Class 2 is called The Universe Awakening To Itself :

This class along with class 1 sets the stage for Evolutionary Enlightenment.Where classes 3 4 and 5 is more about how the individual actually practices the steps to awaken to the realization that the teaching is pointing toward.

In this class we say that consciousness can develop in two ways one is depth and the other perspective.The first video is all about introducing ways to see onself from a higher perspective,the first way I started this was to show a video of Andrew called embracing the perspective of the process.
Then I used different examples to illustrate how the perspective on life we have is completly culturally molded by the life conditions we are born into.And by that I mean most of us see oursevles as individuals on a individual journey.
By embracing the perspective of the process we can  view ourselves in a different way and start to see ourselves as a product of 14 billion years of Evolution, that is only  starting to recognize the very process that gave birth to all of us.

So this class revolved around this whole idea that we are the Universe awakening to itself.
And if you really think about it what else could we be?

I think last week was a real ice breaker for everybody that was in the class, and I know if you have never been exposed to these ideas before they can seem a little hard to follow, but I am just encouraging everyone to stick with it with focused intention, as this is when the magic can start to happen, and when it does it will blow you away!

The atmosphere of the class for me was much more developed than the first one and there was much more participation from everyone which added to the succsess of this class.

I personally very much enjoyed teaching this class as I can feel development is happening.

The next class is meditation.

p.s Here is a quote that In read today that I thought fitted into this class very nicely, also it is very inspiring.


We Are the Future

Every little thing counts because everything is real and is part of the picture. Nothing escapes; nothing is on the side. Everything is making its difference to the whole. No one is ever outside the God-process. But it goes only where we go with it. It doesn't force us; we are the movers from the inside. So it won't go forward unless we move it forward. That is why we are all so important. We cannot wait for the world to turn, for the times to change that we may change with them, for the revolution to come and carry us round in its new course. No more will the evolutionary forces of nature propel us in their groping way through the next critical point into a new state of Being. From now on, if we are to have any future, we must create that future ourselves. We ourselves are the future and we are the revolution.

Dr. Beatrice Bruteau
Cosmologist with advanced degrees in mathematics, philosophy, and religion whose perspective is a remarkable synthesis of Western science and Eastern wisdom
WIE September-December 2006

Following on from the first 2 classes, which are more about the development of the  perspective and worldview in which Evolutionary Enlightenment is based on.

The third class is the first class in which we look at what are the steps the  individual must take in order to practice EE.

So the first step on this journey to wholeness is going from our culturaly conditioned sense of self and letting all of it go and experiencing the ground of our own being. When we experience this dimension of ourselves through the practice of meditation we can start to free ourselves from being completely lost in our thoughts and emotions most of the time. Believe me it's a big relief!

We started by looking at the ego model and discussed some of the characteristics of this part of the self i.e I don't want to be free, I live for my own sake, I face nothing and avoid everything, I am a victim etc.

Then we looked at what  meditation is and what are the qualities of this experience. For example Andrew said that meditation is absolute peace and not relative peace, also he mentioned that when we have access to the ground of being itself we just want to abide there forever.

We then dicussed the absolute context for Andrews instuctions for meditation and how this means we have to actually do them no matter what our experience is and not work at getting better at them.This can be the challenging part because most of us are alot more concerned with the content of our experience rather than our relationship to it.

Then we had a guided meditation and talked about it.

Then we looked at the question what does freedom mean? I explained to the class that this point for me was one of the biggest transfomational insights that Andrews teaching has showed me.It basically says that freedom is not only and experience but a choice we choose to make, and if we make the choice to be free when it is difficult for us then we will experience enormous benefits by doing this because we have made noble effort.

We then finshed the class with a meditation which was lovely.

I thought more than ever there was a deepening of something bonding within the group and people are opening up to this and sensing it more with every week.

I hope this continues to develop as we move on my hope for the next two classes is for the Authentic self to start to rise to the surface and for people to experiencially recognise it.

Ross Deighton

 

In the teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment experiencing the Authentic Self and knowing what it is is a hugh part of the teaching.

