I just came across this bit on that Integral place, based on my wondering "What ever happened to Andrew Cohen?"
Now you should know that I asked the question because I truly didn't know. We go through the internet in phases. Andrew Cohen was about 2 phases ago.
To this bit I had the following thought: "NO NO NO!!!":
I'm not quite sure what a spiritual circle is, but I do know that what I would not call awakening in some way equivalent elimination of the ego. I think you're stuck with that. Do your best. And be humble about it.
Meanwhile, I found out about Andrew Cohen, at least as far as May of this year. Seems a bit narcissistic.
I have to work on that myself...
But, Tathagata, what does Andrew Cohen do with himself from now? Geez, the man's in his 50s and his "spiritual" enterprise has gone kaput. Have some compassion for him, but don't follow him would be my humble offering of advice.
Now you should know that I asked the question because I truly didn't know. We go through the internet in phases. Andrew Cohen was about 2 phases ago.
To this bit I had the following thought: "NO NO NO!!!":
In spiritual circles there is a lack of agreement on what is positively meant by enlightenment on the one hand and ego on the other hand. There exists, however, a consensus on what enlightenment and ego mean in a negative sense. Enlightenment, so goes the general agreement, is what the ego is not and vice versa. Someone who is enlightened has transcended the ego. Someone who is still immersed in his ego, is not enlightened.
I'm not quite sure what a spiritual circle is, but I do know that what I would not call awakening in some way equivalent elimination of the ego. I think you're stuck with that. Do your best. And be humble about it.
Meanwhile, I found out about Andrew Cohen, at least as far as May of this year. Seems a bit narcissistic.
I have to work on that myself...
But, Tathagata, what does Andrew Cohen do with himself from now? Geez, the man's in his 50s and his "spiritual" enterprise has gone kaput. Have some compassion for him, but don't follow him would be my humble offering of advice.
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Say you take a shower, and you get really, really clean. You go to someone who's supposed to be an expert on cleanliness. He says, "Sweet baby Jesus, I've never seen anyone as clean as you! You've achieved complete, perfect, permanent cleanliness." You feel wonderful, knowing that you never need be concerned with showering or laundry or brushing your teeth ever again.
It's likely that this situation won't end well. It would have been so much better if the "expert" had told that getting clean is good, but don't get carried away. Every day you get dirty, so you can't stop bathing regularly.
Andrew Cohen got some big special mind experience decades ago. He really needed a teacher to tell him something like, "Hey, it's nice you got that experience, but like everything else, it's impermanent. If you stop making the effort to find clarity and compassion moment-to-moment, you'll just fall into one delusion after another, no matter what memories you've got of temporary big experiences."
Instead, Andrew had a teacher who told him he was enlightened, as if that were something he had gotten and could keep in his pocket forever. Andrew stopped showering (metaphorically), and the results were inevitable.
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