Barry Long (1 August 1926 – 6 December 2003
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'') was an Australian spiritual teacher and writer.

Early life

Barry Long was born and raised in Australia and had little formal education. In his twenties he became editor of a Sydney Sunday newspaper, ''The Truth'' and later

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dutie ...

in the New South Wales Parliament. At this time he was married with two children.

India and
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

In his early thirties he began to experience a disillusionment with his material life and in 1964 he abandoned everything, including his family, to go to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. There he experienced a spiritual crisis culminating in a self-ascribed "mystic death," which he called his "realisation of

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...

," followed four years later by a " transcendental realisation"; a contact with a depth of

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

from which he stated his knowledge of universal

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

ultimately derived. Leaving India he moved to London, living in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

and working as a sub-editor in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

until he was able to support himself from teaching and publishing. In 1986 he returned to his native Australia, living on

Tamborine Mountain Tamborine Mountain, also known simply as Mount Tamborine, is a plateau, geographic subregion and locality in the Scenic Rim Region of Queensland, Australia. In the , Tamborine Mountain had a population of 8,105 people. Geography The plate ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

with his wife Kathy and young stepson, Simon, then in Burleigh Heads, Queensland when they divorced, and finally moving to Crabbes Creek,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

where he lived until his death from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

in December 2003. Long stated that he was a tantric masterInterview with Andrew Cohen
''What is Enlightenment?'' and that unhappiness arises because man and woman have forgotten how to love each other. In 1984 he recorded a double audio cassette ''Making Love: Sexual Love the Divine Way'', later published as a book and CD.Making Love
/ref>

Public speaking and writing

He started his public teaching in England and later went on to teach in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, Europe, the US and Canada. His last public seminar was the tenth annual 14-day Master Session held in Queensland, Australia in late October 2002. He continued to write new material after this and his observations on the approach of death were published on his website. The story of his realisations is told in a book published in July 2013, ''My Life of Love and Truth: A Spiritual Autobiography'' which describes his life up until the death of his second wife in 1982. His works are published by the Barry Long Foundation International, based in New South Wales, Australia and his last writings have yet to be published.

Long's teachings

Long's teaching focuses on freeing the individual from unhappiness which he defined as "happy today, unhappy tomorrow". He stated that this fluctuating condition is set in motion and maintained by an addiction to thoughts and the

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

s they create. These emotions encourage other thoughts and so a vicious cycle is initiated. We are trapped in this cycle, he suggested, until we follow "the way of

truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...

". It includes: *constant vigilance in observation of one's thoughts, emotions and actions; *meditation to still the mind and connect with life within i.e. what "I" call "me"; "feeling the well-being in the body"; *being, without thought; the next step on from

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

; *getting your life right, taking action in those areas of your life which disturb you because something is wrong. The sexual aspects of his teaching gained great notoriety, assuming a greater prominence in the public mind than Long wished. He maintained the relationship between man and woman caused the greatest unhappiness in the post-industrial West. He taught and wrote in detail about sexual love between man and woman and its use to purify them both, ridding them of what he called "personal, human love."Barry Long on making love
/ref> He responded to controversy by pointing out that getting one's life right in all its aspects, and prolonged selfless giving were more important. He suggested that a person practicing this would naturally attract a loving sexual partner. In response to an article by Andrew Cohen he wrote "One notion I would like to correct is where you say that in my teaching "the primary spiritual practice is making love rightly." The primary spiritual practice... is self-denial, giving and honesty practiced over a long period out of an inner

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

of rightness and goodness." Long also wrote about many other aspects of "Love, Life, Truth,

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

and Death". In ''The Origins of Man and the

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

'' he presents his

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

. Speaking of this book he stated, "There's so much in this book ....it's like a base which my whole teaching goes back to, or extends from. My current teaching might be more refined, but is always consistent with it." He taught and spoke about family life and the importance of raising children from birth in justice and truth not just love.Barry Long, ''Raising Children in Love Justice and Truth''
/ref> In response to the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, an extract on terrorism from his ''Origins'' book written in 1983 was published separately as well as a new book ''A Prayer for Life: The Cause and Cure of

Terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

and Human Suffering''.

