Tim Garvin
Reviews
From The Glow International
Everything Makes Sense: A Close-Notice of Life and Consciousness
Reviewed by Max Reif
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I have just completed Tim Garvin's 390 page book, Everything Makes Sense. It has been one of the great reading adventures of my life.
The front-material of the book includes testimonies from several people who read pre-publication copies before I did. One of them, Rick Chapman, asserts: “This book will likely be read for centuries.” Let me say at the outset, that I agree with that estimation.
When I received Tim. Garvin's book, I decided to describe what happened then with brief numbered points, in chronological order.
1) The book did seem philosophical. Early on, Tim refers to the method of his inquiry as “close-noticing.” My college course had included readings in a school of thought called phenomenology. Looking up that word led me to this definition: an approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience. It sounded a lot like Tim's close-noticing.
2) As soon as I tried to read beyond those first few pages, I hit an impasse. The material seemed too dense. Plowing through a page, I realized that I had no idea why any sentence was followed by the next one or the one after that. I had committed myself to this reading but was unable to follow through. The only course was to write to Tim and tell him honestly that I was stuck. And so, I did.
3) Tim's reply surprised me. I had suggested that since the publication date was still quite a few months away, he could find a reviewer who was equal to the material. He replied sympathetically that the first 100+ pages are a bit dense because he wrote them to connect with people trained in Western philosophy and science—people working with very dualistic parameters of thought, established over centuries. The idea of this book, Tim said, is to meet them where they are and lead them step by step to the more unitary and deeply true perspective represented by the two seers, Meher Baba and Sri Aurobindo.
4) Next, while giving me an "out" if I wanted one, Tim made this suggestion: "...begin reading on page 119, “The Plagiarism of Pride and the Highest Desire.” The book from that point now and then mentions earlier conclusions, but I think those conclusions can be intuited from the context. And from page 119 on the walk is greatly downhill. Then, after you finish the book, begin reading from page 119 forward, chapter by chapter. I think you will be amazed how simple it all seems then.”
5) I had very little hope that starting later in the book would be the magic wand Tim seemed to be describing. Nevertheless, having no other ideas about how to proceed, I took his advice.
6) To my utter amazement, everything did change when I went into concentration mode on page 119. Shortly thereafter, on page 121, in a short chapter called “The Conjecture,” Tim asks a question in italics: What if all existence is manifested by a silent, subtle, big intelligence that produces, permeates, and is all that exists?
7) A little later, the book gently begins suggesting that this all-inclusive "something" might be described as "infinite intelligence." He also introduces the word God, with the caveat that that word has been so long submerged in doctrine and culture, to many it has become almost repellant. On page 149, the name Meher Baba finally appears. By that time, I already felt that I was treading in familiar territory.
7) Hurray, I might be able to review the book after all, I thought. The words, sentences and paragraphs no longer seemed like the "cut-up method" used by beat poet William Burroughs, who would apply a pair of scissors to his prose and then randomly paste the pieces together. Tim was continuing with his own method of “close-noticing," but being on friendly metaphysical ground now, I became something of a cheerleader.
8) I knew that the real test would be when I finished the familiar part of the journey and began the book again at the beginning (which I did, rather than read backward from page 119, chapter by chapter). Would I be able now to grasp what my "new philosophy teacher" was saying?
9) To my renewed amazement, I did! And I do! I even came to prefer this section of the book, where I didn't need my "main guys" to cushion points being made, and really had to rely on the capacity of my own mind—and learn! Discovering that I was able to follow Tim's steps of close-noticing in the part that had seemed utterly alien three months before was a revelation that, among other things, brought a new sense of self-confidence. Tim does such a good job of bringing his reader along with him step by step, sharing so clearly his process of observing the dynamics of consciousness in himself, and how that melds with living in the world around him. His work on his own consciousness brings to my mind Buddha's famous last message, “Be a light unto yourself” and demonstrates how such a light can be so helpful to others. I found myself in agreement that the author's process of self-observation is valid and its conclusions, universal.
Each of us, of course, starts a book from his or her own unique place in our journey with Meher Baba. I feel, though, that it wasn't just a fortuitous coincidence that Everything Makes Sense "worked" for me. I believe Tim Garvin is indeed a pioneer whose footsteps in thought and eventually experience, many will follow. His clarity of perception, genius at rendering these perceptions in interesting, evocative, and always clear language, his gift for analogy, and his wonderful sense of humor simply carried the day. The secret ingredient that I feel makes this book of more than passing interest is that Tim tackles the big "elephant in the room" that I rarely see a spiritual author take on directly: the fact that our predicament generally appears to be such a muddle, because, as Tim says again and again, so much of what goes on within us does so unconsciously. The vital processes and phenomena of life are seen through a glass darkly, almost as if we have our minds in a black box that we can't see into, in our decision-making and situation-evaluating. Even, in my perception, based on half a century of spiritual reading: the books by many esteemed authors do not start with a notice such as “Warning: all that is said here takes place in a soup of consciousness-and-unconsciousness that you will often find yourself unable to access clearly or fully!” It is the stuff of Maya, no doubt. Tim makes its real operation in the citadel of the human mind, palpable as I've rarely if ever seen an author do.
