Kosmic Consciousness by Ken Wilber

Imagine that you think about something—something vague, important, hard to pin down—for years, tossing it this way and that in your mind, playing with it. And then one day someone comes along who has obviously thought about this particular subject far more deeply and carefully than you have, and he says "Well, I tend to look at it this way..." and suddenly the topic is clearer than it's ever been.

I've had that experience many times. But with this ten-CD collection, it seems I had it almost every time Ken Wilber opened his mouth. He has thought about everything more clearly and deeply than I have. He's read everything, from ancient scriptures (both East and West) to modern psychology, and he sees them all as stepping stones on your road toward a personal experience of divine truth.

It's a powerful combination, to say the least.

Here is an example, chosen more or less at random. Wilber talks about the "Pre/Trans Fallacy." Most of us, in modern Western culture, look at things from a logical, rational point of view. But there are other perspectives. A pre-logical point of view might come from a small child or primitive tribesman, unable to distinguish mythology or wishful thinking from cause-and-effect reality. A trans-rational point of view would come from a mystic, a Meister Eckhart or Ramana Maharshi, who has access to a more direct perception of reality that goes beyond dualism.

One is below rationality, the other is above. The problem is, to a rational perceiver, they look a lot alike. Hence, the "fallacy" of confusing them. As an example, Freud assumed that any trans-rational experience was simply a regression to a child-like "id"; Jung, on the other hand, saw a mystical experience hiding behind every pre-rational superstition.

Of course, an insight like that leaves in its wake a host of open questions. Is a tribal rain dance a powerful way of connecting with the divine (which might work), or a misguided attempt to make it rain (which doesn't)? More importantly, which of my personal experiences are pre-rational (and should be outgrown), and which are trans-rational (and should be sought, or learned from)? No detailed answers are forthcoming. But you can't even ask these questions before you articulate the difference between the two modes.

Wilber spends maybe ten minutes on the Pre/Trans Fallacy: it is not a major theme. I chose it simply as an example of the kind of clarity he brings. Over and over I found myself thinking "Well, of course. Why didn't I think of it that way before? Come to that, how did I think about it before?"

The form of the CDs is an interview of Wilber by Tami Simon, his good friend and the founder of Sounds True publishing. Because of her long experience with Wilber, she is able to ask the questions that bring out the basic quadrants, lines, levels, states, and types that make up his kosmic map. Their light banter left me often wishing I were in the room with them, able to ask my own questions and join in the discussion. But the real testament to the work is how many times since I listened to the CDs, that I have been in complicated situations and thought "I can see just how this fits into Wilber's picture"—and that, in turn, helps me see the situation itself more clearly.


Kosmic Consciousness by Ken Wilber Imagine that you think about something—something vague, important, hard to pin down—for years, tossing it this way and that in your mind, playing with it. And then one day someone comes along who has obviously thought about this particular subject far more deeply and carefully than you have, and he says "Well, I tend to look at it this way..." and suddenly the topic is clearer than it's ever been. I've had that experience many times. But with this ten-CD collection, it seems I had it almost every time Ken Wilber opened his mouth. He has thought about everything more clearly and deeply than I have. He's read everything, from ancient scriptures (both East and West) to modern psychology, and he sees them all as stepping stones on your road toward a personal experience of divine truth. It's a powerful combination, to say the least. Here is an example, chosen more or less at random. Wilber talks about the "Pre/Trans Fallacy." Most of us, in modern Western culture, look at things from a logical, rational point of view. But there are other perspectives. A pre-logical point of view might come from a small child or primitive tribesman, unable to distinguish mythology or wishful thinking from cause-and-effect reality. A trans-rational point of view would come from a mystic, a Meister Eckhart or Ramana Maharshi, who has access to a more direct perception of reality that goes beyond dualism. One is below rationality, the other is above. The problem is, to a rational perceiver, they look a lot alike. Hence, the "fallacy" of confusing them. As an example, Freud assumed that any trans-rational experience was simply a regression to a child-like "id"; Jung, on the other hand, saw a mystical experience hiding behind every pre-rational superstition. Of course, an insight like that leaves in its wake a host of open questions. Is a tribal rain dance a powerful way of connecting with the divine (which might work), or a misguided attempt to make it rain (which doesn't)? More importantly, which of my personal experiences are pre-rational (and should be outgrown), and which are trans-rational (and should be sought, or learned from)? No detailed answers are forthcoming. But you can't even ask these questions before you articulate the difference between the two modes. Wilber spends maybe ten minutes on the Pre/Trans Fallacy: it is not a major theme. I chose it simply as an example of the kind of clarity he brings. Over and over I found myself thinking "Well, of course. Why didn't I think of it that way before? Come to that, how did I think about it before?" The form of the CDs is an interview of Wilber by Tami Simon, his good friend and the founder of Sounds True publishing. Because of her long experience with Wilber, she is able to ask the questions that bring out the basic quadrants, lines, levels, states, and types that make up his kosmic map. Their light banter left me often wishing I were in the room with them, able to ask my own questions and join in the discussion. But the real testament to the work is how many times since I listened to the CDs, that I have been in complicated situations and thought "I can see just how this fits into Wilber's picture"—and that, in turn, helps me see the situation itself more clearly.
Click here to buy this CD collection from Sounds True audio