The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness by Peter Ralston

The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness Reviews

• 
  Todd

  The Book of Not Knowing is one of the most important books that I own. In fact, if I were stranded on a desert island and could only have 3 books this would be the one I most definitely would not want to be without. No one interested in understanding the nature of who they really are, should be without this practical text. I have come to view this book as having my own personal Zen Master on call.
  
  The Book of Not Knowing has been described by some reviewers as the bible of consciousness and that may be more than just marketing hyperbole. Ralston’s work is culled from his years as a martial arts practioner and student of Zen Buddhism and it is as profound as the koan itself, but a hell of a lot more accessible.
  
  As a student of things spiritual I have become dismayed to learn that what I think of as being “spiritual” is really just another layer of affectation that I have added to my sense of self. This book is providing me valuable guidance and insight into why I do this and helps me to explore a way of stripping these layers away to get at what is really, real. This is after all, the point of metaphysics to begin with. Who am I really behind this phenomenon that I experience as me?
  
  Ralston identifies my problem rather succinctly early on. “When we know something intellectually, but fail to experience what’s right in front of us, we are only fractionally engaged with the world around us.” One of my favorite philosophers from my freshman year in college, Arthur Schopenhauer rather flatly advised that this myopia redolent among armchair intellectuals, such as me, is due to our tendency to think the limits of our knowledge to be the limits of the world. I have taken great solace in being a self educated expert. I have lost my beginner’s mind to paraphrase another great Zen Roshi.
  
  Peter Ralston writes in a plain and interesting style. But, his subject is deceptively simple. I have found myself, after several pages behind me, realizing that my assumptions and attitudes have tripped me up. Thus this book is one to be studied and used as a guide for meditation as well as life beyond the cushion. Unlike a lot of new age and post modern offerings in spirituality available today, The Book of Not Knowing is not one that you read from cover to cover moving on to the next month’s selection in the Metaphysical Book of the Month Club. In no small way this is life’s curriculum. It is to be struggled with much in the same way the aspirant does with the koan.
  
  Zen can be summed up quite nicely in pithy little statements that many of us have read.
  
  Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
  
  After ecstasy, the laundry.
  
  When I am hungry, I eat. When I am tired, I sleep.
  
  Knowledge or pride in possessing knowledge seems to be the barrier to my enlightenment…whatever the hell that is. It sure isn’t turning out to be what I thought it was going to be. If I really can say that I know anything at all it is that I have made a mess out of finding enlightenment. I love to complicate things. Yet enlightenment is found not in the extraordinary, but the ordinary; not in possession of special knowledge, but in the day to day activities of living. Enlightenment is turning out to be quite unexpectedly ordinary.
  
  The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is reported to have visited the Oracle at Delphi. The mouth piece for the god Apollo supposedly prophesied that of all Athenians, Socrates alone was truly wise. In the impish, self deprecating matter that Plato has depicted his beloved teacher, Socrates suggested that if he was the only one who was truly wise it was because he alone understood that he knew nothing.
  
  Socrates identifies for me the first step to what Ralston (and Zen masters) refer to as “not knowing.” In order to get to this rather incomprehensible and seemingly nonsensical place I must find a way to get past the beliefs and assumptions that I rely on to navigate the world as I currently understand it.
  
  A Christian may quote the proverb that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I see this as a theistic observation of the same principle at work. The problem is that this not knowing sounds a lot like willful ignorance to most of us. Many Christians even get accused of committing intellectual suicide (and some do), but what the sages are trying to cure us of is our assumptions.
  
  I have always preferred to operate from the belief that knowledge is power. Sometimes it is. Knowing how to cook keeps me from starving to death. Knowledge can be useful for survival but my tenacity in equating it with the “truth” (Ralston) prevents me from being open to the possibility of discovery (Ralston). It is the state of not knowing that allows us the openness which leads to the true authenticity that I play out, the genuine experience of the moment which allows for the intuitive leaps in creativity and clarity of vision that makes up enlightenment (Ralston.)
  
  
  
• 
  Fernando

  The book of returning to the simple state of nothingness. This is a direct guide to your true nature of existing, from nothing, to the whole essence of just being. The term not knowing is a start to understanding the world we live in by simply and effortlessly just living. Ralston explains step by step the profundity of how our community, thinking, reasoning and everything we know externally, determines our reality. Returning to a state of complete joy and fulfillment is what every human being is in search for, and here Ralston tells us that this state we are in search of is located deep within our conscious mind, we just need to learn how to let go of all our perceptions and begin to contemplate how not knowing is the beginning of it all.
  
  "Knowing” can be useful, but learning not to know creates a powerful openness that is inconceivable until it is experienced."
  
• 
  Giorgi Bazerashvili

  This is the book that everyone should read! And I mean it literally, EVERYONE.
  
  This is the most no-bullshit guide to reaching highest states of consciousness that I've ever read.
  
  You will have to read it multiple times to wrap your mind around the concepts that are being spoken in this book. But just reading the book won't be enough. You'll know why after reading it.
  
  Read this book and you'll know what you should do in order to understand things that are beyond your mind, beyond survival, and beyond your self.
• 
  Natasha

  I am loving this book. It's easy to read and yet sort of exhausting; mindfulness requires so much energy, somehow. This book brings me peace and I like its format, laid out like scripture chapters and verses; a nice replacement for those of us who have left organised religion.
• 
  Nicholas Brink

  Ralston, P. (2010). The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. Paperback, 581 pp., $24.95. ISBN 978-1-55643-857-8.
  Reviewed by: Nicholas E. Brink, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist
  Who am I? What is the self? What is consciousness? Peter Ralston explores these questions and other related questions, but he recognized that he cannot provide answers to these questions because the real answers can only come from a person’s personal experiences. Thus this book does not attempt to provide answers but expands upon these questions and provides a contemplative avenue for readers to experience their own answers. A person’s conceptual-self or self-concept likely includes misconceptions inherent in the teachings of our cultural institutions of family, schools and religion, teachings of beliefs and concepts that have not been validated through personal experience thus they limit our reality. The true-self is that part of the self that has found the answers to “who am I?” or “What is the self?” through personal experiences.
  ¬ With this clear distinction between our self-concept of the beliefs that have not been validated through experience and the experienced true self, chapters six through twenty examines in considerable detail how we have learned these self-concepts. These self-concepts though often false are deeply defended layer upon layer in a snow-balling manner in order to protect our self-concept or self-image. This protection of the self is a life-long pursuit based on the drive to survive. When you are asked who you are you most likely offer a list of these learned concepts that you have come to believe even though you have not personally experienced their truth so do not know of their truth.
  “Not Knowing” in the book’s title arises in several different domains. Any honest learning experience begins from the state of not knowing the answer. In our journey towards the truth, when we are told by our cultural institutions what we are supposed to believe, these beliefs have not been experienced so do not begin with not knowing. Also in Ralston’s journey to find the truth through the experiences gained in the process of contemplation, what is experienced or perceived is only a flash in the moment that is surrounded by not knowing. The honest or truthful contemplative experience that comes from this flash in the moment can provide us with enlightened insights, insight that comes without interpretation, interpretation that would come from our pre-conceived and likely limiting and false self beliefs.
  Before Ralston begins to describe the process and outcome of contemplation, he describes the nature of the conceptions that we have carried with us in our made-belief world, many of which are false and limit us as we move into our new ways of being and of experiencing the world. “If we could clarify and put into a big pile all that is our self-concept, self-image, and self-identity, what would be left over? We certainly insist that we are more than these concepts… But can we clearly distinguish what is our-self, independent of any of these conceptual components”(pg. 174), components that have not been personally experienced?
  Ralston presents a number of dynamics in this process of learning the concepts held by a person that define the self. One dynamic is the use of imagination, of imagining something that isn’t present but gives direction in one’s life such as imagining that you are going to do poorly on a test or some other life event. Negative beliefs produce negative experiences which reinforce the negative beliefs, a growing circle of layers of negativity. In a parallel manner, positive believes produce positive experiences that are again self reinforcing. We also invent ideas or ways of thinking that reinforce a belief. We can blame ourselves or blame others when things do not work out, blame that reinforces our beliefs and patterns of thinking. Also our interpretations of what we perceive are derived from our beliefs, interpretations that can reinforce our misconceptions. Again these misconceptions are created layer upon layer with more and more misconceptions. One basic misconception in our culture is our aversion to “not knowing,” a misconception because not knowing is an important beginning and motivator in searching for and experiencing true beliefs. Though we do not know the outcome of some event, in our aversion to not knowing we create from what we think we know the outcome of the event thus reinforcing our believed misconception.
  Ralston identifies three levels of these beliefs (pp. 356-357), first those that are consciously adopted so can be faced to provide new truthful insights and personal change because they are conscious. Second, there are those beliefs that are programmed within us, many subconscious and learned at a young age through repetition, intimidation, and experience, beliefs that are taken for granted in the act of growing up and living life. Third are the assumptions that are unconscious and function as simple fact.
  The first level are those beliefs that we have consciously adopted, include the conceptions we list when describing ourselves, the beliefs that have come to us from our cultural institutions of family, schools and religion. To give a personal example I’d like to relate one of my more powerful personal insights that uncovered a limiting or false belief. Early in my life when in elementary school I was labeled as dyslexic, a continued problem especially in my spelling and writing with may letter reversals and the other typical mistakes of someone who is dyslexic. This problem snowballed layer upon layer leading me to believe that I was less intelligent than others and giving me a sense diminishing self-confidence. The school’s definition of dyslexia was believed as true and a limiting problem but with some then unrecognized positive side effects.
  But when in school I also had an unusual drive to succeed as evident in my reaction to when I first heard of the three levels of a college education, i.e. a bachelor’s degree, followed by a master’s degree and then a PhD or doctor’s degree. When my 10th grade English teacher described these college degrees I immediately set my goal upon getting a PhD even though I had the self image of having a learning disability and found my limited success in school a real struggle. I felt I had to work much harder than others to pass but something inside of me said I had to prove I could do it. Only many years after I graduated with a PhD in psychology after thirteen years in college did I discover from a comment made by a friend that a person who is left-handed and dyslexic looks at the world in a different way, outside the box, and is likely more right-brained and creative, a newer and more positive side of dyslexia. I found new freedom with this flash of insight when I recognized that I was quite creative in my thinking. With this insight I have found a new love and enjoyment in writing and reading, especially with the publication of my first journal article and the many that have followed. This experience brought about an explosion in my life of writing that greatly changed my image of who I am and my personal beliefs. If I would have had this attitude when in school I feel I would have enjoyed learning rather than experiencing it as such a struggle. My dyslexia now is much less of a problem especially while writing using a computer word processor with its spelling and grammar checks. My seventh book is in press and soon to be released.
