Evolutionary Spirituality

Towards an Engaged Evolutionary Myticism

Episode III

Arguably our most significant interpretive framework for the nature of reality is the modern scientific discovery that the world and the universe are not, as the ancients believed, static or cyclical. The universe, and everything in it, is evolving.

Cosmic and biological evolution are foundational truths of existence, and the implications are profound and multi-dimensional, extending outwards in every direction. In the 21st century, the context for any path or practice of enlightenment must surely embrace this knowledge and perspective. It is perhaps the most important shift in our understanding of enlightenment in the 2500 years since the Buddha first attained it.

Andrew Cohen and Dr. Marc Gafni are pioneers in the field of evolutionary spirituality, each with their own unique perspective on this newly emergent tradition. They share a strong foundation in an evolutionary approach to spiritual awakening, while emphasising distinctly different but intersecting dimensions of the path and practice.

Both Marc and Andrew have produced pioneering bodies of work in this field, and formulated many of its core tenets. Their teachings uphold and demystify the foundational principles of traditional, modern and postmodern wisdom streams, weaving them together into an integral whole, and ultimately pointing toward a new evolutionary mysticism – what might even be considered a “religion of tomorrow”.

The aim of these dialogues is to celebrate the creative and dynamic evolutionary tension between these two perspectives – to catalyse awakening to higher states and stages of consciousness, giving rise to liberating insights and life-affirming perspectives in a unique tapestry of coherence and meaning, and an inspiring example of emergent spirituality in action.

Episode III: Towards an Evolutionary God

From a philosophical perspective, when we contemplate the nature of God we usually think in the abstract of an eternal and unchanging Absolute Principle.

The direct experience of Samadhi at first appears to confirm the infinite nature of God as static and unchanging – as we bathe in the light of pure being and merge with the Godhead, we become absorbed in a non-dual state of perfect and absolute oneness and bliss, in which nothing ever happened, nor seemingly ever could.

But all of that changes when we return to the relative realm with a disorienting jolt. We see that the whole of reality is in an unending state of chaotic and apparently imperfect becoming. So if the cosmos is evolving, yet the nature of God is perfect, infinite, static and unchanging, we are faced with a philosophical and metaphysical dilemma.

When we truly wake up to the deep truth of cosmic evolution, the nature of God changes. The Absolute Principle is indeed eternal, immortal, but it is not a static eternity. It’s an eternity that’s evolving. God is not at rest, but rather constantly self-generating and complexifying, on a journey of infinite becoming. God is the deep-time yet timeless intelligence at the heart of reality, endlessly creating its own future.

As human beings, when we wake up to the evolutionary nature of God, we recognise with astonishment that we are the leading edge of that process. Within the context of self-reflective awareness, evolution is awakening to itself, recognising itself in us. The universe is becoming self-conscious – God is waking up literally in and through us.

Now we recognise God to be an infinite being who is also unfolding, expanding, as an evolutionary process – and we are the conscious interior of that process. We are the vehicle for the journey that God has taken into infinite becoming.

In their first dialogue, Marc Gafni and Andrew Cohen will share and explore their deepest insights into the ultimate mystery that lies beyond life and death.

From the deepest metaphysical perspective, what is the distinction between life and death?
Is life the manifestation of an eternal metaphysical source, or is it merely the extraordinary emergence of a fundamentally material process?
How do our conscious and unconscious convictions about the ultimate source of the evolving universe affect our moral and philosophical relationship to living and dying?
Is consciousness part of an unbroken developmental continuity in the cosmos, or merely an emergent epiphenomena of matter?
Is death the absolute end of what was, or a transition that is part of an infinite unfolding?
Is the nature of death a question of belief, or do we have real data to support our understanding of it? If there is data, then what is it and where do we find it?
Do we have a more enlightened relationship to death in the 21st century, or can the great wisdom traditions still illuminate our understanding?
Is the fear of death an experience to be transcended, embraced or both? Is living forever a wish that we would want fulfilled?
What are the political, social and economic implications of our relationship to death?