Customer Reviews

Living Enlightenment: A Call for Evolution Beyond Ego

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... Andrew Cohen has been guiding spiritual seekers to the Answer to life's biggest questions for over 16 years, ever since he attained a permanent realization of such enlightenment through his relationship with an Indian guru when he was 30 years old. ... This book, his latest (and more widely accessible volume than his thoroughly detailed manual of enlightenment, "Embracing Heaven & Earth"), is simultaneously a refined, cohesive summary of his previous writings and also something quite new: for the first time, Andrew's full presence seems to seep through the pages with both the passionate urgency of his God-engendered message and the passionate _humor_ of his very human self. This is likely a result of the book being written in conversational Q & A format, transcribed from actual dialogues, and similar to his most popular book, the transcendent "Enlightenment Is a Secret," but it's been done in a way that is, in every sense of the expression, more "fleshed out."

And it covers _everything_, just about everything one could imagine oneself asking an enlightened master if given the opportunity. Over 100 questions are asked, and fully answered, in 20 chapters, with topics ranging from the perennial classics of surrender, humility, and karma, to less familiar ones such as the role of gender differences in the pursuit of enlightenment, or the question of awakening to "the consciousness of absolute zero" beyond time and how that relates to the evolution of manifest consciousness in time. Throughout it all, though, Andrew is insistent on one point above all others: the ego--which is the "emotional and psychological knot in consciousness that is the fundamental cause of the sense of separation from all of life"--must be killed or unraveled, transgressed or transcended, if true Freedom is to be attained. In fact, even though this is something most teachers of enlightenment comment on in some way or another (and historically always have), Andrew takes it deadly seriously, like a classic Zen master, taking an absolute stand against all the games of Narcissus in a way that few teachers in the modern spiritual marketplace--especially those of the Neo-Advaitin brand--seem to approve of. He likens the ego's persistent obsession with its personal melodrama, for example, to constantly sticking one's head in a garbage can and marveling at all the putrid junk inside. "How harsh and cruel, with such an unpleasant tone!" the offended cry. "Just let the ego be, perfect as it is--including everything it does, since it's all pure consciousness anyway--and be free!" they implore. Yet Andrew has been around too long and worked too closely with too many human beings to buy into such shallow, nontransformative nonsense. "Anybody who says the ego isn't a big deal," he has said, "doesn't know what they're talking about." It is this, in part, that has earned him his "rude boy" status, as eloquently described in Ken Wilber's vigorous foreword to the book.

So if you're looking for a candy-coated, sweetness-and-light handbook to spiritual awakening, this definitely ain't it. It is impossible to take what Andrew says in this book seriously--deeply seriously, to the depths of your very soul--and not feel your ego climbing up the walls of your skull, clawing to get away from the overwhelming implications of his message. But if you're genuinely interested in a radical transformation that will shake you to the core, bring to light the heinous nature of the devil inside us all, and ultimately liberate you into an ecstatically alive infinity of Love that is one with the cosmic force of evolution itself--and grounded in the awesome depth of ever-present Mystery--then, as Mr. Wilber concurs, "you have come to the right place."

...you wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole."

that famous quote from J. Krishnamurti is used by the author of "Living Enlightenment," Andrew Cohen (who is also the editor of "What Is Enlightenment?" magazine), to emphasize the enormity of the task of ego-transcendence, and seems to be the basic theme of this incredible book. despite what people like Eckhart Tolle are leading thousands of seekers to believe these days, it is Mr. Cohen's contention that attaining the goal of spiritual life--i.e., enlightenment, awakening, liberation--is much more than a matter of finding "portals to the now" or remaining "mindful." why? because according to him, "true freedom is an all-or-nothing deal. that's just the way it is--it's a spiritual law." (p. 56) and furthermore, he spells out in a remarkably inspiring way the logical fact that the attainment of an ego-transcended state is NOT for the person who attains it. if the individual claimed enlightenment just for themselves and their personal happiness and freedom, there'd obviously still be ego there. rather, the whole point of attaining enlightenment is only for the service of the "evolution of consciousness itself." (p. 123)

