Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening

When I stumbled on Gary Weber's website and blog just over a year ago, the confusion surrounding teachings on enlightenment and awakening seemed insurmountable. I had been previously been told there was nothing to do except look at myself whenever I remembered. As time passed it became really clear that truly wasn't working out so well. This book showed me that practice is necessary, and that it's not really about the practice anyways. Particularly useful has been learning the Sanskrit chants. I could have never predicted I would drop rock'n'roll for the Bhagavad Gita. Before reading this book, self-inquiry had been purely mental and seemed a bad joke. HBT guided me to become quiet enough to feel the self-inquiry rather than some mental exercise. Re: the exercises for understanding your mind & thoughts, I highly recommend actually doing the exercises. The jolt felt upon truly seeing I am unable to predict my next thought... well it was a surprise. Merely reading about it and thinking "I get it" had no effect. Much gratitude for HBT, I recommend it to anyone who is serious about waking up.

Sometimes a book is so good you cant put it down, unfortunately in this instance I couldnt light the pages of this book on fire fast enough. Between the kindergarten level philosophy to the reason toes hurt a total barn burner.

Clear concise writing, brought some peace of mind.

This book is very down-to-earth and practical. I have been practicing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and studying Zen philosophies for a few years. Weber uses practical logic and exercises to teach the precepts of Zen and mindfulness, and to lead the reader into understanding the underlying rationale. I’m still reading Weber’s book, but I’m motivated to continue to explore life, self, and everything in a deeper way.I do recommend you buy the Print Book instead of the Kindle version— some of his graphs and charts are missing from the ebook. The book’s organization is a bit wonky and could use some professional editing, but Weber is definitely a wise man, writes well, and has great insight.

This book contains very simple, yet powerful teachings which lead to a better quality of life. After reading just the first half, it becomes evident that Gary is a very evolved being who understands the nature of the mind at an impressive level.

I've spoken with Gary after reading his wonderful book, purchased several copies and distributed them to others...it is deeply researched, challenging, readable, eminently practical and full of love, humility, respect and wisdom. It is a delightful and a powerful resource - highly recommended!

Gary Weber writes seamlessly and his Non-dual wisdom is clear throughout. Happiness Beyond Thought is a practical book that offers strategies for seekers on the road to enlightenment. Weber generously and passionately shares every trick in the book, a book that began more than 2,500 years ago, and includes the many practices and queries that have supported him on his own journey to becoming a self realized in Self. For Weber, his realization has meant the dissolution of the individual "I." Although he acknowledges that the awakening experience may be spontaneous, he argues that for the experience to be sustained, preparation is necessary. Without "preparation of the neurological structure" and a "context in which to support the experience," the "apparent enlightenment" soon fades. Weber includes asana, breathing, chanting, meditation, self-inquiry, affirmation and diet as steps that prepare the seeker to settle in to an awakened state once enlightenment has been experienced. The practices quiet the mind for deep inquiry, which in the tradition of the enlightened masters Weber has studied, he himself has used to awaken. In the spirit of this awakening through practice and inquiry, a question precedes each offering, be it Weber's, Ramana Maharshi's, Shankara's, or the Bhagavad Gita's.The book proceeds through a series of logical questions as section headings. For example in the section, How do you use physical postures (asana) for awakening?, Weber recommends a meditative approach to practicing Hatha Yoga through the practice of flowing sequences coordinated with the breath that, once learned, can be practiced with the eyes closed. In the next section, he elaborates on three recommended sequences. What makes his approach unique is the development of meditative awareness in the asana, first through counting the exhalations as the pose is held in order to develop concentration, and then through the use of inquiry. He suggests several useful questions in poses, questions that Ramana Maharshi guided his students to ask of themselves in meditation, like "Who am I?", "Where am I?", "What is doing this asana?", and recommends finding the one question that serves you. "This is not about getting the right intellectual answer," says Weber, "or saying it over and over again as a mantra. It's about feeling the question deeply within."With commentary and poetry, Weber explicates core teachings that he feels are essential in both their power to awaken and their accessibility. He begins with Ramana Maharshi's Upadesa Saram or Essence of the Teachings, a practical guide from a nearly modern (within the last 100 years) awakened master. Gary's interpretative instructions are clear in their advocacy of practice as the doorway in, i.e. a way to still the mind in preparation for an inquiry that may reveal your true nature.Next, he translates and comments on six verses written over 1200 years ago by the realized master Shankara. This is a beautiful rendition of the Advaita Vedanta practice of neti neti, "not this, not this,"-the practice of negating identification with narrow aspects of self, while affirming the truth of who you really are. If you're interested in non-dualism, I would encourage you to consider Happiness Beyond Thought for your library, if for nothing else, Weber's clear explanation of these two awakened masters.Weber shares and interprets twelve versus from the 2,500 year-old Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God, that have been seminal in his own awakening.After logging in thousands of hours of Yoga practice, meditation, mantra chanting, and study, Weber's own enlightenment occurred during a pose. "I went into it one way and came out of it completely transformed," he says of his experience. "Thought as a continuing phenomenon just stopped. The 'I' was blown out like a candle in the wind." He goes on to discuss the stages of settling in when one has had an awakening, but he warns against fixating on a model. "As long as there is a mind or an 'I' trying to construct such a state with its tools, enlightenment cannot happen." This book is not a formula for enlightenment, however it helps the seeker prepare the ground so that when the personal "I" dissolves, the foundation of self remains solid.Happiness Beyond Thought offers a treasure chest of practices for the serious practitioner seeking liberation. On your own journey towards awakening, savor these simple, easy to follow practices culled from Weber's study with his primary teacher Ramana Maharshi, his on-going exploration of Zen meditation practice, and the life-enhancing results of his experiments on the laboratory floor of his yoga mat.

This is a good book for those new to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi's teachings, from which he liberally borrows. Those teachings can be a bit of a daunting read, for those unfamiliar. I would follow up this book with BSRM's "Who am I?" and "The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi in His Own Words".

I'm rating just the technical aspect of the kindle edition, nit the book itself(which is great).Useless without the illustrations.You could do better Amazon.

I’ve read a lot of self help books and there is always something missing. Not any more. This book is my life’s sounding board. The search for why is over :)

I have been into nonduality for a few years now and Gary Weber's approach is one of the only ones that I gravitate towards continually (i.e. other teachers come and go for me). I think this has to do with his secular viewpoints and experiences. Though, Gary has a strong knowledge of wisdom traditions as well. The book encapsulates all his teachers very succinctly. Gary is also open to email exchanges. I had a few questions about some of his concepts and ideas, and he emailed me back within a day or two, which was great (visit his website for his contact information). Definitely recommend this book if you enjoy learning about nonduality from a scientific and traditional perspective!

Happiness Beyond Thought starts with a series of simple yet incredibly insightful thought experiments that taught me just how ignorant I was about the way my mind behaves from moment to moment. Knowledge is power. Once you understand your mind, you can start to work towards improving it. To improve your mind is to improve your lived experience and therefore, to improve your life.I buy copies of this book for my friends and family because I want to share it with everyone. That's how good it is.

A great guidebook.