A new book - first edition
The ‘I’ Illusion
A traveller’s account of awakening and a step-by-step method of meditative enquiry - from the scary nights of first stillness to the disappearance of the one who was looking. Twenty-one chapters, each with a practice you can try as you read.
By Mitch Hunter
Published 14 December 2026 · Paperback
“We are already the true Self, so how can we find what we already are? The only thing that obstructs this realisation is the illusion of the perceived self.”
From the final chapter
Contents
A step-by-step method of meditative enquiry
Twenty-one chapters in four movements - each carrying a teaching and a practice you can try as you read. Not a story to admire, but a path to walk.
- 1
Clarifying Concepts
Illusion, open awareness, witnessing, truth.
- 2
Developing Compassion
You did not choose the conditions that shaped you.
- 3
Allowing an Open Awareness
The practice of internally doing nothing.
- 4
Witnessing Illusions
Enquiry, or vichāra - meeting what frightens you.
- 5
Harnessing your Mind
You are not the thinking mind; you are what watches it.
Key ideas
Three words to carry with you
Open awareness
Observing your entire experience from a stable, non-reactive view. Uncovered by doing nothing.
Witnessing
Resting in open awareness and turning it toward an illusion until the truth beneath appears.
Truth
Reality clearly as it is, embedded in the present moment. Deeply nourishing, and the natural state.
The author
Mitch Hunter
Meditation teacher
After more than thirty years of meditation and study of the contemplative traditions, Mitch experienced a stabilised awakening in 2019 - a shift that continues to shape the way he teaches. He practises within the Indian Advaita Vedanta tradition, through the grace of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, and is known for distilling classical texts into practical exercises for a Western audience.
Following a decades-long career in physiotherapy and academia, he now spends his time teaching meditation, writing about spiritual reality and mentoring students on the path of self-enquiry. He lives with his family in a coastal town in New South Wales.
“I want people to realise that underneath everything, they’re okay. But I don’t want them to just believe me - I want them to see it for themselves.”
From the book
“What you find inside is not a reflection of your worth but a map of everything that has shaped you.”
“All phenomena of your life are moving, while only you remain still. You have never left home.”
First edition - limited print run
Pre-order The ‘I’ Illusion
Paperback. Signed bookplate for every pre-order placed before publication day.