Jim Newman: A Non-Dual Butcher
Reflections on a 'radical non-dual communicator'
Hey Family,
Sending Love to you.
Today I felt inspired to write a long post on Reddit reflecting on Jim Newman, and asking a question about his work.
Jim first came into my awareness because of his iconic, hilarious, preposterous, absurd, controversial interview with Sam Harris.
Warning: Jim is a classic non-dual ‘butcher’ with an uncompromising, radical message that relentlessly points at emptiness. No message/words are final truth, and it’s important to keep that in mind when listening to Jim. Listening to him could be destabilizing or disturbing for some people. I only really recommend his work to fairly-advanced practitioners on the path of truth.
Anywho, I felt many of you might find my Reddit post interesting, so I’ll copy/paste it below. Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated!
Full Text of My Reddit Post About Jim Newman
Hey y'all, sending Love!
I know Jim Newman is popular here so I felt this would be a good place to share/ask this:
So, I love Jim and his work. He's hilarious and I love his direct, uncompromising pointers that relentlessly suffocate the 'me' and reveal emptiness. His words/energy feel like a flamethrower that is gradually melting away chunks of confusion/identity/solidified-sensations from 'my' system.
I went to see Jim in Mexico City in 2022, and I called him on the phone for the first time last night (anyone can simply call him; his number is here: https://www.simply-this.com/contact). I may go see him again in Vienna soon. He's one of a kind, hah! What a character.
Anyway, my most significant question/hang-up about Jim's teaching is this:
When I listen to Jim, he gives me the feeling that there is 'something to do.' He gives me the feeling that my 'awakening' won't truly be 'complete' until the 'me' entirely drops away.
Now, I fully understand that he also constantly says, "This is IT already. THIS is already what is longed for." — plus other similar pointers.
Yet at the same time—perhaps because people constantly ask him about this point—he is frequently talking about the 'me' as the sole illusion that must drop away before 'liberation' is realized 'by no one.'
I asked him about this last night on the phone and he said something like, "Well, yeah, makes sense that people ask about that a lot because it's the only problem, it's the only issue." (I hope I'm remembering this correctly; I kept 'blanking out' as he was speaking because there was some sort of profound transmission of 'silence' occurring as I spoke directly with him.)
I found it revealing that Jim referred to the 'me' as 'the only problem.'
I pressed him a bit further on this, saying, "It's not really a problem, though, right?"
And he said something like, "For the 'me,' the only problem is that there isn't a problem."
(I then told him this reminded me of Jed McKenna saying, "The belief that something is 'wrong' is the fire under the ass of humanity." He got a chuckle out of that one, hah.)
Anyway, Jim referring to the 'me' as 'a problem' drives at my core hang-up with his message: I feel that he does (subtly) give people a sense that the 'me' is a 'problem' and it needs to fall away before 'no one' finds true freedom.
This is ironic, since Jim insists that his message holds no intention or prescription whatsoever.
Contrarily, when I listen to Peter Brown (https://www.theopendoorway.org/)—a non-dual teacher who impacted me deeply and who died ~1 year ago—I don't get this feeling of, "I'm not there yet." Listening to Peter, I just tend to melt into this delightful non-conceptual engagement with THIS as an already-finished masterpiece that includes everything, including any experience of 'me' or a 'separate experiencer.' Peter does not give me a feeling that anything in reality is out of place, 'wrong,' a 'problem,' or needs to 'drop away' or change whatsoever.
In The Astounding Nature of Experience—an amazing book curating many of Peter's pointers—Peter is quoted as saying, "True spiritual power liberates, not enslaves (so be careful!)."
To me this quote is hauntingly poignant, as I have experienced firsthand many ways that spiritual teachers and communities can (very, very subtly) enslave or entrap those who follow them.
With Jim, I do feel there may be a subtle entrapment thing going on, wherein he (unconsciously) ongoingly seeds and reinforces the idea that the 'me' needs to 'fall away.' This then becomes a 'carrot on a stick' that keeps people devouring his work and attending his meetings, seeking final 'liberation.'
