Book review: ‘Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment’ by Shawn Nevins. Published in 2018 by TAT Foundation Press.

 

 (As with my previous blog from 11th November 2024, this first appeared as a book review that I contributed at goodreads.com on 19th November. I didn’t think the previous book by Jed McKenna was helpful and only gave it 2/5, whereas this one is helpful and I gave it 5/5.)


‘Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment’ is a very good (despite missing the ‘s’ from ‘Math’ 😊 ), very useful book on one man’s journey to enlightenment, which includes advice to all who have an interest in this journey.

The title refers to the subtraction of that which is not true, as the path to the discovery of that which is true. It’s a popular way of describing this journey, although Nevins himself, like his main teacher Richard Rose, is not that well known yet.

I found much to like in this book. I paused in many places to reflect on something I just read – a good sign. Even better, I sometimes felt compelled to write notes to myself to consider later!

Early in the book, Nevins writes:

Years later, I recognized this mix of attraction and fear [referring to spiritual search] in the words of the Zen Patriarch Huang Po: “The substance of the Absolute is inwardly like wood or stone, in that it is motionless, and outwardly like the void, in that it is without bounds or obstructions… Those who hasten toward it dare not enter, fearing to hurtle down through the void with nothing to cling to or to stay their fall. So they look to the brink and retreat.”

I would encounter that brink many times and in many forms during the coming years. For now though, I only recognized that a spiritual path demanded change and that change involved abandoning old behaviors.

Much of the rest of the book consists of Nevins writing about his own search and his approaches to the brink, with an honesty and openness that is refreshing.

He displays a willingness to try many approaches, including meditation, prayer, direct transmission from his teacher, long solitary retreats, reflecting on koans and more. He lets readers know how he got on with each approach in helpful detail.

He also includes a detailed account of a moment of transformation, which came while he was reading the work of Franklin Merrell-Wolff, an American philosopher and mystic. Nevins begins this segment as follows:

I settled into reading the transcript of a talk titled “The Induction.” Alone in my apartment on a Tuesday evening, Merrell-Wolff’s long-dead words came alive and forever changed my life.

Nevins gives some context to his experience by also giving accounts of others who have had awakening experiences, such as Bernadette Roberts, Douglas Harding and Richard Rose. This can save readers much time in noticing that people’s descriptions of such experiences are all so different that you might wonder if they are writing or talking about the same thing! At some point this is likely to lead you to the conclusion that, although it is fascinating and often moving, to read accounts of other people’s experience, at the end of the day you are on your own and can’t compare your experience to anyone else’s because they are all so very different.

Nevins ends his book with words of advice for those on the spiritual path, which he calls, ‘Spiritual First Aid.’ I think these will be most useful if they are regarded as hints or points to ponder rather than anything firmer. They include such things as ‘Practice honesty’ and ‘Focus your energy’, through to the possibly less popular ‘Celibacy.’

At times, reading the dialogues between Nevins and some of the people around him, as with interviews on his YouTube channel, can sound a bit like mental patients discussing their symptoms of Depersonalisation / Derealisation Disorder. However, quite a few non-dual spiritual teachers can sound like that at times.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book and found it useful. It is a little gem in a world heaving under the weight of whole libraries of spiritual texts that are high on taste but low on nutritional value.

P.S. Shawn also manages the SpiritualTeachers.org website, which includes reviews of spiritual teachers.


Instead of ending with some deep and profound spiritual quote, I thought I would end this blog with the four most spiritual films I’ve seen, in no particular order:

Into Great Silence (Original title: Die große Stille, 2005, 2h 49m)
Groundhog Day (1993, 1h 41m)
Shadowlands (1993, 2h 11m)
Free Solo (2018, 1h 40m)


Sources

Nevins, S. (n.d.). Journals of Spiritual Discovery. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/@teamworktan

Key words

awakening, awareness, enlightenment, non-dual, spiritual, spirituality, transformation, 

Link 

https://herethewaking.blogspot.com/2024/11/book-review-subtraction-simple-math-of.html