Midnights with the Mystic: A Little Guide to Freedom and Bliss

I should first say that I am not a student of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the Indian guru (or 'mystic') featured in this book, but I am an avid pupil of all sorts of Eastern teachings, and so the foundation of the material covered here was familiar. I loved this book because Sadhguru teaches in a very class Indian yogic style and context, but is really working to make the material and practices relevant and accessible to a contemporary Western audience, without watering down the material to the point of it having no value. I thought it was a compelling read, and while some of the conversations might have started out as familiar material, many went in a direction I didn't expect. Cheryl Simone, the author, first recounts a bit about her own spiritual background, and the impasse of sorts that she had come to in her own life when she first met Sadhguru. Then most of the book is a recounting of conversations she had with him when he rested at her home on a lake in Tennessee for a few days between cities on a U.S. teaching tour (most occurred at night, hence the 'midnights'.) The topics are wide-ranging and cover most areas of life - relationships, career, money - and spiritual practice - plateaus, the teacher/student relationship, his take on karma, the age we live in, etc. Sadhguru also recounts some of his own past lives and karmas, and of course for people not comfortable with reincarnation, that will be quite a stretch. I noticed some reviewers said they found nothing new here, or felt it was too basic, but I thought some of the sections on energy structures, and how they relate to the modern world, were really very esoteric and unique. In general, an enlightening, fun read for anyone interested in and open to Eastern teachings. And you don't need to be looking for a 'guru' or a student of this one to appreciate it.

I'm just finishing my second read of this amazing book. There is a power in these pages that goes beyond the physical dimension of ink on paper. After my first reading, I was inspired to attended an Inner Engineering program and then the Bhava Spandana Program. My experiences at both of these events have been, by far, the most profound of my life. In the six months I have been practicing Isha Yoga, I have experienced a complete absence of my (previously severe) allergies, and a 90% reduction in my use of an inhaler for asthma. I have far less stress from my business (residential construction) and, as I am told by those closest to me, I am a much lighter, more joyful person. This has not come from reading Midnights, it has come from the regular practice of Isha Yoga. Midnights, however, was a beautiful and powerful push to start me on my path to greater possibilities and potential. Rereading the book again after having attended two Isha programs, I find I am having many similar experiences to those described by Cheryl in Midnights. It is one thing to read the words, another vastly deeper knowing to have experienced them myself. This book has received some criticism for its lack of substance. I would strongly disagree. In Midnights we are fortunate enough to get both the words of a true living master and the valuable perspective of a real seeker (Cheryl). If you are ready, Midnights can be a window into a dimension beyond our physical perceptions.

Since I'm very much intersted in sprituality,I bought this book.To my utter amazement,I never thought this book will kindle such a deep sprituality within myself.After reading few pages,I can sense about my absurdity of life.This book is must read for spritual seekers to get a better perception about Indian sprituality and to know those great masters from eastern tradition.Hope we identify such great masters and make a world to better place to live.

This book is a very easy read. Although it is a somewhat amateurish attempt at wrapping the ideas presented in it around something of a story line, there is absolutely no denying the fact that generous gems are packaged inside. There are some startling notions in it that make perfect sense; ideas which one would be ordinarily discouraged from entertaining by either the moralistic or the I'm-ok-you're-ok feel-good social structures (both equally inadequate), and ideas that casually digress from the tenets of organized religion not with fanfare but with refreshing logic. One declaration, on page 193, particularly touched a chord inside me, albeit the hollow note of deep consternation: "... life around you will respond and create itself to match the way you are and not the way you or the people around you think you are. What you think about yourself is existentially irrelevant". It made me ask myself: If I am something different than who I think I am then who am I? And what am I creating around me? The book also discusses in a very straightforward, no-frills fashion phenomena regarding life and death. The low-histrionics manner somehow lends credence to this murky realm and makes me want to investigate more. This is an introduction to yoga that is definitely not what one usually understands by that word. No, the book isn't about yoga (as I perceived it) or about God, nor is it New Age-y; actually I couldn't quite make up my mind as to what it is really about. But if you are looking for some straight talk, beyond what is advocated by conventional wisdom, I would venture to say that this is more than likely to catch your attention, if not challenge any comfortable notions of what is or is not. On a lighter note let me add that it has so many interesting anecdotes in it that, if nothing else, it cannot fail to brighten an afternoon browse!

Cheryl asks the kind of questions that have been on my mind as well for a long time. Excellent book to expand your wisdom, and a pleasurable read.

Absolutely loved this book. Must read to anyone who follows Sadhguru or is on a spiritual path or even just someone wanting to understand more about life.

This book contains some wonderful nuggets of wisdom. I've reread it several times.

L'auteur nous fait partager son expérience inouïe d'avoir rencontré puis reçu chez elle aux Etats-Unis un grand Maître Spirituel Indien et nous fait vivre ces moments et conversations partagés. Ce livre nous permet d'accéder à l'histoire de la vie d'un grand mystique et de rendre très accessibles ses enseignements profonds et pragmatiques. C'est aussi une réflexion sur la quête spirituelle au travers d'expériences de vie et de dialogues vivants. Le lecteur peut aisément s'identifier à l'auteur dans sa quête spirituelle et qui a l'opportunité de poser toutes ces questions à ce grand mystique surprenant, plein de vie et d'enthousiasme, d'humour, à la fois si proche et appartenant à un autre monde. Un vive incitation à découvrir plus sur Sadhguru et une incitation aussi à une introspection et un questionnement profonds.

What a fabulous book. Not only does it approach some of life's burning questions but you get to see into the complex being that is Sadhguru. I loved it so much that I bought the book and the Audible version.