Due to technical problems, this video only contains still shots of Richard, while Rick’s video is normal.
Richard Sylvester is a humanistic psychologist, therapist and lecturer. For thirty years he engaged with a variety of spiritual practices while also training in psychotherapeutic techniques and teaching counselling. In 2002 Richard met Tony Parsons and as he writes in his first book "That was the end of what I thought had been my life."
Richard writes “The most common misconception about liberation is that it is something an individual can gain. But actually it is a loss - the loss of the sense that there ever was a separate person who could choose to do something to bring about liberation. In liberation it is seen that thoughts, feelings and perceptions simply arise in Oneness - there is no one to whom they belong.
“The sense of separation makes us take the everyday for granted and clamour for something more exciting to happen. But when separation is seen through, the ordinary becomes transformed into this wonderful play of consciousness, and it is seen that this is already it and this is already sufficient.
“This is a recurring message. It overthrows all authority. It can’t be killed off. It requires nothing. It requires no churches, no philosophical tracts, no scriptures, no history. If everything that had ever been said or written about non-duality were to disappear in a moment, it would simply re-emerge. It would re-emerge because nothing has to be learnt, nothing has to be studied, nothing has to be done, no spiritual purification and no pleasing of God has to take place, for the seeing of liberation to occur. It arises spontaneously. One moment there’s somebody there, the next moment there isn’t. One moment there’s somebody crossing a field, the next moment there’s just crossing a field.”
Richard has written three books about non-duality, 'I Hope You Die Soon', 'The Book Of No One' and 'Drink Tea, Eat Cake'. He gives talks on non-duality in England and abroad. If you would like to know more, please visit www.richardsylvester.com or www.richardsylvester.co.uk.
Interview recorded 5/8/2011.
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Richard Sylvester
00:02:42 - Seeing through the Illusion of Individuality
00:05:16 - The Challenge of Non-Dual Language
00:07:16 - The Ineffability of Non-Duality
00:09:09 - The Joy of Communication
00:11:39 - The Significance of Spiritual Practice and Awakening
00:14:03 - Challenging the Mind and Natural Justice
00:16:38 - The Incidence of Spiritual Realization
00:19:38 - The Loss of Knowledge and the Collapse of the Sense of Self
00:22:37 - Seeing through the Past and Future
00:24:52 - The Illusion of Time
00:27:50 - Transparency and Spiritual Practices
00:30:38 - The Extraordinary in the Ordinary
00:33:40 - The Difficulty of Seeing Through Conditioning
00:36:49 - The Absurdity of Spiritual Practices
00:39:37 - The Power of Stories
00:43:00 - Non-duality and the Madness of the Mind
00:46:08 - Different Perspectives and Levels of Consciousness
00:51:59 - Awakening Without Personhood
00:55:27 - The Sense of Separation
00:59:36 - Rejecting Talk of Paths and Enlightenment
01:05:23 - The intention to be helpful
01:09:34 - Living life as it is now lived
01:12:36 - The Loss of Meaning and Purpose in Life
01:15:17 - The End of a Life
01:17:35 - The Effect of Clarity on Others
01:19:24 - The Power of Resonance and Silent Communication
01:21:33 - Conducting Meetings and Writing Books
01:23:31 - Emphasizing the Miracle
01:25:54 - Open to Possibilities
01:28:00 - Interviews and Discussions