So, I feel kinda wary and ambivalent about this. It makes me consider ceasing to engage with Jim's work/message.
At the same time, as I said, I love Jim. I have received a lot from his work. He is a classic non-dual 'butcher' who takes no prisoners, and his transmission undoubtedly holds great alchemical and revelatory power. I love the freshness of his message, and I often find it calming, funny, relieving, and dare-I-say liberating to listen to him.
Yet then there is this little voice in me that says, "Yes, but why does he give you the feeling you're not there yet and something needs to happen?"
So, that is my present conundrum. And I would love to hear any sincere, good-faith thoughts/feedback on this from all of you.
My only other 'warnings' about Jim's work would be that it can easily be used to reify/solidify/fixate emptiness and that it does not really emphasize the opening of the spiritual Heart to Divine Love; for me the opening of the Heart to this transcendent-yet-personal Love has felt like the 'truest' and most important awakening.
It also seems relevant to note that I experienced my first non-dual opening ~13 years ago, have experienced many deepenings since then, and am recently experiencing a fresh wave of quite potent awakenings/revelations, which propelled me to dive back into Jim's work. These awakenings have felt wonderful and I can honestly say I am in a good place in life. I feel happy and in love with life, both on a human level and on a more-than-human level. Life is miraculous.
As such, I am not someone who is diving into Jim's work from a place of deep suffering. I am simply 'following the breadcrumb trail' of truth to wherever it leads. I'm listening to my heart, intuition, and curiosity, and gravitating toward wherever God seems to gravitate me. With Jim there is just this kind of mysterious affinity and feeling that, "There is still more for me to receive from this messenger."
All right, coffee-stimulated JB is gonna stop writing now. Look forward to your thoughts. I deeply appreciate this community. Thank you for being you and for bravely inquiring into our true nature.
With Love,
Jordan
In Sum
So, those are my thoughts on Jim.
Anyone else here who knows or loves his work?
Wanna share your experience / thoughts / reflections on this?
I’d love to hear them!
Feel welcome to reply to this email or leave a comment.
With Love,
Jordan
P.S. Men, Council of Kings starts in about 44 days. You have about 9 days left to apply and get the ‘early-bird discount’ of $210 off.
Hey Jordan! It's been long since I read your work(I don't even know if you're still on Telegram). I was searching for a Newman in my email contacts when I saw that you already had a Substack post already.
One comment I'd like to give about Jim Newman and say Peter Brown(Oh by the way you introduced me to his work about 2 years ago, thank you) is...their pointers are flavors. Paprika and Thyme are two different things. But they are spices. They both point to flavor. They both point to taste. I would be damned if Charles Bukowski isn't even able to point me to THIS! You see, the flavors are also clear. A Jim Newman could dance around the tunes of a 'me' falling away first...and what then happens is a 'me' takes it on as a new project to complete the falling away! That's the exact reason why it appears that Jim's message gives no concession to this 'me'. With the flavor of the likes of Peter Brown, and as you also point out, everything seems to be in place, beautiful of its own accord- nothing to change! But look at that, isn't that the same thing Jim points out?
See, I get understand how one could initially listen to Jim Newman and think..."oh my, I still have a lot to do. I'm not liberated etc". I know how it felt for me even feeling a little sad and hopeless listening to him. But you gotta see what exactly is happening! This is where the beauty of realization really and truly is...you have to see that these flavors truly have nothing in them. Paprika and thyme don't make your food 'sweeter'. They add a little bit of a smell that tricks the mind/buds to thinking the food is better with them. The actual food has all it needs without the help of flavors. I know this analogy may seem like a stretch but see it: the seeking is seeking itself. Once it stops seeking, what's seen is the clarity in Jim's discuss. What's seen is the clarity and beauty in even what you wrote. Not to sound nondual-speakey but if there's a thought that says, "There is still more for me to receive from this messenger", the very beautiful pointer is really about what is trying to receive anything. That which is trying to receive anything is nothing but an illusion. It's the dispelling of that illusion that makes all of this here or there, his message and their message, this pointer or that pointer... it's what makes them seem like a joke...a beautiful joke.