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Philosophy, psychology, and spirituality must be combined for the seeker to succeed.
That there is a source of permanent and pure happiness that is accessible to us all: that is the eternal promise of spiritual enlightenment. Our dualistic sense of ourselves, which splits experience into "me" and "everything but me," is not the whole picture. There is a way to a higher truth, a truth based on nonduality.
This book offers an innovative, rational, and realistic approach to enlightenment that explains why it is possible and how to achieve it. Its findings are based on a successful twenty-year spiritual journey and a study of eastern mysticism as it relates to many other disciplines. It argues that enlightenment involves both the mystical search and, crucially, the intellectual and emotional preparation for it.
As a result, it offers an approach to spiritual truth that is comprehensive and unique. Unlike many other spiritual systems, it encourages critical thinking and explains enlightenment within a persuasive philosophical framework. It suggests the need to be honest about our own desires and to find the messages in our emotions, and it offers powerful new methods to accomplish this. Finally, it gives simple, concise explanations of the techniques of the Hindu mystical tradition of Advaita Vedanta that are the royal road to enlightenment. Together, these form a powerful and unusual instrument for seeking the truth.