The Damnedest Thing - Book One of The Enlightenment Trilogy

When I started reading this book I was quite excited. Some of what I was reading was familiar......that which I have heard from spiritual teachers in the past....and it was written in a way I found very enjoyable. I was marking some sections, making some notes....but I began to notice some descripencies.....then a LOT of descripencies. What started as a "breath of fresh air" began to turn into just another book of ramblings written by someone whose ego is only matched by his imagination. I went online and googled this guy. I won't spoil the surprise.....do it yourself. Some people take the journeys of their souls seriously. I am one of them. If you are too, don't waste your time, money or more importantly, your energy on this book.

"Spiritual Enlightenment The Damnedest Thing" applies to the book more than it does spiritual enlightenment. Why it ever got published in the first place, why anyone gave it glowing reviews, or, even more mind boggling, why anyone actually read it, completely escapes me.

I am incredibly grateful to this book. It has caused me to grow in so many ways. It was the honesty I needed to actually face myself and my myriad of life controlling fears. The universe lead me to this book and I am thankful.

This is a volatile book. If you choose to take a long, hard look at the overall picture McKenna is presenting, it will shake your foundation. It will spur you to question all assumptions about existence. The book's ability to bring about a true audit of your assumptions (regardless of whether you like it or not) is reason enough to make it an extremely beneficial read.

If you have highly cherished beliefs you aren't willing to part with, this book will do no more than make you angry. I assume you are reading up on this because you aren't satisfied with your life. Remember, our minds dictate our reality. If we aren't willing to change our minds our reality won't change either.

Any giant leap in consciousness requires a dramatic rewriting of our internal maps. This is really uncomfortable, and requires a willingness to abandon any concept that shows itself to be no longer useful, no matter how much we may love or value it. In order to benefit from this book you must be willing to let go of preconceived notions. Even if an idea seems crazy, if there may be even a morsel of truth, entertain it for a while without judgment. If it resonates with your gut, internalize that morsel and move forward. If it doesn't, no harm done. Move on.

THE CLINCHER: To exist within the ego is illusion. Judgment is the glue that holds this illusion together. So if your aim is to spiritually expand outside the boundaries of your ego and seek after truth, don't judge anything, especially this book.

BOTTOM LINE:
If you aren't ready to get very, very uncomfortable, this might not be the book for you. It really is a bit of a billy club. For some people, that is exactly what they need, and for others, it'll just send them scurrying further into their holes. Go with your intuition (not your fear). Do you feel moved to get this book? Then do it. If you don't feel moved, then by all means, pass it up and go find something that does move you. We all have different paths to truth and different timing. This may or may not fit into yours.

PS: FOR RELATIVELY LIGHTER READING:
If you have no desire to exit the illusion you're living but want to be more joyful and at peace in the experience, or if you just don't want to endure a billy clubbing at this time, a better choice would be McKenna's third book, Spiritual Warfare (the title is misleading). It focuses on living in harmony with the flow of the universe, for a more present and fulfilled experience: AKA - Human Adulthood. I found it to be more practical for the average spiritual seeker, and delightfully insightful in many ways.

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IN REGARDS TO READER REACTIONS: For those who want a grittier evaluation and guide.

WHAT ABOUT MCKENNA'S EGO?
I understand completely why various reviewers have attacked McKenna's ego. His writing style is completely irreverent and shocking (not to mention hilarious). At first glance it seems very cocky. But I really don't see this as an ego driven book, and here is why: The author's humor style is utterly sarcastic. He makes fun of everything, himself included. He finds existence absurd. If you've watched the show South Park, you may have noticed the writers act out completely absurd story lines as a way of making commentary. You can't take what the characters say as face value for what the writers actually mean. McKenna is the same. His seeming egoistic comments make fun of the ego itself. He says things like "Jed McKenna action figure sold separately," which is an over the top statement that is meant to be so. It pokes fun at our desire to be idolized and to idolize others. When you choose to get riled up and take his humor seriously, you miss the point he is making. He likes stirring up trouble. Don't make it so easy for him ;-)

THE WORD ENLIGHTENMENT:
The word enlightenment is no more than a word that McKenna has used to get his point across. He could have used any word, but he chose this as it is the most misunderstood. People generally think of enlightenment as being abiding truth realization. McKenna points out that what we call enlightenment isn't actually abiding truth realization at all. He makes an important distinction between waking up within the dream (of ego existence), and waking up and exiting the dream altogether. He describes exiting the dream as being actual abiding truth realization. This is something people rarely ever actualize, and for good reason (the dream is fun). Most enlightenment seekers think they want to exit the dream, but what they are actually after is to wake up within it but still be part of it (like when you have a lucid dream). McKenna calls this Human Adulthood. He does not condemn Human Adulthood (and goes far out of his way to encourages it). He simply makes the distinction between the two to help you make an informed decision.

DOES HE DESPISE THE NON-ENLIGHTENED?
McKenna does not despise those who don't want to choose the path he has followed. In fact, he discourages us from doing so. He's utterly burned out on the illusion, that is why he endeavored to exit it. That tends to bleed into his writing. In one of his imagined talks with Maya, the goddess of illusion, she makes fun of him for his negativity. In his response he clearly concedes that his negativity is silly. He states multiple times that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the dream itself and that it actually is an amazing thing.

UNCOMFORTABLE ISN'T A BAD THING:
If you read this book and start feeling icky, don't just up and ditch. Ego is the tool by which we stay secured nicely within the illusion. Your ego's greatest fear is for you to internalize the understanding that it doesn't actually exist. It will do anything to keep you from internalizing this, seeing as it doesn't want to die (it only exists when you believe in it). When you happen upon a truth that endangers your ego's standing it will create a massive amount of fear and negative responses in order to scare you away. I'm not saying that feeling uncomfortable is always a good thing, but it certainly can be. Don't screen it out just because you don't like the feeling. Doing so will keep you stuck in the harbor. Work through it to see what it can show you.

DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA:
You've gotta take this guy's style with a certain grain of salt. His shtick is waking people up by shaking them. I call him the grim reaper of enlightenment. He's purposely trying to get people out of their lofty little clouds and give them a reality check, and in doing so he tends to go overbore. His dark, melodramatic interpretation is belied by little stories that are scattered throughout, where he feels grateful and blissful. After reading three of his books it is clear that he has absolutely enjoyed and is thankful for the journey of existing in the form of "Jed", regardless of how it seems. Dark, sarcastic drama is his STYLE. Every human has their own style with something to be gained from it. This happens to be his.

ENLIGHTENED PEOPLE DON'T ACT LIKE THAT:
This is the sentiment of many. But seriously, ask yourself: How do you know what an enlightened person acts like? How do you even know what enlightenment (abiding-truth realization, as a permanent state of consciousness) is like? You've never experienced it yourself have you? I haven't. We have no gauge for these things. I'm not sure where we got the idea that those who have realized the truth of the universe have to be nice and quiet and super joyful and peaceful and all loving. There is no rule anywhere that says they must act like that. On the contrary, if you truly realized the illusory nature of existence, it seems reasonable that you may not feel as moved to act like a saint. On the contrary, it may free you up to play with existence however you like (be that loving or not). I realize this isn't a comfortable notion, but as mentioned previously, comfort has little to do with truth.

SEEMING CONTRADICTIONS:
McKenna seems to contradict himself all the time. But here's the trick: All concepts are based within the illusion. They are only useful in that they can help us understand the gist of truth. They can point us in the right direction. They will always end up contradicting each other in some way because they are inherently flawed. There is no way to describe truth without it sounding like a contradiction, because truth is everything and nothing and that is a contradiction in itself (as far as our dualistic, self-limited, articulating minds are able to comprehend, that is).

POSSIBLE DEPRESSION:
This book may depress you. It might put you into a funk for two weeks. It might put you in a funk for 2 years. In the long run, that could be a good thing if it points you in the direction you are wanting to go. If you are actually, truly, really, honest to goodness, swear on your grandmother's grave, gas pedal to the floor serious about finding truth, this is a must read (disregarding the fact that in the universe there are no rules and there is no must).

And with all that talk of doom and gloom, I still recommend it with a resounding and glad, indispensable five stars with thanks to McKenna and the universe. Bring it on.

