As It Is: The Open Secret of Spiritual Awakening

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES BUY THIS BOOK. IT IS MUMBO-JUMBO. The author, I would wager, is a COMPLETE charlatan. The book is written from the perspective of mind and UNDER NO NO NO NO NO NO CIRCUMSTANCES BUY IT.

A book about nothing from a man who doesn't know. (4/8 people found this helpful)

It has been said that Tony Parsons is such a great teacher because he never gives an answer to anything. Having read 2 of his books (twice, as i thought I had missed something the first time..I hadn't)I know he hasn't got an answer to anything because it is patently obvious he doesn't know anything..Lots and lots of words saying absolutely nothing..Avoid this author like the plague. A waste of time effort and money..I would have given this book and his other epic, minus 10 stars if there had been such a rating..

Mixed Bag (5/8 people found this helpful)

This is a short text and that's quite a refreshing change from many spiritual books that seem to be very wordy.

The idea of no (ego) self is from Buddhism. Also, the idea of separation as an illusion is also Buddhist. Plus the idea of awakening and immediate radical insight that is effortless in the here and now is typical of Zen Buddhism.

This book weaves these three ideas together in a very engaging and succinct way, but it is not really particularly original. However the author writes is a insightful way and clearly understands these truths deeply.

Also, there are contradictions and confusions which the author does not resolve, - e.g. do nothing to attain anything spiritual at one point and at another, to let go of projections, motivations and expectations, the separate self and make a leap in perception at the fundamental level. Quite a lot of doing nothing!

However, the author does add the idea that there is no one AT ALL, yet speaks of I this or I that most of the time. In fact there is a whole page on I Am this and that. On that page he expands on Buddha's central proverb, I Am, You are, It is, though no mention is given to Buddha here. The author should have explored "self as everything", the I Am that I Am, which would resolve the contradition in this book and other books of similar approach.

The author says no self means no choice / no free will and so you can add no personal responsbility too. This is a departure from most others approaches and the biggest concern of all.

the end of the road (49/50 people found this helpful)

This book "did it for me", so to speak. It did it because it was the first book I have come across that communicated the fact that no seeking can take you to enlightenment. There is nothing to seek, nothing to find. There is nothing one can do, no state to find, no state that gives everlasting bliss. In fact, it can be said that enlightenment itself is a myth, and this was the first book to shatter my concepts about enligtenment. The "enlightened state" is one where all concepts, including that of enlightenment, falls away. So how can it exist? If it doesn't exist, how can you seek it?

At this very moment, you are probably looking for answers. That's why you are looking around for books that will provide them. And virtually almost every book provides answers. Even when they tell you that there are no answers, no path, they still recommend how you can reach a state where you stop looking for that path, which is a contradiction. In effect, that's like saying, there is no path, but here is the path to find no path. It all very subtly reinforces the concept of enlightenment as a state that frees you from all other states. And so seeking continues, since you feel that with your ever expanding understanding of enlightenment, you are edging closer to that final moment. But it will never come, because what you are looking for does not exist, except as a concept that it exists. It's like chasing the horizon. Can you ever get a single inch closer to the horizon? The horizon obviously is just a concept, something which looks real to the eye, but is an illusion. So it is with enlightenment. Where the horizon is an illusion to the eye, enlightenment is an illusion to the mind. Looking back, this is why other books did not work. Sure, they led me to a great intellectual understanding of enlightenment, but ultimately, that has no relevance or connection with enlightenment itself. "Enlightenment" is beyond all understanding, and only when it is realized that the goal is an illusion, that seeking is the surest way of avoiding liberation, does the possibility of liberation open.

Tony Parsons is not as famous as other "gurus" because he does not give any answers when what people want are answers to how they can become enlightened. So his is not a popular way of communicating this whole subject. But for those who have honestly not found what they've been looking for all this time, Tony, in my opinion is the best person to tell you why.

The coup de grace! (36/42 people found this helpful)

Personally, I would give this book my utter highest recommendation. I think it is capable of delivering the final coup de grace to those who have been on the path of seeking. Tony's approach may well stop seeking dead in its path. It may well be for you the "Eureka!" of spirituality books.

Reading other reviews of this book, I have pondered whether other books that set me seeking helped in that they led me nowhere. I wonder whether this opened me up to Tony's approach that seeking is the surest way to avoid liberation. Probably. Can you grasp Tony's approach as a complete beginner looking to overcome problems in your life? No idea. Can we really know if someone will not grasp it straight away? Just because we may not have. So give it a try. Probably a 50/50 chance. If it doesn't work try another book. Go to the ashrams and the gurus. Seek wherever hope or promise of enlightenment is offered. Ultimately, I think you will have to come back to Tony's approach: an uncompromising communication that nothing can be gained, nothing to be achieved, no state you need awakening from, that you are that are already IT. In that respect, when you are ready, Tony will be waiting for you to finish you off. This book, and his latest, in my opinion, will do it for you.

Other recommendations? Byron Katie's Loving What Is, Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now, Osho.

As It Is: The Open Secret of Spiritual Awakening

Tony Parsons

Reader Reviews:

A USELESS, USELESS BOOK (4/10 people found this helpful)

A book about nothing from a man who doesn't know. (4/8 people found this helpful)

Mixed Bag (5/8 people found this helpful)

the end of the road (49/50 people found this helpful)

The coup de grace! (36/42 people found this helpful)

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