This lover of the Avatar, Tim Garvin, has, in this reviewer's opinion, rendered with love and insight, an enormous service to his Master and to humanity.
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From amazon.com
In his new book, Everything Makes Sense, author Tim Garvin opens by making the rather extraordinary claim that any two people, if they are honest and patient, are compelled by the nature of existence itself to agree about everything. In a sense, the rest of the book is an explanation of that claim. By the adroit use of thought experiments, admirably constructed metaphors, and entertaining scenarios from ordinary life, the discussion moves from the nature of the conscious-unconscious junction, free will, humility, the sizing of desire, and finally to the destiny of all life, and even all that exists, to become fully conscious—of everything. Garvin suggests that this process is the work of each of us, whether behind the scenes unconsciously as the invisible inner world directs our longings and intentions, or on the screen of conscious self-examination.
To open the inner world, Garvin uses a technique he refers to as close-noticing, which, he explains, is a method of noticing the lying-around facts of consciousness, a notice of what simply is in existence, as opposed to looking through the thought-lens of the ideas and interpretations that have accumulated through the centuries. Still, the conclusions he draws, always with an easy open-mindedness, permit almost any idea to stroll into his thinking and be considered. Such thinking includes the nature of so-called physicalism, the hard problem of consciousness, empathy, AI, Darwinsim, and even the mystery of cellular metabolism.
Garvin studied philosophy in academia but reports that its emptiness drove him to investigate other pathways. He was led first to the life and work of Eastern spiritual teacher Aurobindo Ghose, and shortly afterwards to the work and life of Meher Baba. He traveled several times to India to gain a fuller understanding of Meher Baba, speaking at length with his mandali, those who lived their entire lives under his direction. Meher Baba remained silent from 1925 until his passing in 1969, but authored several books, some of which have only been published in recent years. Garvin deftly weaves the wisdom of these two spiritual masters into common, close-noticed elements of personal seeking. His wide knowledge of philosophical and spiritual traditions, his own cleverly constructed examples from everyday life, and not least his welcome good humor, all make the book a richly satisfying read.
The writing is fresh, concise, conversational, and even full of quotable quotes. “Opinions are like rugs—they give us place to stand but gather dirt, and every now and then need to be taken outside for some sun and a good beating.” “A genius who knows only half the alphabet still cannot make as many words as a fool who knows them all.”
Everything Makes Sense can and doubtless will provide focus for discussion groups as well as companionship for individuals determined to search within and without for transcendence. Emerson wrote: “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Garvin seems to have taken that advice to heart.
From amazon.com
In his new book, Everything Makes Sense, author Tim Garvin opens by making the rather extraordinary claim that any two people, if they are honest and patient, are compelled by the nature of existence itself to agree about everything. In a sense, the rest of the book is an explanation of that claim. By the adroit use of thought experiments, admirably constructed metaphors, and entertaining scenarios from ordinary life, the discussion moves from the nature of the conscious-unconscious junction, free will, humility, the sizing of desire, and finally to the destiny of all life, and even all that exists, to become fully conscious—of everything. Garvin suggests that this process is the work of each of us, whether behind the scenes unconsciously as the invisible inner world directs our longings and intentions, or on the screen of conscious self-examination.
To open the inner world, Garvin uses a technique he refers to as close-noticing, which, he explains, is a method of noticing the lying-around facts of consciousness, a notice of what simply is in existence, as opposed to looking through the thought-lens of the ideas and interpretations that have accumulated through the centuries. Still, the conclusions he draws, always with an easy open-mindedness, permit almost any idea to stroll into his thinking and be considered. Such thinking includes the nature of so-called physicalism, the hard problem of consciousness, empathy, AI, Darwinsim, and even the mystery of cellular metabolism.
Garvin studied philosophy in academia but reports that its emptiness drove him to investigate other pathways. He was led first to the life and work of Eastern spiritual teacher Aurobindo Ghose, and shortly afterwards to the work and life of Meher Baba. He traveled several times to India to gain a fuller understanding of Meher Baba, speaking at length with his mandali, those who lived their entire lives under his direction. Meher Baba remained silent from 1925 until his passing in 1969, but authored several books, some of which have only been published in recent years. Garvin deftly weaves the wisdom of these two spiritual masters into common, close-noticed elements of personal seeking. His wide knowledge of philosophical and spiritual traditions, his own cleverly constructed examples from everyday life, and not least his welcome good humor, all make the book a richly satisfying read.
The writing is fresh, concise, conversational, and even full of quotable quotes. “Opinions are like rugs—they give us place to stand but gather dirt, and every now and then need to be taken outside for some sun and a good beating.” “A genius who knows only half the alphabet still cannot make as many words as a fool who knows them all.”
