By Judy Fox

I am one of Andrew Cohen’s oldest students having met him in 1986 when he had been teaching formally for only around six months. His teachings have changed enormously over the years, but the seeds for everything that have unfolded were there in the early days. Continue reading…

By Rod S

Throughout history human beings have sought council and guidance from their friends, colleagues and leaders. This has always been a natural and normal thing to do. In the spiritual quest also, seekers and finders have sought the guidance of Teachers and Gurus to help illuminate the often difficult and thorny path of self realization and transformation. However, we live in strange times when it seems you can have a “guru” for practically anything from tennis, swimming and health, to cooking, woodwork and sewing, yet when it comes to the spiritual path, the word “guru” has become for many a 4 letter word! In a nutshell the postmodern ego hates being told what to do! This ‘mean green meme’ ego thrives on ‘independence’ and doing what it wants, whenever it wants. Continue reading…

By Debbie Wilson

Meeting  Andrew Cohen

Sitting cross legged, cramped in a living room of a home somewhere in Amsterdam in 1986, I was among the many people who had traveled to Holland to see this new spiritual teacher called Andrew Cohen. I had seen him teach in the UK and had been far more affected by his authenticity and the power of the reality of what he was teaching than I wanted to be. I was of the school “be a light unto oneself”. I was deeply skeptical that a young American from NYC could be enlightened, much less a genuine Guru. I went to Holland to find out what on earth I was going to do with what was stirring inside of me. Continue reading…

By Pete Bampton

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” George Bernard Shaw

“The real function of a Guru is to insult you” Chogyam Trungpa

An American Guru: The Real Deal

Meeting one’s Guru or Master is a Mystery. It is a date with destiny. Those who are lucky enough to stumble upon this seismic encounter may never be the same again. In that meeting one experiences, suddenly or gradually, an ecstatic release into the limitless singularity and depth of one’s True Self. The time-bound stream of the separate self sense is mysteriously overwhelmed by a vast rushing river of intoxicating freedom and fullness welling forth from the fount of Creation Itself as Oneself. But that spontaneous breakthrough into a vast new universe of being and knowing is usually only the beginning. If the impact of this spiritual baptism is profound, one may find oneself overwhelmed by a transcendent Roar surging up from the unfathomable depths of that Revelation that demands one thing and one thing only: Surrender. Continue reading…

By Yael Treidel

The Call of Freedom

I met Andrew in December 1993. I was 28 years old, I had everything I thought wanted more or less, and yet I was quite confused. I had been confused since I was a teenager because somehow life didn’t totally make sense to me. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing here and nothing that I tried resolved my confusion. Meeting Andrew Cohen moved something very deep in me. I couldn’t understand what was happening but about a month later I was on my way to India for a 2 week retreat with Andrew. Continue reading…

By Pete Bampton

“Resistance to new ideas increases as to the square of their importance”

Bertrand Russell

“He who ain´t busy being born is busy dying”

Bob Dylan

The Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet…

November 2000

“Gentlemen let’s drink” said Andrew, raising his glass.  We all uneasily followed suit.  There were about 30 of us, all formally committed male students sitting around a large table in a private room in a local bar in Lenox, MA. There was a charged silence in the air as we all sipped quietly. The beer – Andrew had insisted it be alcoholic – went straight to my head. None of us were accustomed to drinking let alone frequenting bars anymore. Andrew was catching us off guard and off balance. Continue reading…

By Rick Asherson

I was a deeply involved student of Andrew Cohen’s for ten years, living in his communities in the USA and England, traveling to many retreats in India and living the fully engaged life of a student committed to understanding and living Andrew Cohen’s teaching. Continue reading…

By Willa Geertsema

I have never before had the desire to write about my long connection to Andrew Cohen and usually keep it to myself. This is not because there is anything secret about it – in fact it is a part of me, and those who know me well know how much it is integral to my being. But usually I see no reason to express my views to others unless they want to know. However, given the amount of recent negative press I feel compelled to speak out. Continue reading…

by Roberta Anderson

ENTERING POST-GRADUATE SCHOOL WITH A TRUE GURU

I was a student of Andrew Cohen from the fall of 1989 to late in 2001. With the exception of a few months when I left the community, I managed to stay in the always-simmering cauldron of Formal Students over the twelve years that I lived, breathed, worked, ate, lived, thrived, and at times anguished in the ongoing and sometimes unbearable intimacy of this tumultuous and seething evolutionary community I had managed to land in. Continue reading…