We had to meet at a different location for our second class.  We held the second class Downtown Chicago in the Chicago Athletic Association...right on Michigan Avenue with a view of Lake Michigan.  Everyone in the Class liked the location...I must say it was very nice.

In Our Second Class on Evolutionary Enlightenment...we looked into our sense of self is born into endless layers of context that shape us and guide us, often unconsciously throughout our lives.  Our contexts determine our relationship to life...we talked about how this addresses the question "How shall we live?", whereas the first class was more about "Who am I?"...two of the biggest existential questions that confront humanity. 

Going deeper into the contexts to find the answer is a red herring.  To fix the problems, as Einstein said, requires a different mind than the one that created them.  We must take a radical leap to the biggest possible context...which Andrew is pointing to as Cosmo Centric.  What that is seems beyond us...to really look into what that means to become Cosmo Centric/Universal, is more than an intellectual excercise...it requires a radical shift in perspective, to seeing oneself as a process...part of the cosmological story and the evolution of consciousness.  The universe is a dynamic evolving process, a developmental context and that is our context.  We are a part of that process rather than how we normally see ourselves as a static, never changing identity. 

Writing this blog...just trying to convey some of what we talked about...I find it to be a real stretch.   Unless one is really leaning in...and inquiring, seriously looking into this as an authentic inquiry...this could really sound bizarre.  But for those that are willing to question, and not know...it can really shift the fundamental understanding of who we are and why we are here.  Wow....this is Exhilerating!  We have a great class and they really seem to be seriously participating and looking into this with Chris and I!  This is FUN!

We delved into the actual teachings of Evolutionary Enlighenment in Classes 3 and 4. (Classes 1 and 2 were setting the scene for us to be able to look into the teachings) Class 3 we went into exploring Meditation in the Context of Evoultionary Enlightenment and how important it is....part of the fundamental movement from Ego to Emptiness/Ground of Being to Authentic Self. Class 4 we looked at the distinctions that differentiate the Ego and Authentic Self and that there is a Chooser...a choosing faculty which is everything. Andrew recently spoke about enlightening the choosing faculty...at a retreat this past summer. Participants stay after classes and we have very engaging discussions on topics raised during the course. It is an amazing opportunity to come together and really look into what the evolution of consciousness means...in a developmental cosmic context. Brian