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In this thing(dream) we call "life" as a human in this world, there are stories about "me"(the central character to my experiences) and other than me(you and the world which includes everything). What's possible when hearing the message delivered in Charlie's book, "Thy Will Be Done: Awakening to the Eternal State" is this dream we call our life can truly be seen to be what they REALLY are, just stories ACTUALLY made of NOTHING. What is pointed to by Charlie is what you TRULY are, boundless existence that silently shines, exposing all thoughts, labels, concepts, beliefs, stories... all seen to be made of NOTHING; ALL completely transparent, leaving NO ONE present and aware as pure peace beyond belief. These stories and this dream, before investigating their true nature, are believed to be completely real, solid, made of substance and believed to be who I am. And when believed to be real, they can cause what is referred to as psychological suffering.If there is an interest into the true nature of experience, AS IT IS, then read this book. It can guide you to see through beliefs that aren't true, that seem to obscure freedom if truly examined. As a result, recognition of peace beyond any and everything. It is what you ALREADY ARE. Have a read, and SEE for yourself. And if interested, call Charlie to discuss further. He helped end my search... Love, J.
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Many books in today's age of Internet Spirituality can be found - the "self-realized guru" is more available today than at any time in history, writing books, holding satsang, and offering tidbits for those "fortunate enough" to be in their presence. Yet when reading "Thy Will Be Done: Awakening to The Eternal State" by Charlie Hayes, the overwhelming feeling is that this Charlie Hayes character is genuine. Charlie doesn't care to travel the world gathering seekers as followers. Charlie doesn't make a fortune selling books. Charlie is simply a portal through which this clear, direct and tough-as-nails message expresses.
Charlie's latest book is simply a brickbat to the forehead. There is a sense in this book that it is likely the last book which will come - the earnestness of expression is breathtaking. Charlie has always expressed in a take-no-prisoners way, yet this book transcends even that. It is reminiscent of Nisargadatta in his last days, in his last book, where all possible fat has been trimmed and only the pure heart of the message remains. Charlie wastes absolutely no space or time in getting to the point...
"There is no separate controller in “you” or in “anyone else” INCLUDING the conceptual believed-in God! In the rediscovering of this, there is the complete and utterly natural realization that there is no individual doer anywhere, not in you, not in anyone or anything else. There is ONLY WHAT IS." - Introduction To The Living Gift Of Eternal Unknowing
This direct and piercing message holds no sympathy, no pity and no compromise for the seeker wafting on the edges of spirituality. It is either jump in head-first or stay clear of the carnage. If that seeker is truly earnest and desires to know what he is, Charlie's message goes for the throat quickly like a pissed-off Navy Seal.
"Look right now! Seeing with naked Awareness, where is any person … unless you (as a mind-identity) think about it? Thoughts come and go. What you ARE NEVER comes and goes anywhere. It is (You Are) fully Here Now and Eternally Free and Clear, Eternally Presence, Shining before the mind.
YOU are not a thought, not a concept, not a feeling, not a time bound entity. The Sages say: "You are Awakeness, Aliveness, Presence-Awareness". But the YOU they are talking about is not the you that you are trained to believe you are. NO! And these are all just synonyms for God (which is NO word!) Just THAT and NOTHING else. The story of “me” … ANY “me” … is irrelevant. Let's cut through that crap right now! Okay?" - 14. It Is So Very Simple!
Charlie's book, "Thy Will Be Done: Awakening To The Eternal State
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is a book which should be read by any spiritual seeker. The book is a
hammer, chapter after chapter after chapter of relentless attack upon
that idea of individual existence, an existence which began, an
existence which by definition is separate. Charlie dissects this idea
with the skill of a master surgeon yet leaves the reader with the
overwhelming feeling that this message is born of deep compassion, a
compassion which arises when all conditions have fallen away. Charlie
leaves the reader, possibly for the very last time, with these words..."I love you."
- Randall Friend, author of "You Are No Thing" (HIGHLY Recommended!
