11 Days at the Edge (Think About This #66)
Many of us at EnlightenNext are now on our way to Italy for the first “Being and Becoming” retreat lead by EnlightenNext founder and spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen. It is difficult to convey the transformative experience of such a retreat–the consuming bliss of meditative stillness coupled with the thrill of evolving consciousness–but California author Michael Wombacher’s compelling account of a 2005 retreat in Spain, 11 Days at the Edge, does just that:
“I understood then that the purpose of this wildly exploding cosmos was… an ever-evolving expression of God striving towards some ultimate perfection of Spirit in Matter…. I shuddered with the ecstasy of revelation for long, timeless hours that night as this understanding coursed through my veins with desperate urgency. At last, as the intensity lessened, the implications for my spiritual life became increasingly clear. No longer could seeking be seen as merely a personal matter to be pursued at my own whim for my own ends. Rather, it carried with it the weight of moral obligation as I became aware for the first time of the evolutionary burden of the universe settling upon my not yet fully squared shoulders.”
To check out the book for yourself, click here.
Filed Under: Consciousness • EnlightenNext Editors’ Blog • Evolutionary Enlightenment • Evolutionary Spirituality
Not sure what to make of this; I certainly don’t consider myself to be “enlightened” or anything, but when I hear about someone having a “moral obligation” to evolve, it starts to sound a bit egocentric. Isn’t an objective of spiritual practice to observe this very tendency?
It seems like we are less comfortable with just letting the magnificence of the universe unfold through us, than with attaching some sort of ego-bound achievement motive to an enlightenment endeavor. My proverbial two cents…
I am struck by this excerpt…and I am going to pick up this book asap! Thank you so much for sharing this!
I had never thought of the “End Purpose” of creation. But it’s not surprising that it’s headed toward perfection. Or does It always see everything as perfection. It feels funny to try to reach into the mind of the Infinite Consciousness that has set everything in motion to try to understand It’s Plan. It could be doing this just to do this without a plan or a plan to see what happens as if it didn’t already know. It already knows where It’s going and just wants to see how It gets there.
This sounds very much like the cosmology/theology of the Catholic theologian, philosopher, paeleontologist and mystic, of the last century, Teilhard de Chardin. I will be interested in reading more!
It is either something you feel and know…and you let it happen naturally or you don’t. Maybe, that those who feel they have an obligation to the universe, don’t trust what is occuring naturally at this time. More of us are waking up, do not feel it as a burden on our shoulders…why should it be, as it is our natural state that we have forgotten. It is the birthright of each and every being who is ready to go for it. Actually, if it is enlightenment…where is the lightness in the process? Maybe as Loree senses, there is ego identity involved as one places oneself in a ‘moral obligation’ for carrying the burden of the evolution of the universe. Most of the people who announce themselves as doing this could be suffering from a lack of feeling the spirit within…we can’t think it, as many are trying to do…we feel it and become it…remembering that we always were it and forgot. J.
Sounds great! And I think there’s something to be said for ‘getting clear,’ as opposed to ego-driven achievement campaigns. That seems to be what this “Enlightenment” is about: It is not necessarily a self in quest to become enlightened but perhaps more so a reference to what the [Enlightenment] German writers called “Zeitalter der Aufklärung,” an age of ‘clearing up.’ In 1783, Immanuel Kant asked, “Was ist Aufklärung?” (What is Enlightenment) and said, “”Enlightenment is man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity…” The sense of ‘moral obligation’ we feel is perhaps indicative of the rational response that the European Enlightenment posed to the Renaissance – Early Modern Metaphysical writers, poets, and philosophers, and to theology’s previous monopoly of values and morals. So, I think our sense of ‘moral obligation,’ if not examined for presuppositions, might invoke a rationally-centric old Enlightenment paradigm and impetus. But this is a New Enlightenment. Thanks for sharing. I will check this out.
I read the book and it is just excellent. I’m sure development is perfect in every stage, but our minds cannot understand any End Purpose, maybe it never stops… So for now the vision of the future is unfolding as we evolve, I think, and when we begin to cooperate with the development ourselves, we begin to grasp more of it and things go so much faster. That is so fascinating and there definitely is an urge that everybody should get that too, for their own sake and for us all.
