Thursday, November 3, 2011

In response to Andrew Cohen's New Book EVOLUTIONARY ENLIGHTENMENT: A New Path to Spiritual Awakening

In response to Andrew Cohen's New Book
EVOLUTIONARY ENLIGHTENMENT: A New Path to Spiritual Awakening

by Ta-Wan

[Note: We are frequently contacted via email by publishers who offer free copies of soon-to-be published books for review. I passed on this offer and it seems Ta-Wan has too! ~ Trey]

There are 5 main points raised in this book (which I was put off reading due to the contradictions within these points).
1) Clarity of Intention – Cultivate your own intention to transform by consciously aligning with the evolutionary impulse.

2) The Power of Volition – You are defined by the choices you make. Take responsibility for them and learn to express the best part of who you are.

3) Face Everything and Avoid Nothing – Discover the indomitable strength and freedom that come from facing reality as it is.

4) The Process Perspective – Awaken to the liberating recognition that every dimension of our human experience is part of one vast cosmic process.

5) was just mushy.
Possibly as these points were given meat in the book then there would be certain agreements between the author and myself. This is the way of these spiritual works, there are enough honeypots, that is something obvious dressed in a sweet expression to make your head nod in agreement, and then there are the little bits of bee shit, that is the authors attempt to make the work their own. Bee shit points are claims of this and that backed up with science our pseudo science, later to be proven false years after you've been bathing in honey.

1) intention
2) volition
3) face what is
4) part of one big process

Intention is future-based, something the author sees as a positive. Future-based is though where half of all people already are, they're wishing for the future while the other half regret the past.

Intention is ego-based and attached to one of humanities largest problems, desire.

Volition is the idea we can alter now or the future. You can't alter the future as it is not here and when it is it will be the now. You can't alter the now as it's already happened. Again this is ego-based.

Volition says there is someone to have volition and something to have volition over. This is ego-based and leads people to dream of the future, regret the past and attempt to alter that which is already the case. Again desire based misery.

Facing what is is in contrast to the previous points.

Facing what is is the wisest point here but is not new to this author and as said, is a honey pot in contradiction to his own bee shit.

Part of one big process will be argued by him differently in the book for sure but is he saying this process is other than you? Self and other how unhealthy a notion!

Part of one big process, can his volition and intention compete?

I'd rather not read a book where the main points raised are in contradiction with themselves.

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

1 comment:

  1. Isn't this all just new age self-help (ego-help) wrapped in "original" spiritual insights? Although I suppose he's only inconsistent and contradictory from YOUR point of view. Which of course is no point of view. I'm not impressed either (I think I bought his magazine once and only once). I find him (and Ken Wilber and Eckhart Tolle) kind of annoying).

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