Wisdom and Where to Find It: A Book of Truth

by Barry Long

Wisdom and Where to Find It is about common questions that are asked, particularly in the early stages of the spiritual life, and arise out of self-enquiry. Such What choice do I have? What holds me back? What is truth? Where is the limit to my rational understanding? What are my moral and social obligations? Are they in conflict with the spiritual quest? Barry Long addresses subjects like these with a rigorous rejection of anything not directed towards the highest truth. The book is full of clear, concise statements that challenge readers to match their own wisdom against that of the teacher. Which makes reading the book an actual teaching process. It is composed of five lectures given when Barry Long was starting out as a teacher. Their titles The Mystic Death, The Problem of Choice, Why Man Must Suffer, What Man Must Do, and Observation and Meditation.

Genres: Spirituality

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Dean Paradiso · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book if you are interested in Barry Long's early career starting off from as far back as 1969. This book is a collection of various transcripts given in the UK to a small audience of seekers (presumably in response to an advert). The talks are around various topics and questions related to becoming more conscious, less habitual and how to relate to others and the world. Some of the advice is very specifically aimed at the person asking the question, so will be of limited use to those reading the book decades later. Barry mentions teachers in the book such as Gurdjieff and Krishnamurti (alive at the time), and those teachings clearly come through in the talks given by Barry at this time. There's some mention of a sort of 'mystic death' experience that Barry had in India prior to coming out at a teacher in the 70s (or even 1969). The details of this event are a little vague, and I've not found much written on the actual experience in BL's books. This book has a vibe of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's philosophy with a bit of Krishnamurti rebelliousness thrown in. Barry seems sincere in addressing the audience at this time. There's some good parts in this book, being those on self-observation and habit breaking. There's also a lot of philosophy as well which sounds much like Ouspensky's content. Later Barry moved into a totally different direction with emotional work, relationships, sexual union, and mindfulness, which is a good direction to proceed. Eckhart Tolle probably took the best parts out of Barry's teachings, and used those in his simplified approach. Still, Barry does have some interesting creative content in his later teachings, particularly around the origins of man, the psyche and why emotional work is important, as well as the basics of entering back into the body as a valid means for awakening.