Jed Mckenna

[GSX-R girl]

Hi has anyone read The Enlightenment Trilogy? - I have almost finished

reading the third book - I have really enjoyed them -the mix of personal

stories and insightful ideas has completely altered my ideas of what spiritual

seeking is and how to go about attaining realization of your true self.

There seems to be a big mystery about who he is - does anyone have any

ideas? mabe the son of Terrance Mckenna

Jed is none other than Tzu.

[GSX-R girl]

Originally Posted by meta_synthesis

Jed is none other than Tzu.

Hi Meta - how do you know this ? Do you know why he has kept away

from all publicity ? Do you like his books ?

Dear GSX-R girl

Thanks for pointing out this trilogy. I've never heard of it, but you've piqued my curiosity now. What do you like about the books? I get the idea that he focuses on each and every one's difference in paths and choices?

I wouldn't be very surprised if the author's using a pseudonym. McKenna is a good name to choose in that sense

Much love
Resonance

[GSX-R girl]

Hi Resonance

I discovered Jed Mckenna whilst searching for teachings about Advaita
Vedanta (non-dualism).

I think what I like most about the books is the total honesty with which they are written. They are probably not liked by most spiritual seekers -
according to Jed the spiritual path actually takes you further from
enlightenment than a non-spiritual person, because those on the path think they must be getting closer when in fact they are as asleep as everyone else.

I think I will need to read them many times to fully understand all the teachings, but I feel I have saved myself so much time not chasing false Gurus and practises and can just focus on the job of Waking Up

[andrew g]

Hi GSX-R,

I read the first one and liked it. And I have read a bunch of other stuff pretty similar to it. I think Advaita and Neo-Advaita has its place on the enlightenment/spiritual path, but there are many other pieces of the jigsaw that are relevant too.

If you want to 'wake up'', I would suggest asking yourself why. Ask yourself what 'waking up' would give you. Get clear about what you really really want (I think I sounded like an old Spice Girls song there hehe).

I will just add, that seeing as I am giving a suggestion there, it might sound as if I think I am awake. So I will say that I think thats possible, but I wouldnt like to say for sure. Contrary to some of what Jed might say, I tend to see 'waking up' as a process, so if I am awake, I think I can probably still awaken further. Anyway,

All the best,
Andrew

Originally Posted by GSX-R girl

Hi Meta - how do you know this?

I don't. I was kidding.

Originally Posted by GSX-R girl

Do you know why he has kept away from all publicity?

I bet it's because he doesn't have any interest in a bunch of retarded full of you-know-what sleepwalkers being in his experience.

Do you like his books ?

I read his first book four years ago. I enjoyed it. He is the only person/author in "camp awakening" that the mind can read without feeling like it is crossing a raging river. It is effortless, smooth - all the words that suggest a sense of 'light as a feather gliding' is what I'm going for. Any other reading material is a strain and a challenge. The difference is actually not slight - it is substantial and tangible.

(He is my long-lost twin I think)

[andrew g]

Yeah. Its almost 'entertaining'. Rumour has it that a lot of it is fiction, but its all the better for it somehow. It beats reading the same old same old American/British non-duality crowd who seem to me to regurgitate the same old different thing under different titles. I would almost certainly not recommend anything these days which comes with the amazon comment...''THIS will be the last book you ever read''. In the end, I think all that can almost become an addiction in itself. Having said that, Steven Harrison's ''Doing Nothing'' had a big impact, but maybe thats just coz it caught me at the right time. It was powerful in that it made me weep for no obvious reason that I could substantiate at the time.

Hi all

So do I understand you correctly in that he talks about going for what feels right and makes one feel "lighter" and stay away from predetermined and clear-cut do's and don't's?

Am having some trouble grasping what you (he) mean(s) that following a path makes us as asleep as everyone else while trying to wake us up at the same time

Love
Resonance

[andrew g]

Originally Posted by Resonance

Hi all

So do I understand you correctly in that he talks about going for what feels right and makes one feel "lighter" and stay away from predetermined and clear-cut do's and don't's?

Am having some trouble grasping what you (he) mean(s) that following a path makes us as asleep as everyone else while trying to wake us up at the same time

Love
Resonance

Hi Resonance,

Im not quite sure if you were talking partly to me there, but just to be clear, I dont think Jed McKenna suggests getting clear about what we want. Thats just what I think is helpful. From what I remember, and I guess GSX-R can clarify, he suggests a practice that I think he calls autolysis, which is a practice of questioning what we can know to be true. Which I also think is a very helpful practice.

I only read the first one and I might not be remembering correctly though.

With regard to the path thing, I think what he means is that following a path only takes us away from Truth because Truth is already present, here and now. So the following a path is part of what it means to be asleep. Which is why some neo-Advaita books will say there is nothing to be done. But then what I notice sometimes is that this gets turned into an unconscious kind of mantra or seeking in itself.

In the end, if we want to be in joy and happy, I tend to think there is something to be done for most of us, because most of us have been conditioned to only be in joy and happy in certain situations when we perceive the conditions to be 'right'. So if unconditional joy and happiness is the goal, I would say that its helpful to work at releasing the conditioned patterns. We are essentially conditioned TO work, so I think we might as well use that need to work to release the need to work! Eventually, as the need to work falls away, joy emerges. The phoenix arises from the ashes. The process in which the work ends is often accompanied with a lot of failure and a making peace with failure and foolishness. Which is a good thing, because its the need to be a success and achieve that drives the seeking, the efforting and the work. I still find myself failing regularly hehe but the intensity of the failure tends to be much less because I dont take myself so seriously these days. I think Jed refers to himself as a wisefool and that resonates with me a lot.

I talked a lot more there than I thought I would when I started to reply. I think Im done at last!