2021/11/20

Enlightenment Now: Liberation is Your True Nature by Jason Gregory | Goodreads

Enlightenment Now: Liberation Is Your True Nature Kindle Edition
by Jason Gregory  (Author)  Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars    15 ratingsEnlightenment Now: Liberation is Your True Nature


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A guide to uncovering the enlightenment already within us

• Builds on Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist wisdom to express the timeless and ever-present nature of enlightenment

• Reveals the negative impact of social and cultural conditioning on our psyche and how to counteract this through meditation and reframing our understanding of time

• Shows how to uncover the original spontaneous awareness we were born with

In this philosophical, psychological, and spiritual exploration of enlightenment, Jason Gregory addresses how to access the original spontaneous awareness we all came into this world with. He exposes the illusion that we must strive to reach enlightenment, uncovering how our yearning for future accomplishments, attachment to the past, and reliance on authority outside the self are social constructs that distract us from the reality of the now. The author explains how our original enlightened nature has been obscured by social, cultural, religious, and egotistical conditioning of the mind caught in time.

Building on knowledge from spiritual traditions including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, Gregory expresses the timeless and ever-present nature of enlightenment. He illustrates how rigid practices and initiations can become a form of spiritual postponement, continually putting off our enlightenment because we feel we are doing something good and noble. To chase enlightenment through spiritual practice is to assume it is a quality bound to time. The author helps us see that we are already what we are seeking--once we understand that existing in this world is itself a miracle beyond words, then the magic and beauty of our world will unfold. In the same way we remember someone’s name without thinking about it, we also remember that we are enlightened when we stop searching for the experience.

Emerging from the Middle Way of the Buddha, Lao-tzu’s Way of the Tao, Yoga, the Great Work of Gnosticism, the Hermetic Art of Alchemy, and quantum physics, Gregory presents a way to the state of consciousness--enlightenment, nirvana, or samadhi--in which eternity and time are one. He shows us how to counteract the negative impact of social and cultural conditioning on our psyche through meditation and reframing our understanding of time. The author explains how meditation in its truest form takes our awareness of nowness from theory to practice. Guiding us away from a time-bound understanding of enlightenment, Gregory shows us how to find ourselves in the stillness of now where the peace you are is the peace you give to the world.
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182 pages
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English
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“Enlightenment Now beautifully shares that the idea of enlightenment comes ‘from the inside out’ and shares that pathless path magnificently. Jason Gregory describes pure awareness as the true form of consciousness itself, free from the veil of personality and our limitations of time.” ― Steven L. Hairfield, Ph.D., author of A Metaphysical Interpretation of the Bible

“Jason Gregory takes to heart the famous slogan of twelfth-century Tantric Buddhist master Chekawa Yeshe Dorje when he writes ‘Self-liberate even the antidote.’ The message is that in the end, even our zealous, pious practice of spiritual disciplines need to be left at the door to step into the timeless bliss of full awakening, of enlightenment. Though such practices are considered by aspirants to be more effective and/or valuable than the awakening that life itself offers us in each moment, few are willing to break the shackles of display of sacred appearance, to live in each moment--awaken to a sneeze, the movement of waves, the giggle of a baby--free of any religious mantle. Read and savor Enlightenment Now as a celebration of our true and timeless nature.” ― Robert Sachs, author of Becoming Buddha, The Passionate Buddha, and The Ecology of Oneness

“Jason Gregory takes us on a spiritual journey deep into the dark world of polarized perception, showing how suffering and veiled consciousness developed. Then he leads us right back out again.We end up returning to where we’ve always been, and we get the cosmic joke! As usual, he integrates many fine points into an interesting and comprehensive narrative.” ― Penney Peirce, author of Leap of Perception and Frequency

“An erudite and scholarly overview of our spiritual struggle to arrive at a place where, ironically, we already are. Quoting amply from many literary references, this multilayered book documents man’s historic spiritual quest for the very core of Truth. By fully addressing the paradox of awakening, the author points out that enlightenment itself is nothing other than the discovery of our very own true nature. If you’re willing to take the time to carefully read this intelligent and in-depth exposé, there are many hidden treasures to be mined here. Recommended.” ― Chuck Hillig, author of Enlightenment for Beginners

