practical engagement: the integrity of a teaching

Last Thursday my friends and I hosted a Discussion group on evolutionary enlightenment. I was a terrific discussion. I was amazed that so many people see Cohen's ideas at another example of their spiritual practice. I related all of the theory to my Tao practice, which uses the I-Ching in the application of the practice. Others saw Evolutionary enlightenment as an expression of their Buddhist practice, too.

It is great to have another set of vocabulary to explain and process abstract theories and experiences.

My entire experience on the spiritual quest has depened because of the awareenss that context is everything.

What does it mean that we are co-creators of the universe?

There is a constant awe of what it means to be on the edge of the 'evolutionary process' as andrew cohen describes it.  His teachings are never abstract & so deeply intuitive. You hear it with heart, not head; though the clarity & sensible logic within it makes it even more grounded & compelling.

I saw/heard him talk yesterday. It became even more clear that what Andrew is saying & trying to draw our attention to is NOT just another version of everything else. 

Personally, it has helped me apply context to everything else I've been doing to this point. There is no conflict.  My I-Ching practice has become refined because of this contextual application & my ability to receive andrew's 'edgy' teachings was all because of my I-Ching work.

It is likely that most of us on the ‘spiritual' path started off because we want reduce/end our suffering (& maybe a subset also want to end the suffering of others).

Perhaps we all begin spiritual practice with a desire for 'freedom, 'liberation' form misery or seeking (craving) a bliss state. peace, peace, peace. (no?). Perhaps the majority of us have a sense that it is a luxury and there is time to do so. (if not this life, then some other life).

So some day.. we become 'free' or we keep trying – then what?

My interpretation & understanding of what Andrew is saying is:

- We do not have the luxury of time. Individual awakening isn't the end, just the beginning. ‘Existence' the unfolding of consciousness depends on it. The status of the world as it is likely because of it.

- God itself is evolving through us, therefore, our actualization of our own awakening (sitting in the 'ground of being' or consciousness), leads us closer to participating in the life process in the way we as humans are capable of because of our cognitive/physical make-up.

But awakening is step one. THEN life starts.

As a metaphor:
We as the unawakened live in the position of -1 and getting to 0 (non-dual, no-thingness. I Am That) is the ultimate goal of most of our spiritual path. , [i.e. back to the source]. (Andrew references this as pre-modern or traditional teachings).

But this is not the end. There is now a position of +1.

+1 is evolutionary enlightenment. It is the edge. It is the reason for awakening. It is the reason for spiritual work. Not because Andrew says so, but because if you look deep within, .. see what you see. What is the context through which you practice?

The impact on what we are 'practicing' now is this is the context from which one begins to do spiritual work. The context through which we meditate or do the I Ching or non-duality or Tao.

The Context is everything.

Our spiritual work in relation to that context is everything.

So the ultimate goal is not about becoming 'awakened' and sitting inanimately in the ever nourishing bliss-state of the ground of being as an end to itself.

The ultimate goal is to become awakened, So THAT….from out of that place, we emerge as the 'authentic self' that can participate from that place.

What would it be to participate in life as the awakened vs. those who are not?

Why bother? just watch the news.


And he is by no means saying the 'traditional view of awakening' is wrong. It is just that it is outdated for the ultimate goal to be about the 'individual's own awakening' so he can be free form suffering – as an end to itself.

It's not only about looking back to those awakened before us, but toward the future that we ourselves are creating (whether or not we realize it). Not because someone says so, but out of being human manifestations of consciousness. You know it when you hear it. You know it in silence. You know it as an urge of creative impulse within you.

Humans are the only beings with the cognitive ability to know our nature & to then ignore it.

At the time the Buddha awakened, it was at the edge of HIS time. (but) Thousands of years later, consciousness itself is evolving through us.

Manifesting through us in this human vehicle, where the universe is becoming aware of itself through us.

Wild? Scary? Unbelievable?

or Amazing, Believable, Real.. Natural, Resonance?

What would it take to ‘save' the world as we know it?

It takes immense courage & starts with knowing our truest nature. Context is everything.