Hope this info helps!

Don't waste your time. What kind of Teacher claims to be enlightened but speaks only from the ego with no heart or soul? If this is what being awakened is about, then I don't want any part of it. What a bunch of crap.

Most people probably see Jed's books as guides to awakening, but as much as I love these books, I don't really look at them like that. I see them primarily as works of comedy for awake people. If you're looking to understand the nature of reality, I wouldn't recommend these books unless your heart is nudging you to read them, and I don't think Jed would either. He would tell you to look within for your answers, which is really what any spiritual teacher worth their salt would say. The difference is that Jed would also leave a "kick me" sign on your back as you walked away to teach you a lesson about seeking answers anywhere else.

It's worth noting that no one actually knows who Jed McKenna is. The books are written in the first person, but it seems pretty clear that the locations and people described in the books don't actually exist. Many people have tried to figure out who he is, and there are a few theories, it's still a mystery. My guess is that they are written by either a) an "enlightened master" who just wants to say what he damn well pleases for once instead of being so careful with words or working from within a particular tradition or b) some awake person living a quiet life somewhere who has some wisdom to share but has no interest in becoming a "spiritual teacher". Some folks believe that the Jed books are just written as a big "f**k you" to the enlightenment community and to the idea of enlightenment in general, that they are just making fun of all things spiritual and messing with anyone pursuing enlightenment rather than trying to offer something of value. I suppose that's possible, but there's too much Truth in there for me to believe that they were written by someone who doesn't understand Truth. I could be wrong, though. All I can say is that I love them and found them to be hilarious.

At any rate, if you're looking for enlightenment, or more specifically for help with connecting with the enlightenment that already resides within you, I'd recommend something by Adyashanti. The message is basically the same, but Adya's stuff is clearer and less amusing. The price you pay for the hilarity in Jed's work (and oh my god, there is much, much hilarity) is clarity. If you already understand Truth, that won't make any difference , but if you're struggling to wake up, Jed's provocative and in-your-face style could potentially lead to existential confusion and a cosmic feeling of not-getting-The-Joke. That is of course because the books are basically one big cosmic joke. The more you understand the cosmos, the funnier the books will be - you will read them multiple times and find yourself laughing uncontrollably again and again as his words inspire anew in you an appreciation of the amazingly beautiful wonder of the absurdity of existence. If you come to these books looking for Truth, be forewarned: you will always find precisely what you need (whether or not you know what that is), but what you find in these books may be frightening, disorienting, disturbing, or even enraging. They will challenge everything you hold to be true.

Buyer beware.

And enjoy!

There are lot of issues with the self professed enlightened one Jed McKenna (a pseudonym?). To begin, there is nothing he actually says that could possibly colloborate his claim to be "enlightened."

The irony is that he asserts throughout his book that it doesn't exist. There are so many things that are so outlandish and unsubstantiated that one gets the feeling he says it all just to sound or appear provocative. He just shoots off the cuff dishing out vapid spiritual metaphors, making random associations about storms, and recounting conversations with an 18 year old girl.

According to Jed, he guesses that probably no more than 50 enlightened beings like him exist in the world at any given time. He really just comes across as some creepy armchair guru trying to pass as a regular guy, who has read a lot of spiritual books, got fed up with meditation and his own spiritual quest, and now spends a lot of time sitting at his computer writing on his quasi ashram in the middle of Iowa pounding out his life journal.

Jed McKenna is not Jed McKenna, and he is not enlightened. The person hiding behind Jed McKenna is a spiritual cynic who loftly sits in his recliner belitting people on their own personal spiritual journeys.

Let's put it this way, if you don't mind dumpster diving, you might find some gems in this book. You just have to sort and cut through a lot of the rubbish.

Thanks Jed. I'm done

This book really is filled with piercing, pinpoint wisdom about the true non-dual nature of Reality, as well as unrepentant condemnation of all the "spiritual paths" that don't lead to it, but actually take you further from that Reality. However, the author(s) have forgotten one of the main attributes of that Reality, pure Is-ness & Silence, and have chosen to take hundreds of pages, in self-aggrandizing, novelized form, to say what could easily be distilled down to maybe 10 pages total.

One assumes this is done for "entertainment," or because, as "Jed McKenna" claims around chapter 5, that he "had to get this out of his system" (definitely NOT the words of a fully awakened being, who feel no such urges.) And if you're new to the idea of a non-dual Universe and your place in it, and feel like getting your introduction to this wisdom as a form of "info-tainment," you may find McKenna's books useful. If you just want the wisdom without McKenna's incredible arrogance or all the asides about his bucolic Iowa farm with it's 2 satellite TVs and regular procession of deluded souls coming through that McKenna needs to "enlighten," just read/listen to Ramana Maharshi, Adyashanti, or Sri Nisargaddata. It's all there, in a much more succinct, non-self-important way

This cult best-seller book appears to be a fictional work centered around a person named Jed Mckenna, supposedly an enlightened person that lives in Iowa from 1988 to 2000. If anyone has taken Landmark Forum Course (or EST - Erhard Seminar Training) , there is a similarity here. To hammer the point, the author uses crucial conversations to get us to realize the depth of our illusory minds.

This book is of similar conversational or theatrical style as the Book of EST, a fictional account of the EST training created by Werner Erhard ( Erhard Seminars Training or Landmark Forum), first published in 1976, written by Luke Rhinehart (pen name of writer George Cockroft ). In theatrical manner, the book attempts to replicate the experience of the spiritual seeker, with the reader being put in intimate animated conversations. There is a lot of mention of Zen, The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda, and some Hinduism.

Fictional or not, it does not really matter as the book is ultimately about the reader, in which all realities occur. The real question is: does it point to the truth or not? Debating whether the events or conversations actually took place or they are all metaphors, or who Jed McKenna really is (or if Jed is really enlightened) , misses the point entirely; as by doing so, the experiencer, the reader can easily avoid or deny looking at the real issue : the reader's own mind (ego - false sense of self).

Speaking from a position of authority, Jed describes that there is no such thing as spiritual enlightenment and all the spiritual marketplaces products (methods, techniques, solutions, etc) offered by most spiritual teachers are useless.

The content may appear to be offensive to some readers, but repeatedly in the book, Jed indicates that he or this teaching is only a signpost. Do not confuse the signpost with the actual thing. If someone points to the moon – don’t just look at the finger – because you will miss the moon and you think the finger is the moon.

In this entertaining book, the author provides fictional conversations centered around a few archetypes (for the reader to identify with):
1. people who felt never good enough ( feeling of worthless or abandonment ) .
2. people who are not true spiritual seekers, but simply are looking to add more knowledge or spiritual repertoire to their sense of self
3. people who unknowingly created complex mental concepts from religion or philosophy and do not realize that they are ultimately are prisoners of their mental constructs.
4. people who are true seekers, which will pay everything to get to the truth

The thesis of the book is Spiritual Autolysis, i.e. You need to think for yourself and test everything to see if it is true. Do not believe any belief, thought, or anything in your mind. And do not let outside authority fool you.

I also recommend the book Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle and the Mystique of Enlightenment by U.G. Krishnamurti.

Jed Mckenna does not exist. The name on the cover of Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing is a pseudonym for the actual author who wishes to remain anonymous. However, what’s more important is this: is the author enlightened? And, even more to the point, will reading this book help me to become enlightened?

The answer to the first question, in my opinion, is yes. Words that emanate from Truth (as opposed to ego) are spontaneously recognized by that exact same pure, undivided, infinite aliveness in all of us. Truth stands on its own and does not need a belief to support it. The wisdom woven into the books storyline of a middle-aged male spiritual teacher living in America’s heartland feels authentic. The writing is direct and to the point, and should prove helpful to any serious seeker whose heart longs for freedom.

“For instance, I myself am enlightened, right here, right now. I am free of delusion and unbound by ego… My knowledge is unflawed and my vision is unobstructed. I am not handing something down that was handed down to me. I’m here, now, telling you what I see in the most straightforward possible terms. If that sounds harsh, then get used to it. My message isn’t that you should believe me about what it’s like here, but that you can come see for yourself.” –Jed McKenna

As you can see from the above quote, Jed is nothing if not confident and direct. As such, more than a few readers have had their egoic identity triggered and trashed the book. Even some “new-age spiritual types” have a problem with McKenna, since he doesn’t follow the popular notion that everyone’s truth is just as valid as anyone else’s. No, in fact he is saying just the opposite: NOBODY has the truth simply because the truth is not something you can possess. Why? BECAUSE IT’S WHAT YOU ALREADY ARE!!! How can the ocean possess the ocean?

