Friday, December 17, 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Just a short note to wish everyone out there a happy Christmas and a wonderfilled 2011.

May the peace and love you are
Be consciously yours always...

In peace, love & truth,

Jonathan

Saturday, November 13, 2010

REVIEW - Eternal Spirit

Naked Being

A truly lovely book, whatever style and genre of writing you enjoy. This is a book to make you feel good and give you a refreshed feeling when looking at the world. A book to be picked up each day when you've only got a few minutes to spare or to sit down and read from cover to cover.

Review by Lindsay Sinclair on Sat, 30 Oct 2010
Eternal Spirit

Friday, October 29, 2010

NEW REVIEW from ENLIGHTENING TIMES UK

From the moment I held this book in my hands I felt it was going to be a good one. The cover itself radiates positivity and as you turn the pages within, you won’t be disappointed. Being only 136 pages I did wonder how it would hold the 450 insights, but this book is unlike others. The quotes and musings are concise and eloquent but also hold such thought provoking power.
As I read it I was reminded of the books by Eckhart Tolle, Anthony De Mello and Diana Cooper, and so I was not surprised to see the two former listed in the notes and recommended resources section.
This is a book of multiple aspects, looking at thoughts and teachings from religions organisations and spiritual individuals from around the world, but written in such a way that there is no need for held belief or religious following on your part to find reading this book a fantastic experience. And this book is certainly an experience, you can take as much or as little as you need from it, You can read it cover to cover, ask for daily guidance from an individual insight, or use it in group discussion.
Its simplicity is its real beauty. It raises and compiles spiritual ideals about you, us, karma, ego, free will, forgiveness, reincarnation, meditation etc that for novices to this area will find easy to test the water with as it has a helpful glossary of terms, and for those who are a little more advanced in exploring the spiritual, adds even more depth and throws open further questions.
This really is a book for everyone to enjoy. I did, and I hope you do.

Reviewed by Sarah Asquith-Vallance 2010 for enlighteningtimes.co.uk

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

UPDATE

I am very pleased to announce that NAKED BEING has been accredited as an Award Winning Finalist in the Spirituality category of the Best Books 2010 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Goodreads.com reviewer Melanie

This book consists of 450 passages easy to read and understand. Reading this amazing book will help those seeking their inner self learn who they truly are at the present moment, the Now as the author refers to it. This is an insightful book that I will read over and over again and I will definitely recommend it to family and friends. A must-read for those on the path of self-discovery.

Friday, June 4, 2010

NEW REVIEW by Shirley Roe at Allbookreviews

If you are looking for the purpose of being and the way to the heart of your true nature then you will find this book of limitless benefit.

Naked Being is not a self-help book. It is not a guide. It is a collection of wonderfully illuminating quips and insights that will change your life. This book is not to be read in an afternoon and then shelved. Life changes take time and so does reading Naked Being. Readers must read the insights one at a time, taking time to absorb and reflect on each one. I was particularly impressed by the formatting of the book; each insight is separated from the next by the symbol of “Oneness”, inviting a pause, a reflection. I found that I often reflected for days before returning, and other times, minutes of reflection would suffice. The well- written, yet easy to understand, teachings will reach to the depth of your soul.
Totalling 450, each insight brings the reader closer to self- realization, to enlightenment, to Naked Being. Each reader will find that the insights speak personally to him or her. Whether a new spiritual seeker or a more advanced enlightened being, this book has something for everyone.
Naked Being is remembering “Who” we are. It is discovering the limitless potential in each and every one of us. Naked Being is simply being all that we can be.
I guarantee you will pick it up again and again, each time seeking and finding answers to the purpose of life, your purpose. Discover your Naked Being today.

Author: Highly Recommended by Reviewer: Shirley Roe, Allbooks Review. www.allbookreviews.com


Title: Naked Being
Author: J. M. Harrison
Publisher: O Books
Pages: 136
ISBN: 978-1-84694-303-4

May 2010

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Review by Priest and Author Simon Small

"I shall give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart".

These words of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas would not stop repeating themselves in my mind as I read Naked Being. They point to the nameless, pure, unborn presence that we all are, before we become.

It can never be seen, heard or touched because it is what we truly are. It is who we are before anything was. The saying suggests that our deepest identity is like a source of light that can never shine on itself, but illumines everything on which it rests its gaze. And too easily it can become confused, believing itself to be that which it only really sees.

