Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment

If you decide to read "Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment", it's best to read the first book first. SIE is in some ways very much like a "sequel" with tons of references to "Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing." SIE will be much more useful if have the information in the first book first. To start, there's a letter from a very annoyed but obviously sincere reader of the first book. She gives a blunt and informative explanation of why some will find McKenna's books completely inappropriate, useless, and even infuriating. In the first sentence of her letter she said, "I'm so mad, I could chew nails." And then the rest of her letter continued with the same intensity. She ended her last paragraph with "Put that in the front of your next book so people like me won't waste their time." And that's exactly what McKenna did. Her letter is right up front and replaces the glowing praise that so many found objectionable in the first book. But there are many of us who feel differently than that angry reader. I actually loved SIE many times more than SE:TDT. In SIE McKenna continues to be unconventional, holding up as an example his own spiritually incorrect perspective and conclusions. And true to form, he continues breaking all the standardized spiritual "rules." In SIE McKenna takes us on a journey where he interweaves the inherent spirituality of "Moby-Dick," Julie's wrenching Spiritual Autolysis, some relevant UG Krishnamurti quotes, and some other relevant anecdotal events. He very skillfully combines all those components in order to express how a spiritually incorrect traveler might perceive and process his/her circumstances in a way that will lead to enlightenment. And while finding spirituality in "Moby-Dick" seems at first questionable, as McKenna went along, all the undeniable clues fell very solidly into place, with the last riveting/tantalizing conclusion withheld until the near the end. McKenna's not trying to paint a pretty picture of the trek towards enlightenment, and an account of Julie's Spiritual Autolysis gives us a peek into how distressing the process can be. On display are many of Julie's tortured moments as she bravely but painfully ripped away her self-deception. And while there has been much speculation about whether McKenna's writing is fictional, in Julie's process I found truth ringing loud and clear because I've been in those same trenches and know that same kind of raw madness. IOW even if it's fictional, it's still based on what's REAL. McKenna also is exceptionally keen at pointing out how skillful we are at self-deception. In his typical "take no prisoners" style, he says this: (pp59-60) "Who wants what? Why? Who's sincere? Who's just accessorizing? Who's waking up as a way to go more deeply asleep? Duality is a tangled forest in which many self-styled freedom-seekers wield the machete of discrimination with all the effect of a butter knife. Not knowing where, if anywhere, they want to go, they're happy enough w

Here's what I "get". I "get" that I started upon the "spiritual path" being hopelessly depressed about what I felt was the meaninglessness of life. I "get" that over 20 years of seeking has earned me an impressive library, a pretty good intellectual grasp of what it means to be spiritually enlightened and endless frustration on my inability to awaken. I also "get" that since I have no real intention to faithfully study, meditate, pray, chant, find a guru, quit smoking or change several non-spiritual-like habits, the chance of my awakening in this lifetime are...well...hopeless. So being stuck in this "seeker limbo", I've continued to search for the One Method that will free me from this spiritual dilemma. It was through browsing book sites (yet again) that I happened to "stumble" upon Jed McKenna's book. I had no problem "getting it" as he seems to describe the exact state I've been going through for quite a few years. What's more, IMHO, he provides a solution to freeing myself from this self imposed prison. Hopefully, his 2nd book will be the last book concerning spirituality I'll have to add to my library. For the first time in years, I'm hopeful that I'll soon come to the point where I can honestly say... "I QUIT."

This is a difficult book to review because most people won't get it. Jed McKenna is a heterodox individual. His approach to enlightenment and awakening are unorthodox. In his first book, Spiritual Enlightenment-The Damnedest Thing he guides the reader through the maze of theories and practices towards a desirable conclusion. His approach is simple, his words direct and uncut and his methods are shameless. Oh, but how effective!In Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment, he takes a classic piece of literature, Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" and dissects it with the skill of a surgeon. His carefully placed quotes by Mark Twain, U.G. Krishnamurti, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman move the reader strategically from one chapter to the next. The conclusion he draws from the classic is astute, logical and unsullied. This is an unusual book by an unusual man and it requires an unusual review. After reading both of Jed McKenna's books, this reviewer has come to the conclusion that spiritual enlightenment or awakening is as easy as ABC. Let me explain using the theater as my vehicle. A Audience- Most of the world's population fits into category "A" or the Audience. These people are happy to buy their ticket, sit in their seats and watch the illusion play out on the stage. They have no desire to become the actors or to direct the play. B Balcony- Some people move from the audience into the Balcony; usually clutching their Bibles, while expounding the virtues of religious spirituality. People in category "B" consider themselves above those in "A" spiritually, but are content to sit and enjoy the illusion as long as they have their ingrained Beliefs.C Characters- After trying the balcony seats, people often move on in their search for the ever illusive enlightenment, to the stage where they become Characters. Copying their new spiritual Mentors, they wear the Costumes, hold the props and act out their own new illusion. These people feel that they have achieved greater understanding through their Chakras, Chants and Crystals. They think they are now Content.D Disillusioned with the costumes and the play-acting, some seekers actually go backstage looking to Discover a different set design, learn some new Dialogue and Dissimulate themselves. However, these people often miss the Curtain Calls and return to the stage "C" driven not by truth but Ego.E Encore for the Ego or exit stage left, enter stage right, repeat as necessary. This is where many get stuck changing costumes, learning new dialogue all in an effort to achieve Enlightenment- Evolving turns into revolving, a never-ending search for Euphoria. A merry- go- round as the author describes it. Jed McKenna's books are not for people in category "A", "B", "C", or "D". Don't waste your money; you won't like it and you won't get it. However, people like Julie, the student in the book who shares her Spiritual Autolysis while in category "E", may want to see the Finale.F Finale-In the Finale, those that jump o

If not, don't bother to read this. If you do, first read McKenna's previous book- Spiritual Enlightenment- the Damnedest Thing- and then, this one. Here are some other questions to help determine if you really want to buy this book: (1) Did you love Melville's classic novel Moby Dick but not really understand Ahab's madness? Would you like to? (2) Do you sense that all spiritual and religious tenets, practices, sects, and techniques are all variations of thesame frenetic movie script? (3) Are you willing to bring up every single vestige of fear you have ever been programmed to identify with- fear of death, loneliness, pain, shame, guilt, stupidity, ridicule, depression, hopelessness, angst? Is truth worth that much ? Really? (4) Could you do it without believing in anything- without a religion or teacher- just to clear away the tons of inner debris and then see what, if anything remains? I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of allegedly spiritual books. Many narcotized me, some intrigued me. Thesetwo books have touched me at a cellular level, yet ego has just barely dipped its toe in the ocean..........

~There is nothing that can be said about Enlightenment - non-dual awareness - including this statement.Therefore, it is enormously difficult to write a single, encompassing review that captures the astounding nature of this book as well as the impossibility of being able to say anything at all about the Subject (pun intended.)Simply stated, the ego-identity known as Jed McKenna has indeed done it again. This is another direct, compelling, startling and humorous book from the author of the self-shattering "Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing". As with the first book, Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment is about instrumental injunction. To paraphrase Wilber - as I seem to do with some regularity - an injunction is a call, a set of practices, a recipe that says, "If you want to know this, do this." Absolutely no one can convey what It is, or what It is like. If you perform the injunction adequately, you'll likely get direct experience of the domain presented by the practice, and you can then verify or reject the results with others who have completed the injunction. Until you actually engage in the practice, though, all discussion and judgment about the result is premature.So in order to find out if this injunction is for you, get hold of both books by this Author, and read them.The Author clearly acknowledges that when one publishes a book in today's "spirituality marketplace", it will be seen by a rather broad audience. There will be the serious, the seekers, the simply curious and the clueless. A book such as this will apply to some, certainly not to others, and most likely not to a majority.Some readers won't understand it at all and will offer an almost complete rejection of everything that the book tries to communicate. Others will read the book, picking apart all of the notions that don't jibe well with their current set of beliefs, their understanding of the world as it appears to them. Another, quite predominant group will read the book and will recognize and understand what the Author is trying to communicate. However, this group of people will not see how the book could possibly apply to them, or they will be perfectly unwilling to let go of the lives they are living in order to follow their course to Truth. Why change what feels good? People have said, "That (first) book really messed me up, but I'm just going to go on as I have been living. I like my life!" So be it. There is Absolutely no problem with any of these responses, and the Author is in perfect agreement on this - even addressing the latter issue on the very first page, before anything else, lest there be any confusion.But there is another group of readers to which these books call. They will read the books and undergo a transformation that will completely blow away the very notion of reality itself. The match will have been struck and the fire will have begun. For these people, the Author's books may very well be the last book of words they'll ever ne