Customer Reviews

Embracing Heaven & Earth: The Liberation Teachings of Andrew Cohen

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's the same everywhere: people raised by materialists, living as materialists, and perhaps passing to future generations, if only indirectly, the cultural creed of superfluous hungering for things of all sorts to ease a day's desire. You're guilty of it, and so am I. You've come here, to this page, looking for something. Very likely you're interested in spiritual matters, perhaps consider yourself a "seeker," and have heard of this new book by Andrew Cohen and decided to check it out, to see (if you're undecided) whether it's worth buying. I promise you that it is, but no doubt similar sentiments can be found alongside every other five-star review for each of the many spiritual books you already own. So let me try to convey to you why after reading this book you won't need another, and why the aimless perusal of the halls of Amazon late on computer-fan-humming weekend nights can finally give way to more fruitful pursuits.

This book holds the highest honor of being both the simplest and most challenging book I've ever read. Simple in style and language, challenging in meaning and persistent imperative, this most flawless transmission of spiritually awakened genius should give any serious reader precisely all that he or she need ever know to engage the war against selfishness and ignorance wholeheartedly. And the real beauty of Andrew's message is in its absolutely universal applicability--and by "universal" I mean exactly that: one gets the sense, when studying this book, that it should properly accompany any sentient creature born into this universe at any time, on any planet, in any galaxy (duly translated, of course). I'm not just gushing up superlatives here. The title of the book means exactly what it says.

Regarding the actual content of the book, everything significant that every truly mystical religious tradition has ever conveyed is here, in both practical and philosophical aspects. The first half is devoted to the foundation of Andrew's teaching, called the Five Tenets of Enlightenment, which are the essential points that any spiritual seeker must thoroughly grasp and employ if his or her goal is the attainment of perfect liberation. These five tenets Andrew has culled from over a decade of incessant work as a teacher, and a well-read student of mysticism should easily recognize the parallels in established religious traditions (such as Tenet 5--"For the Sake of the Whole"--being a highly pragmatic implementation of the Bodhisattva vow, which Andrew's tenet basically renders as: "Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to spare them all from my own ego"), but the beauty of these perennial teachings being shared so lucidly and dogmatically-free cannot be overstated.

The second half of the book deals with such perennial topics as seeing through the illusions of desire, thought, feeling, and time, so clearly that anyone brave enough to listen can't help feeling their ego squirm a bit, and there's also an excellent chapter on meditation (and how to sink to the nondual Ground of Being absolutely effortlessly, Dzogchen-style), which, if successfully engaged in serious practice, should do far more than make the ego squirm. . . .

But the really revolutionary and important point of Andrew's teaching isn't in his remarkably clear explanations of how humans continuously revolve in the samsaric wheel of foolishness (and how they can stop); it isn't in his insistence that the pursuit of freedom take precedence above all other concerns in all times and places (although that's certainly a big part of it); nor is it his unceasing demand that spiritual practice is meaningless if it is expressed in any context outside a life of absolute maturity, sanity, and integrity (and how many spiritual seekers--teachers, even--can claim strict adherence to that?). No, the really revolutionary ingredient in Andrew's recipe of ego-destruction is his definition of enlightenment itself. Too many people these days seem to consider this world to be nothing but an elaborate illusion, an empty dream called negatively "maya" or positively "lila." And deliberately or not, they proceed to use this as an excuse to justify every manner of selfish indulgence and, occasionally, atrocity. Andrew does not deny that the revelation of pure consciousness suddenly makes clear that nothing has ever really happened, that this world is ultimately a dualistic dream of space and time, this and that, you and me. But--and this is what changes everything--he does not stop at that. He insists that this "dream" called life is as real as it gets, and that using the discovery of the Source of creation to dismiss the validity and actuality of creation itself completely misses the whole point of creation--which is nothing less than for every soul to become a conscious instrument of the Absolute, unleashing "the fire of absolute love and ego-defying compassion into this world," thereby flowing in tune with the force of evolution itself and helping this suffering sphere in every way that one possibly can.

What more could you hope for? It's all here, clear as a cloudless mountain sky, and no matter how many books you buy, you'll never find anything better.

I have read many spiritual books during the past twenty years, but none comes even close to Andrew Cohen's newest book, 'Embracing Heaven and Earth'. It is literally a textbook for Liberation. This book is not just words on paper. The words are alive. They vibrate and explode with Andrew Cohen's passionate and inspiring call for each of us to respond to the Evolutionary Impulse, the Mystery beyond name and form, which includes giving up our existential tension, abandoning all beliefs that we are separate from others; from life, and realizing the inherent perfection of Life. In this powerful book Andrew challenges each of us to face into the most profound possibility and potential of the human race and literally become a Messenger of the Divine. This is a must read for anyone who claims to be interested in the spiritual/religious life.

yes, this is what one gets from a young guy who got enlightened in, what, two weeks with the well known INdian "teacher of Masters" Poonja . a couple of weeks was enough to propel Cohen into the guru circuit in the West... sadly enough, the sensitive and talented young man never got a chance ... to be simply human being who actually works for life. its one thing, as this book shows, to fly the Advaita shuttle, another altogether to live an impeccable life.

the "enlightenement" experience is recounted ad nauseam by Cohen... who tends to forget, conveniently, that Poonja soon denounced him as a fake guru, publicity seeker, a bully and a fraud.

