Session 1

THE NON-DUALITY OF BEING & BECOMING

A profound grasp of the meaning of non-duality is the very foundation of any authentic mystical perspective. The direct realisation of non-duality or Absolute Oneness is both elusive, and profound beyond measure.

In Evolutionary Enlightenment, non-duality is recognised to have two paradoxical qualities. Being is the timeless, formless ground of all-that-is, the felt experience of Peace. Becoming is the felt experience of evolutionary urgency. Being and Becoming together represent the metaphysical totality of everything, both manifest and unmanifest.

What is the relationship between these two apparently paradoxical facets of Absolute Oneness? We will explore this question in depth, both philosophically and as direct experience.

Session 2

CLARITY OF INTENTION

In the teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment, Clarity of Intention is the very foundation of spiritual practice. Cultivating the desire to be spiritually liberated more than anything else is the fulcrum around which the spiritual life turns.

But what does it really mean to want to be free more than anything else? What are the implications for the lives we are already living? We will explore the profound transformative power of this principle from multiple perspectives.

Session 3

THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING

The Buddha's first Noble Truth is the truth of suffering. Pain and misery, both physical and emotional, are perennial facts of life for virtually all sentient beings, and agonising existential suffering is a postmodern epidemic.

The quest for spiritual enlightenment is often motivated by a desire to escape from suffering. Only by fully facing into the seemingly unbearable nature of this truth will we be able to aspire for spiritual liberation while embracing the totality of our humanity.

Session 4

ABSOLUTE & RELATIVE

The Buddhist two truths doctrine states that there are two fundamental dimensions of reality. One is absolute and one is relative.

The absolute exists beyond time, space and mind, and is the ultimate transcendental context. The realisation of this is the source of spiritual liberation or enlightenment. The relative is the entirety of all manifestation, evolutionary becoming and everything that emerges from it: quarks, atoms, molecules, planets, galaxies, plants, animals, humans, cultures and worldviews.

The absolute is the infinite and indestructible context in which everything that can be seen, felt, touched and thought appears. The relative is the ever-expanding context of relatedness that evolution has given rise to.

The attainment of spiritually-awakened clarity depends upon the deepest grasp of the distinction between these two truths.

Session 5

MEDITATION

Meditation is the practice of transcending the mind and conditioned thought process. Through mastery of meditation we can directly discover the primordial source of unconditional freedom.

The consistent practice of meditation reveals to us a unique opportunity to cultivate radical autonomy and independence, not only from the relentless torment of our minds and emotions, but also from the time-bound experience of incarnation itself.

Session 6

SANGHA (COMMUNITY)

The Buddha was once asked whether associating with like-minded people is a part of the Holy Life. His answer was that associating with like-minded people is the whole of the Holy Life.

We will discuss in detail why the cultivation of spiritual friendships and communion based upon shared higher values and aspirations is the most potent catalyst for inner development and perpetual evolution.

How do we bring the challenging ideals of spiritual community into the cultural tumult of the 21st century?

Session 7

THE FIRST THREE TENETS

•  Clarity of Intention
• The Power of Volition
• Face Everything and Avoid Nothing

The first three tenets of Evolutionary Enlightenment provide a complete teaching. When practiced with sincerity, the first three tenets can show us the direct path to right action, spiritual independence and true integrity.

Together, the first three tenets challenge us to ask the question: if we sincerely aspire to be free here and now, what is the right relationship to our mind, emotions and life choices?

Session 8

THE FOURTH AND FIFTH TENETS

• The Process Perspective
• Cosmic Conscience

The fourth and fifth tenets call us to heroically embrace an Evolutionary context and a Kosmocentric perspective in relationship to our personal experience and within the human experience as a whole.

They point us far beyond the small-minded, self-centred world of the separate self or ego, directly revealing the bright-awake-ecstatic energy and intelligence that drives and animates the creative process.

Session 9

INTERSUBJECTIVE NON-DUALITY

The emergence of intersubjective non-duality is one of the most important contributions that Andrew Cohen’s Evolutionary Enlightenment teaching has made to postmodern spiritual culture.

This is when the experience of enlightened awareness transcends the boundaries of subjective interiority and becomes the intersubjective ground through which we can communicate with each other, directly from the mind of enlightenment itself.

It is the awakened field of shared consciousness through which the ascending drive of the Evolutionary Impulse communicates with itself through us, as us.

Session 10

UTOPIAN IDEALISM

To awaken to the Evolutionary Impulse is to have a directly felt experience of the energy and intelligence that created and is creating the universe. Its nature is to endlessly give rise to ever greater levels of complexity and wholeness.

The Evolutionary Impulse is the utopian drive that animates the entire cosmos. Its nature is an inherent perfection that endlessly strives to give rise to that perfection, in and as the material universe, through the messy creative process of manifestation and emergence.

How do we consciously awaken to this thrilling impulse that is the beating heart of the cosmos?

Session 11

THE COUNTERCULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF RADICAL SPIRITUALITY

When we first awaken to higher states of consciousness and begin to experience the unconditional freedom of the ground of being, we see for the first time that we have unknowingly been prisoners of our own mind. We recognise the conditioned ways of thinking that we have unconsciously absorbed from culture.

These experiences awaken us to possibilities of change and higher developmental potentials that we never imagined possible. They can profoundly threaten the status quo not only of our own minds, but also of the world around us.

What is the significance of this countercultural awakening to the evolution of culture itself?

Session 12

WRAPPING UP • Q&A • NEXT STEPS

The concluding part will be an open question and answer session, during which you will be able to share your experiences over the 12 weeks of the course.

Andrew will also give direction on how you can develop and sustain stability in your practice, and talk about the next steps you can take to deepen your understanding and experience of Evolutionary Enlightenment.