Live Zoom teaching with Andrew Cohen
No images? Click here
Teachings with Andrew Cohen
The Unreasonable Nature of Spirit
Dear Friend,
When embarking on a path of spiritual awakening, many of us – even the most serious and earnest seekers – assume that enlightenment will bring a kind of final resolution to our troubled lives; a reasonable peace, tranquillity or rest to our agitated minds and souls.
We invariably believe that awakening will provide an ultimate answer to all of our unresolved hurt and unhappiness – and we imagine that the Master, in the archetype of kind and saintly sage, will heal long-held wounds and soothe our deepest emotional or psychological trauma.
It’s true that the realisation of enlightenment as pure non-dual Being bestows upon the realiser a deep and fathomless peace, an infinite stillness. In this beginningless and endless realm that exists prior to time, space and mind, there is no suffering. There is only limitless peace, silence and rest – because in this domain nothing has happened!
But when pure, untamed Spirit enters the world of time and space through the body-mind of an authentically awakened Master, it is not necessarily attended by peace in its wake. On the contrary, when the raging fire of Spirit meets the wounded ego, the sensitive self, all hell breaks loose.
From the perspective of our conventional shared agreements, the unconfined nature of Spirit when set free in the world can seem completely unreasonable. It often doesn’t conform to our accepted ideas of moral decorum, politeness or even good behaviour – and this is where the whole matter becomes very delicate.
In the context of enlightenment, the wounds and dramas of the ego are completely unreal; the figments of a disordered imagination, hiding the sublime truth of our authentic identity and nature. But in a conventional context, of course these wounds are all too real, having sometimes devastating consequences.
When spiritual Master and ego meet in earnest, the conflict between these two formidable forces can be fierce and bloody. But it is the function of the Master, as a vehicle for Spirit, to confront and unmask the ego’s delusional belief system, and in the process reorient the entire self-sense of the awakening individual.
As true partners on the path, how are we to understand this complex problem? This unique enlightenment context literally shatters convention and orthodoxy, so it is often seen as profoundly dangerous – and from a certain point of view, it is. But how much is too much, and how do we tell the difference?
In this deeply provocative talk, Andrew Cohen draws on more than three decades of experience as a teacher to contemplate the unreasonable nature of spirit. In a cultural context which seems less ready than ever to embrace authentic spirituality, how can we create the appropriate “set and setting” for such an uncompromising and radical journey to self-transcendence?
We are very excited to bring you our online venue Manifest Nirvana, and with it a new way of attending events with Andrew Cohen.
If you prefer to continue booking per event, just click the button below. When you've completed the booking process, you'll automatically be given a free Guest membership.
If you are a regular attendee, our $25.00 per month Friend Membership gives you access to all live weekly talks with Andrew Cohen, as well as a library of recordings and many other benefits.
Please note, you don't need a Zoom link to access events. Just log in to Manifest Nirvana to enter the Teaching Hall at the time of the event.
The hall will automatically open for booked Guests, and for Friend or Resident members.
The Unreasonable Nature of Spirit
Live Zoom teaching with Andrew Cohen
Cost $0 – $50
Sunday 30th January 2022
7am PST • 8am MST • 10am EST • 3pm UK •
4pm CET • 8:30pm IST •
Doors open 15 minutes before