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Charlie Hayes has the one most precise way of pointing to the Truth that I've read. The words take hold and lead you through to your True Being. He definitely ranks with "Sailor" Bob Adamson and John Wheeler, among others.
There is only so much words can say about non-duality, and words have a tendency to confuse the subject; but when reading the words that Charlie has expressed in this book, “From I Am to I Am, With Love”, it is definitely as though the he is bypassing the mind and speaking directly to the Essence that I Am.
Make no mistake, Charlie shoots straight, and if someone wants to turn this into something that it's not, he tells them flat out. This is what is needed to present this teaching; you don't need someone telling you what the "mind" wants to hear in order to make "you" happy. The writings contained in this book brought some real understanding here; when all is seen for what it is, that the Reality that I Am, is eternal, and lacking nothing.
This book comes across more as a personal talk than something that's being read. Many of the questions that I had were answered within these pages. Through the help of Charlie Hayes, there is now unimpeded view of who I Am, and who I am NOT, end of story! JD Hazlewood, author of “I Am Therefore I Am” and other books on Nonduality
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Charlie's approach is direct and clear.
The essence of you is explained in his book (“From I Am to I Am, With Love”).
I met with Charlie, and I know he's sincere.
He's the Bob Adamson of the western hemisphere. M.D.
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From “I Am to I Am, With Love” is a beautiful, gem of a book; written by a wonderful man. Highly recommended. C.B.
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Who would have thought that an autobiography could be written by no one? An autobiography written by one with no interest in his own story? Well, Charlie Hayes, though free from the story called his life, shares his struggles that led to the final liberation, and does so in such a way that it really sheds light on what "awakening" is.
In “Life After Death”, he tells of his struggles with drugs and alcohol, his rise and fall, from riches to rags, ups and downs, the spiritual seeking here and there, and all the turmoil and drama that accompanies any great story. All told without bogging the reader down in a lot of sidetrack accounts, everything has a point. All was written to show the seeming process that finally brought Charlie to the moment of truth. The book also goes into the pointers, just as his other books do, but with this one, you get a feeling of just what those pointers mean, knowing the story behind them. Even if you're not interested in his bio, there's plenty of great non-duality reading to be found here, but I recommend reading from start to finish. There is a seeing from his perspective that can end all the suffering in your life. J.H.
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I found Charlie to be very helpful in investigating my true nature . He doesn't just deliver the answers to the questions around non-duality ; he encourages you to look for yourself like a scientific investigation not to just simply believe what he says. Because of this investigation , I have found that I have less & less questions coming up . His message is uncompromising yet simple and straightforward ; he doesn't beat around the bush and calls a spade a spade . Over the last 6 months , I've really appreciated Charlie's accessibility . If I don't understand what he is writing or talking about and need clarification , he is there with the answers . I highly recommend his book "Being Awake & Alive " as its reading continues to answer a lot of the questions that I had in mind at some point . I find that Question & Answers books on Non-Duality tend to have a certain dynamic freshness or spontaneity about them ; when you read " Being Awake & Alive " , it's like having a conversation with a good friend over a up of tea - uplifting and refreshing with a touch of humor . M.K.
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Charlie Hayes book, "Being... Awake And Alive!", is a powerhouse of pointing, a text which, from Pre-Face to Conclusion, forces the reader to look at their assumptions, to look at what they take to be true but never thought to question. As with Charlie's previous offerings, this book is not for the seeker looking for new age hugs and gentle self-help hints. This book is a hammer, constantly forcing the reader to come face to face with his or her idea of themselves. Charlie gets right to the point without delay...
"What if there is no "person" to be responsible or not responsible anywhere to be found, ON DIRECT INVESTIGATION? This has staggering implications for living in Freedom and being at Peace with What Is." - Chapter 4. Much ado about `Responsibility'
The book is full of direct pointers and challenges to our much-cherished beliefs, with dialogs peppered appropriately throughout. Charlie points like a laser directly at the obviousness of your own presence. He invites the reader to take a close look, not at concepts but what is already fully the case...
