Presence-Awareness: Just This and Nothing Else

I guess the thing that resounds about the message expressed through Bob is its honest simplicity and directness. No footholds for the self are conceded; and it's not done with cunning intent but because the complication of the simple is fruitless. With Bob the obvious is just pointed to and it's so obvious that you can't get a big head about it and feel like you've got one up on anyone. It's so humbling you simply disappear.

for those seemingly few and far between who are actually curious about who and what they are, about what it is that is looking out from their eyes in this immediate moment, this book is a powerful pointing to that being-ness that lies outside of thought, prior to thought, as it's source and background. this was my first go-round with bob and his material, and i found it a clear, specific, and extremely helpful pointing-out. while i concur with other reviewers that aspects of the message repeat, i found that to be necessary aspect of the teaching for a few reasons. one, everything that arises in thought points us away from the simple fact that you already ARE; that this god-nature or pure consciousness or light or beingness or presence-awareness (to use bob's term) or whatever you choose to call it, already always IS. you could say it is present now, but where being-consciousness is concerned, now is too slow---by the time you register the thought "now" (and "now" is just a thought, just another pointing), you already were, and are. thought is not fast enough to catch it. being-consciousness is first, primary---and thought by nature draws attention away from That into its weird world of time and things. so i found the repeating important to bring attention back to that which is primary. also, these advaita types are always on about "there is no person here, there's no one here" ect... i've found that if you're not viewing from that place, those ideas of no person here can really annoy you. people just don't like to hear that they don't exist, imagine that. hearing it in the context of bob's message caused me to inquire into it this time, and ask myself "how could this be true?" by taking on what he said and trying it on for myself, i have to confess, outside of thought (pictures and words based in memory) and sensations in the body, i have not been able to locate a solid self. so far, just this THIS. also good to hear from people who sat with nisargadatta, as he's a favorite of mine. the book is a collection of talks, so it's not an attempt to be particularly literary. if what drives you in your spiritual life is who and what you are essentially, this book will speak to you.

This is the most straightforward presentation of nonduality that I have read. Uncomplicated, no wasted words, no frills. He says the same thing over and over again relentlessly with no wandering off the point. That's what I like about this book. The point is a simple one, and he presents it simply.

I have only read parts of this book so far but it is great. Sailor Bob points to what we really are in such a direct, easy to understand way. I have read Eckhart Tolle, Leo Hartong, Byron Katie, Gangaji, and Adyashanti, all of whom I really loved and enjoyed. I find Sailor Bob and his student John Wheeler's books the easiest and most direct to "get." If you have read any other non-dual authors and still trying to "get it" Sailor Bob's books might be for "you."

"Sailor" Bob is, in a word, the Real Deal. Like his Teacher, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (whose Teachings were popularized in the book "I Am That" from Acorn Press), Bob points unwaveringly to what is Real ... Are you Present and aware? Can you ever say you do not exist? There must be awareness itself to say 'I am not aware!" At the same time Bob shows us what is NOT real. "Are you separate, an entity? Find it and show it to me." This approach is in the time-tested tradition called "Advaita," yet Bob steadfastly refuses the title of Guru and eschews the whole idea of a Guru and a Disciple as ignorance and duality. The guy is Bang ON. So what is a visitor or reader left with? Initially, A great and Wise FRIEND ... a Guide to the Reality ... beyond the dream of "me in a world." ULTIMATELY? Nothing at all. That is what we are ... No Thing. Arising as Every Thing. You are all that is. There is no actual "separation" unless there is a thought of separation ... and when the thought is seen as ONLY a though, like clouds in a perfect empty sky ...the seeker evaporates and it's all over. Then Livingness itself is a celebration. The word Advaita means "Not Two," which is a rigorous pointer to what Bob calls "One-Without-A-Second" or simply, THAT. All is That. That thou Art. I spent a few days with Bob in September 2005, and he left 'me' with no Guru, no Teaching, nothing to remember, and nothing to do. (Who would do anything?) In other words, Bob leaves us without US or ME or OTHER ... just AS That, which was sought since the dream of a separate person arrived at around age three. And that is That. Then as doubts and a stubborn refusal to look happened after I got back to California, a few phone calls with Bob (he is very generous with his time) and discussions with a few of his other students, "The Penny Dropped.) And a big laugh bubbled up as I realized there never WAS a penny or anywhere for dropping to happen. An now, always Now, nothing is wrong anymore, period. An incredible gift from no one to no one. Get to Melbourne and see Bob if you can. He is a rare Treasure in a world of Half-Baked "Teachers of Oneness." With Bob, in person, via DVD or CD, and in this book (as well his other book "Presence Awareness), you may find that the seeker gradually (or suddenly) fades away, and what is left is Loving Being charlie at awake-now.org