Enlightenment for Beginners: Discovering the Dance of the Divine

Enlightenment for Beginners uses very simple language and graphics -- basically a few words and a cartoon per page -- to teach about the nondual nature of reality. Since it's original publication in 1977 under the title 'What Are You Doing in My Universe?', it has been praised by "everyone." Timothy Leary said, "Alan Watts would have roared with amused approval." Ken Wilber, Stanislov Grof, Jean Klein, Huston Smith, Francis Lucille and others have enthusiastically expressed their enjoyment of this book. I'll let the author, Chuck Hillig, describe the book. The following is from an email sent by Hillig to the Nonduality Salon email forum in July, 1999: "Enlightenment for Beginners tells the entrancing story of how (and why) you've been cleverly imagining yourself to be only a separate and limited Being. Using the simple parable of 'Black Dot #1', the Reader is shown how Life is only a wonderful Game of Pretending to NOT be 'the Other'...(better known as 'Black Dot #2'.) "Using easily-understood words and drawings, the author invites the Readers to discover that they already are 'who' they've been looking for. The book is short, direct and avoids any esoteric 'buzz' words so often associated with eastern philosophy. After an Introduction of 1600 words, (which the Author suggests the younger Readers should skip entirely), the main text uses only an additional 2000 words to tell its entire story. "Enlightenment for Beginners is a book for the entire family...adults and young kids alike. It's suitable for those very familiar with advaitic/non-dualism and, of course, it's absolutely perfect for those just beginning on their inner journey of SELF discovery." To demonstrate the simplicity of the writing and the challenge of that simplicity, here is an excerpt (it lacks the dramatic font effects, since they cannot be inserted into these reviews): Let's see, now: "I am only my #1 dot. I am NOT my #2. "I am only my #1 dot. I am NOT my #2. OK, I think I've got it straight now. Hmmmmm. But suppose I accidentally "remember" that I'm only just p*r*e*t*e*n*d*i*n*g Well, that might really spoil my fun. I know! Just to make really SURE that I can keep my game going I also better arrange that I keep FORGETTING that I'm just pretending that I'm only my #1 black dot. In this careful, direct and almost childlike way, the book penetrates the fundamental nature of duality and finds its expression as an atom consisting of two particles: black dot #1 and black dot #2. Hillig accelerates these particles, revealing an ultimate particle which could be called the nondual nature of reality. This particular physics is done on the reader's perception. First the reader will come to understand the atom of duality. Then it is possible the reader will be nudged toward understanding the ultimate particle, the nondual nature of reality. Finally it could be understood that all this talk about atoms and black dots and nonduality is more black dots, more atoms of duality

Unlike most titles on spirituality, this isn't meant to instruct or provide new insights: Enlightenment for Beginners: Discovering the Dance of the Divine is instead meant to steer in the right direction - and to remind readers about what they might have forgotten. As such, chapters offer very simple one-line reflections to encourage self-examination and understanding. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch