In a book that is both wide and deep, Robert has written a book that questions and challenges all that we think we know about ‘spirituality’. Robert “When one is not looking for any escape at all, but finds oneself participating in whatever thoughts, feelings, perceptions, etc. make up the constituents of this very moment, without any hope of things getting "better," including that one will "eventually" be "enlightened," then one is in the moment, and it is only in the moment that anything true, anything real, anything that is not escapism and fantasy, will be found. So whereas most of the "teaching" points elsewhere—points, I mean, to an improved condition that you will attain by following the teaching—I point only to what you are right now in this moment. The one who is reading these words is IT, and there is no other.”
Catherine Noyce writes in the Here’s a classic Robert “How do you ‘try out’ ‘universal consciousness?’ Just declare yourself ‘universally conscious’ and assess how that makes you feel? Oh, please.”
Robert is closely related, I believe, to a certain small boy who pointed out that the gorgeously arrayed emperor was actually being driven through the streets stark naked. And yet, at the same time, while ripping apart the defenceless pretensions of a spiritual teacher, he’s disarmingly honest and humble. If it’s possible for a man to be arrogantly humble, then that man’s initials are R.S.
This is what I like about Robert’s approach—I hope you do “Honesty about not knowing is, in my experience, where equanimity is to be found. What we actually know is precious little, so many of us fill the apparent emptiness by pretending that believing is the same as knowing. When one believes without actually knowing, then there is always lingering doubt to deal with—even if only unconsciously.”
Growing up Brooklyn “It’s not a city it’s an attitude”
I was born and raised in what is considered the inner city. The neighborhood was mostly tenements, with a melting pot of Nationalities, Religions and Ethnic groups. We all got along for the most part, as kids we would fight each other sometimes. But if some other kids from others blocks came by and wanted trouble we banded together. At times there were some bad things that happened, but it didn’t scare me, after all it was my hood. I didn’t stay in Brooklyn all my life, like a lot of people I wanted to get out of there, so I moved to Chicago and spent most of my adult life in the windy city. Got a job, got married, had a son, got divorced. All the usual things. Life happens when you’re making other plans! I’m retired now and live in sunny (most of the time) Florida. I love to read, write and fish. Caught me a small shark last summer. If you enjoy poetry try my website (link below) where I have posted a few of my best. Most of all I want people to read and enjoy my work. As a writer I crave recognition, but a boatload of money wouldn’t be a bad thing either.
Salty and the Serpent I invented my characters by drawing upon my childhood memories and flair for the dramatic. I have a writing style that is real and never sugar coated or phony. As I fleshed out some of my characters they are loosely based on actual individuals I knew or knew of. Realizing my longtime dream, my debut novel Salty and the Serpent was released In August of 2013. I wanted to get published and received many a rejection letter. I decided to self publish and borrowed the money from a good friend that said “to him it’s an investment”. If the book makes money we cut a deal for him to share in the royalties. If it didn’t sell, oh well just like the stock market sometimes you win sometimes you lose. The process was challenging, I wound up designing my own cover. I found marketing to be the most difficult task of the process. I have joined every group and website that I could find and have promoted the book every chance I get.
Salty and the Serpent follows the rise of a basic patrol officer, Bobby Salter and his partner Vinny Serpentino who have just brought down the empire of two of the biggest coke dealers in Brooklyn. With a huge money bust in their back pocket, they are promoted to plain clothes officers and assigned to patrol the streets of Bobby’s grandfather’s old neighborhood. As his resume begins to build, Bobby’s rise will take him all the way to detective as he is thrust into solving high profile cases from Manhattan to the Bronx. The action twists and turns, Bobby’s story will lead to a surprise ending that no one would ever see coming. I like to show my readers that the heroes they take for granted are working hard to protect them in their vanilla world, this crime thriller peels back the rose-colored surface of society to reveal the seething underbelly that lies beneath.
Salty and the Serpent (excerpt)
Working the Streets When a double homicide happens, the house goes into high gear; every cop works it, and all intel, tips, and hunches go to the detectives working the case. They had just started their shift when the call came over the radio, announcing shots fired at Sutter and Powell and telling all PC units and sector cars to respond. “That’s us,” Edgy said and flipped the light on the dash as Bobby hit the siren. They raced down Pitkin, made a right on Mother Gaston, and then took a left on Sutter. As Edgy showed off his driving skills, scaring Bobby to death, the radio crackled with more information. Cars arriving on the scene were reporting two victims down, and dispatch started sending more cars and bosses. They could see other cars arriving and a patrolman putting up crime-scene tape. They parked on Sutter and walked over to Powell. Looking down the block, they saw a black SUV with its ass end half out in the street. It had rear-ended a parked car. They went under th
There is so much information here. I could not possibly write a proper review. Instead I will pass along some general comments that you may find helpful.
The format of this book is Q&A. I did not count, but there are probably more than a thousand questions. The answers are succinct, honest, direct and often colorful. Robert's intention is not to teach or instruct, but rather to respond with answers corresponding to what I would call his 'life-view.' That life-view is drawn from more than seven decades of exposure to a wide range of experience that includes the philosophies, religions and metaphysics of both eastern and western traditions. It includes careers as a photographer and a psychotherapist.
The foundation of Robert's approach to living seems, from my understanding at least, to be the notion that he is 'awake.' Awake means being aware of life as it unfolds in the here and now. Awake means accepting that life just happens without any necessity for attributing or even assuming causation. "This is it", he says. He is stating facts as he understands them related to life in general and in particular to life as lived by human primates. Provable verifiable repeatable facts based upon tangible evidence are his guide. He seems to have little to no interest in conjecture, myths and other unsubstantiated thoughts and ideas.
I could continue, but hopefully by now you have a hint as to what 'Depending on No-Thing' is about. I hope you will find it as informative and inspiring as I have.
Honest, uncanny and engaging from beginning to end
A wonderful, remarkable and liberating insight into the human condition. Robert shows us, through honest self-expression, the absurdity and baseless prescriptions and aphorisms of injunctive religious dogma and the fantastical nonsense of so-called 'non-dual spiritual assertions'. Approach this book with an open mind and you find yourself deconstructed and returned to your original nature, as a human primate aware of your existence in an ever-changing flow of conscious awareness. This embrace of who you are, in this moment and in any moment, is the liberating elixir that Robert offers in this book. As he says, 'This is it'. So live it and be a 'light into yourself'.
Everyone should read at least some of this book. Its brilliant main message is simple and oft repeated from many angles.
I don't quite agree with his "we have no free will" message, although he seems to allow that there is some free will at the end of a chain of uncontrollable events.
I am pleased to have been persuaded that I don't need years of practice to achieve enlightenment.