Discovering the Secrets of Happiness: My Intimate Story

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Enlightened was dearest UNCONDITIONAL LOVING Ken
Review: Ken was born on 1/19/1921. There is no mention of a story that could be interpreted as his 'fall from heaven story' in his youth (see my review of "in "Werner Erhard The Transformation of a Man"). At 25 Ken contacted polio & was on wheelchairs from then on & he was able to accept it as a great gift and it disappeared on p.25. In 1970, he met an incarnation of the 3rd Patriarch of Zen on p.86:

"When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden,
for everything is murky and unclear
and the burdensome practice of judging
brings annoyance and weariness....
What benefit can be derived
from distinctions and separations?...
To set up what you like
against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind....
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
nothing in the world can offend,
and when a thing can no longer offend,
it ceases to exist in the old way."

Plus with the 3 Noble Truths of Buddha, he found after 50 year the foundation of a science of happiness on p.90 & turned over his very successful real-estate business to an employee.

The GENIUS of Ken can be seen in his invention of "TURNOVER" bed on pp.20-21 that "I devised a bed that would turn me from my back to my stomach or sit me up when I pushed a switch...it could turn two people as easily as one...I was later issued a US patent on it...I wanted to donate the patent to the Veteran Administration, hoping that many hospitalized people could once again live at home with their families...VA official...later sent me a polite letter saying that the VA 'did not buy turnover beds.' I wonder if the Wright brothers were ever sent a letter from the War Department saying it did not buy airplanes! So far as I know. I'm the only handicapped person who has enjoyed this wonderful bed. The patent has expired - and I'd still like to see this invention used to help people."

SUPERMAN the actor, please take note, 'turnover bed' is a simpler cause than 'embryonic stem cell research'. because the former doesn't have any side-effect, while the later at the current level of human spiritual development will be a biological atom bomb. Plus anyone like my bed-ridden 80 year-old mom could make good use of a 'turnover bed' and hospitals too.

In the Bahamas, Ken experienced enlightenment pp.117-118: "As I watched the sun setting into the water. I moved into experiencing my loneliness as caused by my demands - no thoughts of 'wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a partner.' Life was enough. I was enough!" for 45 minutes & then he completed his MASTERPIECE "The 12 Pathways to Unconditional Love and Happiness" & his "Handbook to Higher Consciousness".

In ch. 16 Ken wrote "I had learned that the Greek word 'agape' refers to UNCONDITIONAL LOVE...As I become more aware, I found that unconditional love is a central theme in all major religions of humankind. In the Christian Bible. Paul wrote a letter to adherents in Corinth that very clearly defined UNCONDITIONAL LOVE:

'Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. LOVE DOES NOT DEMAND ITS OWN WAY. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.' "

In a photo on p.218 with Penny, there in the background is "YOUR DEMANDS CREATE YOUR UNHAPPINESS" or to put it another way 'the conditions you create or impose generate all your fears and worries'. This is why love unlike fear is unconditional.

The seed of what happened later with Penny was already planted on p.151 subtitled "Deeper Levels of Honesty": "My new game was to be totally honest so a woman could perceive what she liked about me and what she didn't like...It was okay for a woman to see me unclothed with no element of glamour. I liked that." Next page was subtitled "Criteria for Marriage" which in essence is a 'game' or 'demand' or 'condition' on Ken's part.

What happened with Penny's part can be glimpsed on p.167 "One of the few areas in which I consciously used Living Love methods was in Penny's refusal to share adult films with me. She did not like movies that showed frequent sexual activities. I occasionally enjoyed sensitive sexual movies that were being made for couples to enjoy themselves."

In spite of the above Ken still decided to have a marriage ceremony with Penny as his third wife on 9/2/1984. Ken ended his autobiography, written in 1989, with subtitles "Loving More - Demanding Less" "We're Nothing Special" "Life is My Teacher" & "The World Is My Mirror". Great EPITATH if any.

As in "Werner Erhard The Transformation of a Man: The Founding of EST" biography, written in 1978, there is a common mystery for these 2 delightfully enlightened human beings.

Both had a good relationship with their then current spouse in their respective intimate story. Werner with his second bigamous Ellen & Ken with his third wife Penny. Something happened & both of their relationships turned very sour & both ended in a (fiery) divorce?

As far I can tell in "60 Minutes and the Assassination of Werner Erhard", written in 1992, Ellen hates Werner to the point of wanting to destroy his relationships with his kids! Penny even accused Ken of brainwashing her, according to Ken's matchmaker to his 4th young wife before Ken passed away in Dec. 1995. On the inner back flap of his last book "Your road map to Lifelong Happiness" Ken has a new young wife named Lydia.

I'm very happy that Ken met Lydia in the Philippines next and 'had a turbulent but entertaining relationship' and wrote his last book on UNCONDITIONAL LOVE till - THE END.