Influences

Barry Long acknowledged his respect for J. Krishnamurti and his teachings, nonetheless he considered himself to be an original teacher.Barry Long, An Open Letter to those who try to use my teaching to teach others
/ref> He recommended abandoning religious tradition in favour of direct experience and asked his audience not to believe anything he said,Barry Long, ''Knowing Yourself'', p5 but to listen for the "ring of truth" in it. He himself had an influence on a number of other teachers, writers and therapists. The most prominent of these is

Eckhart Tolle Eckhart Tolle ( ; ; born Ulrich Leonard Tölle, 16 February 1948) is a German-born spiritual teacher and self-help author. His books include ''The Power of Now, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment'' (1997), ''A New Earth, A New ...

, best-selling author of ''

The Power of Now ''The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment'' is a book by Eckhart Tolle. It is a discussion about how people interact with themselves and others. The concept of self-reflection and presence in the moment are presented along with simpl ...

'', who met him in person and is on record as saying he loved Barry Long's teaching.

Marital and relationship history

Long married or lived

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...

ly with five women; Betty, his first wife; Julie, whom he married in England and lived with for 13 years until her death from cancer; Kathy with whom he moved to Australia with his stepson Simon; Jade who was his partner when he was travelling the world and then Sara, who was with him when he died. His marital and relationship history was described by Clive Tempest in the foreword to ''Making Love: Sexual Love The Divine Way'' as such: "All this time Barry Long's love of woman has remained constant. She is always by his side. Through deep and lasting partnerships he has made his realisations of love real in the midst of everyday living."

Partial bibliography

* ''The Origins of Man and the

'' (1st edition

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

& Kegan Paul 1984) (Barry Long Books, revised edition 1998) ,
(excerpts)
* ''Meditation: A Foundation Course'', (The Barry Long Foundation, 1996) * ''Stillness Is the Way'' (Barry Long Books, 1996) * ''Knowing Yourself: The True in the False'' (Barry Long Books, 1996)
(excerpt)
* ''Only Fear Dies'' (Barry Long Books, 1996)
(excerpt)
* ''To Woman in Love: A Book of Letters'' (Barry Long Books, 1996) * ''Making Love: Sexual Love the Divine Way'' (Barry Long Books, revised edition 1998)
(excerpt)
* ''Raising Children in Love, Justice and Truth ''(Barry Long Books, 1998) * ''To Man in Truth: Enlightening Letters'' (Barry Long Books, 1999)
(excerpt)
* ''The Way In: A Book of Self-Discovery'' (Barry Long Books, 2000)
(excerpt)
* ''A Prayer for Life: The Cause and Cure of Terrorism, War and Human Suffering'', (Barry Long Books, 2002) * ''Where the Spirit Speaks to its Own: The Passion of Spiritual Awakening'', (Barry Long Books, 2003)
(excerpts)
* ''Start Meditating Now, How to stop thinking'' (audiobook – Barry Long Books 2007) * ''A Journey in

Consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

, Exploring the truth behind

existence Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one does ...

'' (audiobook – Barry Long Books 2007) * ''Seeing through Death, Facing the fact without fear'' (audiobook – Barry Long Books 2007) * ''Making Love, Sexual love the

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

way'' (audiobook – Barry Long Books 2007) * ''How to Live

Joy Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

ously, Being true to the law of life'' (audiobook – Barry Long Books 2007) * ''Behind Life and Death; The Boundless

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

'', (The Barry Long Foundation 2008)
(excerpt)
* ''My Life of Love and Truth: A Spiritual Autobiography'' (The Barry Long Foundation 2013) * ''From Here to Reality: My Spiritual Teaching'' (Barry Long Books 2015) * ''Right Meditation: Five steps to reality'' (Barry Long Books 2024) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128893776-right-meditation

References

External links

The Barry Long Foundation International
* Quotes by Barry Long (wikiquote)
Barry Long Bulletin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Barry 1926 births 2003 deaths Australian spiritual teachers Australian spiritual writers Relationships and sexuality writers 20th-century mystics