“Jason Gregory has done it again. With a deep understanding of spiritual, psychological, and linguistic traditions he reveals how we are hypnotized into a disconnected worldview. This latest book strips away the veneer from our fast-food culture of consumerist enlightenment and points toward the need for genuine individual self-work. Gregory shines clarity onto the false joyride of our lives and makes us see clearly that the journey itself is the destination. Enlightenment Now is the ideal antidote to the spiritual sloth endemic in our ‘get quick’ cultures. Highly recommended!” ― Kingsley L. Dennis, author of The Phoenix Generation and New Consciousness for a New World

“In Enlightenment Now, Jason Gregory has provided a comprehensive overview of man’s search for enlightenment. His research draws upon a wide range of resources and walks the reader through perspectives of modern philosophy and culture all the way back to the ancients. One nice feature is that the book is rich with wisdom quotes from sages. Along the way, Jason includes his own commentary and suggestions for the contemporary seeker as to what works, what doesn’t, and why. It is a book many readers will benefit from and enjoy.” ― Peter Dziuban, author of Consciousness Is All and Simply Notice

“Jason Gregory has done a fantastic job of cutting through to the heart of enlightenment and the spiritual teachings of the ancient wisdom traditions. The illusory nature of the spiritual journey is explored with a profound clarity that will certainly help to guide those interested in meditation and personal liberation.” ― Damo Mitchell, author of Daoist Nei Gong

“This book reminds us that enlightenment is nowhere else to be found other than within the confines of our own skin. He eloquently describes how easy it is to lose sight of our own capabilities, living in a world that is too often governed by greed and profit. Jason’s simple yet effective solution is to live in the moment and thereby find the answers we seek within.” ― Gary Wagman, Ph.D., L.Ac., author of Your Yin Yang Body Type and founder of the American Institute o

“A philosopher’s view regarding the endless paradoxes we encounter on our way to enlightenment--Jason rightly points out that enlightenment is not something we can attain like a new car; for ultimately, enlightenment is ‘no thing.’ Yet, it is a ‘no thing’ that we can realize, that brings ultimate freedom. But here again there is paradox, for the freedom of enlightenment is not free; it entails discipline of body, mind, and speech. It does free us from the jail of our conditioned habits and egocentric behaviors, but at the cost of realizing that every action we take is ultimately beyond our personal control, interdependent upon the movement of the entire universe. As a philosopher, I revel in Jason’s correction of our mistaken views regarding enlightenment.” ― Richard Miller, Ph.D., developer of iRest Meditation and author of Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart

“At times I am weary of individuals using, with their own uniqueness, terms and images from a long established tradition. However, when I read Jason’s work it becomes evident that he himself does not attach to these terms and images. Instead he seems to show that some universal intelligence has always been present with humanity and our universe. I love his message because I feel it with all the reverence of my heart. There is nothing to strive for that isn’t already in the room with us right now. Right off the bat, the first chapter nails this point with the most modest of hammers. His words are still ringing within me. Good job yet again, Jason.” ― Ben Stewart, documentary filmmaker of Kymatica and Ungrip

"Enlightenment Now and Jason's previous title, The Science and Practice of Humility, teach you one of the easiest and most effective practices for cultivating spiritual awareness, which is this: the moment you stop doing things, saying things, and thinking things and just rest in your basic unadorned state of being, you’re enlightened and you’ll know it, right here and now, not tomorrow or next year or in your next life. It’s really that simple, and it doesn’t require much effort." ― Daniel Reid, New Dawn Magazine --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
6

Enlightenment Is Natural, Not Artificially Induced

THE REAL SENSE OF UNITY at the core of enlightenment is eclipsed by the overstimulation of our relative existence. People take up a spiritual practice for a lifetime and somehow never attain enlightenment. This happens because the art of the practice is thought of as inducing the enlightenment state, while our relative being, ego, goes on through life with its habits, tendencies, and little idiosyncrasies unchecked. Numerous individuals in the world practice yoga, tai chi, meditation, and so on, but continue to live imbalanced through their need to overstimulate the senses. I’m not saying here that we should discard our sense activity, as that is impossible. What I am saying is that bad habits and tendencies become “bad” when there is a propensity for excess. If we are more conscious of our own being, we have an intuitive feeling when a particular part of our life is out of balance.

This propensity for excess--material and habitual--is best reflected in our diets: the obesity epidemic, obsession with food, and problems of overexercising or being underweight in our culture are all the result of imbalances in individuals’ lives. For example, obesity is often the result of psychological imbalance, as we tend to mask pain with unhealthy foods. An individual suffering from this kind of obesity finds it difficult to realize enlightenment because the focus on excessive food intake veils the innate intuitive faculty and connection with the universe.

