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Meditations on the relationship between consciousness and culture.
I recently interviewed my friend Steve McIntosh, a Boulder, Colorado-based philosopher, author, and entrepreneur, about his forthcoming book on the subject of evolutionary spirituality (title TBD). Steve is the author of two other books, Integral Consciousness and Evolution's Purpose , and in this ...
Over the past two weeks on BigThink, I’ve shared the first two of a three-part dialogue between myself and the Danish psychotherapist Ole Vadum Dahl (read part 1 and part 2). In the series, Ole and I are exploring an interesting “existential cul de sac” that we’ve both observed among the most ...
Last week, I published the first in a three-part dialogue between myself and the Danish psychotherapist Ole Vadum Dahl. In the article, Ole and I are exploring some of our observations about what I call “the postmodern predicament,” and how this cultural epidemic is playing itself out in his native ...
Last November, I published an article here on BigThink called, The Apocalypse May Already Be Here, or “Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark,” where I shared some of my thoughts about the state of culture in one of the most progressive societies on earth. The article centered around a ...
In response to my recent post, "The Bright Side of Globalization," my friend and colleague Jean Houston sent me an excerpt from her book Jump Time entitled, "Wok and Roll in the Rainbow World," on a similar theme. It's a true adventure into the multidimensional, interwoven creative complexity of ...
Recently, I’ve reconnected with some old friends. We’ve had the experience of immediately meeting each other at a very deep level despite having parted ways and not seen each other in many years. That’s because our original connection was not merely at the level of the personality. It was at the ...
When I met my last spiritual teacher, the revered HWL Poonja, in 1986, he taught me how to be free. He was such a powerful teacher that within minutes of meeting him, the most amazing thing happened. I asked him how much effort one needs to make in order to be inwardly free. He said, almost ...
In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share an article written by my former colleague Ross Robertson for EnlightenNext magazine called “A Brighter Shade of Green: Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21stCentury.” His brilliant insights about this important topic really changed the way I think about the ...
I had my first spiritual experience when I was 16 years old. I was sitting up late one night having a conversation with my mother about something I can’t remember, when for no apparent reason, the doors of perception opened WIDE. In no time I was swept up in an ocean of ecstasy that seemed infinite ...
I just returned from spending a weekend with my friend Peter Ragnar at his farm in Kentucky. Peter is a modern-day Shaman, Taoist wizard, natural life scientist, and “self-master” par excellence. He claims to be a senior citizen, but refuses to give away his age because he “doesn’t believe in it ...
With Easter and Passover on the minds of so many millions of Christians and Jews this weekend, so are the deeper themes of renewal, promise, and liberation that these religious holidays represent. In light of this, I wanted to share a beautiful profile that my friend and colleague Carter Phipps ...
India is still a magical place. What we hear most often about the Motherland these days is her extraordinary leap into the modern world, her burgeoning prosperity, and her enormous contribution to the global economy. And while this is all true, I feel her greatest gift to the world still remains ...
Over the past couple of years, my thinking has been greatly influenced by the "Prophets of Progress"—people like Stephen Pinker, Matt Ridley, Stephen Johnson, Hans Rosling, and Peter Diamandis to name a few. And I have written about their ideas extensively on this blog. Personally, I've been ...
Do you live on your own edge? Living on the edge is exactly what inspired, highly motivated people aspire to always do. Last December, I went to the grand finale concert of the Rolling Stones’ highly acclaimed 50th anniversary tour at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It was an ...
Here's a published dialogue that I did with my friend Deepak Chopra in which we discuss the challenges of standing up for Spirit in a secular culture. Enjoy! __________________________________ ANDREW COHEN: What I wanted to speak with you about, Deepak, is what it really means to be a ...