  This insight provided a major change in my life, but with my continued interest and openness in life and a continued search for deeper understanding of myself I have had many other insights and changes. Another major one brought to an end my identity as a Christian with a new identity of valuing and venerating the Earth and its way of sustaining life through the interdependency of all that is of the Earth, of Gaia. This insight came about from my ecstatic or shamanic trance experiences, a deep form of the altered state of contemplation. I now find it impossible to feel superior to or above the spirits that have become my guides through the experiences of ecstatic trance, the bear, the eagle, the coyote, a snake, squirrel, mouse, honey bee, and even a mountain path, to name a few. Each spirit guide that I have come to value has taught me through my ecstatic experiences something in how to live in oneness with the Earth.
  Other insights have come from facing the more subconscious beliefs that were learned through programming, and the deeper unconscious beliefs that became part of me as the basic assumptions of life. Again drawing from the personal experience of overcoming my dyslexia I was programmed to highly value education. My struggle to get my PhD came from the semi-conscious value of the importance of an education, a value that rose above my belief that I was less intelligent than others, thus I pushed ahead in my struggle at UCLA. This programmed value to succeed came out of a basic assumption for survival. Ralston considers this drive to survive as a basic assumption that underlies most all of our beliefs and conceptions. This is an example of the layering of beliefs and concepts of the conceptual self, beginning with the drive to survive that led to my valuing of an education that led to my struggle to get my PhD, a series of insights that came to me over several years around 30 years ago when I was in my 50s.
  The consequences of our false beliefs or misconceptions are recognized in a sense of emptiness, self-doubt, feeling trapped, suffering and struggle. Identifying, facing and contemplating these benchmarks of our false beliefs can open the door to understanding the nature of our conceptual self to bring about insight. Ralston also adds to his list of benchmarks several other specific emotions, the emotions of fear, anger, desire and pain. “Our job is to uncover everything that dominates our personal experience and awareness and to transform it piece by piece to what is real and true,”(pg 554). While holding these concepts and emotions in a state of contemplation with the intent to find the belief that caused them we can find greater understanding and insight into our problems. A special state of deep contemplation is necessary to bring to consciousness those beliefs that we hold that are semiconscious and unconscious, beliefs that we learned through programming or as basic assumptions. Ralston describes contemplation as a deep and focused questioning. Before entering a state of contemplation we need to prepare ourselves with a sense of presence, clarity and possibility. When in the state of contemplation we need to hold our experienced emotion with intention, openness, focus and questioning or wondering. Ralston also mentions, “The connection between the assumption and its influence on our lives needs to be clearly seen. But, like being in a maze, it may be more easily seen by backing up far enough to see it as part of a whole pattern,” (pg 387).
  Over the last 50 plus years as a psychologist I have used clinical hypnosis and analytic hypnotherapy, and for the last ten years ecstatic or shamanic trance, each for this same purpose of uncovering our false beliefs and misconceptions. Ralston’s description of contemplation quite accurately describes the process of trance induction for both hypnosis and ecstatic trance along with using hypnotic age regression for “backing up to see it as part of the whole pattern.” Ecstatic trance is induced by rapid stimulation to the nervous system through drumming or rattling which distracts a person from conscious thinking and aids in bringing about the state of not knowing. I recognize that soul retrieval, one technique of ecstatic trance, is again an alternative way to describe backing up to uncovering of those early programmed beliefs and assumptions that are semi-conscious or unconscious.
  With regard to not knowing, while contemplating with openness and wondering, what comes to the person comes from not knowing what to expect. While in a state of hypnotic or ecstatic trance, what comes to the person is generally metaphoric or dreamlike, experiences the meaning of which are initially not understood or not known. Only while holding the metaphoric experiences in mind over time while not knowing their meanings does a person open him or herself to the meanings and insights of these experiences. These metaphoric experiences have many levels of meaning and they need to be held in continued openness and not knowing to discover their many layers of meaning.
  As an example of not knowing in the context of a metaphoric experience while using ecstatic trance, I had three recent experiences with my spirit guide, the coyote. Previously the coyote, the trickster, has always laughed at me and challenged me in some way. But in these three experiences he was unexpectedly supportive and at my side which led me to wonder what he was trying to tell me. Then in the next experience he beckoned me to follow him to the water’s edge and we dove in. I found myself as a fish able to breathe underwater, but as I swam near the surface I could see the light coming from a ball of light above the surface of the water, the sun, but I knew nothing of the sun or the world above the water. As a human I really knew nothing of or experienced what life is like under water and as a fish nothing of what life is like above the water. An initial interpretation of this metaphoric experience is that I am missing something in my limited knowledge of the truth in my life above the water that I might find in my experience under water, but I am wondering more specifically of what the coyote is telling me about this limited knowledge. I expect that this experience and/or my following experiences with ecstatic trance I will find new insight into some misconception that comes from my conceptual self. The metaphors of ecstatic trance leave me wondering in not knowing.
  The use and understanding of using hypnosis and ecstatic trance in this way is the topic of my soon to be released book, Applying the Constructivist Approach to Cognitive Therapy: Resolving the Unconscious Past, (Brink, in press).
  Peter Ralston’s transpersonal approach to contemplation for understanding the true nature of the self and uncovering the many limiting misconceptions that each of us hold is a valuable avenue to follow to find enlightenment. Coming from a Zen meditation perspective, his way of describing the purpose of and what to expect from contemplation greatly added to my understanding of why I failed over the years to find enlightenment in my limited practice of Zen meditation. My introductory experience with Zen meditation was to focusing on my breathing in order to remain and experience what comes to me in the moment. From Ralston I now recognize that what would have come to me would have come from not knowing, not knowing what to expect while in the moment. Though in preparation for Zen meditation very little is said or explained, Ralston’s explanation makes much more sense of what to expect from Zen meditation.
  Also Ralston’s description of the conceptual self provides an important and useful roadmap for uncovering and overcoming the cultural limitations and misconceptions that we have learned from a young age. Rather than a book that was written to impart conceptual knowledge and information, I think the word roadmap well describes the intent of The Book of Not Knowing, a roadmap for self-discovery and understanding the meaning of the true self.
  REFERENCE
  Brink, N. E. (in press). Applying the Constructivist Approach to Cognitive Therapy: Resolving the Unconscious Past. New York, NY: Routledge.
  
