“Presence is one of the most exciting and illuminating books on non-duality I have encountered, and its precision, articulateness in naming the nameless, unparalleled depth, and ability to inspire were constantly appreciated. This book succeeds in taking the reader beyond concepts and into the experiential level.

The irony is that this work, which is so advanced and sophisticated in its use of language, thought, and conceptualization, is inexorably directed toward pure experiencing. It is a brilliant and lucid work carrying great strength and authority that suggest it is an indisputable source of Truth.”
—Victoria Ritchie, former manager of Watkins Bookshop and editor for Eckhart Tolle“These essays are both timeless and contemporary. They are timeless in pointing to that which never appears or disappears. They are contemporary in expressing non-dual understanding in a way that is free of cultural baggage and that is accessible and relevant to ordinary Westerners.… Enjoy these potent and revelatory writings, and be prepared to be unveiled as you truly are and to discover life as it truly is: open, self-illumined Presence.”

—John J. Prendergast, PhD, professor of psychology (emeritus) at California Institute of Integral Studies, author of Listening from the Heart of Silence and In Touch

From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen he learned to meditate, and began a twenty-year period of study and practice in the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India. During this time, Spira immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997.

Lucille introduced Spira to the Direct Path teachings of Atmananda Krishna Menon, the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism (which he had received from his teacher, Jean Klein), and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience. Spira lives in the UK and holds regular meetings and retreats in Europe and the United States.