Using his unique approach, once again, Peter Ralston tackles an unprecedented and inconceivable depth of consciousness. Properly understood, this book could transform and enlighten the worlds of psychology, spirituality, personal growth, philosophy, science, Buddhism, and every other attempt at grasping the truth. The goal of this book is no less than having you attain a profound consciousness of the absolute nature of existence beyond the limits of self and the accumulated conclusions of human history.
This book should not be your first encounter with Ralston's work, it is far too advanced. It is best to start with the trilogy: The Book of Not Knowing, Pursuing Consciousness, and The Genius of Being before tackling this one.
In a progression of illuminating assertions, Ralston shows us that the self is not some ethereal "object" within as is widely accepted and persists despite the failure of exhaustive investigations to locate this inner-self. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. It turns out our entire reality is beyond any self. Grasping this demands an unprecedented depth of consciousness, but it also leads to unprecedent levels of joy and freedom.
Peter Ralston is one of the founders of the consciousness movement that began in the San Francisco Bay Area—the birthplace for much of the personal growth work generated in the late Sixties and early Seventies. Peter spent thousands of hours in contemplation and participated in much of the diverse work of the time.
After having several powerful enlightenment experiences in the early 70's, then maturing in his work and coming directly from the source of his own breakthroughs, in 1977 Ralston opened his Cheng Hsin School for Internal Martial Arts and Ontological Research. A bit later he founded a consciousness organization called the Empowerment Institute dedicated to contributing a powerful new direction by pressing for a deeper level of honesty and a more authentic approach than most other growth oriented or "spiritual" practices.
He also created the martial art: Th e Art of Effortless Power. In 1978 he became the fi rst non-Asian to win the full-contact World Championships held in China. In both his consciousness work and his work in physical skill and effective body-being his approach has always been to lead students away from what is merely believed and toward a powerful personal experience of discovering for themselves what's true.
Ralston has been doing his consciousness work for many decades. In his early days he facilitated the staff of Life springs and Tony Robbins' NLP trainings, and did workshops for Esalen, Self-Actualizations, Empowerment, and others around the world. Although many know him for his martial mastery, he is also the author of a most powerful trilogy: Th e Book of Not Knowing, Pursuing Consciousness, and Th e Genius of Being. Having deepened his consciousness over the decades he is now contributing new hard earned insights and breakthroughs by adding to the trilogy-series his newest book: Whereof One Cannot Speak.
