Waking Up

by Charles T. Tart

"What could we not do if we were truly awake?" asks leading consciousness researcher Charles Tart in this provocative and revolutionary book. Based on the ideas of rogue philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff, this book offers both a diagnosis and helpful prescriptions for addressing the fundamental yet unrecognized problem of humankind: we are not truly awake, aware, and making use of our full capacities.

Gurdjieff taught that we are little more than entranced automatons sharing a "consensus trance," controlled by mechanical habits of thought, perception, and behavior. Tart clearly presents the evidence for how deeply asleep we are and identifies its consequences, then describes methods for becoming more awake, less asleep, and less mechanical, allowing us to realize our full potential. Problems with spiritual teachers and groups along the way are sensitively analyzed and ways given to avoid them, so we can become more intelligent and compassionate human beings while avoiding the traps of cultism.

Genres: Psychology, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Self Help, Philosophy

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Charles T. Tart was an American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his psychological work on the nature of consciousness (particularly altered states of consciousness), as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology, and for his research in parapsychology.

Reviews

[RayDavis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long development on theory, but good examples of cognitive structures and processing. Interesting exercises to begin "waking up," like Self-remembering, Self-Awareness, and Body Scanning.

[Lucas Maimone · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, that never had previous contact with Gurdjieff ideas, this was a truly interesting book and i risk to say, life changing in some ways. Also liked the skeptical and grounded way on which the author constructed his arguments. After all, it's not so easy to talk about mysticism without sounding like a flake hippy, and Charles Tart delivered it.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author writes clearly, mainly from a psychological point of view, about enlightenment. He presents his own analysis, and methods he has taken from Gurdjieff's school.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart, if you can get passed the wind-bag-ish-ness. The dude is an academic of the highest order. So . . . you know. Total smarty-pants. Loved the content. Hated the style.

[Elrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read for it's time. Not so sure how useful or relevant the material would be in 2020. I remember that as someone who can be quite skeptical it had some interesting and useful viewpoints shared.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining. Inventive and exploratory