Perfect Brilliant Stillness -Beyond the Individual Self by David Carse

‘There are many books out there that will help you live a better life, become a better person, and evolve and grow to realise your full potential as a spiritual being.

This is not one of them.’

Now that’s how you start a book.

So begins ‘Perfect Brilliant Stillness’ by David Carse with a disclaimer to seekers thinking about purchasing yet another spiritual book. He goes on to say that the reason he states this is because the message contained in the book is so genuinely strange that it will resonate with very few people. And a warning that if it does resonate, you may find yourself deeply disturbed, because it might just be the end of ‘you’ as you understand ‘you’ to be.

‘Something’ happens to David Carse during a trip to the Amazon. ‘Something’ as in a moment of deep realisation. He seems to ‘wake up’ almost by accident. He uses this moment to talk about aspects of nonduality, of following gurus, of developing awareness.

It’s difficult for me to say in words what this book meant to me, and I don’t think you can. But I’ll try. I consumed it in small gulps because when it did strike a chord, as it continued to do throughout, it resonated deeply.

What David Carse is describing, and as he continually writes, cannot be described, only experienced. I suppose his message could be termed uncompromising, as he makes it clear throughout that there is no one to wake up, and nothing actually happens. Some people are triggered by being told there is no ‘you’ and certainly don’t appreciate being told the same thing over and over again. I’d avoid it if that’s how you feel.

He’s correct in saying that it won’t be a book for everyone - if you like instructions, a progressive path in knowing what to do, ‘Perfect brilliant stillness’ won’t suit you.

“ There is a stunning beautiful simplicity to it all. You can say, ‘Awakening is the understanding that there is no one to awaken. There is no individual here doing anything. Consciousness is all there is.’ And you will have expressed the totality of the teaching. That’s really all there is to this. All of this simply is. “

I enjoyed the quotes at the start of each chapter (Maharishi, Nisargadatta, Rumi etc) and found David Carse to be an entertaining, clear and uncompromising writer on the subject of non-duality. I can see why it’s considered a classic of the genre.

There’s a stark beauty and profundity in this book that means I’ll be coming back to it again, as long as there is a ‘me’ to come back, of course. Despite Davids disclaimer, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in non dual awareness and realisation.

David Carse is not a guru or teacher, and ‘perfect brilliant stillness’ can be found widely available for free at his site or here as a PDF.