Enlightenment Is Not What You Think

Wayne Liquorman

For those who consider themselves spiritual seekers, I am thrilled and excited to recommend Enlightenment Is Not What You Think, by Wayne Liquorman. Liquorman has been recognized as a sage by his guru, Ramesh Balskar. Balsekar, in turn, was passed the baton by Sri Nisargadatta. These three are considered by many to be the best modern-day exponents of the Advaita Philosophy. Advaita literally translates as “not two”. Liquorman does a wonderful job of explaining why this translation is so much more descriptive and meaningful then the commonly used “non-dual”.

I have had the privilege of spending time with Ramesh Balskar in India, and with Wayne here in the good old USA. I have found their writings and their oral teachings to be exceptional, in a class by themselves when it comes to helping me to be pointed in a direction to grasp what they sometimes call “The Ultimate Understanding”. I am super enthusiastic about this book and rank it right up there among the best books I have ever read about the nature of “spiritual seeking” and the myths that have grown up in the seeking community.

Here, in Wayne’s own words is the essence of the unique approach of this book:

“I am very pleased to have my new book, Enlightenment Is Not What You Think, coming out this month. If it is at all successful in dispelling some of the myths about Enlightenment, I will be gratified. In the Living Teaching it is recognized that seeking Truth is infinitely more valuable than finding it. The search is alive and vibrant. Once you think you have found it, the resulting knowledge is dead. Knowledge is acquired. Truth is revealed. The nature of this revelation is an absence rather than a thing that is to be gained. Of course, it is impossible to describe an absence...we can only describe something that has properties. The impossibility of the task of describing Enlightenment, combined with the insatiable thirst on the part of the seeker to know what it is, has produced an incredible array of pointers. The inevitable fate of such pointers is that people hear them as descriptions and then take them to be Truths in and of themselves.”

This book is so full of wisdom that I find I can only read about 4 or 5 pages at a sitting. I love this book like I love desert. It is powerful, and explodes in my consciousness the way a great desert explodes my taste buds. It is so much fun to read and so stimulating it is almost obscene in its power and effect.

I could really go overboard in recommending this book. I really hope everyone will read it. If each of you enjoys it ½ as much as I did you will be thrilled to have read it.

Review by Len Oppenheim