You Are the Happiness You Seek: Uncovering the Awareness of Being

Rupert Spira is a gifted teacher and wonderful human being. According to Rupert, enlightenment is not something to be obtained. It is not an object. You won’t find it in any experience, possession, relationship, mantra, or chant. The short answer is that enlightenment is becoming aware of that which is aware and identifying with that. You are not your body. You are not your thoughts. You are not your degrees or titles. You are not your trauma. You are that constant presence that has always been and is unchanged through time. Your nature is peace and contentment. As the title has it: , you are the happiness you seek. To summarize: Enlightenment on the direct path is dropping identification with all objects of awareness and instead identifying with awareness itself. That is to say, adopt and embrace the view that “I am awareness.“ There is much more to the teaching that helps stabilize understanding of the teaching and explore its implications. Other notable features of the book are that it is easy to understand. There is no added obfuscation to the teaching. It is not overly esoteric. The book uses a question and answer format at times where questions are posed by the student and answered by the teacher. I found that very helpful. At its root, so-called enlightenment is not some experience to be gained, but rather it is something to be recognized as ever present. Our problem is identifying with and being so caught up in our experiences and the pursuit of objects that we don’t recognize the most basic of things. This book is an invaluable help to cultivate an understanding of who/what you are.

Of all the spiritual paths I've wandered down this one is the most concise and useful. I'm not sure why it's called volume 1 I don't know of a volume 2 but maybe I'm missing something.

I was skeptical of Rupert Spira an his teachings...thinking that someone doing as much on YouTube and professional website as he does. The tradition of guru and disciple has always called for free and personal involvement. But it is a new generation and reaching a mass audience requires these means. I am a skeptic no more. Rupert is so amazingly knowledgeable across religions, logical and straight-forward in his presentation and sincere. I have been following him for about 3 years now and have owned this book since just after it was published. He has so many other publications, but I see no reason to buy them as this book says it all IMO. I have read extensively and listened to other great teachers as well, but I'm sincere in saying that this book is enough. I have bought several other copies for family and friends. It's a bit repetitive at first, but the initial phase of getting past your experience and ego bears the repetition. Keep with it. By the end you will see the whole of it. Read it again and perhaps again and again, because there is subtlety therein. Know that there is only one...be not a seeker...just be. Wisdom distilled.

This is probably the most clear, succinct, thorough, non-religious description of our true nature that I have ever encountered. I will be reading this book over and over until it sticks. “It is we, awareness, who, being intimately one with all experience, seem to lose our self in it, thereby overlooking our innate peace and happiness. The inevitable suffering that ensues from this is a call from our self to our self - a call to return home from the adventure of experience in which we have become entangled.”

Attends beautifully to to paradoxical unity, non-duality, and full inclusiveness. The key understanding for me is to always transcend and include. Thus we take all ways under consideration, and be open to a Third Way of novel resolution. Thus resolving conflict with, courage and compassion. (We must remember our past or be condemned to repeat it). Contemplative practice and meditation entered my life where in unitive moments I was given to at tune to my inner voice, Sophia Christos). I Am a "throw-away Catholic deacon". I became one because I became too controversial both creatively and co creatively. I choose my Inner Voice over the voice of the magisterium. I was told that I was not needed about six years ago by my pastor. When I left the church, I walked fully into the open Presence of Sophia. She has taught and guided me in full forgiveness, so as to transcend and include. I have always quipped that " without my enemies I would have no one to love". Goddess forgets no one even the least of people and beings. I see that at our last breath, each of us is Refreshed and Renewed. Suddenly we see our Original Good, our Pristine beauty. Someone once said at her dying breath "I Am not afraid, it is so beautiful here". Since then I have practiced dying a bit each day in meditation. Its so beautiful there ! Thank you ! Dave Schutt

I have often come across the statement "Real peace is found within" and have always wondered what that means or how does one go about finding it. Reading this book was a great help towards that direction.

The author thoroughly and meticulously explains how to obtain happiness permanently and in all situations. Very easy to read, and follow what the author is saying. I think this book will have a great impact on my life!

This book is incredible in that, to my mind at least, it finally gives an understanding of myself and my relationship to everyone and everything else in the universe. The peace and happiness that we all seek is described, not as long life of spiritual seeking, full of mantras and psychedelic drugs, but instead consists of dealing with qualities that are, who we inherently are. These are peace and happiness.They are simply veiled by our incessant need for experiences and the idea that each of us is separate from every being and everything. This separateness also creates the idea of time and space, rather than being in the now. We are truly spirit and as such, suffering is totally imposed on us by our mind. Returning to our true self, without the illusion of Ego, gives us the way dealing with, not only suffering, but all sorts of thought and experience based issues. A final statement of “knowing. oneself “ reminds me of Socrates. Until now, I not truly understood this statement. As Rupert Spira contends, we cannot understand the universe until we understand our most intimate part of the Universe, Ourselves.

Simplemente transformador. Rupert Spira desmonta la ilusión de que la felicidad está "ahí fuera" esperando ser encontrada. Con claridad cristalina, te guía a reconocer que ya eres la paz y plenitud que buscas. No es filosofía abstracta - es experiencia directa. Este libro cambia fundamentalmente cómo te relacionas contigo mismo y con la vida. Profundo y liberador.

You are the Happiness you Seek is another addition to Spira’s insightful books on non-duality. Spira delivers his message in a comprehensible way for the modern audience. This book focuses on the essential happiness of our inner being.

This is one of the best spiritual book I read - concise, precise and far reaching. I would recommend it to everyone who is seriously engaged in his/her own path to wholeness.

Libro fantastico. A mio parere utilissimo. Mi ha permesso di fare chiarezza su molti aspetti sia teorici che pratici. Rupert Spira è un ottimo insegnante. Limpidissimo.

Ich habe einige seiner Bücher gelesen, Rupert verweist auf das EINE aus immer wieder wechselnden Perspektiven. Aber dieses hier, ist so mitfühlend, klar, liebevoll und wahrhaft brillant. Lassen Sie sich die Worte auf der Zunge zergehen, freuen Sie sich darauf einzutauchen, in sich selbst. Danke Rupert Spira.