It is when this timeless essence remembers itself that what Jonathan Harrison calls "naked being" arises. It is what is revealed, as Jesus explains elsewhere in Thomas, "when you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children, then you will see the child of the living one and you will not be afraid".

There are many great teachings from the past, like the Gospel of Thomas, that seek to evoke this awakening. But they come from a different time and another culture and can struggle to fully connect with modern twenty-first century minds. So we need such teachings for our own time and Naked Being is such a contribution.

Like all authentic teachings of awakening it does not offer yet another doctrine or philosophy, yet more information to fill our already overloaded minds. Instead, it seeks to evoke in the reader a taste of that to which it points. It uses short, penetrating sayings that work away in the mind, gently dismantling the false, intensely personal thought world in which most of us live, most of the time. The passages are not statements on which one takes a position, agreeing or disagreeing, but are given for deep reflection - a journey that can take us to an experience far beyond their literal meaning.

All minds are wonderfully different, so a great variety of teachings are necessary. For many, Naked Being will be a powerful and true mirror.

Simon Small

www.simonsmall.info

Thursday, April 29, 2010

NEW ENDORSEMENT - Annamaria Hemingway

Throughout the pilgrimage of life, we are always searching for a deeper sense of identity and purpose, which is often hampered through identification with a false ego-based consciousness. In Naked Being, Jonathan Harrison compiles a collection of inspirational and powerful texts that evoke a deep remembrance of our essential "true" nature and sacred sense of "home'.

Annamaria Hemingway, Ph.D. Author of Practicing Conscious Living and Dying and Myths of the Afterlife

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

NEW ENDORSEMENT by David.F.Vennells

Lovely book, a great opportunity to deepen your understanding and personal experience of the spiritual path, many special insights and wise words to help the reader develop their inner qualities and move towards a better understanding of themselves and their place in the world.

David F Vennells, award winning author of 5 books including 'Reiki Mastery'.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Endorsement by Amazon best-selling author Mick Quinn

This great book teaches us that our amazing ordinariness is not found by accumulating as much material wealth, status, and power as we possibly can, nor through the recognition of the mystifying emptiness discovered beyond self-identity, but shares insights through which our true Naked Being can manifest in the present moment, leaving us aligned with the process of life itself. # Mick Quinn, Irish-born author of the Amazon Bestseller - The Uncommon Path

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

APEX REVIEWS - review by Dominique Sessons

“Man did not weave the web of life - he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” This enlightening quote from Native American chief Seattle not only leads off Naked Being, it also sets the tone for what readers should expect within the tome. Throughout the pages of his profound new volume, author J.M. Harrison shares invaluable insights and eye-opening truths, all in an effort to promote higher thought and foster a greater awareness of our individual and collective significance in the universe. In so doing, he invites the reader to “un-learn” years of misleading preconceptions and flawed logic that continue to entrap us under myriad layers of misguided effort and false expectations.

Broken down in more than 450 separate parcels of wisdom, the topics of Naked Being cover the full spectrum of human emotion and experience, spanning everything from love to pain to meditation to death. As one may infer from the title, the purpose of Harrison’s opus is to strip the reader of any lingering facades, eventually shifting his/her focus to the common, essential core that lies within us all. By helping to undo the damage of personal and societal conditioning, Naked Being opens the mind and heart to a world of promising new possibilities, providing an all-important first step on the journey to ultimate Self-realization.

More than just a typical, garden variety self-help book, Naked Being is a crucial guide to emotional and spiritual well-being. Kudos to Harrison for crafting such a much-needed tool for the betterment of his fellow man.

Official Apex Review Rating: *****

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

New endorsement - Liz Hill

"As a writer interested in spiritual topics, my hat is off to any author who attempts at the outset of his book to define terms like true self, pure consciousness, and joy of being. But it makes so much sense to do that, before launching into a work that is meant to guide the reader into “naked being” or pure-minded nature. Harrison has chosen to guide us in small, logical, manageable bites, numbered from 1 to 450. Though short, they are meaty enough for reflection or discussion. After reading it end to end, you may want to keep this one on a bedside table to flip open before bedtime or upon awakening. If you are familiar with mystical or enlightenment teachings, the ideas expressed in this book won’t be “new” to you. But then, these ideas are as ancient as creation itself, and every attempt at bringing them into the world is to be applauded."