i don't know about you, but this stuff gets me excited. Cohen is describing life on the spiritual path as a truly cosmic pursuit--something bigger than our post-modern world could possibly handle (as some of the more cynical reviews posted here testify to). "the whole point," he says, "is that the realization of enlightenment completely destroys the status quo. it blows it to pieces. if you are lucky enough to actually succeed in your quest for liberation in this life then you will become a completely transformed human being and, believe me, you will be seeing things very differently." (pp. 23-24) this stuff is the real deal, folks. even the way the words are written on the page has a simplicity and authority about them that gives a direct transmission of Cohen's enlightened vision and passion. so read it. and live it. because if you don't make the effort to wake up and obliterate the status quo of this world to create a new possibility, who will?

Living Enlightenment: A Call For Evolution Beyond Ego by spiritual mentor and teacher of enlightenment Andrew Cohen, is a frank and informative discussion of the soul's division between the selfish inner essence that is the ego and the pull of that which lies outside the self, including divinity and God. Profound, steady in its exhortations to open up and listen, and emphatic in its embrace for spiritual wholeness, Living Enlightenment is a thought-provoking advocacy and recommended reading for students of human spirituality and metaphysics.

I have read many spiritual books, yet I don't know of any other that has affected me the way this one has. Andrew Cohen communicates with simplicity and precision, yet also with suprising depth and subtlety. I found myself disturbed and intrigued reading this - as many (most!)of my ideas about enlightenment were deeply shaken, replaced by a growing seriousness and demand to live a different and extraordinary human life. The fact that this was the result of reading this book should not have suprised me after reading the foreword by Ken Wilber,in which he warns us that Andrew Cohen is a serious teacher, but what did suprise me is how it seemed to happened. Just reading it, did it. By the time I realized I was intrigued, it was already too late - this book is that experiental. It has actually changed the way I view and think about life,and I find myself deeply grateful. I look forward to reading more from this man.

I agree with the recent reviewers and those mysteriously wiped off recently and no longer here to see that dared criticise him. The problem with Cohen is his complete insecurity. He cannot for a moment bear any criticism but requests complete adulation. I read his books and attended one of his lectures. Never again. He is total ego and loves laughing at people making fun of them in front of others while he has the microphone. I know he desparately seeks enlightenment himself but surely this is not the way Andrew. Try to be nice to people.

From the moment you read the straight-shooting introduction by Ken Wilber, you will get why the perspective Andrew Cohen so clearly and beautifully delineates in this book will open your eyes and heart to a totally captivating inquiry into truth, and one that has the ability to take you as far as you can go in its exact and precise exploration of modern spiritual life. All the questions you could possibly think of asking about how to live an enlightened existence are responded to not only in the words on the pages but in the awakened mind and spirit that is inevitably going to be drawn out by this compelling call to wake up forever. I highly recommend this straightforward dialogue with the soul...

Written and narrated by Andrew Cohen (founder of the spirituality oriented magazine "What Is Enlightenment?"), Living Enlightenment: Spiritual Life In The 21st Century is the 96 minute, single cassette, audiotape companion to the book of the same name. A spiritual audiobook describing author Andrew Cohen's perceptive insights into evolution as the purpose of enlightenment, Living Enlightenment presents a series of extended observations which deftly encourage the listener to transcend tradition and reach out for new visions in the modern era mark. A skillfully narrated and thoughtfully insightful contemplation, Living Enlightenment is very highly recommended to the attention of anyone seeking to improve the quality of their personal spiritual life within the context of the 21st Century.