"LOOK. Notice that awareness is always on, always here, always now, beginningless and endless. You must know that to be what you are, otherwise the mind's convolutions will continue to plague you. But isn't it clear that awareness itself cannot "suffer?" That's where the sages' injunction comes in: BE as you are. You are awareness, forever free and unborn. Stop believing the false and believe nothing; just BE the awareness you really are. You are already fully free. There is no way to "gain" freedom because Freedom is this awareness that you are. That's IT." - Chapter 47. Your real identity is Naked Awareness
As with all of Charlie's books, "Being... Awake and Alive!" stands the test of authenticity - the book is a glaring spotlight upon our collection of concepts about what we are. Charlie has a way of getting right to the point, getting under your skin and forcing you to recognize the fallacy of limited Being. Once your limited world is shaken up, Charlie goes straight to the heart with love and compassion, pointing to the fullness of Being that you are over and over, chapter after chapter. Another highly recommended book from the expression of tough love known as "Charlie". –R.F.
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A great line from the book "Being... Awake and Alive!" that shows the path from not understanding to understanding: "Possibly enlightenment starts with giving up the notion 'I am an unenlightened person' and ends in giving up the notion 'I am an enlightened'..? Check this out!"
The line about enlightenment may seem intellectual, or even paradoxical, but from understanding, the line contains the beginning and the end.
This book is in a question and answer format, which makes it highly personal and intimate. While Charlie is pointing to the impersonal absolute, the path is via dismantling the personal. The questions are from real seekers, which provides a broad territory of paradigms which need to be unstuck. Charlie does an excellent job of pointing out the unborn reality behind the apparent problems.
The fact that non duality has answers to shame and guilt, is very clearly shown in Charlie's answers to questions on this subject. A truly big problem from which humanity suffers greatly.
Charlie's leading questions are quite therapeutic. His Socratic method asks you to think from a deeper level. And, if allowed to sink in, will reveal a deeper perspective.
Charlie speaks with experience, and he asks questions with authority. That authority helps the seeker take the questions he asks seriously. He is not playing theoretical games.
If you are looking for answers to your relentless seeking, you may find an answer here. If you don't really know what the question is (some undefined knot in your gut that just won't go away), perhaps you will find your question here, and some poignant answers as well.
Questions are often answered with questions. This is an old method for getting to the bottom of things. In the non dual understanding, though concepts may create illusion, a thorn can used to remove a thorn. M.L.
Another clear, concise, and revealing set of pointers by Mr. Charlie Hayes. Many different "issues" are explored, and revealed to be nothing more than mirages as the clarity of Truth itself exposes the lie of "me, myself, and I." M.T.
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I've read all of Charlie's books and I will say that he never misses the mark when pointing to your true essence. The words are always clear and to the point, never offering something that is not there, and always in a fresh and welcoming way.
Charlie got some clear pointers in person from John Wheeler and Sailor Bob Adamson, and the result has been some really great new pointers that express the Undying Love that You Are. Whether you've been searching a while or just started down a path, this book could end that search immediately.
I know Charlie, and he is as genuine as he speaks. The words in his book bring that message across in the most potent way written words can.So read it and enjoy, I sure did! M.
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I've read all of Charlie's books and I will say that he never misses the mark when pointing to your true essence. The words are always clear and to the point, never offering something that is not there, and always in a fresh and welcoming way.
Charlie got some clear pointers in person from John Wheeler and Sailor Bob Adamson, and the result has been some really great new pointers that express the Undying Love that You Are. Whether you've been searching a while or just started down a path, this book could end that search immediately.
I know Charlie, and he is as genuine as he speaks. The words in his book bring that message across in the most potent way written words can. So read and enjoy, I sure did! J.H.
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Charlie's book - "Paradise Found" - contains all that a seeker needs to realize what they are. Yet as Charlie so eloquently and ruthlessly puts it - nothing is needed, there is nothing to realize, what you already are is nothing - no-thing... any "one" who could benefit is more of the same illusion, the false assumption of personal and limited being, the erroneous self-center which appears to need realization.
Charlie uses words and levity brilliantly to point to THAT which is prior to words, THAT which contains the ideas of seeking and enlightenment, suffering and peace... THAT ON WHICH the entire dream appears to appear.