Liz Hill - (www.singingmeditation.com) co-author of 'Singing Meditation: Together in Sound & Silence'

New endorsement - Unmani Liza Hyde

"Naked Being is like a strip-tease, slowly undressing all the beliefs and concepts that appear to conceal our natural naked being. Each layer of clothing is an insight which strips away yet another spiritual concept or idea of limitation, leaving nothing but the Freedom that is our true nature. Jonathan writes with very simple clarity to reveal the nakedness that we are beyond all ideas."

Unmani Liza Hyde (www.not-knowing.com) author of 'I am Life itself' and 'Die to Love'

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

MEGO AND IDENTITY

These days there is a growing sense of awakening. Many more people are having experiences which cannot be logically explained via logical patterns of mental analysis. Unfortunately this provides a consciousness 'trap' for anyone to fall into. A self inflicted trap which pulls us back from growth, and leaves us stagnating in the mire of mis-identification. This comes about when we 'become' or identify with our thoughts, emotions and experiences. But we are not our thoughts, emotions or experiences. Neither are we the conditioned mind or senses which translate them. All these appear in front of and to us, for in essence we are the background awareness or pure consciousness which sees and experiences all such occurrences.

Periods of stagnation and non-growth arise when we become carried away with the Mego's desperate need and desire to assume some identity or to 'become' somebody. You cannot become what YOU are.

It's predictable for the Mego to become entangled with any phenomena. One of the characteristics of the Mego is attachment to ideas. In the act of having a vision one's Mego identifies with the idea of being a visionary. Thinking oneself to be intelligent, one identifies with intellect. Thinking oneself to be unhappy, one identifies oneself with unhappiness. The truth is that all these are experiences and notions which the Mego becomes absorbed by to such an extent that they 'appear' to be inseparable from the truth of who we are. And yet they are not what the Self is. They are simply covers which camouflage the ONE essence we are.

You cannot think or imagine the essence of what YOU are, you can only BE it.

Monday, February 1, 2010

New Endorsement - David Bingham

"As Consciousness reveals Itself with increasing clarity and simplicity, 'Naked Being' will prove to be an invaluable resource to all those wishing to enjoy the amazing adventure of Self Realisation."

David Bingham www.nonconceptualawareness.com

New Endorsement - Grady Harp #3 Amazon.com Classic Reviewer

Jonathan Harrison is best described as a Teacher of Being. In his previous book WE ARE ALL ONE he gently but firmly and supportingly guided his readers towards a path of self-realization. Now in this superbly written new book NAKED BEING: UNDRESSING YOUR MIND, TRANSFORMING YOUR LIFE he advances his ability to assist the reader in purging the misconceptions of self, offers an understanding of the non-duality (not separating the individual from the universe but instead realizing that all is one) of each of our existences.

Harrison’s book opens with a fine Foreword by Linda L. Pannell who offers a quote form the native American Chief Seattle – ‘Man did not weave the web of life – he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.’ Pannell then proceeds to open the door to the thinking of Jonathan Harrison in her thoughts: ‘Naked Being holds the promise and the power to re-create our planet, making pollution, illness; terrorism, greed, and inequality disappear. It holds the possibility of healing the past, making gold from all the ‘stories’ we have spun into a million reasons to struggle, strive, endure, and suffer in pain. It holds all possibility for celebrating our children! Now is the time! We hold within our hearts all the creational power of the Universe.’

And with this informed introduction, Harrison uses a clear, focused manner in sharing his gradually developing thoughts. Uniquely he offers his thoughts on love, on death, on suffering, meditation, on the mind and more in 450 separated modules or parcels of wisdom, a technique that almost demands that the reader pause with each new thought, absorb it entirely and then move on to the next process of self-realization. ‘Your True Nature can be considered ‘Naked’ – because it is the bare essence of what you are, and ‘Being’ – because it is unblemished existence.’

Reading this book is more of an experience for opening our previously sequestered minds to the possibilities of finding true peace and happiness in being at one with every atom of the Universe. This is not another ‘self help’ book. This is an invitation to an internalized map of being. And Jonathan is a generous and loving guide.

