Selections from the notebook of Sri Vyaktananda

by Terrence Oldham Barnes

edited by Robert P. Meizer

[EDITORIAL NOTE: This concise collection derives from one three-quarter filled notebook (9" X 6") found among the late Terry Barnes' effects. Terry had terrible handwriting, and he probably never expected any of his scribblings to be published. He had talked about all of these ideas, even used some of these exact phrases, in interactions with his friends and students over a period of many years, which made the deciphering of his chicken scratches at least possible. Here is published everything that could be somewhat confidently made out, about two-thirds of the original manuscript. The items in the Poems & Aphorisms are arranged in the order of the original manuscript, and thus are presumably from earliest to latest (except for the aphorisms which, though all together on two separate pages, were clearly not all written at the same time). Some spelling and grammar in the Essays & Reflections has been standardized by the present editor, and its items are arranged by size, shortest to longest. Editorial notes in the text are bracketed and labeled just like this one.]

"How do you let go of everything without letting go of anything?" -- Sri Vyaktananda