The Freedom of Being: At Ease with What Is

Jan Frazier’s books based in the “Three Principles” Paradigm are among the very very best in this area. Her writing is so exquisitely beautiful, not in a flowery way, but in her breathtaking clarity and insight. She discerns all manner of subtlety without leaving you befuddled. It is said that you cannot make someone else become enlightened and, of course, you cannot, you can only try to point others to the truth. But of the pointers, Frazier is so exceptionally deft. They are books to kiss.

Amazon asked how this book met my "expectations" on a five-point scale. A question rendered meaningless, when one embraces Jan Frazier's compelling invitation to live our lives free of expectations and judgements. While many have written of the portal to spiritual awakening offered by cultivating more non-judgmental present-moment awareness in our lives, none have done it with the clarity and beauty and originality of Jan's prose. I simply couldn't put it down nor underline every exquisitely crafted pearl of wisdom. It took my breath away. As an awakened master - as well as a masterful author with a poet's voice - Jan Frazier stands on the shoulders of other contemporary spiritual teachers. As a veteran (if weary & wary) spiritual seeker, reading The Freedom of Being was, for me, as juicy as spending several days at a silent meditation retreat, a weekend with Eckhart Tolle, or tuning into a satsang with Adyashanti. So if you are looking for an accessible way of diving more deeply into the core Truth of living a liberated life, and are open to the possibility that reading one more book could provide the missing critical mass of awareness, put this book in your Shopping Cart, and press the "Buy Now" button. And if you're resisting, notice what that's about. I know you'll choose wisely!

In the kindest - yet most ruthless - way, Jan Frazier asks us to face our secret strategies of resistance to freedom, pointing out how it is WE who hold ourselves prisoners to delusion, and how it might be possible to loosen our lock-grip on the bars of the cell so that the door can just swing open. The freedom she speaks of is the same as that spoken of by the Buddha, by Ramana Maharshi, by Jesus and Mohammed -- yet she brings it home in a personal way, illuminating the very fear and evasion buried in our psyches, the techniques we use to remain in bondage.Her first book, When Fear Falls Away, is an intriguing and beautifully-written journal account of an awakening she didn't actually know was occurring. I liked it but had trouble sorting out what might be relevant for me, and was sometimes distracted by effusive, though elegant, language.This new book has none of the tentativeness or meandering of that one. It is direct and pithy, yet delivered with the loving-kindness of motherlove. I'm on my third reading and have already gifted several copies.

For me, this is in the top shelf of advaita books, i.e. right up there with I Am That and the other nisrgadatta books and the Ramana books like Words of Grace).Her audio on youtube is excellent as well, though there is very little of it.I would put Paul Hedderman is on the same audio 'shelf' as Jan Frazier, though Paul H. has a LOT more hours available to listen to, necessary for those of us with very dense minds.But Jan's message and Paul's message is very similar; if you are thinking of yourself as a 'something', with a past and a future, who is trying to get somewhere and accomplish something, then she can help you not take yourself so seriously (or not take yourself as anything at all).

I don't have much to add to what the other five-star reviews say. When I read this book, or listen to the audiobook version of When Fear Falls Away, or visit Jan's website, I resonate deeply with what she says, and see the effects of her words in my daily life. As a result, I am living more and more in the present moment, and less and less pulled into the worry, judgement and fear that come when I believe and hold on to the thoughts in my head.

I have read alot of books about self-realization and I enjoy the shocking ones, the direct pointer ones but this one is so human and close, so reasonably presented that I am getting alot out of it. Maybe its because I am an over-educated liberal from the North-East this book speaks to me, clears up some misunderstandings and is inspiring to a direct vision into Truth. I happened to see Jan at the annual SIG conference in Raleigh NC in October. I read and enjoyed her first book and she is not really on the Satsang Teacher circuit. I was happy to get to see and hear her. She seems to have assimilated her realization and speaks in a way that is helpful to others who are seeking.

This book is about awakening to your true self, about no longer identifying with the old "familiar" but limited self that keeps you bound in needless excessive suffering. It is helpful in bringing the awareness needed to break free, bringing the understanding that it is not physical action that brings this awareness, but the realization that the past no longer exists, the future is not yet. Each moment is new, fresh, real, the only reality. Open, be with the moment, in the moment. In this moment, the only reality, freedom is. Otherwise, we are arguing with it, in our minds, absent.

Amazingly insightful. Leads the spiritual seeker to deeper understanding of the dual nature of this universe and spells out a clear path toward achieving the awakened state of the higher self. I have studied many, many spiritual books over the past 45 years and none have brought forward this knowledge in such a concise and understandable way. Ultimate truth can only be imparted by someone who has experienced spiritual awakening and, as such, Jan Frazier is a trusted and knowledgeable voice pointing the way.

This book has been sorely needed and evidently overlooked. In an apparently indiscriminate climate of ego-bashing which passes for "serious" contemporary literature on this subject, Jan Frazier's two books - of which this is the second - are a welcome light in the unforgiving darkness. And not because she pulls her punches. No. As the book progresses, it is evident that Jan is describing the total dissolution of the individual into Awareness. This is not about preserving your cherished notions of yourself...But it is SO much more than a clumsy and even violent attempt at destroying you! It is a carefully observed and compassionately written map of various perspectives and phenomena which can come up as one gets "serious" about Awakening. The final chapters are, for me, literally perfect. It is evident from this book that Awakening is really only the beginning.The overall impression I get from this book is that Jan Frazier is speaking from a very genuine and very mature perspective, and this - to me at least - highlights the inadequacies and, dare I say it, even potential fraudulence of some other so-called "teachers" out there. I am very grateful to have found her work...

I have probably read around 50 books on enlightenment this is in my top 5.The dilemma is that you will never become enlightened as long as trying or seeking to be.The combination of your thinking and ego will not let you, you are driven by your conditioning.The message here is to first establish a base of knowledge about enlightenment, then move into the present moment non thinking awareness.As long as you are thinking you are been driven by your ego(conditioning).Quieten your mind will quieten your ego mediation helps greatly.

Such a basic and rich series of observations. If you're "happy" with your current set of circumstances and prefer to drift a bit longer - well, don't bother reading this author.If you're tired of pretending and following the unending conditioning as if your life depended on it - well, spend some time going through the pages of these deceptively profound thoughts (about the letting go of said thoughts).No cultish "spiritualized" membership required. Simply read about the awareness that Jan has noticed in her life. It's not rocket science nor does it need to be. It's the beautifully expressed notion of staying with "what is" rather than running constantly to "what should be". Such a direct contrast to our relentless dreaming - that almost everything around us soothingly encourages us to do.Read when ready or preparing to be ready or just because. Waking up is not only hard, it's also easy.

One of the top clear writings on non duality

This is a book that I always return to, reading relevant parts that apply to my life.