Grady Harp

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

New endorsement - Jeff Maziarek

“Naked Being” is an insightful spiritual growth book with thought-provoking content that is both inspirational and compelling. In this ground-breaking work, J.M. Harrison uniquely shares timeless spiritual wisdom in an easy-to-read format consisting of 450 brief passages that are meaningful either as standalone quotes, or as elements of a unified message of wholeness. Anyone who considers themselves on the path of self-discovery will benefit by reading these truly profound words.” - Jeff Maziarek, author of “Spirituality Simplified”

Sunday, January 17, 2010

BEYOND IDENTITY

The experiencing of the ego by the Self is the human predicament and not the other way around - for you can never not be the Self. YOU are the enlightened awareness reading these words. The One True Self is always here - and can never not be.

When identity is reversed, that is shifted from the Mego to Self and firmly grounded in the awareneness of the Self, then you continue to recognise the existence of the body-persona, but know it is not your primary identity. Your primary identity is awareness. Unchanging and always here.

To know you are the Self does not mean that there is no 'me' in your personal life. You can still say 'me' and continue to refer to oneself as 'I'. It is simply that the egoic 'me' or 'I' no longer dictates your thoughts and actions, for you know that YOU ARE THE SELF.

The awareness YOU are, the ever-present YOU underlies all arising ideas of identity. It underlies the ego, body, mind and intellect which are all dualistic notions and tendencies. The real YOU is non-dual awareness which is unconfined, transpersonal, complete and yet limitless.

In NAKED BEING I brought forward the concept of a Tridentity. This consists of 1) what we APPEAR to be 2) what we THINK we are and 3) the non-physical REAL-ity which WE ARE. For despite what we look like or might think, it is impossible for us to be anything other than the Self - as there is nothing without or 'other' than Self.

As the title suggests, NAKED BEING is all about undressing the mind, removing the patterns and contents which obstruct us from knowing the truth of what we are. That what we discover from that experiencing will undoubtedly transform our lives in a positive manner. By seeing through this process with honesty and a relentless onward movement towards Truth, there can be only one conclusion for everyone; I am the unborn, undying One True Self.

Friday, January 15, 2010

ONLY EGO LOOKS OUT

Only the habitual mind of ego looks outside of itself, believing there are other opportunities, other things, other selves to find. This 'me' obsessed Ego or Mego dredges up past memories and their associated patterns, and speculates whether the speculated future is going to be good or bad. The reality is such that the future cannot be absolutely discerned as being this or that, and so doubt and fear arise. The fear of not knowing.

On the other hand, present moment awareness - the Self YOU are - is nowhere other than here and now. It is the aliveness from not knowing! It is the real in this very moment. The real is only ever found in this moment. So if you are not thinking about the past or the future and the mind is quiet and still, without commentary - then awareness is all that IS.

This stateless state is what YOU are - it is the Heart of all existence. In knowing that Self you will cease outward projections of the mind and be at peace in the world. You will be at peace with the entirety of existence because you'll realise that you are not "one with life" or "at one with everyone", but that YOU ARE EXISTENCE.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

New endorsement - Chuck Hillig

'An exhilarating feast of nondual truths that will resonate with the core of “who-you-really-are.” Heart-felt wisdom for the ages. Highly recommended.' - Chuck Hillig, Author of Enlightenment for Beginners, Seeds for the Soul, Looking for God: Seeing the Whole in One, The Way IT Is, and The Magic King.

THE ONE TRUE SELF

Self is not an individual, but transpersonal awareness, for it is the same in everyone. It is Naked Being, the One True Self.

The One True Self cannot be 'experienced'. It is what you already and always are. Therefore you are always experiencing the One True Self - whether you are aware of it or not. You cannot have an experience of what you already are - because it is ever-present and ongoing. It is the awareness of experiencing. Therefore getting to know the One True Self is a question of KNOWING what you are, not just having an experience of something separate or 'other' than you.

The only way to know the Truth of what you are is to recognise and remove all that you are not. This includes identification with altered or mystical states, awakenings and Oneness. For Oneness to be recognised it requires the presence of another. Somebody or something that senses THEY are at One WITH Life itself. This apparent expansion of consciousness (the Oneness 'experience')appears from the arrival of ego at the doors of egolessness. In reality this 'expansion' is an inner movement or involution towards uncovering the One True Self.

Beyond those doors is the direct conscious knowing of the One True Self. But you won't find any me there. There's no 'me' there to be found.