  
• 
  Jacob Ryan

  An epically profound book. The power of content in this book is second to none. Surely one of the most sophisticated and in-depth reads I've had the fortune of reading on the topic of consciousness. Ralston explores all the fundamental aspects of human experience and how they interrelate with consciousness and being. He goes onto provides methods to explore oneself, how they operate and who they are at the core of their existence. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in human development, consciousness work and optimal self-understanding!
• 
  Temo Tchanukvadze

  No words can describe the experience I've had while reading this book. It's simple and most complicated book at the same time. Peter does a great job to explain indefinable subjects in plain words, maybe that's why it took 600 pages to explain just 'not knowing'. Simply, it's about the true nature of you. It's my bible from now, I have to reread.
  
  
• 
  Scott Ford

  The Tibetan concept of Skandah, which means 'groupings', is a framework that explains how a person generates his or her individuality, or ego. And from a Buddhist perspective, fixation on ego is at the heart of suffering. The highly abstract theory of Skandah is unintentionally made far more accessible, in my opinion, by Peter Ralston's The Book of Not Knowing. While Ralston never ties the ideas in his book directly to Skandah, his detailed, step-by-step approach in guiding the reader through the process of recognizing and addressing the complications of 'self' greatly clarify the Tibetan Buddhist concept.
  
  Don't be put off by the 581 pages of The Book of Not Knowing. Ralston's writing is very conversational, and the pages fly by. Highly recommended.
• 
  Pat Edwards

  A book I will return to frequently. Ralston's perspective on the concepts of self are beyond thought provoking and into mind altering.
  It may be a challenge for beginners in self-exploration, but worth the effort.
• 
  Frank Moffatt

  Amazing book - certainly not a book to begin your spiritual journey, but once you are comfortably situated on the path this book will open more and more doors!
• 
  lyle

  “It’s not difficult to think of a child’s imaginative play as a conceptual activity, but we don’t usually consider that everything we perceive as adults is subject to a similar if more sophisticated system of conceptualization. In fact, one difference between adult and child is that the child is more likely to recognize that he’s the author of his fantasies. He might get annoyed when his world of make-believe is interrupted, not wanting to admit that he isn’t really Superman, or that his magical energy beams may indeed not be all powerful, but when called to dinner he knows it’s time to return to the “real” world. As adults we are far less likely to do so. By the time we reach adulthood, much of what we “know” actually falls into the category of “make-believe” but we don’t recognize it as such. Having thought this way for as long as we can remember, we take it for granted that our beliefs are real.”
  
