Anil Sharma in his book The Practice of Self Enquiry has come out with a detailed exposition on the teachings of his guru Sage Sri Ramana In December 1993 the author of this book Sri Anil Sharma experienced the rising of cosmic currents in his body- a result of which for the next seven years he experienced the various states of higher consciousness. This book is a dedication to his satguru Sri Ramana Maharshi.Maharshi especially for people who are seeking enlightenment and making an effort to know the various concepts pertaining to birth-death-rebirth and realizing : Who am I? In easy and understandable terms, Anil Sharma has flawlessly described to aspirants who are in search of meaning of life and its earthly existence.The author explains, "Our consciousness of our own being, that is 'I am', alone can be our real self. The non-dual and indivisible consciousness of our own being is our true consciousness, indeed it is our true self, our essential being, of what we really are.This is always present in all our three states : waking, dream and sleep, and in all the three divisions of time: past, present and future. This is what the Sage taught one and all, the simple practice of self-attentiveness which is the path of atma-vichara, 'self-inquiry' or self-investigation. And, whatever Sage Ramana said through his teachings, that is the only way by which we can experience perfect peace and bliss that is our own true nature, our own real being.

Huatou is a skillful method for breaking through the prison of mental habits into the spacious mind of enlightenment. The huatou is a confounding question much like a Zen koan. Typical ones are "What is wu [nothingness]?" or "What was my original face before birth-and-death?" But a huatou is unlike a koan in that the aim is not to come up with an answer. The practice is simple: ask yourself your huatou relentlessly, in meditation as well as in every other activity. Don't give up on it; don't try to think your way to an answer. Resolve to live with the sensation of doubt that arises, and it will pervade your entire existence with a sense of profound wonder, ultimately leading to the shattering of the sense of an independent self. Master Sheng Yen brings the traditional practice to life in this practical guide based on talks he gave during a series of huatou retreats. He teaches the method in detail, giving advice for dealing with the typical pitfalls and problems that arise, and answering retreat participants' questions as they experience the practice themselves. He then offers commentary on four classic huatou texts, grounding his instructions in the teaching of the great Chan masters.

Being Myself is a contemplative exploration of the essential nature of our self. Everyone has the sense of ‘being myself,' but not everyone knows their self clearly. In most cases, our sense of self is mixed up with the content of experience and, as a result, its natural condition of peace and happiness is veiled. Through investigation and analogy, the meditations in this collection take us back to our true nature again and again, until we begin to find our self naturally and effortlessly established there, as that. In time, experience loses its capacity to veil our being, and its innate peace and joy emerge from the background of experience. * * * The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfilment that are inherent within it.

This is a collection of writings by Miles Wright about Self Enquiry (Atma Vichara) as taught by Ramana Maharshi. They are mostly responses to questions asked by members on various yahoo-groups (Ramana Maharshi, Atma Vichara, The Sage of Arunachala and Acalayoga) from 2000 to 2007. Before this groups have been deleted I managed to save the most important writings, or what I felt may be of interest for a later reading and study for my personal use. Amongst them many are on Atma Vichara and also deal with misconceptions, which still circulate. I feel these questions and answers may also be of great value for others, and with Miles’ permission this collection can now be offered to the public. Gabriele Ebert (editor)

A user's manual for the awakening process.

From the moment we emerge into the world as an infant we begin a journey of experience. We all share the desire to be happy. In this journey we will all experience emotional and physical pain and the loss of what we love. How we meet our losses and pains will determine the amount of peace we have in our lives. If we meet them as the hardened warrior or the defeated victim we live from survival and peace escapes us. In Medicine of One, Lomakayu, spiritual teacher, Soul Dreamer, and the originator of primordial movements for emotional healing, offers us a path to spiritual awareness, self-compassion and freedom that is as simple as a Circle. Using his own unique teachings, personal experience, and poetic language, he shares a path that will enliven, bring clarity, inspire, and fulfill you no matter where you are in life. Allow yourself to open the pages of Medicine of One ... breathe in the words ... and slowly grasp all you can from what is written. You will find yourself in a Circle full of deep understanding and self compassion.

Everybody is aware, all seven billion of us. We are aware of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. All people share the experience of being aware, but relatively few people are aware that they are aware. Most people’s lives consist of a flow of thoughts, images, ideas, feelings, sensations, sights, sounds, and so on. Very few people ask, 'What is it that knows this flow of thoughts, feelings, and perceptions? With what am I aware of my experience?' The knowing of our being—or rather, awareness’s knowing of its own being in us—is our primary, fundamental and most intimate experience. It is in this experience that the peace, happiness and love for which all people long reside. The happiness we have sought so long outside of ourselves, in situations, objects and relationships, turns out to be always present and available in the simple knowing of our own being as it truly is. The knowing of our own being shines in each of us as the experience ‘I am’ or ‘I am aware’, or simply the knowledge ‘I’. This obvious, familiar and intimate experience has no objective qualities and is, therefore, overlooked or ignored by the majority of people. This overlooking of our own being is the ultimate cause of unhappiness. What is the nature of the experience of being aware or awareness itself? The exploration of this question is the subject matter of this book and the essence of the Direct Path to peace and happiness. * * * The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfillment that are inherent within it. Being Aware of Being Aware is the first and introductory volume in The Essence of Meditation Series.