Realisation and Transformation

In Evolutionary Enlightenment, spiritual freedom takes a momentous and radical leap forward. Where traditional enlightenment grants us a realisation of the pristine and unbroken silence of perfect Being, Evolutionary Enlightenment connects us directly with the relentless, ecstatic and infinitely creative cosmic principle of conscious Becoming.

It’s essential to identify and understand the differences between these two very distinct and apparently paradoxical dimensions of enlightenment, Being and Becoming. But it’s also vitally important to understand the distinction between realisation and transformation.

No matter how extraordinary or profound our realisation or Satori may be, there is another step that must be taken for realisation to become transformation. In traditional enlightenment it’s very simple. We have to unconditionally let go – unless we let go at the very moment of our realisation, with no gap of time, we will not be transformed by it.

In Evolutionary Enlightenment, in which our realisation is about conscious Becoming, transformation only occurs when we respond. We can have the deepest or highest evolutionary Satori, but unless we radically respond to what has been realised at the very moment it arises in awareness, transformation will simply not happen.

The realisation of conscious Becoming is a deep call from the evolutionary Self. The fundamental nature of this call is creative – it is an impulse to take action, to do. We realise, then we respond. When do we respond? Now. Realise and respond, with no gap of time – only then can the transformative potential of our Satori live and breathe.

We need to remain ever mindful of this difference between realisation and transformation. When we have a Satori, we may experientially recognise a deep or fundamental truth. But it’s only when we act upon that truth that any real and lasting transformation can occur.

In this teaching, Andrew Cohen argues that if we want to mature in our spiritual practice, it’s profoundly important to stand courageously behind what we have realised, by letting go and by responding. Only then can we develop spiritual self-confidence, and allow ourselves to be transformed by our own deepest revelations about the nature of reality.