Therefore, the idea of seeking is known as the great Cosmic joke: Consciousness getting lost in form, temporarily forgetting itself, so it can have the experience of awakening to itself from every perspective imaginable and unimaginable. As a friend of mine said, “Everyone’s awakening alarm clock goes off at different times,” so it’s impossible to predict when this “self-remembering” of our original nature will kick-in. Until then, we are unknowingly lost in maya; the mind’s dualistic dream where we mistake ourselves for our thoughts.

“Imagine you’re in the audience watching a play, and you slowly come to realize that the actors don’t know they’re actors. They think that they’re normal people going about their normal lives, unaware that they’re on a stage, performing. You could never even believe such a thing would be possible if you hadn’t been up there yourself believing the same thing.” –Jed McKenna
Seeing this directly for yourself, that you are not your body or your thoughts, but pure timeless Consciousness (in which the body, thoughts, and the world arise in, i.e., time), is what is called enlightenment.

In the book, Mckenna lives in a big house in Iowa which he calls, “a rural American ashram,” where spiritual seekers visit him. Says Jed: “At any given time there seem to be fifteen or twenty students living in the house. They stay here for awhile, they talk with me, they take care of things. They come. They go.”

Throughout the text, Jed shares the dialogues he has with some of his students. He mostly tries to get them to answer their own questions, since he knows they have to see this for themselves in order for it to have any real power. That said, Mckenna doesn’t shy away from dropping the hammer on common misconceptions. For example, take the belief that something has gone “WRONG” in our Life:

“The truth, though, is that nothing is really wrong. Nothing is ever wrong and nothing can be wrong. It’s not even wrong to believe that something is wrong. Wrong is simply not possible. As Alexander Pope wrote, ‘One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.’ Wrongness is in the eye of the beholder and nowhere else.” -Jed McKenna

So what Jed is saying is that it’s not possible for Life to make a mistake. That even having the thought, “that’s a mistake” isn’t a mistake! That in WHOLENESS what could be separate to “know” that a mistake had occurred?
That said, he also makes the astute observation that the illusion that “there are things wrong” is what drives the collective consciousness; it’s what keeps the dream going:

“The perception of wrongness, however, is absolutely critical to the perpetuation of the human drama, right up there with the illusion of separateness and the certainty of free will. Drama requires conflict; no conflict, no drama. If something isn’t wrong, then nothing needs to be made right, which would mean that nothing needs to be done.

Heights need not be scaled nor depths plumbed. Wealth and power need not be acquired. Future generations need not be spawned. Art need not be created, nor skyscrapers erected. Wars need not be fought. Religions and philosophies need not be devised. Teeth need not be flossed. The belief that something is wrong is the fire under the ass of humanity. –Jed McKenna

And so suddenly, you realize that “right” and “wrong” are beside the point. That “right” and “wrong” are stories we tell ourselves about what happened AFTER the fact. The Reality is there’s only whatever is happening. And as Byron Katie says, “When you argue with Reality you lose, but only 100% of the time.”

“Fear, regardless of what face it wears, is the engine that drives humans as individuals and humanity as a species.” –Jed McKenna

Not only does this underlying fear drive almost all our actions, but it keeps the ego constantly busy. For if we keep moving, keep doing, keep acquiring, we avoid stopping long enough to consider who it is we are supposedly doing all this for?? Who is this “i,” I take myself to be? “Are there one of me or two?”, as Eckhart Tolle famously asked himself just before awakening.
“All fear is ultimately fear of no-self.” –Jed McKenna

Final Thoughts
As you may have guessed, if you like your spiritual teaching warm and fuzzy, Jed Mckenna’s Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing is NOT for you. Like an expert swordsman, he skillfully and ruthlessly destroys one commonly held spiritual belief after another. And yet, unlike most books, the author makes no attempt to try to talk you into seeing things his way. Because then it would still be a belief. Rather, he invites you to look for yourself… that way you will know from your own direct experience:

“My way, the way I point, has nothing in its favor except that its true and its truth can be known directly, which cannot be said about anything else. Everything else about my way sucks, and the truth bit is no pot of gold either. Truth makes for a very uncompanionly companion. Not warm, not comforting, not connected. Just true. –Jed McKenna

-Michael Jeffreys

I enjoyed Don Ruiz's "Four Agreements" along with his other Toltec Wisdom books on seeing things the way they are (and not just the way we prefer to see) in a simple, straightforward manner. When I described to people what I read about and practiced in the 4 Agreements et. al, a couple of people commented 'that sounds a lot like Jed McKenna'. The latest person with the comment shared his copies of Jed's books with me and I am eternally grateful. Right from the start of Damnedest, Jed makes it clear that the truth is 'that which cannot be simpler' and proceeds to show the reader how to remove at least some of the [sometimes] mountainous amounts of layers of illusion, disinformation, and other distortions our egos cling onto so that the opportunity to witness universal truths clearly can return to us.

The book centers around a raised ranch that he either owns or rents in Iowa where many students seeking what they think is spiritual enlightenment come to learn and interact with Jed. Jed shows the various levels of attachment in his narrative and reflects several times on his own prior attachments that he had and how he overcame them. He does have a harsh contempts for the spiritual marketplace, as he views it as another excuse for the blind to lead the blind or make their not-seeing more comfortable; the focus from his (and my) point of view is supposed to be on taking the blinders off and being able to remove the blinders at will. In this way, the finder can use knowledge and symbolism as a tool for communication (to yourself and between other humans), not solely as a means for ignorant attachment. Ironically, in the bigger scheme of things, everything happens in the universe for a reason and all of the dream state phenomena is what makes life so interesting. Jed acknowledges this also and this may initially throw some people off with its apparent contradiction (e.g. Why 'wake up' if it is boring or unexciting?).

I can understand how some of Jed comments can appear to be arrogant, but when you are serious about wanting to snap out of the dream state, it takes a certain rigorous commitment. The commitment is to be focused on removing what is not true (mainly ego and mind distortion of reality) and not just blindly doing 'feel good', 'sounds exotic' solutions like meditation, yoga, mantras, guru worship, reading [foreign/exotic sounding] textbook. He did not write Damnedest or any of the other Enlightenment Trilogy books for the casual seeker and clearly does not apologize for this. Non-dual awareness is something that must be experienced, and while the steps are simple (from a mechanical standpoint), it is the actual implementation that will be met with massive amounts of ego-ic resistance from the thinking part of your mind all the way to your subconscious. After all, your ego is a full time reality-distorter that allow you to have your personal importance, point of view, personality, etc. If you want to get rid of all that, or at least be able to lift/push it out of the way to get an unobstructed view of the world, Jed provides an actionable and accountable method to do so (not the only method....see below).

The majority of the negative comments of this book (and/or trilogy) make Jed out to be an egotistical madman who only thinks that his version of awakening is correct. Most of those people never actually read the book, as Jed makes it clear not to worship or cling onto him or any teacher for that matter, but instead keep your attention on the real work of 'waking up' (being able to make a clear distinction between the dream/ego-ic state from a state of non-dual awareness). He is critical of many alternative spiritual books and teachings because (and he points out numerous times) the core approach of these majority of the teachers are not designed to produce students capable of non-dual awareness; instead the students produced just follow the teacher or practice techniques that have the appearance of 'doing something'....but not actually awakening from delusion. It's not much different than many of the public (and private) fool systems educating the masses today to be consumers and accept authority, not critical thinkers and people who value (and take responsibility for) their personal liberty.

The comments that attempt to negate Jed's teachings by putting his biographical/historical background into question (did he exist? did he really teach students in Iowa/New York? etc.) Who cares whether the work was partially or entirely fictional? Isn't the systems and methods taught judged on your ability to achieve results? In other words, if your goal is to figure out what is true in your life, has the spiritual autolysis method as laid out in numerous examples in the book fulfilled this purpose in part or totality? Do you have a better understanding of how the ego creates an amazing/seductive illusion for you to remain in the dream state?

