Enlightenment In A Nutshell

Description

Talks & Impressions from The Enlightenment Circle Seminar 2015

Michael Barnett
CEC Cosmic Energy Connections 2016
162 pages

"Silence is great, silence shuts the mind off, silence equates everything.

A silence comes to me which has nothing to do with its opposite.
It is like an atom bomb for me.
I don’t know where it comes from, and when it comes it is always unexpected.
When it comes everything else disappears.

I can’t say there is only silence, there is only the bomb that brings silence."

Michael Barnett

Preface

Opening a book by Michael Barnett is saying yes to let yourself be inspired by a remarkable man. This book is composed of talks and feedback sessions given by Michael at the Enlightenment Circle seminar in 2015, addressing a number of issues common to both dedicated spiritual seekers and to people who are simply interested in personal change or a different perspective on life. No matter who you are or where you are on your personal journey, you cannot help being affected by the words. They may at times be directed at somebody in particular but they speak to everybody, and everybody can find something in them that feels directed at exactly him or her. When you read this book, you will often have a feeling of actually being present at the seminar, in the group room, because such is the aliveness of Michaels’s words. They are not thought out beforehand, he hasn’t planned to say this or that in a given session, they simply arise from the situation, each time fresh and sparkling, and very much spot on.

In his talks Michael often refers to episodes from his own life both before and after he became enlightened, telling them with humour and warmth and using them as examples to illustrate the teaching, and he frequently refers to the teachings of other masters, especially from Zen. To people who read such stories for the first time they may come across as strange – ‘What exactly is he talking about now?’ – and then they hit you like a revelation and you want more. Regular students are happy to re-encounter such stories that they thought they already knew, because each time they are delivered with a twist that arises from the situation. Then suddenly they convey another understanding, and you get the feeling that ‘Yes, now I see!’

Often the reader begins to understand something never thought about or some truth might reveal itself in a clear flash. This sudden understanding can seem an enigma – ‘Where did that come from?’ – but it may be due to that Michael does not speak to the intellect. Reading him is opening to understand with more than just the mind, suddenly maybe the heart or the belly understands, because what comes through Michael permeates logical understanding. That is why people not only in his seminars but also through reading his books may experience unexpected body sensations – the mind reads the words but the body understands. You understand or you see something that you are not aware of having seen that way before. This is not necessarily because some great mystery has been uncovered or some secret has been revealed, it is because the words and the energy that they transmit help you to realise something that you somehow already knew, and you feel the truth of it.

Such is the strength of Michael’s teaching, he is not trying to convince you to see things his way, he helps you to realise spiritual truths for yourself, and then they don’t belong to him or anybody else anymore, they belong to you.

Vasra Bjarne Hell

Content

The Human Scene

Thou Art Buddha – An Exchange

A Way To That Which Stands Alone

ERM meditation

Sitting Together

I Am This And That

The Path Of A Hero

Body Nourishment

When You Tune In To What Is Not There, It Is There

This Moment Alone

The Flat Earth

Silence Was The Masters

This Atom Bomb Of Silence

Feedback Session Part I

Feedback Session Part II