Andrew Cohen - Redefining the Spiritual Impulse

Through his ceaseless investigation into the nature of enlightened consciousness, spiritual teacher and visionary philosopher Andrew Cohen has become a defining voice in the field of evolutionary spirituality. In this talk recorded live in Chicago, he methodically and cogently articulates the implications of what the search for higher states of consciousness means for those of us living in a secular postmodern culture.

In the course of his presentation, Cohen, who is the founder and editor-in-chief of EnlightenNext magazine, casts a new light on many of the traditional concepts that are encountered on the quest for meaning and self-transcendence. The nature of the soul, the experience of consciousness, and the understanding of God are seen from a deep-time evolutionary perspective. He differentiates the authentic drive for creativity from the static, self-concerned desire to keep things as they are, and he makes it clear that embracing the potential for higher development is the most profound, thrilling, and challenging dimension of the enlightened life.

In this impassioned call to awaken, you will discover a response to our moment in history that is completely relevant, utterly transformative, and urgently needed.

BIO

Andrew Cohen, founder of EnlightenNext magazine, is a spiritual teacher and acclaimed author widely recognized as a defining voice in the emerging field of evolutionary spirituality. A life-changing awakening in 1986 brought Cohen to the end of his own search for liberation while simultaneously starting him on an exploration of the meaning and significance of enlightenment for our time. This has led him to a profound investigation of the human predicament and into dialogue with sages, saints, and spiritual luminaries from nearly every tradition and beyond.

In 1992, Cohen released the first issue of EnlightenNext (formerly What Is Enlightenment), expanding his own inquiry through the public forum of a magazine and pioneering an innovative form of spiritual journalism reminiscent of classical Socratic dialogue. Over the last decade on the pages of EnlightenNext, Cohen has brought together leading thinkers—mystics and materialists, philosophers and psychologists—to call for a higher and wholly contemporary synthesis of the spiritual truths found in the East and the empirical rigor of the West. Through the magazine and his writings, Cohen is creating a new context for understanding enlightenment as a human evolutionary imperative. Together with a growing network of integral visionaries, including Ken Wilber and Don Beck, he is helping to define a culture of thought that places spiritual transformation at the center of any vision of transforming the world.