Timeline of Harding's Life and Thoughts

• 1909: Douglas Harding was born in Suffolk, England.

• 1930s: Harding began to question his identity and reality. This period marked the initial development of his philosophical ideas.

• 1943: After years of introspection and philosophical exploration, Harding experienced a profound realization while walking in the Himalayas. He became aware that he had no personal head; instead, he saw himself as an "open, boundless capacity" for the world. This experience was the foundation for Harding's philosophy of "headlessness."

• 1952: Harding published his first book, "The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth." The book attracted attention from notable intellectuals of the time, including C.S. Lewis, who wrote the foreword.

• 1961: He published "On Having No Head," a short, accessible work that provided a more straightforward introduction to his ideas.

• 1970-2007: Over these years, Harding developed a series of experiments to share his insights in workshops and lectures around the world. These "headless experiments" are straightforward, practical activities designed to help others experience their "headless" nature directly.

• 2007: Harding died. His teachings continue to influence people interested in consciousness, identity, and spirituality.

Harding's Philosophy and Examples

Harding's philosophy is often termed "headlessness" or "the headless way." It refers to the experience of one's true identity as the capacity for the world rather than a separate, isolated entity. According to Harding, if we attempt to see our own heads without a mirror, we do not find a head; instead, we find a "boundless space" for the world.

Harding created various experiments to facilitate this experience. Here are a couple of examples:

• The Pointing Experiment: In this simple experiment, Harding asked participants to point to various objects around them and describe what they saw. Then he asked them to point back at the space where they assumed their head to be. Participants often described what they "saw" as empty space or openness.

• The Tube Experiment: Harding asked participants to look through a cardboard tube as if it were a telescope, first at external objects and then back at the spot they believed their head to be. The result was similar: an experience of openness or spaciousness, without any personal head in sight.