Paperback book introducing The Essence of Meditation Series
‘It is always still in the depths of the ocean, irrespective of the storms that may be raging on its surface’
About
'Being Aware of Being Aware is the distilled essence of all I have learnt of meditation and prayer over these forty years. I hope it may lead you to the wellspring of peace and happiness within yourself.' Rupert Spira
Being Aware of Being Aware explores our primary, most intimate and familiar experience: the knowing of our own being, or awareness’s knowing of itself in us. However, awareness, or the experience of simply ‘being aware’, has no observable qualities and is, therefore, usually overlooked or ignored. The returning of awareness to itself – being aware of being aware – is the essence of meditation and prayer, and the direct path to lasting peace and happiness.
The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfilment that are inherent within it. Being Aware of Being Aware is the first and introductory volume in The Essence of Meditation Series.
Note to the Reader
Introduction The Intuition of Happiness
Chapter 1 Knowing, Being Aware or Awareness Itself
Chapter 2 The Nature of Awareness
Chapter 3 The Overlooking of Our Essential Nature
Chapter 4 The Disentangling of Awareness
Chapter 5 The Effortless Path
Chapter 6 The Inward-Facing Path
Chapter 7 Trailing Clouds of Glory
Chapter 8 The Ocean of Awareness
About the author
From an early age Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen he learnt 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 he immersed himself in the teachings of P.D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmananda Krishnamenon, 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. Rupert lives in the UK and holds regular meetings and retreats in Europe and the USA.