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As It Is cover
❒ Book · 2000

As It Is

By Tony Parsons · Inner Directions

138 pagesEnglishFirst ed. 2000Non-duality / Awakening
Non-dualityAwakeningConsciousness Radical Non-DualityTony ParsonsNo-MethodNo SeekerOpen Secret

Tony Parsons's most-circulated book and the cleanest single statement of the radical-non-dual position — that there is no individual, no journey, no practice, no awakening for anyone, because the very subject all of those would belong to is itself the illusion. The book is unusual in its complete refusal of method, gradualism or accommodation.

Inside the contemporary non-dual scene Parsons occupies a deliberately incompatible position with the more conventional teachings of Tolle, Mooji and Spira — his message is that those teachings, however effective, presuppose the very seeker their methods claim to serve. The 'no-method' camp (Parsons, Jim Newman, Richard Sylvester, Nathan Gill) traces lineage to him as much as to anyone.

First lines

There is only Source appearing.

Reception

Inside the contemporary non-dual scene Parsons occupies a deliberately incompatible position with the more conventional teachings of Tolle, Mooji and Spira — his message is that those teachings, however effective, presuppose the very seeker their methods claim to serve. The 'no-method' camp (Parsons, Jim Newman, Richard Sylvester, Nathan Gill) traces lineage to him as much as to anyone. Critics inside traditional Advaita argue the position is incoherent (the teacher who speaks must presuppose a listener); Parsons's reply is that the apparent incoherence is the point. Modest commercial reach, disproportionate intra-scene influence.

Frequently asked

What is As It Is about?

It presents the radical non-dual position: there is no individual, no journey, no path, and no awakening for anyone, because the subject all of those would belong to is itself the illusion. Parsons refuses method, gradualism, and accommodation entirely.

Who is Tony Parsons?

Tony Parsons is a British non-duality teacher born in London in 1933. Since 1996 he has met publicly with students, presenting what he calls the Open Secret — that liberation is not a state to be attained but the ever-present nature of what already is.

How does Parsons differ from other non-duality teachers like Tolle or Spira?

Unlike Tolle, Mooji, or Spira — whose teachings presuppose a seeker capable of practice — Parsons asserts that the very concept of a seeker, a practice, or a path is itself the illusion. There is nothing to do and no one to do it. Critics call the position incoherent; Parsons holds that the apparent incoherence is the point.

This theme across the index

Non-duality, in other forms.

The same current this book is working in, followed sideways through the catalogue — across formats, and the word itself.

All non-duality →

Keep following the thread.

One letter every Sunday — what we read this week, and one teaching worth your attention. No tracking.