Of all the books that I have ever read, the one that has had the greatest impact/influence on my life is "Awareness" by Anthony de Mello. It is a book that is very hard to describe. In many ways, it says nothing that I haven't heard before, but I think it came at the right time. I have been reading and rereading it now for about six years.
I wish I had an easy way to describe it. It is one of those books that for me was an epiphany. While reading it I came to the realisation, "Ah, so that is what it is all about." So do I now, know the meaning of life? Well, Yes and No. It is really frustrating because, 'knowing' does not make it any easier to put into words. The closest I can come is a quote from Paul's letter to the Phillipians (can't remember the chapter and verse, or the exact words, but it goes something like this). "May the Peace of God that surpasses all understanding blow your mind." When you find something like that, there is a temptation to tell everyone about it and give them a formula, but as Anthony de Mello says, I can't tell you what to do, just what to look for. If I told you what to do, I would be just giving you another formula, and that wouldn't work.
There are plenty of books, gurus, teachings that tell the same story, but this was the one that got through to me. If you are still with me, I really encourage you to have a look at it. You can generally get it at Dymocks or Borders book store. If you want to talk about it after you have read it, I would love to share with you.