I have listened to all 4 of Jed McKenna's books several times with the audiobook versions of the book. Damnedest, Spiritually Incorrect, and Spiritual Warfare (Enlightenment trilogy) and Jed McKenna's Notebook. Quite lengthy, with each book 10 cd's long @ appx 1.2 hours per disk (Notebook is only 7, I think). The audio books made this material much easier to digest, especially as I was on the go or wanted to quietly reflect on the reading material. And the speakers picked to do the voiceovers were engaging with their tones, placing proper emphasis on certain words and phrases drive home a point. I think misinterpretation was less likely, especially due to the length of the book.

The only other book I've seen that is a bit lighter and more practical about 'enlightenment' is what many people may not suspect: Don Miguel Ruiz Toltec wisdom (The Four Agreements,The Voice of Knowledge,The Mastery of Love, etc. Again, I recommend the audio versions. Ruiz has a faster approach to evaluating how we construct our egos into what they are today, and provides more direct, systematic approach to deconstructing the ego in a way that allows the user to still get on with their daily life in the direction of their own truth (self-mastery).

It takes a lot of personal courage to remove delusion at its core (in your mind). Removing your attachment to knowledge, whenever successful, gives you the ability to experience things as they are. Jed McKenna provides a more concrete definition to an elusive topic of spiritual enlightenment and gives the reader a mechanical ability to witness this non-dual awareness for themselves. Then what do you do with your new found enlightenment: books 2 and 3 of the trilogy go into more details with what some of the possibilities are with all that "light". It is up to you to explore whatever possibilities you want.

When a convicted conman from Canada disappears because he is under investigation by the RCMP he reinvents himself as the Invisible Enlightened Guru Jed MCKenna ! Thats right the real author is Kenneth Robert McMordie Ponzi Scheme creator of the Manna Trading Trust and Manna Charity Trust. He stole $40- $16 million dollars and was fined $6 million by BC Security Commission. Google him for yourself. One thing is certain Ken is trickster and repeat offender he is Mr DeTax Canada selling nonsense kits .. But now he scams the spiritual seekers with the perfect scam enlightenment without any effort. The ultimate earner that can't be closed down the authorities can't stop him and he gets a slice of the $12 Billion industry of spirituality. Hiding in Cambodia running a dodgy children charity ? What's the truth here ? expats in paedo heaven and his forum selling coaching to become enlightened all seem at odd with his books. That is until you wake up and realise KenJed is master conman and unaccountable thief and pathological liar.Nothing in the books is true all the words are hollow like Ken. Actions speak louder then words even in his Maya fantasy which is nothing more then a convenient justification to live with with himself.. It's all just a Maya illusion for the amusement of the Brahmin Consciousness.. Hey you can commit any crime because it doesn't matter there are no consequences. Once a fraudster conman always one .. Ken couldn't lay straight in bed let alone know the truth. Do yourself a big favour keep your money and spend it on a real teacher with integrity. Screw you Ken Jed I want my money back for those 4 books I bought.
Time I visited Snooky and collected the debit in person.. Love Ya not ..

Jed is actually scam artist Ken McMordie and his books are fictional. The evidence is there for those who care to look. That may not matter to some as the book is somewhat entertaining, but is the author scamming his clients once again or did he actually achieve enlightenment?

The fundamental problem with this book is the bullying, cynical tone which makes the reader feel almost as if its a problem to have not achieved enlightenment. What's unfortunate is that the authors life is so bland, and to describe in his own words "banal." Now this could lead the reader to believe that this terrible fate is what lies ahead for them- closed heartedness, playstation and all. In truth, one can wake up and feel more love than ever for a wife, kids, the feeling of rain on bare skin amongst other things. True life is a game, but it is not MERELY a game. It's a wonderful piece of art full of laughs, tears, love and hate. Being awakened doesn't mean that you're going to end up with a life as bland as the authors. All that said, if you are well on the road, this is a useful tool.

This book had me laughing out loud in every chapter. That isn't too denigrate the book in the least. It was a rather auspiciously timed kick in the ass that, literally, I felt at times I'd written to myself. Sometimes surrealistic (as it should be) it is, as far as I'm concerned, the fictional McKenna's best. And yes, he is fictional! Of course he is fictional.

The best, and my most favorite book ever written. It changed my life for the better, and I was able to abandon the ridiculous pursuit of enlightenment I'd wasted my time on for half my life. Now it's all good.

Bookstore shelves are filled with how-to books and numerous volumes telling us what we should think, believe and feel. There are aisles of texts that claim to be the path to enlightenment. If you read them all you might come away with one passage, here and there, that makes an impact on your soul's journey. You may indeed discover fodder for thought and contemplation. You will certainly find a good deal of conflicting information and a whole lot of stuff that just fills the pages between the covers and makes a pretty penny for the publishers. Where do you turn when you want some straight answers, but your neighborhood simply does not have it's own guru upon the highest hill?

"Spiritual Enlightenment, The Damnedest Thing" by Jed McKenna. Why this book? Why this guy? It takes a true master to take a topic that has been studied since humans could communicate and describe it in simplicity. It takes a teacher who is fluent in the language of butterflies to convey the message to the awaiting caterpillars, that it is indeed possible to make the transition through chrysalis and emerge glorious. One simply must let go of being a caterpillar. It is the how of it that complicates things for people.

Jed McKenna introduces the reader to his current life and the atmosphere that surrounds it, in eastern Iowa, where he lives among the students who have sought him out. Here we see the interaction of teacher and student and the wisdom that is relayed. Having been through it all already, Jed knows how to help his students by challenging them to find the answers for themselves, and not simply quoting the masters as law.

The book is not full of fluff and fancy. Jed does not take you by the hand and lead you through your journey. But he does take the mystery out of mysticism. He does show us what enlightenment is, or rather, is not. I have only one other time found an enlightenment book to be so readable and engaging as this. Referring to Walt Whitman, Tao Te Ching and Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of Zen Buddhism, while using examples such as skydiving, Lara Croft, and watching a thunderstorm, Jed attempts to shed light on questions many of us have on our journeys. And he does. He explains why so many have failed to find enlightenment and how this can be avoided. Once you are on the journey though, once you have made the breakthrough, if it is right, you will become obsessed with uncovering the truth.

Each reader may find something just a bit different from the next to connect with and utilize in this book. You may uncover a truth within yourself or you may lose yourself. Which takes you further toward enlightenment? You'll have to read it and see what it does for you.

"My interest in self inquiry was sudden and unexpected: during an extreme "dark night of the soul" experience, I had a massive, catastrophic collapse which left me spent and speechless.

This collapse was sudden, left me completely empty, with not even one ounce of resistance left, with no more answers of any sort, in a sort of cathartic and limp state.

While I sat in this darkened, private library in the middle of the night, mentally and spiritually exhausted, in final dispair, with absolutely no clue on what to do with my next breath, much less the rest of my life, a most peculiar phenomena occured: sitting in absolute silence, I noticed.... thoughts.... arising to me.

Mind you: these were no longer 'my thoughts".

For some peculiar reason, in this stillness, it was spectacularly clear to me, that these thoughts, which were arising in the stillness of 'me', were not me at all, or, more specifically, that what I was had to be something quite separate from these thoughts.

This was a profoundly unsettling awareness; in fact, it completely shattered my world. The only thing I was certain about was that I was uncertain about everything.

Thus began this journey"

Written under an assumed pen name, this book would be easy to ignore if it was not so damned entertaining while being so frightfully honest.

'Jed McKenna' is one of the few remaining Westerners I would enjoy meeting."

The truth is ... Jed is a nihilist, but his writing style hooked me immediately as it is ala Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins! I loved his razor sharp narrative, and know that I am easily influenced when my mind is so highly entertained. Of course, he sounded like an egomaniac but what a hoot! If we want to 'not' feel separate, which is the ego's reason d'être then any true spiritual warrior is going to have to annihilate, right? Ok here is where I could offer some criticism of Jed, rather than discounting all the great wisdom traditions how about giving them some credit, even though clearly the results are not entirely favorable. The world "is" evolving at a death defying pace. What are we going to do, let Maya have her way, wait for the second coming, hope we get dealt a better hand next life? Let's just say that Jed's book can actually greatly assist in creating more enlightened people, how are we going to behave when we step back into our ego to function in the world? I have only read the first book, and will most definitely read the other two. But first, a large notebook jumped into view for me today so I shall commence my Spiritual Autoalysis, even though my ego is trying real hard to tell me I already know the truth! I have Adyashanti's book, 'The End of Your World', it was good, but Jed's writing style went right down my alley and hit a strike!

