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Meeting the Mystery: Exploring the Aware Presence at the Heart of All Life
What is the source of the aliveness and awareness, which are fundamental to all life? What is the nature of desire, and how do our desires relate to suffering? How do we know what is true? What is the nature of belief, and how do our beliefs affect our ability to experience the deeper reality that is always here? And in the midst of these mysteries, how do we live our daily lives in the most satisfying and integrated way? Meeting the Mystery explores these questions and will help you discover new dimensions and possibilities in your life. This collection of articles and answers to questions posed by spiritual seekers is a springboard to ever deeper inquiry into the greatest mystery of all—Presence, which is who you really are.
Also included with this book are links to seven mp3 recordings of talks given by Nirmala that expand on the material in the book. These talks are not available anywhere else, and the links are found at the end of each chapter of the book.
Also included with this book are links to seven mp3 recordings of talks given by Nirmala that expand on the material in the book. These talks are not available anywhere else, and the links are found at the end of each chapter of the book.
- GenresSpiritualityNonfiction
Kindle Edition
First published February 27, 2012
120 people are currently reading
316 people want to read
About the author
Nirmala
18 books57 followersWho are you really? Are you your body. mind and personality? Or are you the spacious awareness in which they appear? Questions like these point us to the infinite Presence that is the true source of peace, happiness and fulfillment. Nirmala is a spiritual teacher in the Advaita tradition of nondual wisdom, and is the author of several engaging and practical books about our spiritual nature.
**Nirmala's book, Living from the Heart, is available for FREE here:
http://endless-satsang.com/free
**Nirmala's website: http://endless-satsang.com
**Nirmala's blog: http://endless-satsang.com/nonduality...
**Nirmala's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nirmal...
Nirmala offers a unique vision and a gentle, compassionate approach, which adds to this rich tradition of inquiry into the truth of Being. He also offers Nondual Spiritual Mentoring, or spiritual guidance, in one-on-one sessions either in person or over the phone. More information about mentoring sessions is here: http://endless-satsang.com/spiritual-...
"The beauty of this collection of Nirmala's talks and dialogues is that it covers much of the spectrum of spiritual awakening, from the initial experience of one's true nature to the practical challenges, which always call for a deeper seeing and deeper understanding of how spirit manifests as all of life and beyond. Within these talks and dialogues you, the reader, will find Nirmala to be a living invitation to look within. Nirmala welcomes whatever arises within the field of experience. In the midst of this welcoming is always an invitation to inquire deeply within, to the core of who and what you are. Again and again, Nirmala points the questions back to the questioner and beyond to the very source of existence itself--to the faceless awareness that holds both the question and the questioner in a timeless embrace." -from the Foreword by Adyashanti to Nirmala's book, Nothing Personal.
**Nirmala's book, Living from the Heart, is available for FREE here:
http://endless-satsang.com/free
**Nirmala's website: http://endless-satsang.com
**Nirmala's blog: http://endless-satsang.com/nonduality...
**Nirmala's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nirmal...
Nirmala offers a unique vision and a gentle, compassionate approach, which adds to this rich tradition of inquiry into the truth of Being. He also offers Nondual Spiritual Mentoring, or spiritual guidance, in one-on-one sessions either in person or over the phone. More information about mentoring sessions is here: http://endless-satsang.com/spiritual-...
"The beauty of this collection of Nirmala's talks and dialogues is that it covers much of the spectrum of spiritual awakening, from the initial experience of one's true nature to the practical challenges, which always call for a deeper seeing and deeper understanding of how spirit manifests as all of life and beyond. Within these talks and dialogues you, the reader, will find Nirmala to be a living invitation to look within. Nirmala welcomes whatever arises within the field of experience. In the midst of this welcoming is always an invitation to inquire deeply within, to the core of who and what you are. Again and again, Nirmala points the questions back to the questioner and beyond to the very source of existence itself--to the faceless awareness that holds both the question and the questioner in a timeless embrace." -from the Foreword by Adyashanti to Nirmala's book, Nothing Personal.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 6, 2014
NIRMALA’S BOOKS A TREASURE TROVE
OF ADVAITA WISDOM
I came to Nirmala’s books as a lifelong mystic and spiritual explorer who served as an ordained minister for 22 years. The mystics of the East and the West have inspired me for decades. After reading the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Shankara, many Buddhist teachers, and the Yoga Vasistha, I wanted to explore the Advaita tradition in more depth. I stumbled onto Nirmala’s books after an on-line search. I only planned to read his book Nothing Personal: Seeing Beyond the Illusion of a Personal Self as a way of answering some questions about the Buddhist concept of No-Self. But after reading this book I was so delighted with what I found in its pages that I went on to read three more of his books, Meeting the Mystery: Exploring the Aware Presence at the Heart of All life; Living from the Heart; and That is That: Essays About True Nature.