On the opposite extreme we have those individuals who are very rigid and strict in their diet. Some vegans and vegetarians would surely fit into this category. There is nothing innately wrong with being conscious about your diet. But when you are overly concerned about everything you eat, very subtle forms of stress develop within your body and mind or as in the above example you are masking something deeper. In both extreme poles there is a lack of balance within the physical and mental planes of consciousness.

When one realizes their own imbalances they become more attracted to spiritual practices because they are thought of as a medicine for our relative ills. This is true in one sense and false in another. True because spiritual practices will center your focus if backed up by dedicated discipline, and false because the excessiveness that made our ills can begin to be projected into our spiritual practice. Once our spiritual practice becomes excessive, it loses its natural flexibility and enters the intellectual domain of becoming rigid, ego-driven behavior to attain the “goal” of enlightenment. Then our spiritual practice has more to do with repetition and anxiety than with liberation.

Almost all spiritual paths are vexed by this paradox as a majority of traditions involve excessive discipline. But as Gautama the Buddha realized after his seven years as an ascetic, no matter how hard he strived for enlightenment it continually eluded him. It was only when he completely let go of all his searching and accepted a milky soup from a young farm girl under the shade of the infamous Bodhi tree that he realized he was searching and striving for what is intrinsic to our nature: enlightenment. Paradoxically though, Gautama the Buddha needed to be on his journey to realize this. We could say that it was absurd for him to adhere to seven rigorous years of asceticism to realize what is ever-present, right now, but we lose sight of the fact that without those seven years he could not have become enlightened.

If Gautama the Buddha was not deluded by intellectual striving and at the same time sincere on his search then there would be nothing for him to let go of in this life. There would have been no attachment, as to his practice, that could have eclipsed his spiritual perception. It is only when we are attached to those aspects that eclipse our connection with the universe that we could know the freedom in being detached. This is a paradox, but the mystery of life exists in paradox. Gautama the Buddha’s Middle Way spawns from this mysterious paradox and essentially is why it is so difficult to discover the Middle Way--it is beyond the sphere of category and discernment.

This paradox is often left out of new-age spirituality because of its depth and because it implies that there is still an immense amount of self-work to do. An artificial spirituality comes into existence when we just take the pleasurable aspects of any story and build our foundation upon that. In the case of some new-age spirituality, the complete letting go aspect of Gautama the Buddha’s story is highlighted while the rest of it is ignored. People are taught to forget about spiritual practice or any desire one has, especially for enlightenment, because all you have to do is let go and enlightenment will be your reality. Though this sounds like a sweet deal, those of us who are authentic and sincere with ourselves know this is only a half-truth, one that needs to be supported by spiritual growth in the relative world. This mindset overlooks the fact that the absolute realm of mystery is in direct relationship to the relative world. Form implies formlessness and formlessness implies form in the same way that the universe produces consciousness and consciousness evokes the universe.

The real spiritual significance of transcendence means going beyond the idea of who you think you are. Real transcendence implies self-work and a stepping through the artificial aspects of our being. In our culture and society it becomes normal for individuals to not be conscious of their own latent habits and tendencies. As a result we dive head first into an excessiveness that keeps us distracted from reality. Reality can only be experienced when we make a conscious effort to eradicate the excessiveness in our lives that distracts us from our original nature. As Gautama the Buddha realized, freedom is not for free, but it is our original nature. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Jason Gregory is a teacher and international speaker specializing in the fields of Eastern and Western philosophy, comparative religion, metaphysics, and ancient cultures. For several years he studied with masters in Buddhism, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Hinduism, and Taoism, traveling to some of the most remote places in the world. The filmmaker of the documentary The Sacred Sound of Creation, he divides his time between Asia and Australia. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
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Product details
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01CO33AQG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Inner Traditions (10 October 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 807 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 182 pages
Best Sellers Rank: 612,908 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
883 in Occult Spiritualism
1,126 in Chakras
1,959 in Spiritualism
Customer Reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars    15 ratings
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Jason Gregory
JASON GREGORY is an author, philosopher, and teacher specializing in Eastern and Western philosophy, comparative religion, psychology, cognitive science, metaphysics, and ancient cultures. He is the author of Fasting the Mind, Enlightenment Now, and The Science and Practice of Humility. For several years he has lived in Asia studying the classical spiritual traditions of the East.