"Paradise Found" combines quotes from various "teachers", along with his own experiences and conversations with "seekers" to form a consistent theme - "YOU" ARE NOT! The YOU you've taken yourself to be is a FICTION.
If you consider yourself a seeker, this book does only what any clear and direct teaching can do - give you no ground on which to stand, give you no handle to hold, give you no self in which to retreat, give you no hope or meaning, leave you totally and completely naked, swinging in the breeze... pointing to the fact that the very idea of YOU is only ever an appearance in the clear ocean of timeless awareness which you've always been.
Charlie does this over and over in Paradise Found. R.F.
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Charlie's manifestation of the "Truth that Sets us Free" is, as he himself (or Not Self) likes to say, "Hardball and/or End Game" of the first order! As such, Charlie is a Living Expression of "Tough Love." In this regard, "Paradise Found" does not offer to wake "YOU" up to "What YOU Always Already ARE" softly or gently, but rather with a "cold slap in the face and repeatedly hard kick" in the "ego's butt" until "No One finally gets It"! However, if you truly are "sick and tired of being sick and tired," and actually serious about "getting out of your own way," this is the last book the "seeker you now think you are" will ever need. And although Charlie's "north end" will remind you (repeatedly) that anything other than I Am (and not even That) is BS, his Obvious Love for That Which Is Beyond Relative Conception is Self-Evident. (Note: Though there may be many other books forthcoming, this one may be "Mr. Charlie's Opus"!) R.H.
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"Paradise Found" points directly and perfectly to the Source that You Are. Charlie writes clearly and doesn't beat around the bush; he goes straight to the heart of the matter.
This book is written so that the understanding is seen, not learned, because this is not a learning process, but more of a realizing, no process to it.
Any one of Charlie's books gets down to brass tacks immediately. There's no waiting until "chapter 5" to start hearing the message. He writes to show you who you truly are, and letting you know that the illusion of suffering is just that.
If you a searching for something, "enlightenment, peace, nirvana", or whatever source of contentment that you feel is missing, that can be realized in the pages of this book, these words express that message so well.
Once the words bypass the mind, the seeing is clear, and you'll know immediately that "Paradise" was never lost.
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I really love this book, “No Way Out”. The author writes forcefully with a level of spiritual clarity that's only possible from someone with direct experience. Using quotes, dialogue and a lot of humor, Charlie relentlessly exposes how the mind gets caught up in the illusion of separation. This book is very readable, accessible and makes a significant contribution to non-dual literature. Highly recommended. C. Hillig
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This book, “No Way Out”, is an invitation to freedom. A burdenless freedom that you are/have been seeking. A freedom that you already ARE and need not attain! A freedom that the concept of "you/I/me" arises and subsides within only as a temporary appearance; an insubstantial mirage. You are THAT freedom in which bondage appears within. You are not a person. You are not a concept. This book is a sharing and an invitation to investigate into the validity and nature of this "me" or "I" that has been assumed and believed to be real and who I am. This investigation is not about attaining and learning new concepts/knowledge to be agreed/disagreed with that will ultimately lead "you" to a final understanding and/or enlightenment. Who will actually get enlightened upon reading this book? If the answer is "me", then the true message/pointers offered in the words and concepts of this book are not being utilized for their intention. Where is this "me"/this person that says "I am me"? Can you locate it? What is it referring to? Upon relentless investigation(who am I?, what am I? where am I?), it will be revealed that this person is a "ghost in the machine". A thought is confirming itself to be real! Check this out for yourself. When this is seen, over and over and over, when it is really SEEN that this me is nowhere to be found, then the peace and freedom you've been seeking reveals itself(always now) to be what you already ARE; what you REALLY ARE. Nothing will be attained upon reading this book. That is not its intent. If anything, this "you" will be dismantled, seen through and the belief structures(that I am me) will collapse under investigation. What I truly am is not a concept and/or a thought. Read this book, accept the invitation to investigate, and see for "yourself"...Go and see if you can find the root cause of your suffering(the belief I am me/a person who is...). Thank you, Charlie for your compassion and relentless willingness to point and share what has been shared with you; that which ends the search and all psychological suffering. If you, like I did, have questions, then call Charlie. Much love, my brotha!! J.S.
