The Nature of Consciousness · Essays on the Unity of Mind and Matter

“I’ve gained deeper understanding listening to Rupert Spira than I have from any other exponent of modern spirituality. Reality is sending us a message we desperately need to hear, and at this moment no messenger surpasses Spira and the transformative words in his essays.” —Deepak Chopra, author of You Are the Universe, Spiritual Solutions , and Super Brain

Our world culture is founded on the assumption that the Big Bang gave

rise to matter, which in time evolved into the world, into which the

body was born, inside which a brain appeared, out of which consciousness

at some late stage developed. As a result of this “matter model,” most

of us believe that consciousness is a property of the body. We feel that

it is “I,” this body, that knows or is aware of the world. We believe

and feel that the knowing with which we are aware of our experience is

located in and shares the limits and destiny of the body. This is the

fundamental presumption of mind and matter that underpins almost all our

thoughts and feelings and is expressed in our activities and

relationships. The Nature of Consciousness suggests that the matter model has outlived its function and is now destroying the very values it once sought to promote.

For

many people, the debate as to the ultimate reality of the universe is

an academic one, far removed from the concerns and demands of everyday

life. After all, life happens independently of our models of it.

However, The Nature of Consciousness will clearly show that the

materialist paradigm is a philosophy of despair and, as such, the root

cause of unhappiness in individuals. It is a philosophy of conflict and,

as such, the root cause of hostilities between families, communities,

and nations. Far from being abstract and philosophical, its implications

touch each one of us directly and intimately.

An exploration of

the nature of consciousness has the power to reveal the peace and

happiness that truly lie at the heart of experience. Our experience

never ceases to change, but the knowing element in all

experience—consciousness, or what we call “I”—itself never changes. The

knowing with which all experience is known is always the same knowing.

Being the common, unchanging element in all experience, consciousness

does not share the qualities of any particular experience: it is not

qualified, conditioned, or limited by experience. The knowing with which

a feeling of loneliness or sorrow is known is the same knowing with

which the thought of a friend, the sight of a sunset, or the taste of

ice cream is known. Just as a screen is never disturbed by the action in

a movie, so consciousness is never disturbed by experience; thus it is

inherently peaceful. The peace that is inherent in us—indeed that is us—is not dependent on the situations or conditions we find ourselves in.

In

a series of essays that draw you, through your own direct experience,

into an exploration of the nature of this knowing element that each of

us calls “I,” The Nature of Consciousness posits that

consciousness is the fundamental reality of the apparent duality of mind

and matter. It shows that the overlooking or ignoring of this reality

is the root cause of the existential unhappiness that pervades and

motivates most people’s lives, as well as the wider conflicts that exist

between communities and nations. Conversely, the book suggests that the

recognition of the fundamental reality of consciousness is the first

step in the quest for lasting happiness and the foundation for world

peace.

“I’ve gained deeper understanding listening to Rupert Spira than I have from any other exponent of modern spirituality. Reality is sending us a message we desperately need to hear, and at this moment no messenger surpasses Spira and the transformative words in his essays.” — Deepak Chopra , author of You Are the Universe , Spiritual Solutions , and Super Brain

“Rupert Spira guides his reader on a delightful journey of discovery that uncovers and reveals what the Kashmiri Masters have called ‘the greatest secret, more hidden than the most concealed and yet more evident than the most evident of things,’ and that is consciousness itself. Rupert deserves to be congratulated for the clarity and sensitivity with which he presents the teachings of the ancient and modern Masters concerning consciousness, and his own deeply personal experience, in such a way that it can be both easily understood and applied.” — Mark Dyczkowski , author of The Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis of the Doctrines and Practices of Kashmir Shaivism

“In these essays, Rupert Spira cracks the shell of materialism by elucidating the ‘calamitous assumption that lies at the root of our materialistic culture,’ and he artistically and persuasively leads us to the universal antidote: the realization of the primacy of consciousness. As a scientist, I very much appreciate Rupert’s pointing out that scientists will never truly succeed in their exploration of the world until they successfully investigate the nature of the subject known as ‘I.’” — Paul J. Mills , professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California, San Diego

“ The Nature of Consciousness is a major contribution to our understanding of who we are. This is a book which I am sure will become one of the great classics of our time. Please read it, because as we evolve we will all need to understand non-duality.” — Peter Fenwick , neuropsychologist and author of The Art of Dying and The Truth in the Light: An Investigation of Over 300 Near-Death Experiences

“ The Nature of Consciousness  is a remarkable book. You have only to see it and flip through a few pages to get a sense of the kind of writer Rupert Spira is, and the nature of his argument. The clean design inside and out reflects his creative sensitivity and mastery as a ceramic artist, and the paragraphs are well packed with syllables, sufficient vocabulary for a minutely argued demolition of the assumptions of the prevailing world culture. Perhaps never before has logical argument been brought so effectively and readably to a comprehensive investigation of consciousness.” —Tony Kendrew , ScienceAndNonduality.com

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.

www.rupertspira.com.