Customer Reviews

Awakening to the Dream: The Gift of Lucid Living

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This book is both unbelievably clear & enormously frustrating. It deals with a subject matter that generally defies intellectual understanding with a radiant clarity that cannot but resonate with the reader, and as such is a rare find indeed.
The rub however, is that unlike many authors in the genre, Leo Hartong doesn't prescribe any practice, or doing for the realisation of your true nature, and that isn't really what we want to hear. Give me a dragon to slay, a cave to live in, or an emotion to suppress & the I (ego) is there.
This book, more that many I've read encourages the reader to drop the story in favour of the truth - and as such, is a rare find indeed.

This is the clearest book yet by a 'Westerner' on advaita / the non-dual perspective, a subject about which so much confusion exists. I really enjoyed the very patient & amazingly comprehensive approach taken by the author, Leo Hartong. Chapter by chapter, he looks at just about every aspect of non-dualism, gently exposing both the obvious & less obvious misunderstandings along the way.

The book is written more as a beautiful sharing than from any position of authority... as Leo writes, "These words are nothing but a gentle reminder from yourself to yourself that you are the awakened one".

Leo takes his readers by the hand and shares with them his own story of unmasking the belief systems we all believe(d) in. And behind Leo's story, the reader is reminded that waking up from and in the dream has nothing to do with Leo or you or me, but with the one Light seeing Itself. Jan Kersschot, author of "Nobody Home"

I read this book three years ago and I must say I did not understand one word of it. I then 'tried' to give it away, but never was able to get shot of it.

I have been on an intense 'spiritual' path since I first read it (with the likes of Eckharte Tolle and Adyashanti), so when I recently 'found' it on my bookshelf again, I thought I would give it another try. This time I 'understood' every word of "Awakening to the Dream", if it is at all possible for the mind to understand such writing. It may be more accurate to say that I understood how every word may lead me deeper into the Self.

So yes, in my experience, this book is totally succinct, totally laid bare, totally surrendered to 'what is' and is ready and waiting to take 'you' through to deeper levels of 'feeling' for the world of non-duality.

I know in future that, whenever I get 'frustrated' on my path, I will remember this book and then understand just how far I have already come on my journey.

So, in conclusion, you have to be 'ready' for it, but then again, there is a part of your deep Self which is always and forever ready to be enlightened if you give it the nudge it needs and yes, this book could well be that nudge your Self wants 'you' to give it.

In the book, Tony Parsons foreword and final assertion is "proven" by Leo Hartong with as much clinical clarity as is possible with such an ethereal subject;
"it is the absence of "seeking" that reveals the wonder of that which already is,"
This was my last and final book and the end of questions in a 26 year search.
Richard (enjoy and be the IS)

I've read a few books now on non-duality and this is definitely one of the better ones. Non-duality is a funny subject really. If you find a half decent book on the subject you don't really need any more. They all pretty much say the same thing, i.e. there is no path, there is no goal, enlightenment is (if the word is used at all) here and now ("This is IT"). If you are buying several non-duality books (as I admit I was) you have to ask yourself the question: "What piece of information am I still looking for that hasn't already been given in the book/s I've read so far?"

So anyway, this book is an excellent choice for a clear enunciation of non-duality, and for good measure I would also highly recommend 'Enlightenment for Beginners' by Chuck Hillig, which takes a more light-hearted look at non-duality (hence making it worthwhile in this instance of having more than one book on the subject!)

This is an excellent discussion of non-duality, starting from first principles and using logic. It is extremely clear and very interesting. (Also loved the book by Richard Sylvester with its 'ominous' title, "I hope you die soon". He says this was a blessing given him by Tony Parsons, and the death of the self did occur.)
---- One issue I have with the strict 'non-duality' approach is that if you make the error of taking it literally, i.e. concluding that 'there is nothing to do,' because 'there is no one' to choose one way or the other, then you can end up bereft. Not sure what Hartong says about that, will have to check and then edit this review again.

A seminal book on non-duality. This long overdue review shows how the book's stood the test of time (not that you'll think there is any after reading it) against the plethora of new titles on this subject. It still stays top of my list of recommended reading, not least because it's so down to earth and yet totally uncompromising. It's also well-written, warm and isn't afraid to use pertinent quotes from a diverse cross-section of philosophers and 'prophets' who - like everything in life - point to there being nothing but life and its source undivided.

No question is left untouched - you have no reason to look any further other than for the delight of reading the same message with new winning words in Leo Hartong's latest book 'Self to Self'.

All I can say is this book is absolutely fantastic. I was so impressed and touched reading it. This is one book everybody should read, and it should give you a better understanding of why we are always searching for answers, but find out there's no need. I would also highly recommend, All There Is by Tony Parsons, and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, as a must read.

This is a standard book on non-duality (ie the idea that our sense of separateness from other beings and matter in the universe, our sense of separate consciousness, is an illusion). If you are familiar with the philosophy, there is no need to read this book - there are much more interesting ones out there. If the idea is new to you, this isn't the place to start (IMO). He just waffles on and on and on, and never says anything particularly revelatory. True, he does say at the beginning that nothing will change as a result of reading his book, that there is no particular benefit to be derived - but I didn't think he meant it that literally!

As to the concept of non-duality - there is a contradiction that I have found in practically every book I have ever read on the subject: On the one hand, they all say that our 'ego', or sense of ourselves as a separate consciousness, is an illusion - it doesn't exist. On the other, this 'ego' is apparently responsible for all that is bad in our world, and does everything it can to maintain the illusion of its existence. But, how can something that doesn't exist do anything, much less create an illusion that it exists when it doesn't? I've never had a satisfactory answer to that question.