The magic of The Magic of Awareness by Anam Thubten turns out not to be magic really. Thubten makes the claim that awareness is a natural state that itself embodies the heart of what enlightenment is all about. It only seems like magic because what is right in front of us becomes something unexpected under the light of awareness.
Thubten exhorts us to just “Rest in the natural state of awareness”. His view of the path to enlightenment is one where no concerted effort is needed. Being in the awareness of the moment is all that is necessary. We are either deluded or enlightened at any given moment. We alone decide which it will be.
Clearly the thinking mind is unable to fully grasp the ultimate truth that is, in effect, nonconceptual, nonlogical, and ineffable. What needs to occur is a total letting go of the self, our day-to-day construct of who we believe we are. This death of the self paves the way to enlightenment. No longer is there a persistent need for “meaning in life”; we have transcended that pursuit.
Thubten contends that as we let go of our conditioned mind, only then can joy and love emerge. Then all of life becomes sacred. Then your love extends to all others and all situations. Surrendering to life becomes nirvana.