It is not that Cohen is saying wrong stuff - the problem is that, like Rajneesh before him, what he says is close to irrelevant given WHO's talking and what he DOES (for a hilarious read check out his mother's book The Mother of God).

I'd take this book as a striking example of the danger lurking in letting the ego seduce one into a "teacher".... and of getting derailed by sudden, overwhelming, all-powerful realizations. Cohen needs disciples like he needs air... and that is fishy.

be that as it may...caveat emptor

"Most of us spend our entire lives alienated from our own depths and, as a result, often experience a puzzling sense of separation from the world in which we live" (p. 65), Andrew Cohen observes. As the title of his book suggests, it is our sacred responsibility to integrate both heaven and earth into our lives. Cohen's promises of enlightenment "here and now" through the practice of five simple tenets, namely "clarity of intention" (pp. 5-15), "the law of volitionality" (pp. 17-27), "face everything and avoid nothing" (pp. 29-34), "impersonality" {pp. 35-40), and "for the sake of the whole" (pp. 41-47) are intriguing. His discussion of meditation as a door to "mystery that cannot be imagined and a depth that cannot be measured" (p. 78) is equally compelling. And his insights into the nature of duality are illuminating. But despite its many strengths, for me, this guide to personal growth just did not live up to all the praise it is receiving.

G. Merritt

This book just says it how it is, this is what the ego fears. It is interesting that there are so many personal attacks on this guy. This shows he is doing something right. Great book on truth, don't care who wrote it because we are all expressions of the one. The teachings are always more significant than the teacher.

J

This man is a charlatan. Instead of reading this rubbish it would be more advisable to have another look at Andersen's story 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. Cohen is a cocky little upstart with a huge inferiority complex and a group of sad gullible followers who do not have the courage to go it alone and would rather surrender their integrity and spirit of skeptical self-enquiry to this autocratic control freak just for the sake of an illusory spiritual comfort and sense of elitist self importance. Tragic.

I agree with my fellow reviewers below that Cohen is tricking people. His manner and way of talking to people when seen in action gives it away. He is clearly not awake rather completely asleep. Actually I feel tired just thinking of him. I cannot write anymore.

There is profound engagement for self-reflecting in this easy to read book. I also recommend 11 Days on the Edge with Andrew Cohen(500 pages) by Micheal wahlberg, where the reader can experience an actual retreat as if one was actually attending,all the tenents are coverd in that book as well as the deep reflections of the author. The Uncommon Path- Awakening to Athentic Joy is by Mick Quinn who was also a student of Andrew Cohen. Quinn's book is very significant to self monitoring progress through discovering unconscious values and noting how we relate to others, providing unique daily focus for monitoring awareness. ----I have recently been lead to Anadi's web site where many of the first chapters of his latest Amazon book-Book of Enlightenment are posted.-----Unlike Cohen's book, Anadi's "map" is more detailed, but seems to significantly fill in the gaps for a seeker with serious intention, especially in regard to the purification of ego and the nature and importance of ego in leading to enlghtenment----Regarding all these reading suggestions, as Dr. David Hawkins states regarding enlightenment:"It is important first to helicopter around and study the territory so as to not get lost in the woods". All truth is the same truth, but I find regardng my own understanding, different teachers are able to provide better clearity to the map to keep me from getting lost in the woods..... To sum up , Cohen is a great teacher, his tenents in this small book, are brillantly stated, profound,and easy to absorb.

Embracing Heaven & Earth is a 96 minute recorded talk by Andrew Cohen when he addressed an attentive audience at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Cohen laid out the complete foundation of his teaches of liberation which he refers to as "The Five Fundamental Tenets of Enlightenment". Very highly recommended for students of Eastern Spirituality, metaphysics and religion, Embracing Heaven & Earth gives listeners an clear and intimate exposition of profound spiritual laws and conveys their immediacy, significance, and life-transforming potential.

If an individual remains in an intermediate state between sleep and wakefullness for a prolonged period of time (e.g. theta wave state) he will experience a variety of sensations which are subjectively described as out-of-body, super-awareness, 'Enlightenment', etc.

This prolonged semi-wakefullness, which can be produced by various means such as meditation, hypnosis, yoga, rhythmic chanting, deep breathing, night driving, evangelical preaching or... monotonous hyperbolic 'teaching' , are physiologically accompanied by chemical changes such as the release of endorphins and changes in serotonin levels.

Staying in this state will produce some psychological effects, some of which may even be beneficial. ...but...

Various charlitans over the years have exploited people's surprise at these effects to set themselves up as 'gurus', teachers etc. and try to make people believe that the guru or teacher is putting them in contact with some mysterious 'cosmic force' ...or 'Enlightment'. Of course the gurus can then exploit their followers and get rich as well as get their narcissism and desire for power over others fed.

This game has been played by evangilical christian preachers as well as the indian yogis.

Cohen is just another cheap guru playing exactly the same game and exploiting the emotionally vulnerable. Cohen discovered this little gambit in a two week stint with an indian yogi and has been gaming his followers ever since.

Cohen's content is a totally bogus word salad and beside the point. If Cohen intrigues you... you should probably go to a licensed psycologist and find out why.