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"You Are Unborn" by Charlie Hayes is both a roadmap and a guidebook to the inner reality that is quite simply That which We All Really Are. It accomplishes the very difficult task of effectively using written words to point the reader into the thought and concept free essence of their very being.
It is written for all of those who sincerely seek liberation from confusion and suffering. The words flow naturally and directly from the essential heart of the author's Aware Presence in a tone and style that is both lovingly straightforward and profoundly transformative.
With a quick look at the Introduction you will find this sample: "So this is a strange book. Rather than providing answers to the mind that are no more fulfilling than a picture of a good meal is satisfying to the body's hunger for nourishment, this book will point to the nature of the Real, and also point out the false assumptions that keep that Reality of Eternal Freedom from being known as who you are."
False identification with an assumed "me" and the thoughts and concepts that provide it with lifeless support lies at the core of human suffering. "You Are Unborn" guides us through the wasteland of our illusory, ever hungry little "me's" and into the deathless, infinite and lovingly radiant light of the pure Presence Awareness that is our true Home.
Be kind to yourself and buy, read and cherish "You Are Unborn." John H.
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Charlie Hayes has done it again! He points to who you really are with delicious determination! The book has many great questions from readers who are stuck in the "I" they think they are, and Charlie just absolutely destroys that belief. May truly well be the last book on non duality you may ever read. Highly recommended!!! A.K.
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Charlie Hayes graciously sent me a copy of his excellent Paradise Found: Recognizing and Living as the Infinite Love That You Are. It's a Nondual, no-nonsense hodgepodge of quotes, pointers, humor, discussions, and admonitions (e.g., "Look for yourself. Don't believe, disbelieve, accept, or deny any concept!").
Up front, Charlie furnishes us not only with the basics of the book, but of ourselves: "YOU are Awareness, simply being. No one can say they do not exist. That existence, the sense of 'I' as in 'I Am,' is undeniable and inescapable...So the simple pointer is, what you are IS That Presence of Awareness."
I think of Charlie as America's Nisargadatta. His toughness is matched only by his compassion. I get the feeling that if he were to toss you out of one of his weekly discussions in Enid (Oklahoma) for being overly conceptual, he would give you a hug first. (I can't see the sage from Bombay doing that!)
And speaking of teachers, Charlie's Nondual lineage is absolutely top-of-the-line: He came to his understanding through the writings of and conversations with Bob Adamson (who was taught by Nisargadatta) and Bob's premier "student," John Wheeler. It goes without saying, then, that Paradise Found is not to be missed. R.S.
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In “From I Am to I Am, With Love” Charlie tells it like it is and delivers the timeless message of Advaita in the tradition of Sri Nisargadatta and Bob Adamson. From the very first pages you are given the tools to know who you are and to investigate that until there are no doubts left. I am so grateful to Charlie for creating this guide book and sharing his time and energy without which knowing that "I Am" would have been mere words. Through the efforts of people like Charlie, there is a growing movement in Advaita today that was first sprouted in India, cultivated in Australia and has now taken root here in America. If you are finally finished wondering when "you" will get it, read this book and end the search. Good on ya Charlie! G.L.
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This wonderful book, “From I Am to I Am, With Love”, exudes love and immediate presence. If you want the feeling of actually sitting with a teacher, but don't have access to a live teacher, this book gives you the sense Charlie is right there with you. It's much more than just reading a book. D.T.
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With “From I Am to I Am, With Love”, Charlie Hayes has written an excellent book on that which is the basis of all that is, and that is not. This book cuts through all the advaita jargon and gives it to you in easy to understand language. there is no-one to be enlightened; there is only whatever is arising in awareness. This is the end of all searching; read and let what is being pointed to resonate in understanding and the egg will crack and what is there all along will be realized … for no- one. Charlie, thank you for giving this gift to the world. M.J.
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