Enlightened As Hell: How To Be Spiritual And Not Be A D*ck

by Tony Ortega

Geared towards people who want to be enlightened (or simply live a better life) yet feel they can’t do so because of the past and/or current state of the spiritual world, Enlightened as Hell: How to Be Spiritual and Not Be a D**k is the third book by clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Ortega.

Dr. Ortega brings three decades of experience as an actual mental health professional and consumer of an array of spiritual studies, as well as his sassy humour, to distil mental health and spiritual philosophies down to a street level. This is a book for millennials as much as it is for people 40+. Most likely to appeal more to women than men due to the nature of self-help readerships, Dr. Ortega is also a champion of LGBTQIA+ rights, so this is an inclusive, accessible book for anyone open to learning more about spirituality and potential answers to the question, “Is this it?”

“In Enlightened As Hell you get ALL the building blocks to lead an enlightened life without spending any more money!”

124 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2022

About the author

Dr. Tony Ortega is a first generation Cuban American. He is a licensed clinical psychologist, speaker, and author who has been in practice since 1992, currently serving the LGBTQ population in his private practice located in Brooklyn, New York.
He is the creator of the brand Be The One
(betheonelife.com), which helps people of all races,
genders, and sexual orientations show up, have real
conversations, liberate themselves, and create the life they’ve wanted.
Tony combines cognitive behavioral techniques along
with active coaching and metaphysical principles in his work with clients. Additionally, Tony provides spiritual life coaching for individuals seeking a different way to live. He works with his clients within these three principles: Rewrite Your Story, Find Your Voice, and Live Authentically. Tony can be found online at drtonyortega.com and on social media as
@drtonyortega

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this short book helped me realise all over again about most of the things I unintentionally worry about but that were affecting me everyday causing me anxiety and some things I don’t want my days to be like.

I would say the book does what it promises. Reading an upto date self help book like this one has far better benefits as they directly mention some of the most worry some issues we are facing today like social media issues, mental health issues, the ever debatable issue on faith and day today life in general.

I find the ‘ElevateNOW’ highlights in each chapter very useful and they have amazing real life examples to understand the concepts better.

Go for this book even if you are going to retire soon or even if you are someone who’s just graduated.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little sceptical about this book only because of the title. It’s incredibly long and the need for a * always makes me doubt the quality of the writing BUT I was wrong to be hesitant as it it an incredibly refreshing, frank and uplifting book.

This book is very much written in the author’s voice, so much so that I immediately felt their warmth, compassion AND of course the years of experience, both personal and academic, gained. It isn’t preachy but it DOES preach the need to make our peace with ourselves, to love ourselves and to REALISE that we are not broken and DO NOT NEED to be FIXED. I know, that’s a lot of capital letters but this is kind of how this book made me feel. It made me want to shout HELL YEAH!

It is incredibly easy to read and Dr Ortega does have a skill in making this accessible to all. I think it is because it is addressing the fact that underneath the many labels that we now encounter we are all human beings and we all feel pain and suffering – we ALL have our own challenges. Ultimately this is a book about showing kindness, to ourselves and others – no matter who they are. It also guides us with the tools that are all within our grasp to help us along the way.

If I had to chose one chapter that ‘spoke’ to me, it would be Chapter Three: Fear: False Evidence… F*ck That, It Feels Real. Subjective Fear is something that I have carried with me for a long time (and probably always will) but Dr Ortega simplified it for me and I now know how important those self-care techniques are at keeping it under control. It is all about choice and I choose to NOT let it stop me living a full life.

Enlightened As Hell is a relatively short book but it is interesting and uplifting – it is that BFF that will be there to dip in to when you need a reminder of just how fabulous you are – if only you’d allow yourself to be. The key of course is just to be you and to show kindness to yourself as well as the world around you. There is something in this book for everyone – it is beautifully diverse and all are welcome. It has helped me understand that I am more the person I want to be than I thought. That is indeed a good place to be.

[Joanna McQueen · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the synopsis I knew this book was for me. I do love a book that challenges my thinking. This book did not disappoint.

Enlightened as Hell is a self-help book that focuses on enlightenment. It incorporates Ortego’s practices, the Twelve Step Program ideals and a bit of drag queen insight. Doesn’t that sound unique?

What I liked about the book was it’s plain language. It was easy to read and not at all clinical. Ortega takes care to make it easy to understand with anecdotes and examples to support the suggestions and practices. There is also a bit of humour to keep things from being too dry.

I also liked the activities at the end of each chapter and the #elevateNOW throughout - I circled many as they resonated with me. They’ll make great quotes for my journals.

And that’s another thing - this book resonated with me. The enlightened mind is something I’ve been working towards in the past few years and a lot of what was said is in-line with what I’ve already discovered. It’s nice to have consistency of ideals and practices.

Even though I’ve read this book from cover to cover, I know that I will pick it up to refresh my brain as I’m sure I’ll need it at some point. Being consistent is hard when your ‘inner saboteur’ is at work.

