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It is comonly thought that enlightenment is unattainable for ordinary people living in modern Western society and is reserved for monks or gurus leading a spiritually dedicated life in remote locations. After researching mystical experiences and interviewing people who claim to have had them, psychologist Steve Taylor found that normal modern-day people from different faiths and walks of life have also reached modes of higher consciousness. In fact, these experiences are more common than we realize. Drawing on his knowledge of different religious traditions, Taylor set out to find the common features of these awakened states and how the rest of us might also achieve wakefulness. In this book, Taylor uncovers:

• The different types of wakefulness: natural, gradual and sudden

• The difference between fraudulent spiritual teachers and the genuinely awakened

• The sometimes disorienting effects of spiritual awakenings on those who undergo them

• How different theories of consciousness explain (or try to debunk) mystical experiences

Above all, Taylor reminds us that we don't have to join an ashram in a distant country to attain enlightenment, but that we can find it where we are right now.