Idries Shah in Iowa? That's the impression I got. Shah is never mentioned, just a lot of Rumi, so there is a Sufi influence here. But that's the thing. Any clever writer who has read "all the books" could come up with this. Does the author even exist? It reads like a slice of life novel so maybe the author/character is fictional? Is he "enlightened" (I hate that word)? How would I know. What I know for sure is that I'm not "enlightened" so I'm not qualified to make any determinations. However, if you have read New Age Con-Men like Deepak Chopra, Drunvalo Melchizedic, or Carlos Castaneda, you now that an intelligent person who reads enough books can come up with something like this without being "enlightened" except to lighten your pocket book. Cynical? A bit. As stated, there is nothing new here, its all been said by others before "Jed". Shah's books are far more intelligent; however, this is could be considered "Shah for Dummies". Is it worth reading. Yes, it is. Is it a four or five star book? No. I've given it three not to demean it, but to acknowledge that Catch-22 is an example of a five star book and this ain't Catch-22. The author is not in the same league as all of the other authors he quotes. Its a book by a first time author and it shows. But I will read it again and I'm not in the least bit sorry that I bought it.

Idries Shah in Iowa? That's the impression I got. Shah is never mentioned, just a lot of Rumi, so there is a Sufi influence here. But that's the thing. Any clever writer who has read "all the books" could come up with this. Does the author even exist? It reads like a slice of life novel so maybe the author/character is fictional? Is he "enlightened" (I hate that word)? How would I know. What I know for sure is that I'm not "enlightened" so I'm not qualified to make any determinations. However, if you have read New Age Con-Men like Deepak Chopra, Drunvalo Melchizedic, or Carlos Castaneda, you now that an intelligent person who reads enough books can come up with something like this without being "enlightened" except to lighten your pocket book. Cynical? A bit. As stated, there is nothing new here, its all been said by others before "Jed". Shah's books are far more intelligent; however, this is could be considered "Shah for Dummies". Is it worth reading. Yes, it is. Is it a four or five star book? No. I've given it three not to demean it, but to acknowledge that Catch-22 is an example of a five star book and this ain't Catch-22. The author is not in the same league as all of the other authors he quotes. Its a book by a first time author and it shows. But I will read it again and I'm not in the least bit sorry that I bought it.

Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing by Jed McKenna is a book with a no-nonsense approach to enlightenment. If you are following a spiritual path just keep searching for the truth and you will know it when it comes.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Are You In Spiritual Darkness Or Are You On The Path To Enlightenment? +++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some time ago after about 25 years of spiritual seeking, I decided to close the door on my vast library of enlightening books, and just be present with what I actually knew after all that time. I spent a great deal of time in the silence...time that used to be spent reading someone else's take on the path. What I found in the silence was fascinating and profound. If someone has an expectation about the journey and what it's supposed to do for you then perhaps Mr. McKenna's work blows the doors off the experience. For me, it reminded me how grateful I am that I stopped being a seeker, and stopped leaving something so valuable to the discernment of someone else. I don 't know the author but I am certain at this moment, I have all I 'll ever need from him. I passed the book on to the charity donation box.

Would an enlightened person consider suicide a viable alternative to confinement to a wheelchair or a bad case of the hiccups?(Paraphrased sentiments from "Spiritual Warfare") If, like me, you believe that honoring life is basic to any true spiritual teaching, then you'd be justified to pass on the teachings of Jed McKenna.

Nowhere to be found, the author has to date, been left unaccountable for his writings. He manipulates readers into a gullible stupor with clever tales of alleged interactions with attentive yet utterly hopeless pupils. His disgust for them, and us, is apparent. Actually, it's unlikely that the events ever took place. Even Jed McKenna himself, as Jed McKenna, may very well not exist. To me, it all comes across as fiction and should be labeled as such. Therein lies my only real objection, albeit a strong one. The author convincingly preaches a path that most likely would lead to depression, anarchy and destruction. The imperfect world seems unbearable to the Jed McKenna character, who is portrayed to fantasize about his own death and even looks for opportunities to cause it.

"Spiritual Warfare" begins with the story of Jed McKenna running from armed policemen who, out of boredom, he has taunted. The little adventure ends with an officer threatening to kill him if he moves, leading Jed to seriously consider the option of turning his head to end his life. Really fun, enlightened stuff!

The author's esoteric "method" of enlightenment, called "spiritual autolysis," is utterly impotent. You are asked to attempt to prove the truth of anything, and supposedly the inability to do so leads to your enlightenment. So I ask, does the inability to prove something make it untrue? And how do you prove its UNtruth? Also, at what point does enough proof equal truth? In essence, how much proof do you need to accept the truth of something? A livable life is built on levels of acceptance, not proof. So how is Jed's method not an exercise in futility except to receive his permission to call yourself enlightened and cool like him.
Don't believe this imposter.

This review is for all three of the spiritual books by "Jed Mckenna", because what I have to say here applies to all three of them.

First, I must get a few of the flaws out of the way. As other reviewers have noted, you have to wonder why someone who has so much scorn for the spiritual industry would go so over-the-top in printing glowing reviews from so many teachers from that same industry for several pages in the beginning of his first book. Perhaps selling books isn't so far from the top of Mr. McKenna's list of values and motivations for writing? Don't know.

Which brings up the other up-front flaw: There is little or no evidence that there is a spiritual teacher by the name of Jed Mckenna. He may be a guy who has achieved notable realization and just wants his privacy. But as a disembodied writer with no apparent connection to a flesh and blood human, it becomes difficult to gauge the sincerity of what he has to say, especially because it can be pretty challenging to most spiritual seekers. After all, you can say incredibly inflammatory and deceitful things with ease if you never are held accountable for them, except through emails, letters and book reviews which you can easily dismiss or ignore. Realization is a state of being, and without knowing that being in an in-person, flesh-and-blood manner, one is just left with words. And as a result, those words must be taken with a grain of salt. The same is true for the words in the bible or any other holy book, but one would hope that a contemporary spiritual treatise would come with the benefit of more than just words.

Which brings me to what I like about the books. They are simple, direct, well-written and low on BS. By reducing his teaching to a very clear and uncomplicated directive (truth-seeking), he cuts through the myriad layers of guru-worship, dogma, self-deception, delusion, manipulation and lies that clutter so much of the cultural dialog and accumulated beliefs regarding spirituality and enlightenment. He calls a spade a spade, and I find this incredibly refreshing. Unfortunately, this type of thinking is still taboo and iconoclastic today, especially regarding spirituality. And by encouraging the seeker to be his or her own authority in the search for truth, McKenna undermines hundreds of years of programming that has suggested that the truth is "out there" - in priests, ascended masters, divine avatars and charismatic teachers - rather than being closer to us than our own breath. Even though this isn't a new idea, the commercialization of it (as he discusses in his criticism of most modern Zen) has totally neutered the power of the plain wisdom of this perspective.

So if you are bright and have a low tolerance for BS and want a simple, direct understanding of spirituality, this is well worth your time. Be prepared to perhaps have several cherished and loved ideas regarding spirituality challenged. And if you don't like those types of challenges, then these books aren't for you. But if you want to get to the truth bad enough and are willing to burn up anything that gets in your way, these are your friends. Besides, the third book has the best exploration of a higher perspective on manifestation and it's relation to the awakened state that this well-read reviewer has ever come across.

However, there is one major flaw in these books. I am glad it is there though. If you want books to give you the answer or the truth on a platter, you will always be deceived and led astray. But if you want books to stimulate your own thinking so you can better grapple with the questions of life and have a vital, personal inquiry, then the flaws of one seeker can actually help you better understand your own journey, like the grain of sand that transforms from an irritant into a pearl.