What Nirmala (AKA Daniel Erway of Sedona, Arizona) does in these books is nothing short of remarkable. T.S. Eliot once wrote that the job of the poet is to make the most difficult truths of philosophy and religion as immanent as the fragrance of a rose. Nirmala has taken some of the most difficult truths of Eastern religion and philosophy, distilled them, and expressed them in clear, concise form. What might be called the metaphysics and ethics of Advaita non-dual thought have been clearly and simply expressed in Nirmala’s books in ways that make them applicable to everyday life.
As he does this, Nirmala injects wry humor and amusing examples with which we can easily identify. He also shares a few snapshots of his own life and struggles, which bring these ideas to life for us. His approach is wonderfully refreshing especially after wading through the hundreds of repetitious pages of the Yoga Vasistha!
In addition to restating clearly the main ideas of Advaita non-dual thought, Nirmala adds many practical suggestions for applying these ideas to our lives. I found Nirmala’s books treasure troves of wonderful insights and suggestions. Following are a few of his ideas that I found most helpful:
1. The real me is not this body or my ego but Awareness. This basic conscious awareness was never born and will never die. Knowing this gives one a cosmic perspective on everyday problems. When you know that you are Awareness you don’t need to be a seeker anymore. You know that you already are what you wished to become. So just Be! (Here he echoes one of his sources Ramana Maharshi.)
2. When everyday problems besiege us it is wise to give them space and blast off from them up into the cosmic Awareness that we really are.
3. Wisdom and Truth expand the heart and quiet the mind. We can actually feel our hearts expand in the presence of truth and contract in the presence of lesser truth. If we put our hands over our heart and open our heart we can actually feel the flow of Being. This provides a powerful guide for living.
4. Judgment cuts us off from the flow of being as we close our hearts to what is. Accepting what is rather then engaging in denial or attack leads to insight and growth.
5. We learn and grow from all of our choices in life, both the bad ones and the good ones. Being just enjoys watching us explore and learn -- so you might say it’s all good.
6. Everything is alive and aware, even a stone. It’s all the dream of the one primal Awareness Being that we all are at different levels of awareness.
7. Hold all ideas lightly knowing that change is the norm.
8. Surrender to what is and explore it knowing that desire for what is not is what brings about suffering. Be grateful for whatever is, knowing that in the cosmic perspective all is well.
9. Be aware that Being is always working for our highest good, but also knowing that it gives us the freedom to choose lesser goods until we learn (the hard way!) to flow with the highest will of Being. The Wise man or woman aligns his or her will with the highest good of Being.
Well, I could go on and on listing the powerful insights in these books. But one last observation about Nirmala’s work – something I found most refreshing. He’s humble about this work. He does not claim to be the divine revealer and he does not want us to accept him as our savior or guru -- or write him a check! He shares his ideas, but tells us to find our own way to our own truth. The only truth he seems to find non-negotiable is the Advaita truth that there is only the One Thing and we are all It. I am not exaggerating when I say that Nirmala’s books have been enlightening and life changing for me. I hope they find wide readership. This is the kind of thought that our fragmented world needs desperately at this point in history.
Gratefully, Dwight L Zavitz, Jr.
OF ADVAITA WISDOM
I came to Nirmala’s books as a lifelong mystic and spiritual explorer who served as an ordained minister for 22 years. The mystics of the East and the West have inspired me for decades. After reading the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Shankara, many Buddhist teachers, and the Yoga Vasistha, I wanted to explore the Advaita tradition in more depth. I stumbled onto Nirmala’s books after an on-line search. I only planned to read his book Nothing Personal: Seeing Beyond the Illusion of a Personal Self as a way of answering some questions about the Buddhist concept of No-Self. But after reading this book I was so delighted with what I found in its pages that I went on to read three more of his books, Meeting the Mystery: Exploring the Aware Presence at the Heart of All life; Living from the Heart; and That is That: Essays About True Nature.
