The author describes the contemplative experiences which led her to reach a new level of spiritual enlightenment, and discusses the nature of the self and its relation to Christian teaching

Experience of No Self

Biographies & Memoirs

Roberts, Bernadette

Leaders & Notable People

Shambhala

An autobiography of contemplative Bernadette Roberts from birth to age seventeen.

Contemplative: Autobiography of the Early Years

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

ContemplativeChristians.com

The Real Christ is simply the E=MC of theology, unfolding the deepest mysteries of the Trinity with profound clarity. This is a must read book for anyone who has struggled with remaining a Christian or grown frustrated with the banality of what seems to be the “Jesus Industry” of corporate Christianity. Please prayerfully and slowly read The Real Christ. It is full of some of the most liberating and transforming ideas currently available to humankind. It is what Christianity was meant to be and, quite truthfully, must still become. We are urged to take up and read, and consider again the complete superstructure that is Christianity so to really discover and really become Christ.

The Real Christ

In this collection of essays, Bernadette Roberts deepens her mark upon the Christian contemplative tradition. Bernadette expands and clarifies many of the important themes from her previous groundbreaking books: The Experience of No-Self, The Path to No-Self, What is Self?, and The Real Christ. Certain to be of broad interest in this collection are two of Bernadette’s most recent essays, the “Ten Ox-herding Pictures” and “The Nature of Self.” The witness of Bernadette’s life, spiritual journey and writings continues to confirm her profound contribution to our understanding and experience of the spiritual journey, especially as it unfolds beyond the unitive state. These essays are at once challenging, provocative, enjoyable, fun and deeply edifying. They help remind us of God’s everlasting love and invite us deeper into the life and joys in and as Christ. The essays will also serve as an accessible introduction to Bernadette’s primary books. As such, this book will be a welcome primer for all readers and theologians interested in understanding more deeply the nature of what Bernadette experienced and bore witness to.

The Christian Contemplative Journey: Essays On The Path

ContemplativeChristians.com Publishing

This book shows how, once we have adjusted to the unitive state, the spiritual journey moves on to yet another more final ending. In our major religious traditions, the outstanding milestone in the spiritual journey is the permanent, irreversible transcendence of the self center or ego. The fact that a great deal has been written about the journey to this point means that many people have come this far. But what, we might ask, comes next? Looking ahead we see no path; even in the literature there seems to be nothing beyond an abiding awareness of oneness with God. Had this path been mapped in the literature, then at least we would have known that one existed; but where no such account exists, we assume there is no path and that union of self and God is the final goal to be achieved. The main purpose of The Path to No-Self is to correct this assumption. It verifies that a path beyond union does indeed exist, that the eventual falling away of the unitive state happens as the culmination of a long experiential journey beyond the state. The author shows that a path exists between the transcendence of the ego (self-center), which begins the unitive state, and the later falling away of all self (the true self), which ends the unitive state. As a first hand account, The Path to No-Self will be of interest to those with similar experiences, or those searching for a better understanding of their own spiritual journey. Since the journey is concerned with the effects of grace on human consciousness, the book will be of interest to those psychologists concerned with the transformational process.

The Path to No-Self: Life at the Center

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

State University of New York Press

This book shows how, once we have adjusted to the unitive state, the spiritual journey moves on to yet another more final ending. In our major religious traditions, the outstanding milestone in the spiritual journey is the permanent, irreversible transcendence of the self center or ego. The fact that a great deal has been written about the journey to this point means that many people have come this far. But what, we might ask, comes next? Looking ahead we see no path; even in the literature there seems to be nothing beyond an abiding awareness of oneness with God. Had this path been mapped in the literature, then at least we would have known that one existed; but where no such account exists, we assume there is no path and that union of self and God is the final goal to be achieved. The main purpose of The Path to No-Self is to correct this assumption. It verifies that a path beyond union does indeed exist, that the eventual falling away of the unitive state happens as the culmination of a long experiential journey beyond the state. The author shows that a path exists between the transcendence of the ego (self-center), which begins the unitive state, and the later falling away of all self (the true self), which ends the unitive state. As a first hand account, The Path to No-Self will be of interest to those with similar experiences, or those searching for a better understanding of their own spiritual journey. Since the journey is concerned with the effects of grace on human consciousness, the book will be of interest to those psychologists concerned with the transformational process. "Ms. Roberts' experiential approach clarifies several important points that have remained obscure in the writings of Christian mystics of the past. Primary among these is her powerful affirmation that the state of Transforming Union is a preparation for a further stage of divine transformation which, for lack of any classical Christian expression, she calls the experience of no self. "Ms. Roberts' special gift as spiritual writer is her capacity to articulate the ineffable. The clarity and sharpness of her insight and expression, her honesty about herself and her experience, the balance and groundedness of her psychological perceptiveness, and her sure touch in distinguishing accidentals from essentials--the straight and narrow path from dead-ends--make her account unique among the works of spiritual writers." -- Father Thomas Keating

"One of the most significant spiritual books of our day. One of the best books on this subject since St. John of the Cross. An amazing book, it clarifies the higher regions of the spiritual path." -- Father Thomas Keating Within the traditional framework, the Christian notion of loss-of-self is generally regarded as the transformation or loss of the ego (lower self) as it attains to the higher or true self in its union with God. Thus, because self at its deepest center is a run-on with the divine, I had never found any true self apart from God, for to find the One is to find the other. Because this was the limit of my expectations, I was all the more surprised and bewildered when many years later I came upon a permanent state in which there was no self, no higher self, true self, or anything that could be called a self. Clearly, I had fallen outside my own, as well as the traditional frame of reference, when I came upon a path that seemed to begin where the writers on the contemplative life had left off. But with the clear certitude of the self's disappearance, there automatically arose the question of what had fallen away--what was the self? What, exactly, had it been? Then too, there was the all-important question: what remained in its absence? This journey was the gradual revelation of the answers to these questions, answers that had to be derived solely from personal experience since no outside explanation was forthcoming. "I must re-emphasize that the following experiences do not belong to the first contemplative movement or the soul's establishment in a state of union with God. I have written elsewhere of this first journey and feel that enough has been said of it already, since this movement is inevitably the exclusive concern of contemplative writers. Thus it is only where these writers leave off that I propose to begin. Here now, begins the journey beyond union, beyond self and God, a journey into the silent and still regions of the Unknown." -- Bernadette Roberts, from the Introduction

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

This book shows how, once we have adjusted to the unitive state, the spiritual journey moves on to yet another more final ending.

Path to No Self

The experience of no-self: A contemplative journey

Iroquois House

This extraordinary philosophical treatise on the nature of self and God follows on the author's now-classic book, The Experience of No-Self. The book includes fascinating chronicles of her own spirtual journey.

What Is Self: A Study of the Spiritual Journey in Terms of Consciousness

Devorss Co

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Roberts, Bernadette. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Roberts, Bernadette

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Roberts, Bernadette. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Experience of No Self

Contemplative: Autobiography of the Early Years

The Real Christ

The Christian Contemplative Journey: Essays On The Path

The Path to No-Self: Life at the Center

The Path to No-Self: Life at the Center

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

Path to No Self

The experience of no-self: A contemplative journey

What Is Self: A Study of the Spiritual Journey in Terms of Consciousness