Posts tagged ‘enlightenment’
The Brighter Side of Globalization
I’m an amateur jazz drummer. Last night, as I was surfing my favorite drumming site, drummerworld.com, I came upon the most astounding video. Four very young Japanese women all dressed in punk-chic attire playing the most powerfully virtuosic and soulful jazz I’d heard in a long time: Seeing this video really got me thinking about
Tony Robbins and the Buddha Compare Notes
An imaginary round table discussion with Anthony Robbins and Gautama the Buddha on being the best we can be. I was musing upon an interesting idea: What would it be like if the historical master of enlightenment, Gautama the Buddha and the legendary personal development coach Tony Robbins had a conversation about higher human development?
AUDIO: Enlightenment Is Evolving
For thousands of years, human beings have discovered true freedom and liberation by awakening to timeless, formless Being or what the Buddha called the “unborn” or “uncreated.” Yet the world is evolving and so is our understanding of enlightenment. In the following audio clips—taken from last year’s Being & Becoming retreat in Tuscany— Andrew speaks
VIDEO: Awakening to A Cosmic Purpose
Last week, while Andrew was in London, he was interviewed by British filmmaker and events producer Adrian Silas. Here’s a clip where he speaks about awakening to a cosmic context for human life: “A Window On To Andrew Cohen”….The Adrian Silas Interview With Andrew Cohen 2013. from Adrian Silas on Vimeo.
Why It’s Important to Lose Your Mind (at least twice a year)
I just got back from leading a 9-day meditation retreat in the wild and cactus-filled desert of Arizona. And I feel exuberant, inspired, and powerfully awake to the presence of immanent and seemingly infinite potential–simply because I took a sustained break from our modern world and its unspoken cultural agreements and assumptions about what’s real
AUDIO: Letting Everything Go
The following audio clip is taken from the first day of Andrew’s recent Being and Becoming Retreat in Arizona. In reference to meditation, Andrew makes the profound point that if we want to experience the freedom of enlightened awareness, we have to be willing, at least temporarily, to let absolutely everything go. [Audio clip:
AUDIO: Father Thomas Keating
Below is the audio from Andrew’s recent dialogue with Father Thomas Keating on meditation: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] To download the full audio recording, right-click here and select “Save link as.” The dialogue between Andrew and Father Thomas kicked off a month-long global celebration of spirit that will culminate with the
What Did You Learn from Your Teacher?
Andrew Cohen has a special connection to India. It was the place where he met his last teacher, H.W.L. Poonja, and where he became a teacher himself. Andrew recently told the Sakaal Times about his relationship with Poonja during an interview he conducted via email. You can read the full interview here. Question: We believe
Escape or Enlightenment?
Check out the fourth installment from Andrew’s recent interview with India’s Speaking Tree: Question: What do you think is the reason for the resurgence of interest in all things spiritual? Is it just a fad or more than that? Answer: I’m not so sure there is a ‘resurgence’ in ‘all things spiritual.’ I do
How to Live an Enlightened Life
This is the final part of Andrew’s interview with Intent.com where he describes how the path and the goal of Evolutionary Enlightenment are one in the same: Question: What is your intent in sharing the five fundamental tenets for evolutionary enlightenment with viewers? What do you hope people will come away with? Answer: The five
The Enlightenment Conference
Last week, Andrew gave the opening keynote presentation for the first annual Enlightenment Conference, a global virtual event featuring a wide variety of teachers, philosophers, artists, and activists. The theme of the conference, which is currently under way (Aug 1-21), is the relationship between spiritual awakening and the evolution of culture, which is a topic
The Via Positiva, the Enlightenment and Science – Part Three
This is the third installment in a series of five weekly guest posts from British artist, engineer, graphic designer, and philosopher, Mike King, introducing the Via Positiva – a spiritual orientation that is life-positive and interested in engagement with the world – and exploring its historical roots and discussing the direction he feels it’s pointing
A Different Kind of Transparency
There’s a lot of talk about transparency these days. In the internet age we are letting it all hang out—whatever it is—for better and for worse. And it looks like there’s no going back. Democrats want to know about Mitt Romney’s bank accounts and tax returns, while many government agencies from all over the world
The Science of Consciousness
Here is the next installment of an interview Andrew did for Intent.com where he describes how the teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment aligns with the deepest and most profound understandings of the cosmos that science is continuing to reveal to us: Question: How does the concept of evolutionary enlightenment fit in with modern scientific notions about
The Case for Certainty
People with deep spiritual conviction—from religious fundamentalists to high Himalayan mystics—possess the greatest existential gift of all: certainty. But these days, it’s not a gift that we find it easy to appreciate. And for good reason. For the last 60 years or so, ever since the unthinkable devastation of the two great conflagrations of the
The New Enlightenment
Andrew was recently interviewed for Intent.com about his teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment. Here’s one of his answers where he speaks about why his teaching is different from Traditional Enlightenment teachings: Question: We wanted to begin by asking you about this concept of evolutionary enlightenment — What is it, and how does it differ from the
When God Falls Out of the Sky
In the second decade of the 21st century, God is no longer “up there” ready to save us. Until very recently, that creative principle was something that we would ask for help from. But I believe we have reached a time in history when God, which I would describe as the energy and intelligence
The Light of Consciousness
The overwhelming and profound nature of the spiritual metamorphosis that occurs as one begins to move beyond individual and collective egoic self structures is difficult to convey without knowing about it directly from personal experience. If one had only known the darkness and had never seen the light of the sun, how could it be
VIDEO: The Narcissism Epidemic
In this clip from my interview with BigThink, I describe how narcissism has become a cultural epidemic and what we can do about it:
Karma-Free Sex
Sex. What a compelling topic! As a spiritual teacher, whether I’m giving a lecture or leading a retreat, whenever the subject comes up, a very particular form of focused attention immediately takes over the room. Suddenly everyone is listening very closely, hanging on my every word! Why? Because everybody wants to know the secret.
Andrew Cohen is a spiritual teacher, cultural visionary, founder of EnlightenNext, and the author of 
