Jed McKenna: World-Destroyer

All glory due to Jed

"This is it. Not some other time, not some other place. Right here. Right now. I am standing at the exact center of infinity and I see perfection and beauty and absolute delight everywhere and in every thing. The touch of the slightest breeze, the sight of a single star through cloudswept skies, the howls of coyote pups in the distance, and the sheer glory and beauty of it all is enough to tear me to shreds and all I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you!"

— Jed McKenna, Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing

The most powerful writing I’ve ever encountered is that of Jed McKenna.

As I’ve written before, he hit me like a spiritual atom bomb.

His Spiritual Enlightenment Trilogy is a masterpiece.

When I recommend Jed, I always try to warn people to be careful.

His books are not books; they’re world-destroying sticks of metaphysical dynamite.

I’ve recommended him to numerous people, and of those who’ve read him, a strikingly large percentage have proceeded to have existential crises, to varying degrees.

He’s that fucking powerful. 😅

It’s humorous in a way, yet also no joke. So I say again: Do not read Jed unless you’re truly ready to light the foundations of your identity on fire. Do not read Jed unless you’re ready to throw your most cherished beliefs in a meat grinder.

That being said, I fucking love Jed for exactly this reason.

If you want the metaphysical milk and cookies—if you actually truly want to wake up—look no further. Jed will wake you the fuck up.

That’s why I recommend him to people who tell me they want to wake up, or have begun to wake up.

(Sidenote: “Wake up” can sound like this elite, far-off, meditating-on-mountaintops thing, but ironically it’s actually profoundly simple and closer than your very skin. In essence, it’s just seeing/knowing/being reality without conceptual overlays.)

One thing is, though, that a lot of people who claim to want to wake up, don’t actually want to wake up. They think they do, but they don’t understand that waking up entails the total decimation and incineration of all beliefs and identities. This process is no joke.

Shadows & Blindspots

Like any teacher, I must make it clear that Jed has his shadows and blindspots.

Do not put him on a pedestal. This may be unavoidable for a time after reading him, but really try to burn down the pedestal as soon as you can.

Your response to Jed—how you re-emerge from the void that he shows you—is more important than Jed or his teachings. Your response is everything.

What does truth mean to YOU and how do YOU feel called to manifest truth through your BEING in this lifetime?

This is what you must answer.

There’s a Zen parable that says:

“Before enlightenment, mountains are mountains and lakes are lakes.

During enlightenment, mountains are no longer mountains and lakes are no longer lakes.

After enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and lakes are once again lakes.”

Jed is really, really fucking good at taking people to the place where mountains are no longer mountains and lakes are no longer lakes.

He’s not so good at bringing people back to the mountains and lakes of planet Earth.

This is why some of his fans seem to get lost in “nothing matters” nihilism or cynical spiritual superiority.

Jed must be balanced.

I recommend balancing him by reading Eckhart Tolle, David Hawkins, Pema Chodron, Peter Brown, Adyashanti, Bentinho Massaro, Byron Katie, Charles Eisenstein, Terence McKenna, Tao Lin, Jiro Taylor, Stephen Reid, and so on.

For me, post-Jed, it was vital to do everything possible to ground and re-integrate Earth and the Heart. Some of these teachers helped me do that; my infant daughter Lila helped me the most.

Remember this: This world is real. Earthly life is real. It’s ALL real. There are real beings here with real beating hearts who you love and who are suffering and who you can assist, if you wish. Never forget this. It’s utterly crucial.

Also remember this: All statements, including every sentence in this post, are in some sense true and in another sense false; and on yet another level, the very dualistic framework of ‘true-vs-false’ and the very framework of human language are *totally* inadequate frameworks for capturing what is truly going on in reality—which is actually ENTIRELY beyond comprehension or languaging. This is fundamental.

Also, never forget this side of Jed:

"This is it. Not some other time, not some other place. Right here. Right now. I am standing at the exact center of infinity and I see perfection and beauty and absolute delight everywhere and in every thing. The touch of the slightest breeze, the sight of a single star through cloudswept skies, the howls of coyote pups in the distance, and the sheer glory and beauty of it all is enough to tear me to shreds and all I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you!"

— Jed McKenna, Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing

Amen.

Love,
JB

P.S. To go deeper on your path of awakening, empowerment, and service to Earth, read these 11 matrix-dissolving books; read my book You Are God; and consider joining us in Ouroboros—an awakened social ecosystem, school of sovereignty, & New Earth training ground I created and have just re-opened. In Ouroboros, our focus is simple: Wake up. Exit the matrix. Find the others. Be what we are. Birth the New Earth. 

You can join the $7/month New Earth Alliance tier of Ouroboros simply by subscribing here on Substack; this will also give you access to all paid posts here on Substack.

You can even join the School of Sovereignty tier of Ouroboros by becoming a founding member here on Substack for $255/year.

To join the highest tier, Council of Warriors, you’ll need to visit the Ouroboros website; I recommend visiting the website anyway, to read the Ouroboros vision.

P.P.S. As you can see, I’ve decided to experiment with blogging / publishing my newsletter via Substack. I’ll now be sending my normal newsletter through this platform. <3

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Jordan Bates is no one. Fool. Wizard. Lover of Tao. Founder of Ouroboros. Find him on social media and view his latest offerings here.