KNOWING SELF [AWARENESS]

The essence of YOU is still, perfect transpersonal AWARENESS. From this clear unconfined limitlessness there is recognition of the patterns of the egoic mind arising in consciousness. These patterns are seen to be illusory states of being. They are simply not YOU. It is YOU [AWARENESS] which recognises them arising. YOU are not a body, an emotion, a belief, a persona or a state which comes and goes, appears or arises, but ever-present ever-lasting pure crystalline consciousness beyond the mind of ego.

To know [your] Self means freedom from the idea of 'me' and 'other'. When identity is directly realised to be Self, all experiences become acknowledged from the anonymity of Pure Awareness. Self can see the ego, yet the ego cannot be the Self. Knowing Self for what it is, means the absence of the egoic 'me' identity, or at least the clarity to see through it. With the continuing direct knowledge of this truth, in one timeless moment, the ego dissolves leaving Self [AWARENESS].

The Self YOU are is beyond change, only the 'I' you consider yourself to be alters. The 'I' is transient and unreal. YOU are the unchanging Self. Whatever happens YOU cannot be affected. Happiness, sadness, good times, bad times - these are not YOU but temporary appearances emerging before the light of pure consciousness. YOU on the otherhand are permanent, infinite and eternal. Knowing Self there is no preference or desire for any particular experience, because the desirer (the ego) is known to not be YOU. Likewise the experiences which arise are not YOU, they are simply stories appearing infront of THE AWARENESS YOU ARE.

The YOU unaffected by any experiences is the Self - and Self-knowledge that YOU are AWARENESS is the Truth Of Life.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

New endorsement - Orva Schrock

'Naked Being is a wonderful book that deserves wide distribution and readership.I love the format of separate numbered verses. The individual verses are an excellent way to present such profound and timeless truths. It is a book of deep wisdom, a book of great seeds for contemplation. The ancient timeless wisdom of the ages is here brought to life in modern language accessible to any interested reader. Naked Being, the book, should take its place on the bookshelves and reading tables of many folks who love the power and the glory of the Non-dual literature blossoming in our time. As Consciousness itself is evolving and expanding throughout the hearts and minds of sincere truth seekers every where, here is potent fuel for that pure flame. I hope it is a great sales success story. The message is oh so right in this time of madness in the world where people are starving for food to feed their souls.
Here is a rich banquet.' - Orva Schrock - Author: 'Grandpas Notebooks: The Evolution of an Amish Soul'

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

NAKED BEING - the not me.

When the chattering mind falls away, what is found is 'no-mind' or unencumbered pure intellect. There is no longer any sense of ‘me’ – and no distinguishable ‘other’. The habitual mind of the ego has stopped its once incessant commentary and there is stillness, vibrant and alive in silence. Individual mind has given way to universal awareness, pure consciousness - and the old sense of ‘me' has completely gone.

Gone too are the mystical states and experiences which were once the comforter of the clinging illusory ego, which provided a sense of having to go somewhere ‘else’ and get something ‘other’. Now, in this moment, there is nowhere to go and nothing to get. There never was. This was always an undressing rather than an accumulation. A taking away rather than an adding on.

Now there is simply the flow of Life. Gone are all the imaginary and patterned layers of the ‘me’ existence. This simply IS - without needs, choice-less, holding on to nothing, utterly ordinary Naked Being.

Beyond any seeing, believing, witnessing you are THIS, within THIS and inseparable from THIS. THIS is all inclusive, anonymous and ever-present. Rather than the 'me' being the centre of the universe, there is no centre, no 'me' to bring up. The notion of 'me' is not the Heart of what you are. The Heart (being One) needs nothing, including the sense of identity. Only a separate entity requires an identity.

There are no others, no thats or its to compare with any ‘me’. Freedom just IS. This is beyond any concept, beyond any karma. Action arises in the flow of being. Dancing stillness, that’s all THIS is.

THIS STILLNESS

Within this silence, this stillness, all is perfect as it IS. There is no desire to change anything or to formulate an 'opinion', because there is no desirer.

There's nothing to work out, no individual mind personality required to have any experience, there is simply pure awareness without interruption, without separation, without duality. In this moment, there is only that which IS.

THIS is the reality of an undecided identity, the untouched ever-present awareness within which all arises.

Never not here.
Beyond the imaginary ego.
I am Self.
The invisible formless Heart that IS.