The Transparency of Things - 2nd Edition by Rupert Spira (Paperback)

About the Book

The Transparency of Things calls us to look clearly at the nature of experience, without any attempt to change it. A series of contemplations leads readers gently but directly to see that our essential nature is neither a body nor a mind, but is the conscious Presence that is aware of this current experience. However, these contemplations go much further: as we stand as conscious Presence and reconsider the objects of the body, mind, and world, we find that they do not just appear to this Presence but within it--and further exploration reveals that they do not appear within this Presence but as this Presence. Finally, readers are led to see that our experience is and has only ever been one seamless totality, with no separate entities, objects, or parts to be found.

Book Synopsis

The purpose of The Transparency of Things is to look clearly and simply at the nature of experience, without any attempt to change it.

A series of contemplations leads us gently but directly to see that our essential nature is neither a body nor a mind. It is the conscious Presence that is aware of this current experience. As such, it is nothing that can be experienced as an object, and yet it is undeniably present.

However, these contemplations go much further than this. As we take our stand knowingly as this conscious Presence that we always already are, and reconsider the objects of the body, mind, and world, we find that they do not simply appear to this Presence; they appear within it. And further exploration reveals that they do not simply appear within this Presence but as this Presence.

Finally, we are led to see that it is in fact this very Presence that takes the shape of our experience from moment to moment while always remaining only itself. We see that our experience is and has only ever been one seamless totality, with no separate entities, objects, or parts anywhere to be found.

Review Quotes

"A transparent book by a transparent being."
--Francis Lucille, author of Eternity Now, The Perfume of Silence, and Truth Love Beauty

"Recognition of our true nature does not need studious reading of spiritual texts, years of meditation practice, or deep devotion to a teacher. We need only the willingness to engage in a rigorously honest investigation into the nature of awareness itself--not an intellectual investigation, but a personal investigation into what we truly are. In The Transparency of Things, Rupert Spira not only distils the essence of this inquiry into everyday language; he does so without reference to any metaphysics or esoteric doctrines. He appeals only to our direct experience, encouraging the reader to dive into the personal investigation of what it means to be aware. If you do, you will find yourself tasting the realization enjoyed by the awakened ones throughout the ages."
--Peter Russell, author of The Global Brain and From Science to God

About the Author

From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen he learned to meditate, and began a twenty-year period of study and practice in the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India. During this time, Spira immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Lucille introduced Spira to the Direct Path teachings of Atmananda Krishna Menon, the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism (which he had received from his teacher, Jean Klein), and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience. Spira lives in the UK and holds regular meetings and retreats in Europe and the United States.