Jason lived in India studying the Hindu schools of Vedanta and classical Yoga, and the Buddhist schools of Mahayana and Zen. While living in Nepal he studied Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism. He lived in South Korea studying Korean Buddhism, Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, and Taoism. In South East Asia Jason lived in Thailand studying Theravada Buddhism and its monastic Forest Tradition, while taking numerous research trips into the monasteries and temples of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Jason has traveled extensively to over 15 countries.

His work is focused on the benefits of Eastern wisdom in the modern world and how it can transform our lives to live more optimally and peacefully. Jason travels worldwide lecturing about the East, its science of mind, and the methods and practices that define the East, and how its philosophy is a cure not only for the individual’s mind but also for the cultural, social, and religious problems in the world. Visit the author's website at www.jasongregory.org

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Mr. E. SMITH
5.0 out of 5 stars No nonsense wisdom
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2020
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I really like how this book cuts through the fluff and nonsense surrounding so much spirituality today. Very insightful, educational and eye opening.
Pulling together various sources and Eastern philosophies Jason Gregory has put together a refreshing book.
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Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
Reviewed in Spain on 16 December 2016
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Amazing read! Very insightful. One of my favourite authors on this subject. Jason Gregory is super knowledgeable and his style of writing is clear and fluid. He handles these difficult subjects with grace and ease. I highly recommend this book.
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Michelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Jason Gregory's work is sincere and insightful...
Reviewed in the United States on 24 December 2016
Verified Purchase
and gets better with each new release. I've purchased other books by this author, all of which are treasured pieces in my literature collection. Now I have the pleasure of including "Enlightenment Now". I see the core message of this book woven in the moral of many great stories (like the Wizard of Oz and the Alchemist, to name a few). It brightens my mood knowing enlightenment need not be some esoteric and virtually unobtainable thing, but rather a quality of being- an awareness and gratitude for the here and now. This book is colorful with wisdom from around the world; it is brilliant with simplicity, yet movingly profound. "Enlightenment Now" invites the reader to peek into their Greater Self, revealing a Greater Truth within us all... if we are only willing to open our minds and heart to it. Needless to say, I can hardly wait for his next book to come out!
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jorge
5.0 out of 5 stars like me, who spent most of their life searching ...
Reviewed in the United States on 6 March 2017
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For those people, like me, who spent most of their life searching for the right spiritual path to achieve enlightenment at some point on the road to the goal, and in some time in our existence, and ended frustrated; This is the book that I highly recommend. After 35 years of intense seeking this book came in my hands. Shedding light in my understanding of our True Nature. Thanks Jason!!! I just bought "fasting the mind" And I'm sure that won't disappointment me.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on 11 August 2019
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This book is wonderful. Easy to follow and very fulfilling. I haven't finished it yet, but I look forward to my sacred time with it everytime I read it. I also journal while reading his books. It definitely evokes my inner light and curiosity to new levels of inspiration. I'm excited for all of you who are reading it or considering reading it. I highly suggest it and I'm happy for your new wisdom and insights this book can reveal. Love and Light
Christa~
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Enlightenment Now: Liberation is Your True Nature by Jason Gregory | Goodreads

Enlightenment Now: Liberation is Your True Nature

by 
 4.81  ·   Rating details ·  21 ratings  ·  8 reviews
A guide to uncovering the enlightenment already within us

• Builds on Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist wisdom to express the timeless and ever-present nature of enlightenment

• Reveals the negative impact of social and cultural conditioning on our psyche and how to counteract this through meditation and reframing our understanding of time

• Shows how to uncover the original spontaneous awareness we were born with

In this philosophical, psychological, and spiritual exploration of enlightenment, Jason Gregory addresses how to access the original spontaneous awareness we all came into this world with. He exposes the illusion that we must strive to reach enlightenment, uncovering how our yearning for future accomplishments, attachment to the past, and reliance on authority outside the self are social constructs that distract us from the reality of the now. The author explains how our original enlightened nature has been obscured by social, cultural, religious, and egotistical conditioning of the mind caught in time.

