Direct Path inquiry

The Direct Path, as taught by Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon and later by Francis Lucille and Rupert Spira, uses careful investigation to reveal that all experience is made of awareness alone.

This approach examines the three apparent elements of experience: the perceived object, the act of perceiving, and the perceiver. Through precise inquiry, each is revealed to be nothing other than awareness. The apparent world of separate objects, actions, and observers dissolves into seamless consciousness.

The Direct Path is called "direct" because it doesn't require years of practice or preparation. It uses the mind's own capacity for clear thinking to see through the mind's assumptions, revealing what was always already the case: there is only awareness, appearing as the diversity of experience.

Take any perception—say, the sight of a tree. Investigate: Where is the tree? In your experience, is it outside awareness? Can you find a boundary between seeing and what is seen? Now investigate the seer: Can you find a separate "you" that is aware? Or is there just awareness, seamlessly appearing as the entire experience?

The main obstacle is intellectual understanding without experiential investigation. This practice requires actually looking, not just thinking about looking. Another obstacle is assuming there must be more to it—the truth is simple, and the mind often overlooks simplicity.