  “We often think of a concept as a general idea, or a vaguely organized mental image: I’ve never been to a barn raising, but I get the concept . But anything that is fabricated in the mind is conceptual. A concept is unreal in the objective sense, meaning nothing substantial exists. Some people might call it a “conceptual object” since it appears to us as some “thing,” but a concept has no mass, no location, occupies no space—it exists solely within our mental perceptions or imagination. This does not make it any less powerful, simply less objective. What we need to grasp at this juncture is that concept is not something that exists of its own accord, but is the summation of a mental process. It refers to something; it is never the thing itself.”
  
  “Can you see how much the experience of yourself lives within your internal dialogue? Now imagine an experience of “being” without any language at all—without any speaking, not even to yourself. Since thinking is very much tied up in language, what can you experience as you without confusing yourself with your thoughts? Concept is a tool and an abstraction, and is always erected temporarily, so consider experiencing “being” without any concept at all. Identifying everything about yourself that exists as a concept—an idea, image, belief, or any other mental activity—is necessary in order to distinguish your real self from what is not-you. But why would anyone confuse attributes, ideas, and behavior patterns with themselves if these aren’t really themselves?”
  
  “It’s true that in our culture we are rarely accepted for who we actually are as a being. Instead, we are appreciated, valued, and loved primarily for what we do, how we look and act, and what we say—in other words, from the impressions made on others and how people feel about those impressions. Clearly, in order to secure a sense of being valued, we are moved to adopt a persona—to develop and display an assumed social image or personality. We may or may not be successful at getting what we want through these means, but our motive is clear—we want to be accepted, be approved of, and be a part of our particular community. Yet this is not the only motive that drives our behavior, thinking, and feelings.”
  
  “If we study ourselves carefully, it becomes increasingly clear that most of our habitual behavior and character traits, as well as our ever-shifting and purposely crafted expressions, exist solely to fulfill needs—they are conceptually produced reactions to external stimuli that come to be known as aspects of ourselves. All together these comprise most of what we know as our selves. Yet in some sense this is a “false” self. It is false or unreal in the sense that it is secondary. It is founded on external programming and created to serve external goals. It is not based on what simply exists as the being that we are “as-is.” “Doing” something is not the same as “being” something.”
  
  “By making a distinction between being and self, we realize that most of what we identify as our selves is conceptual. This distinction and realization then enable us to work with our conceptual-selves moreconsciously. Concepts can change. Therefore it is possible to change anything that is conceptual about ourselves. Yet if we don’t understand the forces that motivated us to adopt these abstractions to begin with, we will be unable to free ourselves from their return even if we are successful for a time.”
  
  “Here I’m asserting not that our “experience” of self is conceptual, but that “self” itself is a concept. For most of us this is rather hard to grasp, and even harder to accept. After all, we appear as a body full of movement and animation, and a body obviously isn’t a concept. Yet a body is not a self; it’s a body.
  
  We don’t call the chair a self. It is simply an object that we identify as a chair. The body isn’t a self until it is identified as oneself. Without such recognition within your perception it would not be yourself, it would simply be an object among objects. We may identify one body as “me” or “mine,” and others as “not-me” or “not-mine,” but what we’re identifying here is simply self being attributed to an object. Just as a “tree” only exists as an interpretation applied to an object, we perceive bodies as having 'elves' or being 'selves.'”
  
  ““you,” as you know your self, are a concept. And as we’ve seen, the possibilities and consequences of this fact are different from the possibilities and consequences of something that exists objectively. The distinction of self is made within what is perceived to be. In this way, self is created, and yet perceived as if it exists on its own. Without the “creation” of self, there is no self to be perceived. Once self is created and identified, however, it becomes the central aspect of our awareness, and we fail to notice that it is in fact not an experience of being.”
  
