BOOK REVIEW by Cathy Franklin

Relaxing Into Clear Seeing

by Arjuna Nick Ardagh

In recent years there has been a wealth of books that incorporate Eastern spiritual techniques into a Western psychological context. Relaxing Into Clear Seeing, by Arjuna Nick Ardagh, is one of the first books that takes us in the opposite direction, applying methods drawn from Western hypnotherapy to deepen and stabilize the direct realization of our non-dual nature as articulated in Eastern spiritual teachings, most notably Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta.

Ardagh begins with the essential view common to all mysticism — that by seeing through false identification with a separate self, we can awaken to our real nature as awareness itself. Unlike many mystical paths, however, where only the most rudimentary instructions are offered, Ardagh teaches the reader in an easy to follow manner how to use basic hynotherapy skills in combination with the self-inquiry expounded by the great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi. In fact, he suggests, this awakeness is always available to us, just as the sun is always shining, even when it is obscured by clouds.

With its unique blend of truth and technique, Relaxing Into Clear Seeing succeeds in bringing the deepest mystical realizations within everyone’s grasp. Drawing from a variety of spiritual traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Advaita Vedanta, Ardagh gives us a highly practical guidebook for experiencing, deepening, and stabilizing the direct realization of our essential nature, which he contends is the source of all peace, wisdom, and love. In more than 20 partner exercises, Ardagh shows us how to apply the teachings of non-dualism to virtually every aspect of everyday life, including intimate relationships, money belief systems, and difficult emotions like fear and desire. By facing our dragons directly in the spirit of truth, Ardagh explains, we can use them as opportunities to experience expanded states of presence and peace.

Accessible and down to earth, Relaxing Into Clear Seeing is one of the best introductions currently available to the perennial philosophy that is found in the world’s religions. In addition to its discussion of this philosophy, is invites the reader to experience the truth of this philosophy directly. It also features a clear and balanced viewpoint of the guru phenomenon, and an illuminating exploration of romantic love in light of clear seeing. Many noted authors and speakers have praised this work, including Ken Wilber, author of A Brief History of Everything. He said, “[it] is an excellent introduction to the brilliant clarity of ever-present awareness, the nature of the already enlightened mind.” Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with a Heart stated.“With skillfulness and clarity, Arjuna conjoins the teachings of non-duality with the personal healing journey, using deep relaxation for opening the body and mind. Clear Seeing offers an invitation to readers to do the work of the Heart and to discover natural joy and wisdom in themselves.” Master Rumi translator, author and professor Coleman Barks said, “Arjuna comes down through the line of Ramana Maharshi and Poonjaji threading that core of silence with his own playful, garrulous practical crazy-wisdom. He is widely read and yet liberated from books; he is centered in the essence of the Self and yet generously anecdotal, deeply grounded in daily experience. This book is something new.”

One of the most fundamental elements incorporated into the various exercises in Relaxing Into Clear Seeing is The Heart Meditation. It serves as an excellent technique to open the heart and deepen wakefulness.

The following is an abbreviated version of The Heart Meditation:

1. Get Comfortable. Find a comfortable place to sit with your back straight. Close your eyes and tune in to the environment around you.

2. Fan the Flames of the Heart. Begin to focus the breath into the middle of the chest in the “Heart center”. Focus the in-breathe this way, and allow a gentle sign on the out-breath, noticing the Heart center beginning to radiate. Imagine you are fanning the flames of the Heart and allow the warmth to travel through the body.

3. Mount Form on the Breath. Imagine the Heart center as a window into the vastness which is your true nature. You might even have the sense of being limitless and looking out through the window into the world of name and form. Imagine breathing in form through the window of the Heart, and allowing it to dissolve into formlessness.

4. Mount Thought on the Breath. You may begin to notice the way that thoughts arise and fall spontaneously in consciousness. You can begin to use the in-breath as a vehicle to carry thought back through the window of the Heart into silence, into formlessness. With the in-breath absorb thought through the window of the Heart into the silence that is free of thought; with the out-breath allow the same silence to burst forth and permeate the field of thought.

5. Mount Emotions on the Breath. Take time to allow the previous step to become natural. Now continue the same way with emotions, noticing the way emotions shift and change. Allow the in-breath to absorb emotions into the stillness of love, and the out-breath to allow the vastness of the Heart to permeate the field where emotions arise.

6. Mount Physical Sensations on the Breath. Now continue in the same way with physical sensations. With the in-breath absorb all sensation into the blissfulness of the Heart. With the out-breath allow that same blissfulness to radiate into the body.

7. Mount Everything on the Breath. Now you can continue to absorb with the in-breath and bless and radiate with the out-breath without making any distinction between thought, emotion, and physical sensation. All form is absorbed and dissolved back into formlessness. All vibration is dissolved into stillness. With the out-breath the Heart is radiating its fullness back into form, permeating form with formlessness.

The author, Arjuna Nick Ardagh, brings a mixture of Western classical training and Eastern mystical experience to his writing. A graduate of Cambridge University in England, he has been practicing and teaching deep relaxation skills since 1979, and has taught hypnotherapy for many years. He has also lived and studied with many great spiritual masters in a variety of traditions, including the well-known Indian guru H.W. L. Poonjaji. He is the founder of The Living Essence Foundation in northern California, and maintains a private practice as well as conducts seminars and training programs in many parts of the U.S. and Europe. For more information, please call 1.888.VASTNESS.

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