In twenty relatively short chapters starting with "What is Enlightenment?" and ending with "The Imperative to Evolve", this remarkable book gives any true seeker what might be called, "the keys to the kingdom." Written in dialogue form, Andrew Cohen is asked every possible question a seeker might have and perhaps ones that haven't even been thought of. The answers inform, delight and go deeply into one's being, coming forth, as they do, from one who is undoubtedly truly living enlightenment.
I had read "Living Enlightenment: A Call for Evolution Beyond Ego" a number of years ago and now re-reading it, I am struck by how it is still so totally fresh and relevant for anyone interested in going deeper into the spiritual dimension; interested in a life of depth, greater purpose and wisdom. Andrew Cohen says in the preface why he wrote this book: "I have tried to convey the uncompromising yet ecstatically liberating perspective of enlightenment. And my purpose is to clarify the truly revolutionary nature of that perspective in relationship to the human experience in the Western World at the beginning of the twenty-first century. My hope is that the timeless and always overwhelming impact of this revelation will be able to be intimately felt, intuitively known and directly seen by the reader." Andrew Cohen absolutely fulfills this intention in these illuminating, delightful and penetrating dialogues that bring the reader to an understanding, insight and felt experience into what it means to truly live enlightenment in the twenty-first century. I cannot emphasize enough what a treasure this book is and one that can be read over and over again.

Living Enlightenment: a call to evolution beyond ego is every contemporary spiritual seeker's manual for living a spiritual life in the 21st century. This book should come with a reader's warning, for while the logic and sensibility makes Cohen's explication about the spiritual path go straight in, the power packed in the dharmic punch leaves the small-minded narcissist, the miserly, cynical ego unnerved, unhinged, and scarily unmoored. This book is a tonic to the post-modern soul, and one long needed. It's a call to realize a Freedom that is wholly contemporary, not relativised, but contemporary.

Through its engaging question and answer format, a spiritual perspective emerges that is both modern and profound -- not merely a rephrasing of the timeless, transcendent realization of all the great wisdom traditions, but an evolution of what we understand as spirituality. Not just a "modern" interpretation of enlightenment but an actual path towards a new understanding and expression of the full bodied and full blown realization of enlightenment in this very modern world with all its complexities and challenges. Best of all, the short chapters on all aspects of the spiritual path not only offer answers, but virtually transport you into a new understanding. Hard to believe that simply reading a book can impart a sense of the unpolluted current of life to a modern cynic. But it can, and it does. Reading Living Enlightenment is more than the experience of learning, it's the experience of seeing the world, the ego, the dynamics of human transformation, and the heart of the mystery from the yonder shore, by standing in the shoes of one who already knows, is experiencing, and simultaneously discovering that miracle.

Living Enlightenment is literally a tonic to those who've grown weary on the spiritual path, to those been-there-meditated-that spiritual seekers, to those activists who burned out their passion to change the world a long time ago. It's more than some slogans or reworded quotes from enlightenment teachings. It's a cold-braced wake up call that not only roused me from sleep, but opened my eyes to a new world, a world in potential, a world that has yet to be created but is not far from reach.

This book is a must read, and a must read again and again. For it feeds that fire of the spirit that not only years to realize enlightenment, but to actually endeavor to embody it--as audacious as that sounds--to be that higher, clearer, and most of all SANER person, in this crazy world. Living Enlightenment is more than the author's vision, it's the transference of that inner flame that is all of our inner heart's longing - to be whole, to be free, and most of all to evolve, to engage whole-heartedly, whole-bodied-post-modern thoughts, feelings, responses, conditioning all included-in life. I wholly recommend this book, in fact, if there is but one book you read this year, or even this decade, this should be it.

Andrew Cohen reminds me of the polished BS throwers who used to hang around the student center endlessly debating meaningless questions and trying to impress the chicks.

Anyone with a decent Jesuit education will have covered everything Cohen has to say in the first two semesters...and forgotten about it the following year.

Like those campus philosophers Cohen relies on hyperbolic language and circular reasoning to talk enlessly about nothing and make it sound profound.

The amazing thing is that there are people who believe they have heard him actually say something... just like those people who swore the emperor was actually wearing clothes.