Everything Makes Sense can and doubtless will provide focus for discussion groups as well as companionship for individuals determined to search within and without for transcendence. Emerson wrote: “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Garvin seems to have taken that advice to heart.
From Age of Awareness in medium.com by Geoff Ward
Making sense of it all
‘This universal mind is intelligence itself and is the source of the mysterious meaning that erupts from each of us every moment.’ Tim Garvin
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The major existential questions to do with our inner lives and consciousness — who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? What’s most important in life? — have been explored by thinkers for millennia, and all of us can gain from exploring our inner worlds.
As the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung famously said: ‘Who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside, awakes.’ Well-trodden paths for such explorations include various forms of contemplation, meditation, psychotherapy and psychedelics.
The inner life is where we talk to, and debate with, ourselves. It is the abode of our memories, dreams, our thoughts, feelings and creative and, yes, our destructive drives, but at a deeper and more elusive level, our ‘heart’, ‘spirit’ and the will. It’s integral to our consciousness — including, indeed, how we are conscious of our consciousness.
We’re aware of it to a lesser or greater degree, depending on the type of individual we are, and it’s affected by the unconscious mind as well as events in the outside world. A simplistic definition of the inner life might be ‘what it’s like to be me’.
Of course, it must be admitted that some people appear not to have an inner life, or anyway a very depleted one, with little self-reflection evident. And as the Swiss philosopher and poet Henri Frédéric Amiel said: ‘The man who has no inner life is a slave to his surroundings.’
‘Surroundings’ makes one think immediately of one’s environment and the barrage of sense impressions to which we are subjected continually, many of which we’re unable to process consciously. Without sufficient awareness arising from an inner life, reaction to external stimuli comes unconsciously — the cause of much of the trouble in the world today, in my view.
In a state of low-awareness, people submit to outside factors and conditions which can be the circumstances of the submission themselves or the people believed to have created those circumstances. But the inner life enables you to weigh your role in such events, achieve clarity, hopefully, and take responsibility for outcomes.
Yet how far do traumatic events in the outside world militate against this, impinging on the inner life, affecting its tone and composition, shaping our psychological situations, causing one to ask not what’s ‘in the back of my mind’ but what’s uppermost?
In my experience, a vibrant inner life that deals pragmatically with emotions, self-awareness, values and life purpose, and where one can find a storehouse of vitality and creativity on which to draw, engenders a state of optimism and banishes boredom and fatigue. Negative outside events can undermine this position, however, adversely affecting the desirable state of equipoise between the individual and the collective, between self and other.
Once, in conversation with an award-winning poet, I referred to the ‘inner life’ and was amazed that he didn’t know what I was talking about, and that I had to explain. How could someone, apparently serious about writing poetry, have no concept of the inner life and be seemingly unaware of its expression?
For writer Tim Garvin ‘true poetry is the Self’s voice’, and he knows that it’s in the inner world, where we can reach towards that universal consciousness, or mind, that we must search for Truth.
Cozy Home Delights Book Reviews
Everything Makes Sense by Tim Garvin ~ Review
The first page of this book was so lovely that I read it twice!
“Opinion might want to muscle forward and assert itself, but honesty shrugs and so opinion however reluctantly, must shrug too. We may not be able to agree about much, but at least we know this: the swordplay of opinion is helpless to generate agreement. And this: honestly is the force that sheathed those swords. And this: that we are profoundly, inevitably, maddingly ignorant of what is going on in the invisible world. Which is almost everything.”
Tim Garvin’s eloquent language and thought provoking writing style, for me, was reminiscent of reading The Little Prince for the first time. (One of my favorite books!) His words comfort you. His philosophical thought process reads almost as a conversation, allowing your current perceptions to feel welcome and even understood, while at the same time asking you to reconsider everything you thought you might have known to try seeing things differently for a while.
“Basically we keep pedaling because, as we well know, unless we’re moving forward, the bicycle of getting-along-in-the-world tips right over. Still, for most of us there are moments when we lay the bike down, walk into a field alone, maybe at night… and again the question comes: really now, what is all this? …Because when we’re out in that field alone at night surrounded by either Something, or Nothing, we’d all like a bit more explanation.”
His metaphors and analogies gently guide you along complex thoughts that would otherwise be hard to grasp.
“Close-noticing removes the far-focused binoculars of intellect and tries to see what is happening here and happening now.”
“Meaning is the water of being in which we are suspended, and desire is the current that bears us along the river of time.”
“Character can be understood as the inner hall where desire must present itself before it is permitted satisfaction. It’s the home of what we vaguely, and with often tedious self-satisfaction, call conscience.”
If you’re looking for a spectacular inner growth journey then this book is for you! Take this journey and learn to peer inward while examining the world around you through the concept of “close-noticing.” Who knows, you might even discover the meaning of life.