The problem of consciousness explained away

I bought this book in the belief that it contained an interesting, new angle on the mind-body problem. And yes, I know that Allan Combs is a friend of Ken Wilber, the "pandit" of Integral Theory. The book does have a promising start, quoting and discussing William James, attempting to explain (or explain away) the problem of consciousness from some kind of phenomenological stance. Nothing wrong with that, per se.

And then there's the rest of the book...

Allan Combs turns out to be an old hippie with almost stereotyped Love Summer/New Age values, and a truly comic chela complex towards Ken Wilber. Every time the author quotes Wilber, he is at great pains pointing out that it's "quoted by permission from Ken Wilber". Since Combs and Wilbie seem to be litter buddies, I really don't get it.

Combs' main message is simple: you aren't spiritually developed unless you love Picasso, Manet's nudes, modern art in general, postmodern urban subcultures, and (I presume) hippies. To take morals seriously is another sure sign of arrested development. Interestingly, Combs repeats Wilber's remarkable admission that a truly "enlightened" person might be a social or moral wreck. But if so, "enlightenment" simply means that you have a certain ability to space out. It's unclear why anyone would want to spend 20+ years meditating like crazy for *that*, unless it also leads to some rather heavy social and moral transformations. If these people cannot even save themselves, why on earth should we follow them?

Still, as a product of Non-Dual Mindlessness, I suppose "Consciousness explained better" does have a certain entertainment value.