  “You are eight years old. It is Sunday evening . You have been granted an extra hour before bed . The family is playing Monopoly . You have been told that you are big enough to join them. You lose . You are losing continuously. Your stomach cramps with fear . Nearly all your possessions are gone. The money pile in front of you is almost gone . Your brothers are snatching all the houses from your streets . The last street is being sold. You have to give in. You have lost . And suddenly you know it is only a game . You jump up with joy and you knock the big lamp over . It falls on the floor and drags the teapot with it . The others are angry with you, but you laugh when you go upstairs . You know you are nothing and know you have nothing . And you know that not-to-be and not-to-have give an immeasurable freedom . —Janwillem van de Wetering”
  
  “We can see that a simple, apparently noble identification and expression of laudable values can turn into an attachment to much more than a simple commitment. It becomes an identification with a particular lifestyle and various forms of self-image, all of which are unnecessary, and can even be a means of suffering, and none of which are actually the person who adopts them. As a matter of fact, most of it has little to do with the simple and original commitment to a value. My real self is my real self, on top of which I may commit to something such as working hard. This, however, doesn’t make the activity of working hard the same as my self, and it certainly doesn’t make all the trappings of such a commitment my self, or even reflective of my self. I can easily adopt all these trappings just to gain approval, or even entirely as a pretense. Either way, none of it is my self.
  
  If observable characteristics are not my self, then something made up or pretended or believed or assumed is certainly not me either. These fabricated self-assessments are even more apt to be distorted. They’re likely to be further from a true representation of my original nature, since they are easily created to be whatever way is desired, having no relation to the truth or to anything observed. Adopted characteristics can be any way I want them to be, but the truth can only be what’s true.”
  
  “try to grasp how much more there is to a self’s entire identity. Bring to mind some of the other things that you identify with—particular ways of dressing, the car or truck that you drive, your hairstyle, your decor, the style of sunglasses you wear, the type of friends you seek out, kinds of ornamentation your put on your body, what you read, your sexual preferences, your religion, morality, values, politics, your racial and ethnic background, the kinds of recreation or sports you like, and so on. As you bring these to mind, see how much you “find” yourself within them or in relation to them. There are many areas and relationships in which we identify ourselves as being one kind of person and not another, as having particular character traits, self-concepts, and beliefs. Altogether these are perceived as the reality in which we live. In actuality they are the inventions in which we live.”
  
  “The general cultural prescription for feeling better about ourselves is often in the direction of more misrepresentation, distortion, or lies—although it is never seen as that. We attempt to appear as all sorts of things—reasonable, spiritual, tough, harmless, honorable, intelligent, one of the guys, enlightened, or whatever fits our desired self-image. Yet even with all of our efforts we are often left feeling like we’re simply acting out a movie script, or going through the motions. This is because we are. No amount of alterations to our appearance, mind, or behavior will change the fact that we don’t know who we are.”
  
  “When something “is” it merely is; it is as-itself in this moment. When our experience of being is directed by survival, it is directed toward something that isn’t —something that doesn’t presently exist. Being requires no activity or process or purpose to be. Since being already is , any activity, process, or purpose that arises is directed toward what is not . The pursuit of survival is a continuously active process whose purpose is directed toward the persistence of something that appears to be, rather than toward an experience of reality in this moment. Whenever a process or experience is focused on surviving, it is not turning toward what “is.” Therefore, the target for survival must necessarily be something that can persist.
  
  Being does not persist. It 'is-es.'”
  
  “Remember, the principle of honesty isn’t about being a “good” person, it’s not what we do as a social pretense or to develop an “honest person” character trait, nor is it just saying what you feel like saying. It goes much deeper than that. Honesty is being committed to what is true. Not to what you think is true, what you agree with, or how you may want things to turn out. Those are all self-oriented. True honesty is committed to the truth, independent of any concern for the self. A shift in one’s governing principle to something that is free of a reflexive self-orientation will change the effects that arise.”
  
  ”Strange as it may seem, the desire for transformation is not a desire for the truth. Although we might think that gleaning the truth would be a transformative act, our attempts at transformation are almost always based on the particular beliefs of some system, and motivated by our desire to become better in some way. Even though the belief system we adopt may seem to be a tool for getting to the truth, upon closer inspection we find that what we’re really up to is trying to adopt behavior and thinking that’s consistent with the dogma of that system. This difference frequently slips below the radar, but it is important to keep an eye out for such confusion and to consider why we go down that road.”
  
  “If a shared assumption in my particular subculture is that personal worth determines acceptability in the community, then I need to appear worthwhile in order to obtain the good judgments of others and the status assessed as requisite for my success, ergo survival. Consistent with such an orientation, if knowledge is a valued commodity in my culture, I would then strive to appear knowledgeable. A split in my self-experience is now at hand, because at the core of my being I am not originally knowledgeable. I’ll go about trying to accumulate knowledge so that I appear to be “one who knows,” even though fundamentally I am not.”
  
  “Normally we presume that ideals are a good thing, that they represent what we should strive for, and indicate admirable qualities in a human being. Yet we overlook the damaging effects of ideals. We fail to recognize the fact that many of the images to which we aspire, including our programs of shoulds and shouldn’ts, are not so idyllic. We also don’t notice that binding ourselves to these mostly unattainable and unlikely self-images, and fleeing from our feared self-images, keeps us perpetually in motion. This motion is unhealthy, shaming, and provides a lot of fuel for our sense of emptiness, since we don’t exist within our ideals. Ideals are never focused on what “is” and so are never about what we are; therefore they can’t lead to a genuine and honest sense of being.”
  
