Beyond Happiness

What is beyond happiness? The author's answer is inner peace, which can be attained by reaching pure awareness - observing without interfering - beyond the normal activity of the mind. This is what spiritual traditions call the Self, the I Am. In order to shift perception and remove suffering we need to realise that life is harmony and the world is not as we see it. There is universality beyond individuality and the attempt to control life. Our circumstances are not the same as our problems, which are inherently mental and emotional - humans create problems, but the basic problem is the mind itself. The author draws inspiration from David Bohm, who realised that our problems arise from the nature of thought itself and tried to tackle things at their root through a process of dialogue. It is interesting that author, like Devrah Laval above, also ends up equating non-duality with genetic and environmental determinism – surely the pure awareness of witness is beyond this philosophical category. Having said this, the book contains a great deal of wise practical guidance.