The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey, Revised Edition [Paperback]

Bernadette Roberts (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press; Rev Sub edition (February 28, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791416941
• ISBN-13: 978-0791416945
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start with "The Journey to No-Self", May 12, 2001

By 

"tim_farrington" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey, Revised Edition (Paperback)

Bernadette Roberts is quite simply one of the most extraordinary contemplatives of our time. Her accounts of her experiences, and her reflections on them, are invaluable to anyone pursuing a similar path beyond the notions of God into the mystery of the divine nothingness. But this is not the Roberts' book to start with; for openers, one should read Roberts' "The Journey to No-Self," which traces Roberts' own dark night and emergence into Union, the preparatory stage, in her view, for the even more radical experience of no-self. There has been no Christian advaita philosopher, previously, that i know of--at least none that did not get burned at the stake. Meister Eckhart danced in this neighborhood, however. In any case, for anyone engaged in the emptying journey into God, Roberts' is crucial reading; her books are like the companionship of a wise and seasoned friend.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Account of the Spiritual Journey, January 25, 2000

By 

Edward W Duhaime - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey, Revised Edition (Paperback)

I read this book a number of years ago and still get inspired by it. Bernadette Roberts is an excellent writer and does a good job at conveying experiences that are in a lot of ways beyond words. People who are not intuiting or experiencing what she is talking about would likely have a very difficult time understanding what is being said, and possibly, as in a previous review, assume that Bernadette Roberts is on the edge of insanity and living a very unjoyful life. I had the opportunity to attend a talk by Bernadette Roberts a few years ago and I found her an absolutely warm, humorous and loving person, without guile of any sort. The Experience of No Self can be a challenge to read, but for those who are ready for its message, it is a blessing.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary work, May 12, 2004

By 

rb (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey, Revised Edition (Paperback)

This is an extraordinary account of our journey with God. In it, Bernadette talks of a milestone in the spiritual life that lies beyond union with God. After years of living a life united with God and given completely to God, she comes upon an event in which the entire self falls away. There is now no union, no center, and strictly speaking no experience at all. What remains is Christ and the Resurrection and a knowing (without subject) that to me speaks of the beginning of a beatific vision of God--a vision without mediator.

In "The Path to No-Self" Berndette writes of the first part of our journey--the transformation where God replaces self at the very center of being. She speaks of this as the falling away of ego distinct from the later falling away of self.

In "What is Self" a work that I hope will be printed again she speaks in much greater detail about what is known after the no-self event--about God, self, Christ, the Trinity and the Incarnation.

There is no truer account of the spiritual life than these works by Bernadette Roberts. They profoundly illuminate the truth of the Christian revelation, and also provide insights for contemplatives of all backgrounds.