All cosmologies are made of thought which is exactly not-Self. You already Are, understand not-Self. (hint: thinking, conceptualizing, abstracting processes) There is No-One to do or go anywhere. Only you who say “I” Are. What could you possibly do to be YourSelf? Only You Are, Here, Now. Relax.
It’s a magical and endlessly spellbinding universe we live in, the whole point is, can we sustain that sense in our daily life at all times?
Can we be responsible and compassionate beings with the curiosity and enthusiasm of a child?
Evolutionary psychology, evolutionary spirituality, integral spirituality, whatever, none of these are new ideas or thoughts; they have been expressed and investigated by many seriously heavy human minds since the beginning of time. Gurus, teachers, saints, philosophers, artists, scientists, each dreaming and weaving their own cosmology, round and round in circles we go.
It’s always fun when one can afford to attend spiritually oriented retreats especially in places like Spain or California; I know I have been there.
Michael’s clear and succint description of his insight into the explosive cosmic potential of us all is a powerful transmission. Also what he refers to about the responsibility of that revelation is doubtless and undeniable!
Thankyou.
Sincerely, Joanna
Great to see that the “new evolutionary consciousness” is returning and realizing the basic truths of Christian theology – that we are children of God, and as we come into relationship with God, we die to self and are reborn to serve God through service to our fellow man. Hallelujah!
This book opened my eyes more than anything else this year. I read it, after having listened to Andrews “Awakening to the Authentic Self” CD serries about 7 times (something I will continue to listen to as new comprehension unfolds with time and growth). The book, which contains all the transcripts of Andrews teachings on retreat, helps expand the boundaries of the mind to explore the possibility of more and more perspectives unfolding in unfolding dimensional directions. It’s as if different portals of evolution unfold between the pages of the book, restructuring the minds’ conditioning as they do. I sneakily read this book while on 10 day Silent Vipassana… It was definately one way to blow the doors off my psyche and jump into the abyss of timelessess. Its the next best thing to being on retreat with him… I would LOVE to be coming to Italy with you all! It is all so scary and exciting, fightening and beautiful all at the same time. The maintaining of Equanimity through such extremes definately seems preferable to me?!
Namaste
Carmel
What a collection of fools you are. I suppose it never occurred to any of you geniuses, including Cohen, Cater and Wombacher, that the “plan” of creation is completely beyond the comprehension of even the most advanced beings in this universe.
The most any of you can hope for is a conscious growing relationship with the big G, and quite a tough road from there. You might even find consciousness beyond the physical, but I doubt it.
Good job Megan, may you get a commission on all the books sold. God bless marketing,capitalism and the american way. Good Grief!!
Lawd hav merci
Hermes
Dear fellas,
I regret to say that I regard the lines from ’11 days’ as an example of a peak experience that has not been integrated. The idea of ‘knowing God’s intent’ is the archetypal thought part of the encounter between ego and the higher levels of consciousness. Classical also is that this high energy encounter renders the person with the notion of an obligation. This is fine as long as the obligation does not hurt anyone. Problem often is that the obligation feeling separates the person’s ongoing experience of higher levels, and might even block the personal development. The spiritual moral feeling often develops a strangeness to self and the ego-based morals have a tendency to block the experience of fundamental unity.
So I think you should look closely into morals of enlightenment. The enlightenment is not – I think – will made, and enlightenment has turned not so few blind. The brightness of Cohen, Wilber, and other fast forerunners is fascinating, but we should always keep an eye on the guys who know the thoughts of any God.
To me it seems that if we try to realize our embeddedness in the higher levels of existence we will pass on this realization the way that is natural to us. Heavy shoulders or not ; -)
Henrik /Denmark
Hermes,
How do you know what the subjective real experience of the individuals you refer to as fools is? It’s seems like a sweeping assumption to infer that you already know what their experience is. Perhaps they have glimpsed or had a direct and real insight/revelation into what the plan of creation is. And then you can’t argue with someone’s real and undeniable experience. How do you know that the plan of creation is beyond even the most advanced beings in the universe? Isn’t there a famous saying that says ‘The Father and I are One’?