New magazine reaches out to emerging culture of evolutionary “early adapters”

Lenox, MA – Dubbed by devoted readers “the Wired magazine of the spiritual world,” EnlightenNext revamps and relaunches its premier publication as an international quarterly to reach an emerging global market of “early adapters” and their evolutionary new meta-culture. The magazine identifies evolutionaries who represent the most significant shift in social values since the Sixties.

Founded by acclaimed American author Andrew Cohen, a leading contributor to the expanding field of evolutionary spirituality, EnlightenNext integrates in-depth social, spiritual and scientific inquiry into conscious evolution as the ultimate context for self help and social change.

Along with Editor-in-Chief Andrew Cohen, executive editor Carter Phipps and senior editor Dr. Elizabeth Debold, co-author of the bestselling book Mother Daughter Revolution, head an editorial team that engages with influential thought leaders including Ken Wilbur, Deepak Chopra, Ray Kurzweil, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Andrei Codrescu, Elisabet Sahtouris, and Michael Beckwith.

Published for 17 years as What Is Enlightenment?, the time-honored title re-enters the U.S. market under its new name, EnlightenNext, with prime placement at booksellers like Barnes & Noble and Border’s, specialty retailers like Whole Foods and newsstands throughout North America.
Over 3 million prospective readers will receive an exclusive offer for a free first issue available online (EnlightenNext.org/freemagazine) via the life-like Zinio reader which features auto-scaling page spreads and a user interface that turns pages seamlessly from cover to cover. The offer comes with no strings attached, no promise to pay, and no credit card required.

EnlightenNext will premiere with done deals for Dutch, French and German language editions, and plans to publish British, Indian and Spanish editions within a year.

Inside the first issue
In the first issue of EnlightenNext, political pundit Arianna Huffington (p. 78) explores what she calls our “fourth instinct” to seek truth beyond the false dichotomy of left vs. right, pointing out that “What used to be considered left-wing positions–on health care, on bringing the troops home from Iraq, on doing something about global warming, on corporate responsibility–are now solidly mainstream positions.”

In “Dreams of a Mild-Mannered Hero” (p. 82) BBC journalist Joshua Dugdale, producer and director of The Unwinking Gaze–a behind-the-scenes film documenting the Dalia Lama’s struggle to free Tibet–shares his up-close-and-personal observations about the man behind the myth and what’s it really like to live a lifetime in exile as celibate monk who has become one of the world’s most beloved public figures.

In “The Integral Emergence” (p. 54), associate editor Joel Pitney explores how progressive values forged in the 1960s continue to permeate society and inspire a culture coup d’état called the integral revolution.

In “A Theologian of Renewal” (p. 60), Georgetown University professor and pioneering Catholic theologic John Haught asks, “ Will Christianity will survive the 21st Century?” He calls for a complete overhaul of theology that can thrive in the scientific age and articulate a new vision for the religious impulse.

In “Enlightening Main Street” (p. 28), Contributor Carol Ann Raphael explores the relationship between talk show icon Oprah Winfrey, German-born mystic Eckhart Tolle, Skype, and Chevrolet, and their recent ten-part webcast that attracted as many as 20 million viewers.

According to Mark Tauber, senior veep and publisher at HarperOne, “we’re absolutely seeing the spirituality side of things coming back, and we’ve got the stats to prove it.”

For its Voices from the Edge department (p. 32), author James Gardner adapts a chapter from his upcoming book Cosmos and Culture (NASA) and explores what he calls “the most profound evolutionary development since the Cambrian explosion,” the creation of transhuman intelligence potentially unfriendly to its creator. In “The Dumbest Generation?” contributor Tom Huston grapples with Generation Y’s peculiar blend of narcissism and idealism.

In “The Guru and the Pandit” (p. 40), EnlightenNext founder Andrew Cohen and integral philosopher Ken Wilbur continue their six-year dialog exploring what it means for enlightenment to evolve, the connection between consciousness and culture, and what “integral consciousness” really is and why it matters.

Supporting statements
“We now want the name of our magazine to express what our broader mission has really always been: to energetically inquire into the future of spirituality, culture, morality, philosophy, science, cosmology, and consciousness,” shares editor in chief Andrew Cohen who founded the publication’s predecessor nearly 20 years ago. “We’re interested in making the deepest rational sense out of life while remaining true to the most transcendent mystical insights. We’re interested in the future and how we can all create it together in the most spiritually enlightened manner.”

“We live in evolutionary times,” says Robert Heinzman, publisher of EnlightenNext magazine. “The first issue marks the rebirth of a magazine that has made its name helping people find meaning in and make sense of the brave new world emerging around us over the last 20 years. Recent world events have brought humanity face-to-face with possible futures ranging from hellish to heavenly. As a result, people everywhere are waking up fast to the reality that every human action impacts the evolution of all life as we know it. And most people are realizing that there is a direct relationship between their own personal evolution and the future of all life. EnlightenNext is a magazine by, for and about the self-selecting evolutionaries who are inspired to change the world from the inside out.”

At EnlightenNext magazine, we are not simply chronicling our fascinating times, we are tracing the emergence of new ways of thinking—in philosophy, science, spirituality, etc.—that will define the future of our culture,” says senior editor Dr. Elizabeth Debold. “If you look back over humanity’s remarkable history, every major cultural shift has produced new ways of addressing both the practical and the existential questions of life on this planet. At EnlightenNext, we’re asking what’s next? How are we going to deal with the issues that we face and engage with the significance of life as we become more globally aware and conscious of our shared 14 billion year evolutionary trajectory? Our intent is to invite our readers into an enlivening inquiry that challenges us all to think again about who we are and what we think is possible.

“We’re excited about this new phase in the evolution of EnlightenNext magazine.” explains Carter Phipps, that magazine’s executive editor. “Our new issue is perhaps our most eclectic yet, covering the evolution of philosophy, science, theology, and politics, and featuring individuals from many disciplines who are at the leading edge of their respective fields. We believe that today people are hungry for contemporary content that really explores the deeper questions of life. EnlightenNext is well positioned to take advantage of this trend, and to serve the growing market of people who are passionate about the evolution of consciousness, but also interested in how that relates to the evolution of culture.”