Michael Beckwith & Andrew Cohen - Is God Evolving?

For millennia, the word “God” has conjured up images of an all-powerful mythic figure in the sky, in whose hands rest the souls and fates of humankind. But after thousands of years of looking heavenward for safety and salvation, could it be that the tables have finally turned and God is now looking to us?

In this intimate and unusually provocative dialogue, cofounder of the Association for Global New Thought Michael Beckwith and EnlightenNext founder Andrew Cohen boldly attempt to redefine the way we understand the divine creative principle in the 21st century. Going head-to-head and heart-to-heart, these two innovative spiritual leaders raise questions crucial to the next stage of human development and dare to articulate what the religion of tomorrow might look like. Their proposal: That the future of God—the energy and intelligence that created us—is now entirely in our hands, in no way separate from the evolution of our own consciousness. Join Cohen and Beckwith for an unforgettable journey to the emerging edge of a new 21st century spirituality.

BIOs

Michael Bernard Beckwith is a world leader and teacher in the New Thought–Ancient Wisdom tradition of spirituality. He is the founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center, cofounder of the Association for Global New Thought, and the Season for Nonviolence, which are extensions of his vision of one human family united on a foundation of peace, based on the spiritual origin of every man, woman, and child.

In 1986 Dr. Beckwith founded the Agape International Spiritual Center, a transdenominational community which today counts a membership of 9,000 devoted to the study and practice of New Thought–Ancient Wisdom. Agape's outreach programs feed the homeless, serve incarcerated individuals and their families, advocate the preservation of the planet's environmental resources, and globally build and support orphanages whose children have survived the ravages of war and AIDS.

Dr. Beckwith's renown as a harbinger of the world's quest for peace has drawn into his visionary orbit those whose names are synonymous with this goal. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi, shares with Dr. Beckwith the national co-directorship of A Season for Nonviolence. SNV promotes and teaches the principles of nonviolence embodied by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and is endorsed by UNESCO on behalf of its Culture of Peace and Nonviolence Appeal by Nobel Peace laureates. Other notable supporters include Dr. C.T. Vivian, Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne of Sri Lanka, His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Coretta Scott King, and Dr. Robert Muller.

As cofounder and president of the Association for Global New Thought, Dr. Beckwith stands, along with other co-creative leaders, members, and friends, at the threshold of an evolutionary leap that dares to call an end to human suffering. As its voice, Dr. Beckwith guides activities such as AGNT's annual Awakened World Conference, bringing together scientists, sociologists, spiritual leaders, economists, and international forecasters—individuals with proven track records in guiding humanity to its highest potential.

Dr. Beckwith teaches meditation, scientific prayer, and speaks at conferences and seminars. He is the originator of the Life Visioning Process, a time-tested technique offering its practitioners a method for putting a stop to being a passive tourist in one's life. He is author of Inspirations of the Heart (currently nominated as a finalist for the Nautilus Book Award), Forty Day Mind Fast Soul Feast, A Manifesto of Peace, and Living from the Overflow.

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.