-duality. It’s very difficult to communicate and it’s very easy to misunderstand. … A religion or a spiritual path may then develop around the misunderstanding.”
THE THEME OF LIBERATION
Richard declares, “The seeing of liberation is an energetic shift which has nothing to do with anything that I may conceive myself to be, like the mind, the body, the spirit, the emotions or the chakric system.”
But then liberation is another story: Sylvester confesses, “Liberation can apparently happen but there’s another paradox here because when liberation is seen, it’s realised that liberation was always the case. … We’re in a hopeless case here, where there’s no way out, there’s no help and there are no techniques.”
WELL-ROUNDED BUT NEEDS IN INDEX
Like so many nonduality books with lots of subjects and themes, this one has no index, which makes it harder to review and grasp as a whole. Sure, the teaching that “this is it,” is present on every page, but there’s so much information that never gets gathered, organized, and made accessible.
Still, The Book of No One is one of the most rounded-out books in the neo-advaita or neo-nonduality genre, a solid contribution, and Richard Sylvester is one of the smoothest and plainest talkers about a topic that, as has been shown in this review, you can’t talk about. Talking about nonduality is like a wave talking about the ocean. The wave is already gone. At best, the ocean is talking about the ocean.
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The Book of No One
by Richard Sylvester
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