What Nirmala (AKA Daniel Erway of Sedona, Arizona) does in these books is nothing short of remarkable. T.S. Eliot once wrote that the job of the poet is to make the most difficult truths of philosophy and religion as immanent as the fragrance of a rose. Nirmala has taken some of the most difficult truths of Eastern religion and philosophy, distilled them, and expressed them in clear, concise form. What might be called the metaphysics and ethics of Advaita non-dual thought have been clearly and simply expressed in Nirmala’s books in ways that make them applicable to everyday life.
As he does this, Nirmala injects wry humor and amusing examples with which we can easily identify. He also shares a few snapshots of his own life and struggles, which bring these ideas to life for us. His approach is wonderfully refreshing especially after wading through the hundreds of repetitious pages of the Yoga Vasistha!
In addition to restating clearly the main ideas of Advaita non-dual thought, Nirmala adds many practical suggestions for applying these ideas to our lives. I found Nirmala’s books treasure troves of wonderful insights and suggestions. Following are a few of his ideas that I found most helpful:
1. The real me is not this body or my ego but Awareness. This basic conscious awareness was never born and will never die. Knowing this gives one a cosmic perspective on everyday problems. When you know that you are Awareness you don’t need to be a seeker anymore. You know that you already are what you wished to become. So just Be! (Here he echoes one of his sources Ramana Maharshi.)
2. When everyday problems besiege us it is wise to give them space and blast off from them up into the cosmic Awareness that we really are.
3. Wisdom and Truth expand the heart and quiet the mind. We can actually feel our hearts expand in the presence of truth and contract in the presence of lesser truth. If we put our hands over our heart and open our heart we can actually feel the flow of Being. This provides a powerful guide for living.
4. Judgment cuts us off from the flow of being as we close our hearts to what is. Accepting what is rather then engaging in denial or attack leads to insight and growth.
5. We learn and grow from all of our choices in life, both the bad ones and the good ones. Being just enjoys watching us explore and learn -- so you might say it’s all good.
6. Everything is alive and aware, even a stone. It’s all the dream of the one primal Awareness Being that we all are at different levels of awareness.
7. Hold all ideas lightly knowing that change is the norm.
8. Surrender to what is and explore it knowing that desire for what is not is what brings about suffering. Be grateful for whatever is, knowing that in the cosmic perspective all is well.
9. Be aware that Being is always working for our highest good, but also knowing that it gives us the freedom to choose lesser goods until we learn (the hard way!) to flow with the highest will of Being. The Wise man or woman aligns his or her will with the highest good of Being.
Well, I could go on and on listing the powerful insights in these books. But one last observation about Nirmala’s work – something I found most refreshing. He’s humble about this work. He does not claim to be the divine revealer and he does not want us to accept him as our savior or guru -- or write him a check! He shares his ideas, but tells us to find our own way to our own truth. The only truth he seems to find non-negotiable is the Advaita truth that there is only the One Thing and we are all It. I am not exaggerating when I say that Nirmala’s books have been enlightening and life changing for me. I hope they find wide readership. This is the kind of thought that our fragmented world needs desperately at this point in history.
Gratefully, Dwight L Zavitz, Jr.
February 20, 2020
I like Nirmala as a person and believe he is wise, spiritually in tune with Source, but I found this tome to be spiritually off-putting. So much repetition! I've read similar stuff elsewhere, much more succinctly put, and had my own experiences which enhanced my own sense one oneness with Ultimate Consciousness, so I skipped about two thirds of the book. This material would be useful for a seeker or a fledgling on their spiritual adventure or journey or flight, however one chooses to describe it metaphorically. I also found the format weird - why such large print? I'm not a spiritual 'giant' who's got everything sewn up. I believe everyone is a lifelong learner, and the learning experiences continue from one lifetime to the next, so nothing is ever wasted. The hour I spent skimming this book was a useful refresher for me but I'm moving on to meatier material - at least meatier for me on my own metaphysical path towards greater understanding.
February 10, 2018
A pleasant mindful read
Great book, it has the ability to open your mind and teaches you to be curious about your experiences instead of being reactive.
Great book, it has the ability to open your mind and teaches you to be curious about your experiences instead of being reactive.
December 27, 2015
After reading Nirmala's book on the Heart and enjoying it, I was disappointed with this. The contents feel quite bitty, just taking chapters from other books and Q&As which made the book hard to get into. 'Living from the Heart' was much more whole, each chapter building on the one before, whilst here each chapter felt like a jump into something new. Nothing was in depth and just had links to other talks and books. This book feels more like an advert than a spiritual book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews