When Shadow Meets the Bodhisattva
When Shadow Meets the Bodhisattva is an unflinching exploration of the rise and fall of Cohen's organization EnlightenNext, in which the author details his own responsibility for its failure, and the lessons he learned, including the need to deal thoroughly with one’s shadow for continued spiritual growth.
Cohen presents wisdom from his discussions with spiritual leaders including Ken Wilber, Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi, Steve McIntosh, Terry Patten, Doshin Roshi, Sally Kempton, Philip Goldberg, Jeffrey Kripal, and Patricia Albere.
Finally, he shares a new vision for a spirituality of tomorrow, and a modern understanding of the ancient Buddhist model for disseminating enlightened wisdom known as the Triple Gem.
When Shadow Meets the Bodhisattva by Andrew Cohen with Hans Plasqui, foreword by Allan Combs.
ISBN-13: 9781644115909 – available January 24th 2023.
After his very public fall from grace in 2013, renowned spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen vanished from view and underwent a dark night of the soul.
After years of intense introspection and soul-searching, Cohen shares his insights into the failure of his organization EnlightenNext, including his own responsibility for its downfall, as well as a new vision for modern spirituality based on the wisdom of the lessons he learned.
The author details his spiritual initiation, his rapid rise to guruhood, the explosive growth of his spiritual community worldwide, and then--right at the height of its spiritual and creative emergence--its dramatic collapse, which left his students lost, bitter, angry, and confused.
He shares his gripping spiritual odyssey from the heights of illumination, down into the existential ashes of failed aspirations, to the underworld of inner darkness, and back again into the light.
Building upon the lessons he learned, including the need to deal thoroughly with one’s own shadow, Cohen explains the necessity of the guru in spiritual practice, while also exposing the dysfunctions of the traditional guru-disciple model.
He shares insights from his discussions with spiritual leaders, including Ken Wilber, Diane Musho Hamilton, Doshin Roshi, Jeffrey Kripal, and Patricia Albere, revealing how the issues he faced are profoundly relevant to the spiritual community as a whole.
He also shares how his teachings have evolved and sheds light on the art of communicating beyond ego and unleashing the co-creative power of our shared collective intelligence–the key to initiating enlightened change in this world in crisis.
Andrew Cohen teaching at Gia Mantra Village in Tiruvannamalai
Praise for When Shadow Meets the Bodhisattva
Integal Philosopher
and author
“There’s a phenomenon in ancient Arab literature called “the forbidden field”. It is a rare state of consciousness where exceptional saints and poets dwell. Today, that field is reserved for those who can traverse the nondual nature of existence: the deep suffering of the soul’s journey in life as experienced from the realms of Cosmic Consciousness.
Andrew’s book is a bravest testament to that new nonduality at the highest levels. His experiences are universal to all those who answer their transcendent calling in life: The rise to prominence, the wounding, and ultimately the reckoning that annihilates our former selves. It is in that place of surrender that we discover our authentic Self and begin our long journey to this new forbidden field.
Andrew’s searing honesty and rare bravery on the pages of the book, along with the conversations he has with people on the leading edge of consciousness are nothing short of a new guide on how to transcend the ego and the shadow and become a modern-day integral Guru. It’s a compelling read. I couldn’t put it down.”
“This is an extremely important and highly recommended book. It’s beautifully written and comes straight from the spiritual heart.
Get it and read it—it will change your life.”
“This is a book everyone who is sincerely on the spiritual journey should read. In every way, Andrew Cohen’s rise, fall, atonement and the fruits of his journey manifested in new understanding and vision - this is truly the drama of an archetypal hero’s journey. Beyond the historical narrative of his passage, the author so often includes the larger significance of his experience, and its relevance to the current evolutionary scene. He does this with the clarity and integrity so characteristic of his writings. Included in this book is a beautiful review of his teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment, a stand-alone gem. This book is also enriched by the many dialogues the author includes with several leading integral thinkers as they consider various questions raised by his journey.
Make no mistake; this is a book which challenges the reader on many fronts. The reader is asked to balance perceived rights and wrongs of how the Guru position was carried out in the community setting, the consequences to his students, to forgive the teacher’s human failings, and to acknowledge the validity of his transformation. Finally, it is the reader’s heart and soul that must answer whether the Guru’s gift - the realization of one’s True Nature - is worth it all.”
About the Authors
Andrew Cohen
Andrew Cohen is a spiritual teacher, cultural visionary, and founder of the global non-profit EnlightenNext and its award-winning publication EnlightenNext magazine. After the collapse of EnlightenNext in 2013, Cohen took several years off from public teaching.
In 2020, he and a group of collaborators launched Manifest Nirvana, a sanctuary for deep transformation, where 21st century spiritual explorers and integral pioneers will find their home. The author of several books, including Evolutionary Enlightenment, he lives in India.
Hans Plasqui
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