So in this class we were discovering that the Authentic self  as Andrew defines it is the ecstatic creative urge toward consciousness, most people at some point in there life has had the experience of it wether they know it or not. We first brought out how this part of the self feels. Then we looked at how the ego feels, and discussed how these parts of the self are completly different.

Then we looked at how the creative energy that is driving the evolutionary process manifests its-self at different levels from the sexual energy to the intense desire to innovate  and create to the highest expression available at this point in Evolution which is the urge towards consciousness(Authentic self).

The class really responded to this by talking about and exploring their own experience of these two parts of the self, its amazing so see! In EE the 3 step process is going from ego to the ground of being (meditation), then to come back as the Authentic self and start to participate in the creation of a new culture and consciousness. So when we as individuals make the choice to transform ourselves from ego to the Authentic self we are literally consciously co-creating a new stage of human development, one were the limiting boundaries of separation are flung off to reaveal we are life itself, evolving at the highest level on this planet.

We also talked about how Andrew has said for years that synacism is a hugh obstacle for us post modern people if we want to evole or even experience the Authentic self. This was brought out nicely in the class when one participant described thier experience of spaciousness and an ecstatic urge to know more, and yet maybe a day later their synaciscm and doubt took over and they lost  sense of  the exctatic positivity that the Authentic self brings.

So our first goal in EE is to start to transform ourselves from ego to Authentic self and then eventually get to 51% Autthentic Self.

This is where the practice of the 5 tenets come in. Which will be the last class next week.

I think the atmosphere of the class is deepening with every week that goes by. And I get the feeling I don't want to stop! I also really appreciate everybody's participation in the last class, I think that's what makes it a success.
 

The class this week started with a written test. As I handed the papers out there was an almost automatic response of tension and nervousness from most of the people.

The reason for this test was not to find out how much people understood, but to prove that people respond in conditioned ways according to specific circumstances.

By applying the five tenets one can start to see these conditioned impulses that arise in our awareness, this creates the potential for consciouss evolution.

As the Authentic self rises to the surface of consciousness one experiences 
instantaneously ecstatic freedom that liberates us from limiting conditioned responses that result from the past. But when this experience fades and the conditioning of the personal ego gets back in the driving seat, this is when the five tenets can be applied.

The first three tenets cultivates soul strength, which Andrew defines as an increasing capacity for integrity, transparancy and authenticity. As the soul can be strengthened it can also be weakened, the choices we make when our conditioning arises will determine which one will happen.

Its good to point out that each persons soul is at a different point of Evolution. I heard Andrew describe the soul as the sum total of the individuals actions and responses to those actions. Where as on an absolute level everyone is consciousness, at that level there is no difference whatsoever.

The Authentic self emerges in the model as the fourth and fifth tennet are practiced. This is where the change from a personal perspective to an impersonal universal view starts to come into awareness.

The final video described the amazing potential that will start to happen when two or more individuals come together who are living the five tenets. A higher collective consciousness will start to emerge between people that is completely thrilling and liberating.
This course is an introduction to the teaching and did not even scratch the surface of the collective potential. I am hoping we continue to meet up after the course. So people can get a sense of this and develop it further!

When I look back to the first class I can see how much development there has been in five weeks from the whole group, we definitlely finshed at a deeper place than when we started.

All my Love Ross

p.s I thought I would ad this quote I found.

For the Next Million Years

Christians have been reflecting upon Jesus' crucifixion for two thousand years. If you had happened to be around back then, for example, in Alexandria, it was a cosmopolitan world and they had news of what was going on, and you heard about some Jewish rabbi being killed - big deal. It wouldn't really have had an impact on you. But then, for two thousand years afterwards, Christian theologians are thinking about it. So my latest thought is, maybe for the next million years, humans will be reflecting on what it actually means for the earth to go through this extinction process. It may take us that long to fully take it in, with all of its ramifications. I don't understand it. It's vastly beyond my mind. I think that we're not prepared to really understand what it means. That's all I'm hoping for. If we just get a glimpse of it, we can begin to think at the level that's required to deal with it effectively.
Brian Swimme
Cosmologist and leading proponent of the 'Universe Story', a deep time developmental perspective on the evolutionary dynamics of the cosmos