It was a pleasure to read this book, to get to know Tony and receive an insight to enlightenment that supports my journey (It has been a long one).

[Read_with_Beans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a quick read, only 124 pages, but is full of insight, advice, and laugh out loud humor. The book has 12 chapters (and a bonus chapter) that are all set-up in the same fashion. Each starts with quote and is followed by several pages of great information with “#ElevateNOW” key highlights for the reader to focus on and ending with “Beaming Down to Earth” – which is provides questions for self-reflection.

Sample from Chapter 7: #ElevateNOW: Being mindful is just being right here, with no personal judgement for or against your experience.

Sometimes enlightenment or spiritual books can seem so far-fetched, “preachy” and inaccessible to the point no one can understand what the hell is going on. That is simply not the case with this book. It is easy to read, comprehend, and it doesn’t make you feel horrible about yourself. This book is a practical and humorous guide to figuring out who you are and how you can make yourself even better. I cannot recommend this book enough – it’s a must read for everyone.

The knowledge and insight gained from reading this book has the ability to help everyone, it truly doesn’t matter age, gender, etc. The accessibility of this book makes it truly all inclusive. The author, Dr. Ortega is a clinical psychologist and a staunch supporter of LGBTQI+ rights. He truly wants to be in service of others and he does so with this book.

Please pick up a copy and enjoy and share it with others.

[Bookread2day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony was raised as a catholic from a strict family. He was a gay kid who went to an all boys catholic school. The question he asked himself was how could he believe in God. During early adulthood he moved into a more Christian based faith. During the worst breakups in his life he had drug and alcohol issues which led him to a different life with all things spiritual due to some personal trauma and depression. Tony then was into meditating and being introduced to crystals, and energy, tarot cards, healing, oracle cards, Angeles and mala beads.

I’m really glad for Tony as he found another way to to help him through a very difficult time he once had.

I didn’t really get along with this book as I’m not a believer in the anything spiritual, like tarot cards or angels. And I didn’t get the right vibes from this book in how to spiritual in ones self or in the sense of any self help.

I also found it difficult to follow, believe in, and I became confused with words in sections that repeated themselves and to me didn’t really make any sense. To be really honest the whole book felt rather odd to me and didn’t make any sense. But the thing I absolutely loved was that Dr. Tony is a champion of LGBTQI, which I read many books about LGBTQI.

[Helen Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be clear, I am a major fan of Dr Ortega's writing style - his other books have been wonderful and I expected nothing less from his latest. What I found was an evolution in his writing style that I had not seen coming - always raw and authentic of course - but Enlightened seemed to be speaking directly to me in a way I've not experienced before. Like he genuinely knew what was bothering me, what I needed help with, how I was feeling and thinking already! This is the perfect book for those who like to do a bit of honest work on themselves, who have dabbled with the likes of crystal and tarot cards, but maybe feel a bit uncertain about what's next for THEM as individuals. Spirituality is not a one-size-fits-all concept. I believe it's possible to take what you need and leave what you don't. Tony's personal experiences combined with decades of incredible professional expertise as a clinical psychologist make this such a beautiful but also hilarious and witty at times book that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes self help books but is often left wanting more...

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free, in exchange for for an honest review.

This is a passion project to cut to the essence of spirituality after the author experienced the theatrics, hypocrisy and profiteering in some of the self-help and personal development circles.

The book explores classical themes of identity, love, fear, forgiveness, letting go, manifesting, mindfulness, intuition, practices and belief in a higher being; and also addresses modern practical concerns like social media and making money. The chapters are structured by eye catching spiritual aphorisms and maxims with the #ElevateNOW hashtag, followed by a sharing of the author’s own experience. Each chapter concludes with a set of questions for the reader to reflect upon.

The aphorism and maxims are well curated to get people to have a deeper think into the meaning of life, and I appreciate the sharing of the author’s experience.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love stuff like this, so as you can probably imagine, I was thrilled when I was given the chance to read and review this book! Now, I have read piles of books that are similar to this one, and I am always on the lookout for books of this kind that put forward something different, something new needs to be added to the table to keep me interested.

One thing that stood out to me, which I liked very much, was the parts of the text that were highlighted. You can literally flip the book open to a random page and get a sort of affirmation for the day!

The contents of the book is relatable and is likely to appeal to people of all ages and walks of life. The author injects humour into a subject that some may find heavy or even complicated. I enjoyed reading through this and it is definitely a book I can see myself referring back to in the future.

[Hannah Symonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic and enlightening read. I really felt as though this book spoke to me. I was a bit sceptical before reading this book but I really found it helpful and I think alot of people will find it relatable. Some of the chapters contain humour which was funny. I like the fact that if you don't want to read the book or if you have already, Each day you can scroll through to a any page and they have a highlighted affirmation that will literally bring positivity to your day. This is definitely going to help a lot of people see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.