Throughout the books, the author repeatedly states that enlightenment is an abiding state of non-dual awareness. Simple enough. Yet throughout all three books, and especially in the last two, he makes it clear that the unawakened state is a scummy, miserable, toxic state to be stuck in and that the awakened or adult state is what we should all be aspiring to, if not achieving. He likens the predominant state of humanity to a sewer that one should try to escape from at all costs. In other words state A (the adult or the awakened state of non-duality) is far far superior to state B (the sleeping, dualistic state that most of humanity is in). This premise is the core of the flaw in Mr. McKenna's teachings because it is duplicitous; this perspective is steeped in duality. To say that anything is superior to something else firmly establishes a dual perspective. And not only does Mr. McKenna set this perspective up firmly throughout all three books, but at times he gets quite nasty about it when dealing with those he deems as asleep (like the book discussion group in book 2). With so much emotional charge around the issue of how unconscious the majority of humanity is and so much rejection of their dualistic and somnolent state, he continues to ingrain the dual perspective both in himself and in his undiscriminating readers. One also has to wonder if the guy has a lot of unresolved emotional issues and is just spiritually bypassing to get to his "enlightened" state. If Mr. McKenna's non-dual realization was as solid as he claims, why would he be so riled up about how most of humanity is asleep? It seems to me that true non-dualism sees the beauty and perfection in everything just the way it is, awake or asleep. This doesn't mean that if one wants to awaken that one shouldn't head in that direction. But to do so out of rejection (or downright scorn) for the unawakened state is just to further mire oneself in duality and sleep. Perhaps Mr. McKenna's state of non-dual awareness is not as abiding as he would like himself and others to believe. And this makes sense since his method is largely intellectual and thus it may not seep deep enough down into one's being, as another reviewer noted in quoting Osho.

I'm not judging him. I'm just pointing out a major flaw in his teaching. But again, I'm glad it's there because contemplation of his teaching has led me to this discrimination and has greatly helped me in my own search. That's what good books do. And by that measure, these books were pretty good for me!

~
Before this review goes any further, please accept this advice: Get this book! As soon as possible and by any means, read Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing. When you've finished reading through the epilogue, you'll either think that it was an interesting and entertaining book, or, if you "get it", it will radically change what you ~think~ is your life! You may be unaffected, you may be altered, but odds are strong that you won't be disappointed.
Writing this review is risky. As the book suggests, what is written as "truth" today will seem silly tomorrow. Notwithstanding that, this review approaches SE:TDT from two very different points of view.
From the usual, everyday perspective, the book is a wonderful experience, worthy of the time spent for anyone who enjoys reading books plucked from the "New Age" section regarding enlightenment, spirituality and various paths available to "seekers." As most reviewers have written, the author's masterful style, candor and wit make the book an enjoyable and provocative read. You'll take offense with the author's blunt condemnation of any practice other than self-autolysis (self-enquiry) only to the degree that you believe in what you've been doing so far. Some readers may find this approach unnerving and caustic, others may find it simply direct and pointed.

The nits that some readers pick regarding the promotional blurbs, the cover image or title, or their disagreement with some of the beliefs and concepts in the text seem to be nothing more than red herrings, evidence of ego-in-action, and a wild miss from the point (or pointing) of the book. Rather, with approximately 30% of the U.S. population ready to make the shift to second-tier consciousness, it seems that Wisefool Press knows exactly how to target-market the book. This book was written for a specific audience, and they did everything they needed to do to get this book into your hands. (And guess what, folks; It's NOT about making money.)
Look again. Read between the lines as well as beyond the concepts. See the recursive (but not paradoxical) nature of this book. If you have a thorn in your foot, you could use another thorn to remove it, then throw both thorns away. Use whatever "concepts" or "beliefs" are in this book as a tool to remove all your current beliefs, and then throw away both the beliefs and the book. Neither will be necessary anymore.
For "No. Belief. Is. True." Including this one.
So, from another perspective: This book does not exist. Without doubt, as several reviewers have speculated, a "Jed McKenna" does not exist. "You" do not exist and "I" do not exist. This review does not exist. Everything you think you are is illusory, and every belief you have is false...without exception. "Nothing that says two, not one, survives."
With that understanding and the insight that "there's only one of us here", who wrote this book? (Pronouns fail miserably, here.) Read the following out loud, using "I" as a pointer to the indescribable, impersonal, boundless "I" that is Truth, and not the "i" you sense as a separate, ego-bound body-mind organism:

"~I~ wrote this book, in order that ~I~ might wake myself up and find my way back home. In the depths of my 15 billion years of sleep, I'm whispering to myself, "Wake up, and see who ~I~ really am.""
What an outstanding piece of work!

Just when you think you know it all spiritually, it is good to read a book like this. This book had me so entertained and intrigued that I read it way faster than I normally read books. Funny how some reviewers seem to think they know what truth is, and whether Jed knows. How can anyone possible know what truth is? One valuable consideration (among many) that I got from this book is that just when you think you know what is true -- if you really take a look -- it doesn't take long before you realize it isn't. This alone can help people get off the spiritual seeking and belief system treadmills.

This book is challenging to anyone with a belief system, especially those who wrap themselves up a bit too tightly in the cosmic-consciousness spirituality scene and their current set of beliefs. It helps us to see how silly we can be, especially when we take any spiritual belief seriously.

This book is hilarious while it challenges us and broadens our perspectives regarding spiritual practices and whether they are really worthwhile, or if they are taking us on a merry-go-round.

Well, this is quite 'enlightening' and very funny. However, the author writes from his experience from the nothingness of the Void. All spiritual seekers go through this. (A seeker must go through the Darkness of the Void to get to the Light of Reality) It's a natural sequence of seeking. Eventually even that is transcended, for beyond the 'this' is actually mystical experience, bliss, etc. In the void mysticism, bliss IS horse pucky.

I give it a three simply because from the awareness of that which transcends the void, one finds an eternal light of truth and beauty. I give it a three so the reader can accept that the point of view in the void where his awareness is at the time of writing, is not the Reality. Just know that's it's a natural step that we all go through, just don't stop seeking and get stuck in the void. Keep going. There comes a time when you can refuse the Void, side step it and ask to be guided to spiritual Truth and Reality. It's There.

This book is incredibly witty and helpful for anyone looking for spiritual truth. I don't agree with all of Jed's beliefs about enlightenment, but he still has more than enough "good stuff" in his trilogy. Someday I will buy the other two parts.
Now, I received this book as a birthday gift yesterday and, when I opened the mailing package, the entire bottom half of the book was soaked through with water. I am very disappointed with the delivery. It was ordered through the store prime, so beware!

This book about one man's experience of enlightenment and his life teaching others about it at a small Iowa ashram is a fantastic exercise in critical thinking. Well-written and entertaining to read, it offers a valuable perspective on the difference between the kind of yummy, mystical unity experience that most people assume is enlightenment, and what McKenna refers to as actual truth realization, the rather less comfortable process of losing complete identification with your sense of self.

The book is so enjoyable to read, it took me a while to notice the numerous contradictions within it. The author spends a lot of time making absolute statements based in the authority of his self-proclaimed enlightenment, while at the same time warning readers to be wary of listening to people like him. In addition, I couldn't quite shake questions about whether or not the book is the true memoir it presents itself to be, or if it is instead the creative product of some Iowa Writer's Workshop student who got waylaid in Fairfield for a time. While many of his insights feel spot on, I could find no other information on this teacher or his supposed Iowa ashram anywhere. I find it hard to believe that a teacher so skilled could remain completely under the radar if, he is, in fact a real person. Some may feel that the information within it is so valuable that it doesn't matter, but I find the idea that a book that claims to be about essential truth might in fact be based on a fundamental falsehood more than a little ironic.

