Have you ever been told, “You create your own reality”? Have you been encouraged to “be your best self” or “follow your bliss”? Nowadays these slogans are everywhere, but what if they’re doing more harm than good? After over thirty years as a scholar-practitioner of meditation and Tantric philosophy, acclaimed author Christopher Wallis (also known as Hareesh) explores the most widespread distortions of spiritual teachings present in our world today. Rooted in the Asian wisdom traditions, Wallis’s book uncovers why these oft-heard platitudes are “near enemies” to the truth, often detour us off the spiritual path, and can even cause unnecessary suffering.
In asking us to question what we’ve accepted as “truth,” Wallis reveals how teachings like “become the best version of yourself” may have helped us at one stage in our journey but can ultimately lead us away from self-acceptance and compassion and cause us to prioritize an imagined ideal over true intimacy with reality. Understanding the near enemies is vital for any spiritual seeker who is ready to create a deeper, more fulfilling practice and will help you:
Distinguish between truth and belief
Communicate more authentically with loved ones
Set healthier boundaries
Be in greater harmony with reality
Practice radical self-acceptance
Near Enemies of the Truth offers itself as a guide to the pitfalls of the spiritual life. However, it doesn’t focus on the negative. In each chapter, after pointing out how a spiritual teaching can be construed in a non-beneficial way, Wallis focuses on the deeper truth and ancient wisdom underlying that teaching, which is often obscured by its popular bumper-sticker version. Each chapter contains a supportive insight for your spiritual process and/or for your everyday life, including guided meditations and reflections.
Written in a gentle and encouraging tone, this book offers a wealth of insight and guidance for anyone who finds themselves struggling, reaching a spiritual plateau, or simply seeking a more meaningful way forward. This timely companion will help you think differently and see through the smokescreens to what is more deeply true.
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WHAT OTHER spiritual teachers ARE SAYING
“The spiritual journey is replete with self-deception. The closer the deception is to our sense of self, the harder it is to recognize it. It’s far easier to bypass the deception altogether! In Near Enemies, beloved author Christopher (Hareesh) Wallis skillfully and expertly explores the minute distinctions in concepts that appear to be the same but are vastly different and lead to different goals, often far away from the very thing we seek. It is a much-needed book for not just the world of spiritual seekers but for anyone interested in understanding their inner landscapes and arriving at peace and wisdom. I cannot recommend it enough!”
“New age thinking often expresses an eternal truth that has subsequently been appropriated by the ego and used in service of its fears and desires. With characteristic insight and precision, Christopher Wallis takes many of the popular ideas that characterise new age, self-help culture, revealing the perennial truth on which they are founded whilst exposing the extent to which they have been distorted by popular thinking. Near Enemies of the Truth is like a Zen master’s sword – both uncompromising and kind – and, as such, an invaluable companion to anyone who wishes to be scrupulously honest in their quest to recognise their essential nature and its inherent peace. I learned a lot from reading this book and thoroughly recommend it, as well as Christopher’s work in general.”