I think this was written in 1978 (!). I love the rawness and directness of the book. The essence and spirit of the work is very direct and hits hard.... I love this excerpt so sharing for maybe a shift in experience... "The Warrior of the Heart" by Peter Ralston "Connect once again the relationship of warriorhood to the 'truth' and being happy... "There is an almost irresistible tendency to fall into mistaking the form as the creation .... "Even when this dynamic is known to us, we cannot help but fall from Grace... "Apparently, there is a necessity for form (and a tendency to become trapped in it), and at the same time a 'lie' or illusion that the form represents... "If every moment is not created from a transcendence... and mastery of the arising form, then we will become confused with the form.... "Have a clear and uninhibited ability to be involved with and responsible for the movement of anything that arises, its existence and effect, without being the slightest bit attached to it, or to any outcome.... "This is where warriorhood comes in....freedom of being is to not 'be' or identify with any form that needs protection in relationship to other forms or events; and so have no ambition in this 'thing's' accomplishments, or avoidance of its demise, this can be accomplished by its death...a complete and total surrender (sacrifice) of the self-identity, the individual, the illusion of an independent self... "Only when this is so is there no more tendency to be distracted by, trapped in, or confused with any particular form. This must be so every moment. It must be so beyond time. It is the same as surrendering to the truth and giving up your self-demand.... "It does not mean that form disappears, or that you as a structure do not act, manifest... but that these are occurring with no attachment to them.... they arise only to serve the purpose at hand, without the least tendency to be them... "You simply make them moment to moment and dispense with them immediately when no longer appropriate or needed because you never identified with them are never confused with them....

I constantly find application for the lessons of Ending Unnecessary Suffering and those of the Increasing Consciousness Group, especially with respect to getting things done. Case in point: I've recently organized an introduction to consciousness workshop, which could be seen as an abject failure. Only a single person showed up. (Though we had a really good time together.) I could have worried before the workshop whether anyone would come. But I knew it to be pointless (at the point where nothing could be done about it anymore.) And I could have felt bad about it afterwards - but what for? It would be just like rubbing salt into the wound. My mind is helpfully suggesting rather unhelpful courses of action, such as not organising a workshop ever again. What would that achieve?! (Aside of protecting my fragile ego, obviously.) I need to be clear on what I want, and why. The intelligent course of action is to learn from the failure and change my approach so that I will be more successful next time. It is kind of fun to watch what the mind (or rather the "small self") is trying to do, and figuring out what I should actually do instead. The two key lessons I am applying here is 1) knowing what thoughts only cause unnecessary suffering and not engaging in them; 2) not allowing emotional turmoil and the fears and desires of the self to take control, instead, staying clear on purpose and seeking an intelligent way towards to goal. As Peter wrote: "Breakdowns or negative thoughts and feelings regarding actions toward a committed goal, are not inconsistent with commitment. In fact, they are likely to arise in contrast to the reality of committed action. What is inconsistent with commitment is remaining with these breakdowns — ineffective behavior, despair, resistance, upset, fear, incapacity, etc. — not whether they come up or not. They would not arise without one taking a stand in the first place. Commitment is what moves us through them, rather than have them stop us."

So here is some logic for ya. I was confused by language and lack of clarity about 'direct experience'. This is what I got: Direct experience is always there, and is not affected by how we call it. Our labeling or interpreting is just a small portion of what the (total) experience is. We can notice that experiencing anything can only take place "now". We can also notice that what we call an object is an experience (the thing directly without having thought about it). When we notice the feeling (the undeniability of it), we can notice it cannot be pinned down, or we cannot exactly know what it is. Stopping 'right there' with the experience (like " ok I feel it") is a kind of labeling it, and its not actuality, or reality. Stopping is not true. Actuality is in fact unstopable. It is " one", not separate, Is it? So noticing that the experience, the feeling cannot be known or understood, and noticing it changing and it at the same time being in a "field of experience" we can "get" that this is just what is, infinity; it has no end, and no beginning. We can actually call it whatever we want, it is unnameable and always this. cheers!

Just finished listening to this on Audible, I also have the book. Unsurprisingly it’s difficult to find words to describe it. It felt like Peter was reading my mind as he wrote, knowing what mischief my mind and self were likely to be up to as I listened and calling them out. When I finally got to the end I fell quiet and felt peaceful, if a bit beaten up. How do you follow that? I asked myself - I still have one - working in progress. The answer was loud and clear - ‘The Book of Not Knowing’ start all over again. Looking forward to listening to it for the umpteenth time with new ears and a better grasp. What a privilege to have Peter’s work in our lives. Thank you.

I would like to share some insights I've got during the Spring Retreat, to inspire people to participate themselves, and perhaps to spark some insights in others. I want to open with a "haiku" I wrote as a summary of an insight I have got during the Experiencing the Nature of Being (ENB) workshop, even though it relates more to suffering than to anything else: I am I do my best It's enough. Let it sink in. Now, obviously, "my best" is not always "enough" to achieve particular results. I can't fix everything, and especially not all my relationships. Life will do what life does, and it will do things I don't like. At least until I transcend liking and disliking. Yet, it is enough nonetheless. I won't always get my way, and it is fine. I do my best, and I can't do more than that. So it is enough, no matter the outcomes. Do you hear the whispering of the part of your mind that tells you that no, this is not true, that you could have done more if only you tried harder? Kick it in the nuts! This is clearly impossible. No matter what you do, you could always imagine doing it better. It's a trap. Now, I don't want to excuse slacking off. Continue doing your best, growing and developing. But don't try to do more than that (which is impossible) and don't beat yourself over the outcomes that will arise. What will arise will arise. I also try to see others this way. No matter who they are and what they do, they are trying their best. Even if objectively it is not very good. It is just the best they can do, and they have not made themselves. They are just trying to be happy, even of they are trampling over other people and sabotaging the very happiness they aim for by their actions. They haven't chosen to be clueless and to have the personality and beliefs they have, and if they understood and could, they would certainly gladly switch with a more integrated person. I like to think of one man-baby famous politician. He is lying, self-aggrandizing, with little to no honesty and integrity and little care about truth or others. Yet, it seems to me, he's just trying - and failing - to prove (primarily to himself) that he is not a worthless piece of shit, doing the best he can. Sadly, his best is pretty bad. But again, he hasn't chosen to be this pathetic piece of crap.