Gaaaaaaaaaah. Not only the back cover but the _first ten pages_ of this book are filled with glowing reviews by the representatives of today's Illuminatus Industry, praising Jed McKenna to the skies, carrying on about how marvellously enlightened he is, and crowing about how this book is Just What The World Needs Today. Man, by the time you get done reading those, you'll be ready to toss (a) the book in the trash and (b) your cookies.
Well, don't. In spite of all of the sell-it-to-the-seekers tub-thumping, it's actually a pretty good book. (And you have to wonder why so many of these folks have so heartily endorsed a book that heaps so much well-deserved scorn on the spiritual-fashion industry. Maybe they don't think he meant _them_.)
On the plus side, there's the total absence of crap on the subject of enlightenment itself. This McKenna distinguishes carefully from both religiosity and mystical experience. Neither of these, he says, has squat to do with enlightenment, which is nothing more or less than abiding nondual awareness (a.k.a. "no-self"). His no-nonsense advice on how to get there comes down to this: just keep asking yourself what's true until you know. But it's not for everybody, getting to it is pretty painful, and the cottage industry that has grown up around it is actually selling something else.
Well, that's nice, and his lack of bull-puckey on the subject is refreshing. Heck, enlightenment aside, he's fun to read just to enjoy a little healthy irreverence toward vegetarianism, the practice of mindfulness, and umpteen other brands of Fashion Spirituality.
McKenna also seems to be a pretty decent and interesting guy in his meatspace persona. Much of the narrative really just conveys the flavor of his own life and character, so it's a good thing he turns out to be reasonably pleasant company -- astringent, curmudgeonly, genially cynical, and often funny as hell.
On the minus side, there's the presence of a certain amount of crap on lots of _other_ subjects. For my taste, the hard-boiled lookie-what-an-illusion-busting-realist-I-am tone gets old after about the first ten or twenty pages. The Zen masters of legend are usually content to give somebody a single sharp blow with a stick; this guy goes at you with a meat axe, over and over and over and over. Readers of _Radical Honesty_ (whose author Brad Blanton provides one of the cover endorsements) may enjoy this sort of thing; I don't, and I don't find it either especially radical or especially honest.
And -- much more seriously -- there's _way_ too much chatter about how unreal everybody else looks to somebody in that there state of abiding nondual awareness. McKenna is constantly pointing out that from his view-from-nowhere vantage point, everybody in the world is just a fictional character in a sort of cosmic soap opera. This would be annoying enough even if it were true just as it stands, and it isn't. Sure, there's something to it, and Ramana Maharshi got some good mileage out of the truth underlying this overstatement. But to hear McKenna tell it in his Holden-Caulfield-among-the-illuminati patter, somebody with nondual awareness would be mighty hard to tell from a straight-up sociopath.
Don't let that stop you from reading it; just watch for the stuff that sounds out of balance. Besides, that dramatic-rhetorical stuff (which is all it is) may be just what readers of some temperaments need. Just bear in mind that real nondualism doesn't dismiss actual people as unreal or fictional; this is as much an untruth as the contrary statement that we're simply "real" just as we seem to ourselves. In Hindu terms, folks, maya is Brahma too.
By the way, I'm not altogether sure whether the narrative portions of the book are strictly nonfiction or even whether "Jed McKenna" is a real person (in the usual sense of the words); it's entirely possible that the whole thing is as fictional as its author says all the rest of us are anyway. It doesn't much matter, though.

Yes, the book is essentially self-published, and whoever was helping Jed with the effort got rather carried away with the endorsements. So what? It's very engaging, fun to read, hits very hard, and, well, it works. I used to be a "seeker". I read this book and chewed on it (and myself) more or less nonstop for about a year and a half, and then I was done.

Your mileage may vary, but if you're tired of "seeking" and want to Know, check this book out.

Irreverent, tough, gritty, brooks no BS and cuts out centuries of cultural accretion. Not for the weak of heart who want awakening to be about feeling... something, anything, as long as it's REALLY, REALLY good. Cuts away the unnecessary, and gets down to just the truth, and does it in very contemporary language and with LOTS of humor. A classic.

This book has absolutely moved me on from where I didnt even know I needed moving on from. It has peeled the scales from my eyes about the nature of the spiritual world I have been part of for years. It has made a bonfire in my heart for truth that had died down to comfortable, manageable embers. It has made so much of my life and thoughts about spirituality seem shallow and I am grateful for that- that I get to see that. I definitely feel it's a book that read at the right time can be enormously beneficial. Awakening. I am very glad it came into my life- actually, gratitude is too small a word. I can only guess it wasn't the right time, maybe, for the negative reviewers, to trigger what it has triggered in me. An opening, a moving forward.
I feel it is possibly the most powerful spiritual book, well, just forget the spiritual, the most powerful book I have ever read, although many others may have prepared me to be able to hear it.
And I am reading the 2nd book right now, and it's awesome too. Actually, I just don't feel I can accurately put into words the effects of these books on me.

The author is lucid and rational in describing his own brand of enlightement, but the problem is that anyone who is seeking this enlightened state who is too strict in his/her own definition of it is acting no better than a fundamentalist. He claims he has no teaching, but his teaching is very specific: search out what is true, and continue until you distill out pure awareness as the only truth. The only problem with that is that it doesn't work for everyone because not everyone is intellectually inclined- different minds have different methods, and this approach will only work for, well, the author. Someone who is emotionally or mystically inclined will not get it the way he sees it. But rather than accepting the idea that different individuals have different paths to enlightened states, Mckenna disreguards every other path and believes those who think this will never gel into his particular form of "enlightenment".

There are many enlightened individuals who have arrived at realization without going through the processes that McKenna describes. But instead, he believes his world is THE world. His partcular beliefs ARE reality ( they are, but only to HIM).

Be careful if this is the path for you: understand that his teachings may apply to you, but not to everybody else. Individuals who are labeled "enlightened" ooze with certainty. But just because someone is certain does not mean that they have truth, only that they are certain of THEIR own truth.

Enlightenment is what you make of it. Just start respecting the living spirit working in your life each moment, whether it's walking in the rain, exercising, reading a book, or brushing your teeth. And as you grow on your own path realize it can change as you change. If your perception of enlightenment changes then abandon your search if it no longer holds the same attraction for you. Only you can ever be an expert in hindsight on how you yourself reached what you consider enlightenment. We need to put away the myths of what enlightenment is and understand that it can be many different things depending on your personality, beliefs, and culture, etc. There are no rules, and NOBODY is an expert for EVERYBODY.

McKenna is good to demolish ALL beliefs and starting all over again just with certainties (discarding all beliefs). Descartes did that just at the beginning of his method but could not keep his promise after that. Descartes used his famous phrase "I think so I am" to recognise "to be" as the only subjectively verifiable "real truth". Mckenna goes beyond Descartes; that is important.

BUT McKenna fails very bad about moral issues. He says in page 189 of this reviewed book:

"... they (the students) might manage to broaden their own limited definition of God. Krishna cheats, lies, murders and is cowardly at various times throughout the great epic, and that's something that anyone coming from a God's-a-jolly-good-fellow mindset might have trouble processing. Krishna, however, is not a god of love and light; he represents the whole thing, so in him all qualities must be found. A god of love and goodness would be merely a single aspect of a god who is defined as absolute. Krishna is the personification of the absolute, so if you leave child molester or genocidal maniac or puppy kicker out of him due to your own delicate sensibilities, then you've redefined him as something finite and we must come up with a new name for the absolute."

On the other side of the spectrum, Timothy Conway said in his website:

"Neo-Advaita or Pseudo-Advaita and Real Advaita- Nonduality

"Prefatory Remark on the Crucial Need for Critical Thinking

"Some spiritual teachers and their disciples have become boxed into a viewpoint which constrains them to only see whatever happens as "good" or "perfect" or even as "nothing really happening," and have abandoned all capacity for evaluating phenomena and distinguishing what we can identify as the 3 levels of nondual Reality (level 3: the conventional level of the "appropriate & inappropriate," "right and wrong," "justice & injustice"; level 2: the "psychic heavenly truth" that whatever happens for all immortal souls is "perfect," the "exquisite manifestation of Divine Will," the "flawless play of Awareness" bringing these souls Home to God-Realization; and level 1: the Absolute level of Reality, wherein it is realized that whatever happens is a dream, so nothing is really happening, there are no distinct worlds, no distinct beings, only GOD, only Divine Awareness)."
...
"Yet critical thinking is the ancient art, expressed on the conventional level of daily reality, of assessing or evaluating beliefs and consequent behavior for the sake of the individual and common good, that which fully serves us, not weakens or imbalances us. Critical thinking can 1) identify any faulty thinking, self-deception, blind spots, distortion, misinformation, propaganda, and prejudice on the cognitive level of our views, and 2) identify external attitudes and behaviors that don't serve our private and public welfare--the commonweal; i.e., attitudes and behaviors that don't truly free us and empower us and/or fail to accord with an ethics and value-system promoting authentic liberation, justice and fairness."
...
"A woman is being raped or a child is being physically abused on the street? No problem for the pseudo-advaitin. "It's all just a dream. Nothing's really happening."

