On Having No Head

Outline

On Having No Head (1961) describes an experience Douglas Harding had while walking in the Himalayas, when he noticed that he could not see his own head, only open space in which the world appeared. From this simple observation, he developed a way of exploring self-awareness and the nature of experience. The book invites readers to test the idea for themselves through simple experiments rather than accepting it on faith.

• Douglas Harding noticed during a walk in the Himalayas that he could not see his own head, only open space.
• From first-person view, the world appears inside a wide, open space rather than inside a head you can see.
• Harding built a way of exploring self-awareness and the nature of experience from this simple observation.
• The book asks readers to test the idea through simple experiments instead of accepting it on faith.
• Looking at the sense of a separate self through direct experience can lead to a more spacious, open awareness.

Douglas Harding (1909–2007) was an English philosopher and writer who trained and worked as an architect. He spent much of his life developing and teaching the headless way, a practical approach to self-inquiry. His other books include The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth.