Andrew Cohen
Founder, EnlightenNext
Andrew Cohen is an American spiritual teacher, bestselling author, and founder of the global nonprofit EnlightenNext and its award-winning publication, EnlightenNext magazine. His original teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment redefines spiritual awakening within the context of cosmic evolution and highlights a new understanding of God or Spirit as the creative impulse toward change in both self and culture.
His bestselling book, Evolutionary Enlightenment: A New Path to Spiritual Awakening is the product of his 26 years of work and has garnered praise from some of today’s leading spiritual and cultural figures as one of the most important spiritual works of our time. Andrew lives and works at the EnlightenNext headquarters in Western Massachusetts and spends much of his time travelling around the world giving retreats, seminars, and public talks about Evolutionary Enlightenment.
I recently teamed up with a Canadian filmmaker named Ian MacKenzie to create a new video explaining some of the key points of my work. Specifically, Ian’s piece beautifully expresses […]
I recently interviewed my friend Steve McIntosh, a Boulder, Colorado-based philosopher, author, and entrepreneur, about his forthcoming book on the subject of evolutionary spirituality (title TBD). Steve is the author […]
Over the past two weeks on BigThink, I’ve shared the first two of a three-part dialogue between myself and the Danish psychotherapist Ole Vadum Dahl (read part 1 and part […]
Last week, I published the first in a three-part dialogue between myself and the Danish psychotherapist Ole Vadum Dahl. In the article, Ole and I are exploring some of our […]
Last November, I published an article here on BigThink called, The Apocalypse May Already Be Here, or “Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark,” where I shared some of my […]
In response to my recent post, “The Bright Side of Globalization,” my friend and colleague Jean Houston sent me an excerpt from her book Jump Time entitled, “Wok and Roll in […]
Recently, I’ve reconnected with some old friends. We’ve had the experience of immediately meeting each other at a very deep level despite having parted ways and not seen each other […]
When I met my last spiritual teacher, the revered HWL Poonja, in 1986, he taught me how to be free. He was such a powerful teacher that within minutes of […]
In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share an article written by my former colleague Ross Robertson for EnlightenNext magazine called “A Brighter Shade of Green: Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21stCentury.” […]
I had my first spiritual experience when I was 16 years old. I was sitting up late one night having a conversation with my mother about something I can’t remember, […]
I just returned from spending a weekend with my friend Peter Ragnar at his farm in Kentucky. Peter is a modern-day Shaman, Taoist wizard, natural life scientist, and “self-master” par […]
With Easter and Passover on the minds of so many millions of Christians and Jews this weekend, so are the deeper themes of renewal, promise, and liberation that these religious […]
India is still a magical place. What we hear most often about the Motherland these days is her extraordinary leap into the modern world, her burgeoning prosperity, and her enormous […]
Over the past couple of years, my thinking has been greatly influenced by the “Prophets of Progress”—people like Stephen Pinker, Matt Ridley, Stephen Johnson, Hans Rosling, and Peter Diamandis to […]
Do you live on your own edge? Living on the edge is exactly what inspired, highly motivated people aspire to always do. Last December, I went to the grand finale […]
Here’s a published dialogue that I did with my friend Deepak Chopra in which we discuss the challenges of standing up for Spirit in a secular culture. Enjoy! __________________________________ ANDREW […]
I’m an amateur jazz drummer. Last night, as I was surfing my favorite drumming site, drummerworld.com, I came upon the most astounding video. Four very young Japanese women all dressed […]
An imaginary round table discussion with Anthony Robbins and Gautama the Buddha on being the best we can be. I was musing upon an interesting idea: What would it be […]
There’s always something electric in the atmosphere when someone dares to assert spiritual convictions in a decidedly secular context. It’s almost like, “I can’t believe s/he had the courage to […]
I just got back from leading a 9-day meditation retreat in the wild and cactus-filled desert of Arizona. And I feel exuberant, inspired, and powerfully awake to the presence of […]
The first day of the new year always represents the potential for profound renewal—a new cycle in relationship to the passing of time, a precious moment in which many of […]
I recently read an excerpt from the controversial number one bestseller Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife by Dr. Eben Alexander in Newsweek magazine. In it he […]
Last weekend I published a post titled, “The World is Getting Worse (And Other Lies)” in which I shared some inspiring data and anecdotes that have helped me to embrace […]
Like millions of other Americans over Thanksgiving weekend, I went to see Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, Lincoln. I was mesmerized by Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal of the great statesman. I was also […]
For those of us who are committed to creating a better world how do we respond to the evil and heinous acts of our violent past? I just got back […]
While I consider myself to be a rational person and believe there is validity in most of these claims (except the first), I actually think the coming apocalypse may have already arrived . . .
In her new romantic comedy, 2 Days in New York, musician, actress, and screenwriter Julie Delpy proclaims, “You know why I don’t believe in the soul? Because the soul would […]
There’s a lot of talk about transparency these days. In the internet age we are letting it all hang out—whatever it is—for better and for worse. And it looks like […]
In recent years, the term “emergence” has become popular among scientists to describe the seemingly inexplicable leaps that occur in the evolutionary process when greater complexity bursts forth from lesser […]
The traditional teachings of spiritual enlightenment tell us that in order to be one with Spirit we need to shrink our egos down to the size of a pea. Those […]