  “Whenever we apply meaning to the apple, we will miss the experience of the apple just being an apple. Instead we are concerned with its use or its future. Meaning is a secondary application. Does the apple deserve “apple rights?” Does it deserve fulfillment, or to feel good, or to have its way? Obviously it would be impossible to tell what that could possibly be, but even if we could, it would be ridiculous to assume that apples deserve anything beyond being an apple. It is equally absurd to presume that we deserve anything, or require value just in the course of “being.” “Being” has no meaning. It just “is.” Therefore, we have no inherent meaning; we simply are.
  
  To our cultural ears this might sound like a negative, but it isn’t negative at all. As a matter of fact, there is some very good news in all this. “Meaninglessness” here doesn’t mean “less meaning” or “negative meaning.” Meaningless means “without meaning.” It is “no” meaning. Therefore, we are inherently free of meaning. Realizing this should immediately end our struggle for meaning. Do you see how this works? Although it might sound depressing to hear that you have no meaning, the good news is that you absolutely cannot be worthless. Since value is a function of use, it is artificially applied to things; it is secondary and not inherent in anything. This indicates that it is impossible for anyone to be inherently worthless.”
• 
  Nataliia Laba

  One of the most thorough contemplative efforts on the essence of self, its nature, ‘meaning’ and being, to date. It’s quite a lengthy read and might need to be approached when your mind is seeking a deeper conceptualization of self and exhibits openness to unlearning what is commonly perceived as given.
  
  The most relevant to my immediate experience were the concepts of pain, anger, suffering, and desire. I also found the components of the concept of 'emotion' quite profound; these prompted me to delve into the notion of anger to learn more about what this emotion attempts to accomplish and what its productive potential might be ('Rage becomes her: The power of women's anger' by S Chemaly is a worthy read if you like to find out what's up (not from a garbage-y self-help perspective).
  
  Fear relates to the future, whereas anger relates to the past - that’s gucci to know, but what’s next? The author highlights that to make this prolonged discussion be of any value, one needs to find a willingness to locate the book’s practical potential and dedicate time/effort to practice the thought-provocative ideas put forward.
  
  What has helped my contemplation on the meaning of anger is the conceptualization of one of its functions described as an attempt to avoid the feeling of being hurt. However, how can one not get fixated on the intensity of the experiential pain when it’s so immediate and vivid, and turn anger into her/his advantage instead? Anger can have a positive transformational potential, sure. No doubt, your pain is valid because it’s so immediate. But beneath the 'immediacy' component, this book has helped me to locate a shameful sense of incompetence or unworthiness and that’s where a real underlying cause of anger resides. It’s a revelation of one's inability to have/experience (in the future and now) the course of events the way one envisaged plus that nagging sense of self-deficiency that is so greatly impactful on the sense of agency for anyone who understands the depth of incongruence between their pain and their self-worth.
  
  These and other discussions are by all means worth pursuing. Ask yourself to focus on what matters but in relation to what timeline, for whom, and why. Once these are clarified, you will find yourself ready to read this book.
  
  NL
• 
  Maximilian Kern

  This is, for me personally, the most important #1 book ever. Nothing comes close in having made countless of my developmental steps during my adult years possible and aiding me in gaining wisdom, patience and insight. I have just started reading it again and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Read it, read it, read it, if you haven’t yet. Unreserved recommendation.
• 
  James Fisher

  this is one I have recently read, and will be "currently reading" for a long time...;-)
• 
  A De

  very nice book on SELF; it might be difficult if you haven't read other Prof Ralston's books and it contains many exercises that take quite a bit of time but well worth it
• 
  Charles Broughton

  This was the audio book. A lot of interesting material to grapple with, but I feel a physical book would be a better delivery mechanism for this work.
• 
  Leonardo

  O meu livro favorito e realmente acho que é o mais importante que qualquer pessoa pode ler. Não porque vai te ensinar a ganhar mais dinheiro ou qualquer outra vantagem material imediata, mas porque vai te ajudar a entender o que a realidade e a consciência realmente são além das meras ideias conceituais religiosas, filosóficas e científicas (excessivamente analíticas) criadas por nós ao longo da história humana.
  
  Este tomo de quase seiscentas páginas é sobre iluminação e como alcançá-la em nossas vidas. Peter Ralston aborda os fundamentos de nossa compreensão da vida e de nós mesmos através do simples, porém contraintuitivo "não saber". Nomes como Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton e Galileo são sinônimos de gênio e perduram em nossas culturas por conta das suas notáveis ​​descobertas científicas. Embora seus campos de especialização fossem diferentes uns dos outros, cada uma de suas contribuições impressionantes começou com um princípio simples. Gautama Buda, Salomão e Aristóteles são conhecidos como sábios, pessoas com extraordinária visão e sabedoria. Seus insights foram fundados exatamente no mesmo princípio que tornou possíveis tais descobertas científicas. O que todas essas pessoas notáveis ​​têm em comum é que elas foram além de suas crenças e suposições para esse estado de não saber apontado por Ralston.
  
