Closer Than Close examines the spiritual search – the search for the essential questions of human life: Is there an eternal part of ourselves? What has lasting meaning? Where do we find certainty? Rather than philosophical discussion, it explores living a life devoted to a search for answers, and the radical possibility that answers exist, closer than we can imagine, within our selves.

One remarkable afternoon, seven friends gathered on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, to discuss their longing for a deeper meaning in life, the doubts and distractions that keep them from searching intensely, the friendships developed along the way, and the hope that keeps them looking. Their heartbreaking honesty resonates with all of us who were ever struck by the immensity of life and wondered what it was all about.

Woven within this conversation, we hear from three longtime seekers who found answers to their questions. Much older, they share the story of their early dissatisfaction with life. For one, the realization that “no one really knew what was going on;” for another, having everything he wanted in life, yet finding “something” still missing; and for the third, the undeniable fact of death encountered in Vietnam combat. Each began a unique spiritual search, not following any one teacher or tradition, which eventually culminated in a realization of the true nature of their self and reality.

Closer Than Close leaves us with this thought attributed to the Buddha: “Become a lamp unto yourself. Begin now. Work in earnest.”