Building on knowledge from spiritual traditions including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, Gregory expresses the timeless and ever-present nature of enlightenment. He illustrates how rigid practices and initiations can become a form of spiritual postponement, continually putting off our enlightenment because we feel we are doing something good and noble. To chase enlightenment through spiritual practice is to assume it is a quality bound to time. The author helps us see that we are already what we are seeking--once we understand that existing in this world is itself a miracle beyond words, then the magic and beauty of our world will unfold. In the same way we remember someone’s name without thinking about it, we also remember that we are enlightened when we stop searching for the experience.

Emerging from the Middle Way of the Buddha, Lao-tzu’s Way of the Tao, Yoga, the Great Work of Gnosticism, the Hermetic Art of Alchemy, and quantum physics, Gregory presents a way to the state of consciousness--enlightenment, nirvana, or samadhi--in which eternity and time are one. He shows us how to counteract the negative impact of social and cultural conditioning on our psyche through meditation and reframing our understanding of time. The author explains how meditation in its truest form takes our awareness of nowness from theory to practice. Guiding us away from a time-bound understanding of enlightenment, Gregory shows us how to find ourselves in the stillness of now where the peace you are is the peace you give to the world.
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Paperback176 pages
Published October 10th 2016 by Inner Traditions
Original Title
Enlightenment Now: Liberation is Your True Nature
ISBN
1620555913 (ISBN13: 9781620555910)
Edition Language
English
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 Average rating4.81  · 
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Sejin, start your review of Enlightenment Now: Liberation is Your True Nature
Gordclements
Nov 13, 2017rated it it was amazing
One of the better books that I have read on living from an authentic source. Very focused on stepping out of the ego, time orientation of the conceptual realm of consciousness to the timeless direct experience. The book introduced me to the notion of Spiritual Bypassing and reinitiated an interest in Blake and Robert Augustus Masters.
Harry Green
Aug 02, 2017rated it it was amazing
I finished this book in record time after reading Jason's most recent book Fasting the Mind. I was blown away by Enlightenment Now. I've read quite a few books on non-duality but none come close to this book. I like how the book explains the Eastern idea of God as something completely different to how its viewed in Western religions, and also how this shapes the Eastern view of enlightenment and death. This is a super deep book that will have you reading it over and over again. Enlightenment Now is for those who are really sincere in knowing oneself and how we are one with everything else. Highly recommended! (less)
Paula
Feb 23, 2018rated it it was amazing
Since reading Effortless Living I've made it a priority to try and read everything by Jason Gregory. I'm glad I started with this book. This will be the one book I come back to when I believe I suffer. It reminds me that deep down we are all part of that one essence binding the universe together, even if many of us don't believe that. I don't know how Jason does it, but he smashed a lot of philosophies together to give us the spiritual heart of most teachings. Liberation has always been our true nature. Time for me to understand that truthfully. (less)
Cheryl Tanner
May 22, 2018rated it it was amazing
I've read this book three times and it doesn't get old. It is pure transmission of the great nondual teachings. I find this book a lot better than the numerous amounts of books on nondualism. Personally, I think this is Jason's best book, but I do love nondualism so maybe I'm biased. I just can't believe how he blended all the great spiritual teachings both East and West and delivered a timeless book for all of us. (less)
Tony Thorn
Feb 27, 2018rated it it was amazing
An absolutely outstanding book. This book has fed my appetite for nondualism even more. Its amazing how Eastern spirituality like Zen and Advaita haven't taken off more in a world full of stress and uncertainty. Realizing our nature is already enlightened without anything to do or be relieves our anxieties. Read it NOW! (less)
Percy Taylor
Aug 18, 2019rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Now

Jason opened my eyes to stillness
I gave this rating because I could not put the book down. I think this book as to other books like “Course of miracles “
Everything that was discuss was well said
James
Feb 10, 2020rated it it was amazing
This book was revelatory for me. One of the main messages in it for me was how awakening is not some time bound experience that you meditate for and hope will happen someday but is rather a state you can choose to be in by living in the present mindfully and dwell there for all time. He really made enlightenment/awakening seem like something anyone can do as liberation is our true nature. Brilliant book.
SAT CHIT ANANDA
Oct 20, 2021rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
Another great book by Jason Gregory. There can be confusion, opinions, and/or oscillations along the spiritual path; between right practice (doing) and to 'just be' (non-doing). This book offers insight on how to find balance and take Buddha's Middle Way. This is a nice coherent overview that provides a birds-eye-view of Self-recognition instead of direct pointers. Bravo! (less)