Explore the Non-Dual Enlightenment Tradition of the U.S. – River Journal Staff

In this 4-week course, which kicks off Sept. 14, we will explore the American tradition of enlightenment. Together, well look into the luminous minds of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, William James, and others. Even though you may have studied these thinkers in high school or college, its likely most of their wisdom remains hidden. They were talking in ways and about things that were well beyond what most of their contemporaries could grasp, and so most of us werent properly introduced to their work. You will see that these philosophers were as much mystics as thinkers, and as you learn how to approach them with an open heart and mind you will discover a profound spiritual teaching of Unity and Conscious Evolution, and what that can mean for your own life.

When I speak to people including Americans about American philosophy, people often look back at me somewhat bewildered. Americans are not known for their philosophy. And yet the truth is that we do have one, and it contains a magnificent vision of a universe that grows as one dynamically interconnected whole. We are not separate from the universe any more than our mouths are separate from our faces. We grew out of the universe like a leaf grows out of a tree, says teacher Jeff Carreira.

Enlightenment, defined as the realization of the non-dual separation between observer and observed, is often considered something that came from India, China, Tibet, Japan, and other Asian countries. And yet, America has a long and rich history with its own non-dual teachers and philosophers.

As we explore the American tradition of enlightenment, we can see how the idea that reality is an indivisible evolving whole was developed. Well also investigate how American ideas of a higher self and the stream of consciousness challenged fundamental notions of self-hood and free will. This course includes as much history as it does practical, American dharma.

We dont limit this course to the past, however. In our complex, rapidly changing, globally challenged and interconnected world, we need to think deeply in order to be able to respond to life with sensitivity and wisdom. Understanding how these big thinkers saw their world can help us to better understand our own, in the same way modern dharma teachers do. Carreira will help to bridge the gap between these insights of yesterday and the needs of today, and tomorrow.

JEFF CARREIRA is a mystical philosopher and spiritual guide. He is the author of eleven books on meditation and philosophy. He teaches online programs and leads retreats throughout the world that teach people how to let go of their current perceptual habits so they are free to participate in the creation of a new paradigm. To put it simply, he supports people to live a spiritually inspired life, free from the constraints of fear, worry and self-doubt, and aligned with their own deepest sense of meaning and purpose. This class is co-hosted by the Mystery School for a New Paradigm.

Online via Zoom Video Conferencing

Tuesday evenings, September 14th, 21st, and 28th and October 5th

8:00 9:00 pm EST

$69 for 4-session course

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Explore the Non-Dual Enlightenment Tradition of the U.S. - River Journal Staff