Evolutionary Enlightenment: A New Path to Spiritual Awakening [Hardcover]

Andrew Cohen (Author), Deepak Chopra (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2011

THE NEW SPIRITUALITY IS ALL ABOUT EVOLUTION
In Evolutionary Enlightenment: A New Path to Spiritual Awakening, Cohen redefines spirituality for our contemporary world--a world characterized by exponential change and an ever-expanding appreciation for the processes of evolution. Based on 25 years of groundbreaking work as a spiritual teacher and the editor-in-chief of the award-winning EnlightenNext magazine, Cohen has synthesized an original path, practice, and philosophy focused entirely on aligning yourself with what he calls "the evolutionary impulse." His message is simple, yet profound: Life is evolution, and enlightenment is about waking up to this fundamentally creative impulse as your own deepest, most authentic self--so that you can play an active role in creating the future.

EMBRACING CHANGE AS YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Change is a constant in today's world. Technology is accelerating, globalization is making the world more and more complex, and the pace of life seems to be speeding up every day. While many popular forms of contemporary spirituality offer ways to feel better in the face of overwhelming change--to discover greater equanimity, detachment, or compassion--Andrew Cohen says that change is not something to be avoided, or merely tolerated, but an essential aspect of reality that needs to be consciously embraced. Through his five fundamental tenets for living an enlightened life, Cohen empowers you to wholeheartedly participate in the process of change as your own spiritual practice. In doing so, he not only makes deep sense of life today; he shows you how to play an active role in shaping the world of tomorrow.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have admired Andrew Cohen for many years. He is a pioneer in the field of consciousness. Andrew has brought together ancient wisdom traditions, modern cosmology, and a knowledge of evolution to give us a contemporary understanding of the nature of enlightenment. I think he is one of the most important teachers of our time."

-Deepak Chopra, author of "The Soul of Leadership"

About the Author

Andrew Cohen is a spiritual teacher, cultural visionary, and founder of the global nonprofit EnlightenNext and its award-winning publication EnlightenNext magazine. His original teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment redefines spiritual awakening within the context of cosmic evolution and highlights a new understanding of God or Spirit as the creative impulse toward change in both self and culture. After a transformative meeting with the renowned Advaita Vedanta master H.W.L. Poonja in 1986, Cohen began teaching internationally and almost immediately started reshaping the larger cultural conversation about the purpose and significance of enlightenment in our time. He founded EnlightenNext magazine almost twenty years ago as a forum for serious spiritual and philosophical inquiry, and has since become known for his unique capacity to foster culture-changing dialogues among leading thinkers from a wide array of traditions and disciplines.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: SelectBooks; 1ST edition (2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590792092
• ISBN-13: 978-1590792094
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andrew Cohen is a spiritual teacher, cultural visionary, and founder of the global nonprofit EnlightenNext and its award-winning publication EnlightenNext magazine. His original teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment redefines spiritual awakening within the context of cosmic evolution and highlights a new understanding of God or Spirit as the creative impulse toward change in both self and culture. After a transformative meeting with the renowned Advaita Vedanta master H.W.L. Poonja in 1986, Cohen began teaching internationally and almost immediately started reshaping the larger cultural conversation about the purpose and significance of enlightenment in our time. He founded EnlightenNext magazine almost twenty years ago as a forum for serious spiritual and philosophical inquiry, and has since become known for his unique capacity to foster culture-changing dialogues among leading thinkers from a wide array of traditions and disciplines. 

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A new spiritual teaching for the 21st century September 26, 2011

By Andra Kins

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in living a deeply meaningful and purposeful life at the start of the 21st century. Evolutionary Enlightenment, as Andrew Cohen has explained in his new book, is an original, contemporary spiritual teaching having its roots in traditional enlightenment but then going further to contextualize nonduality in an evolutionary context. It points to how we can consciously create a new culture between us based on continuously striving to bring into being higher levels of consciousness.

This book is not just about theory. Cohen outlines his Five Tenets for living an evolutionary enlightened life, and having been engaged in practicing Evolutionary Enlightenment for some 10 years, I find these Tenets ever fresh and new, and a constant source of further contemplation.

Andrew Cohen writes in the book, "The teaching is about catalyzing the miracle of emergence in the interior of the cosmos, in and through our own selves." What is significant about this is that it sets the biggest possible context for our human lives and puts the responsibility for change and creating the future directly in our own hands. Cohen outlines the awe-inspiring power of the evolutionary impulse when it manifests as the spiritual impulse in human beings. This is what Andrew Cohen is bringing to the world - this new and totally relevant interpretation of who we are, and why we are here. It confirms our potential for never ending creativity and integrity. The book is inspiring, easy to read, and totally engaging. It definitely has a transmission coming directly from Cohen. I just want to read it again!

71 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A significant book September 26, 2011

By Joel P. Pitney

Format:Hardcover

The first book I read by Andrew Cohen was 8 years ago. It was called Embracing Heaven & Earth and it hit me like a lightening bolt. What struck me more than anything else was the clarity of Andrew's thinking and the powerful call for deep integrity, which I found quite rare and refreshing for a contemporary spiritual teacher. Now, 10 years after that book was published, Andrew has written a new book and true to its message, it represents a serious evolution in his thinking, in the depth of his transmission, and in the vast breadth of the perspective he brings to the spiritual path. And once again, it blew me away completely.

Reading this book is like attending a month-long intensive retreat with Andrew (and I have been on several), in that he perfectly guides you through a process of discovery that starts from a place of cosmic depth, then dives into the nuts and bolts of human development, then explodes out into the cosmic significance of Evolutionary Enlightenment on an even grander scale.

This is a must read for any lover of rationality with even an inkling of interest in the spiritual dynamics of the self. Cohen's approach is both precise and deep all at the same time. I found myself lifted into a higher state of awareness during most of the book and also more educated about my own experience of being human.
This book is going to change a lot of lives, I'm sure of it.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So well worth the wait! September 26, 2011

By Willa Geertsema

Format:Hardcover

It's been a long time since Andrew Cohen published a book, but this book makes good on that as it is the long-awaited complete summary of his teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment. I knew it was going to be good, but I never expected it to be this accessible, complete, easy to read, and deeply captivating. Cohen takes you by the hand and walks you through time and no-time, all the way from the timeless ground of being and before the Big Bang, through the process of creation, up to this moment when you read this book and feel deeply touched by your own privilege to be alive just now. His language has always changed and morphed over the years, but I think in this book he has found the most direct, moving, profound yet accessible way to bring the evolutionary and enlightened journey across.

Oh, and that doesn't even begin to describe how this book is the "how to" for Ken Wilber's dense writings on Integral Theory, again in profoundly practical, jargon-free language.

While I was reading, I was thinking "I could read this to my mother and she would love it!". At the same time, my own copy is already chewed up, highlighted, and marked on every second page, quoted in my academic writings. I have no doubt this book will be an all-time classic as it brings the most profound teachings in a way that is so 21st-century, relevant, and accessible, that you don't need to "be spiritual" to get it - everyone can get this.