In the Zen tradition there is a saying, "Nothing matters... and everything matters."

Who is the judge? It doesn't matter, we have to be in the right side about moral issues meanwhile we are moving in the level 3 of the reality, the conventional one, the ordinary. When we move in the level 1 of reality that is another story.

[...]

A new genre in enlightenment literature is especially welcomed.
Jed writes like a zen cowboy, serving up spirituality with beef steaks and beans. Whilst that may not be to the liking of your common-all-garden peace-loving vegetarian buddhist, it does create a mean iconoclastic novelette.
But while one is performing Mckenna's practice of "Spiritual Autolysis", and finding oneself being digested by one's own religious juices, what is one going to do when one starts freaking out, as the false identity break ups?
Jed is all in favor of toughing it out but when it gets too tough, or when one gets stuck, who are you gonna call?
Not Jed! Because Jed is out of reach. This is one Buddha on the road that needn't be killed because this Buddha doesn't exist. For all we know Jed Mckenna is just a playwright kicking up daisies in Iowa, or Idaho or even NYC.
So, do we really need another dead, inaccessible writer-teachers to follow in the footsteps of Tuesday Lobsang Rampa or Wu Wei Wu (Terence Gray) who sow their conceptual seed and disappear back into the anonymity of the modern crowd (or mountains in the case of Lao Tzu)?
Is Jed real? Several well-known names in the non-dual field gave McKenna glowing pre-publication reports. While Jed may be a good writer he may not be even a mediocre teacher, i.e. someone who will sit with a student day and night, through the highs, lows and freak-outs until they breakthrough the illusory veils.
It is easy to talk, to appear to be a teacher, behind the comfort of a carefully crafted work of fiction but what happens when the writer appears in the daylight? Then their real test and challenge begins.
I welcome the new breed of teachers who are prepared to break spiritual molds like Brad Blanton, comment intelligently on the contemporary Advaita scene like Satyam Nadeen, be unique like John de Ruiter and obtain incredible results like Dave Oshana which challenge the laziness inherent in non-dualism.
And I welcome Jed McKenna to join the field instead of kicking up daisies in Iowa or writing plays in NYC.

The beginning of the book critiques the profitable guru/disciple game, yet the item proclaiming this is a commercial, for profit, book. What is stunning about that (at least to this reviewer) is the numerous positive "THIS IS IT" reviews garnered by the effort and not one pointing out this glaring irony.
Though fairly well written, with a modicum of humor & somewhat entertaining, it is obvious the character of Jed McKenna is pure fiction making any claim of the character's enlightenment moot. The level of understanding of various religious/philosophical approaches is sophomoric & would not impress even an earnest first year spiritual seeker. He adores Zen which is, of course, the easiest philosophy to espouse without any understanding whatsoever as it defies definition. It's rather like saying "Ahhh....Bach" and looking rapturously skyward when queried about classical music rather then admit you know nothing about the subject.

It's also ironic that while decrying all spiritual disciplines practices, and paths to attain enlightenment, he then puts forth his own....autolysis. And then has the temerity to proclaim it's THE ONLY way. Please
Spending money for this book merely proves out the cynicism Jed McKenna expounds; namely, that seekers will spend anything for any promise of enlightenment, no matter how dim. They'll even buy this book recounting it's wonders rather then admit (see?) their folly. Perhaps Jed McKenna is right on one score....we (the readers) ARE deluded and soundly asleep.

There are many good points in this book, especially what it means to destroy the ego, But I must say that Jed McKenna, although full of many spiritual insights, is anything but enlightened. By his definition, I must also be enlightened too. In 1988 my ego and the entire world was annihilated. I had gone beyond the white light and into the nothingness of the dark void where there was no self. When I eventually tried to return I couldn't find my body, so I chanted the Hare Krishna mantra and two beings put me back in my body. When I returned I was still stuck with my ego and life continued. SO WHAT! BIG DEAL! It's not a place I want to end up. A few years later I entered the golden light of Brahman, and then returned. Same as it ever was. I certainly didn't inflate my ego and pretend I was enlightened. I only realized I had to go further. So Jed, I suggest you too go further.

If one looks at the life of a true realized sage such as Ramana Maharshi (which jed quotes) you will see that he brought his enlightenment back with him, and it wasn't a dark void. It was full of life. Ramana didn't speak much, he would spend most of his day in Samadhi and all those who entered his presence were soon transformed. At one point he lived in a cave with a tiger. When the villagers built him a small ashram, one day dacoits came and beat everyone with clubs, especially Ramana Maharshi. After the beating he asked the dacoits if they would like to stay for lunch. He didn't dislike anyone, not even Californians and Canadians. He didn't waste his time playing stupid video games, watching hypnotic TV and sky diving. He never put himself above others and was always equipoised. So Jed, I suggest that you keep going further. Sonaya didn't come to you just for cooking. Learn from her. As far as I'm concerned, she's more real than you are.

If your really interested in enlightenment, get the 'Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle. This book has catapulted me to real awareness. Maybe you should read it Jed.

There are very few books that I enthusiastically encourage my friends to read. This is one that I do. Why? Because it is provokative, original, intelligent, uncompromising, and even when he's pissing you off you have to struggle to figure out at what level he might be off the mark. Is Jed enlightened? I don't know or really care. Did the book, whatever it's flaws, contribute to my own awakening? Absolutely.

The authors of this book (whoever they may be) invite us to write something that is True. OK, I'll bite. But the fact is that the word True is already one word too many, just like the concept of unity, as opposed to duality, is also one concept too many. There is absolutely nothing you can think, say or write that is not unadulterated illusion and total baggage. Best to leave the paper blank. However since I have betrayed the blank page already, in for a penny, in for a pound. If you really want a first class illusion of a nothing man you really can't go past U G Krishnamurti himself. If words are anything to go by, and they aren't, he is much closer to an honest man than Jed McKenna. He puts his money where his mouth should be. U G's words can be had for free by all and sundry because he knows that they have absolutely no value to anyone for anything on this subject and plainly says so. Jed is kind of trying to say the same thing in a rambling way that reminds me of what a somewhat lightweight, tame, sanitised, bland and hesitant version of U G might be, so I looked for U G's books in the bibliography but just found a blank. Hmm! apparently you can't get there from here.

A much better book on the subject that has stood the test of time and tells all is the classic, "I AM THAT" by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. And there are also the many books by Wei Wu Wei. His is a very deep and intense style, more academic in approach, but if you hang in with him it is all there as well.

This and several other books propelled me to the edge. Jed is cool. I don't consider what he does religious, just explaining what is, how he know's and came to know it. Slice through you, you have to do, but his tale's give you a direction. To sort things out, until you realize you don't sort. Anyway, that is my take as of now, 20 minutes from now it will be different. Peace you have already, so I'l just say later.

I have read Spiritual Enlightenment The Damndest Thing.
The reading and the book I give five stars at least.
Jed is quite extraordinary. His grasp and breadth outstanding.
However I have a query and a suspicion.
Does he really exist as a person outside the book?
Is this a work of fiction?
Does such a man exist in Iowa?
Can one contact him?
If so, how?

I read three quarters of this book when I realized that he was distracting me from my spiritual path rather than assisting. How long can one possibly listen to a guru who keeps stating how fabulous he is , whilst the rest of all others along the path are lost unless trained by him.

Narcissism as stated in the dictionary:

"1) Excessive love or admiration of oneself. See Synonyms at conceit.

2) A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem.

3)Erotic pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of one's own body or self, especially as a fixation on or a regression to an infantile stage of development.

4)The attribute of the human psyche charactized by admiration of oneself but within normal limits."

The man can ramble on for hours about his own amazing being and journey.

Avoid this book if you are interested in spiritual enlightenment.