  Se você está remotamente interessado na possibilidade de revolucionar a sua vida, este é o livro mais importante e prático que você pode usar literalmente como um manual para atingir uma iluminação. É claro, você não conseguirá isso apenas lendo o livro - você provavelmente terá de lê-lo algumas vezes apenas para entender verdadeiramente suas ideias - ao mesmo tempo, terá que incorporar práticas avançadas, como meditação, contemplação e uma verdadeira auto-investigação que requerem disciplina e vontade genuína.
  
  Este livro é empírico, direto e científico no sentido de que não há misticismo ou religião envolvidos em seus princípios fundamentais - trata-se apenas da mais pura observação da consciência. Ele contém vários exercícios para ajudá-lo a integrar essas práticas avançadas que mencionei, orientá-lo a trabalhar com sua consciência e investigá-la para começar a entendê-la. É realmente uma obra prima atemporal.
• 
  #DÏ4B7Ø

  The Book of Not Knowing by Peter Ralston - Introduction - Grounded Enlightenment
  The Book of Not Knowing by Peter Ralston - Chapter 1 - Questioning the Obvious
  The Book of Not Knowing - Chapter 2 - Moving Beyond Belief
  
  Transcendent Art
  
  :}{: CLEAR CONCISE POINTING AT THE TRUE EXPERIENTIAL NATURE OF REALIY == THE ALEXANDER KNOT :}{:
  
  you've experientially validated the truth of something then call it an experience if not it is a belief
  emptying your cup exercise * KEY *
  go through everything you believe or hold to be true as best you can bring to mind all that
  you know everything that comes up for you that you consider true or assume is true ask
  yourself whether you have actually experienced it or if you just believe it
  certainly this will take some time and you may often be unclear whether something counts as a belief or as an
  experience take all the time you need and if you still aren't clear
  set it aside for later contemplation the vast majority of what you know will
  turn out to be beliefs 2 35
  try to come to grips with the fact that the truth of these beliefs is actually unknown
  allow this unknown experience to sink in the more you can Free Yourself of
  countless beliefs instead staying with a sense of not knowing the stronger your sense of the
  present moment will become although the beliefs might be numerous and varied the not knowing will always
  be the same it is only one experience and it is always now and always true use
  this to open up and wonder about the nature of your awareness of this very moment
  the above exercise is not something that
  needs to be accomplished all at once the point is for you to start opening up to seeing the ways that beliefs affect
  your life and to begin not only to question their validity but to open up
  Beyond any belief valid or not to experience this moment as it is
  in the next chapter we'll be looking into this matter on a less personal level our shared inheritance of cultural
  beliefs and assumptions
  
• 
  Jordan Hutchison

  This is a book you'll surely have to read more than once. I recommend doing the suggested exercises within and taking good notes so that you may refer to them at a later date. The book will have you questioning the most basic beliefs you've derived from your culture and it can result in profound revelations and insights. This book has the potential to move the gears in your head in ways you never thought possible but you must put forth the effort and work to not only understand what exactly is being said here, but to implement the exercises in thinking into your every day life.
• 
  Larry Gottlieb

  Reading this book is challenging but ultimately valuable for anyone who wants to learn to distinguish what's real from what everyone else has told you is real. The idea that the self is ultimately a conceptual construction without a basis in reality is mind-blowing, in the sense that our entire conception of what is real is built on top of this basic misunderstanding.
  
  This is not an easy read, but it's one that will prove immensely valuable over time.
• 
  Bedouin_the_Sheets

  I did the audio book. Apparently every sentence in the book is numbered, like in the bible or a book of scripture - for easier referencing or quoting. The chapter/Paragraph numbers read aloud in an audio book serve no indexing purpose. That was jarring and irritating and took much away from the listening pleasure one could have had from the book. Also, it is too much of the same thing over and over again and after a while of listening, one automatically sort of tunes out.
• 
  Thomas Wright

  Without question, this has to be one of the most impactful books I have ever read. Each paragraph can be studied and ruminated over for hours. His logic is lucid and his writing clearer than most writers out there, period. This is one book I have continually recommended to other readers over the years, and that has never changed with good reason.
• 
  Philip Henderson

  This is a journey. The book is well worth the effort. I am on my third retread through it mainly with the audio version. There has been a huge shift in perspective for me up to now. It is well worth buying and putting into practice.
• 
  Justin

  Seems similar to Robert Anton Wilson's work but presented more soberly