Good fun.

What would it be like to live a life where everything you did, and I mean everything, was in response to your highest aspirations? Everything from the relationships you are in, the spiritual practices you do, the work you do, the art you create, the food you eat and the exercise you do--even the blog posts you write--would be in alignment with the deepest thoughts you have ever had about what it means to be alive. 

The way I see it, human beings are an expression of the Universe. Apparently this Universe wants to become conscious; because we're here, and are more conscious than the matter that preceded us. The magnitude of this realization actually undercuts every unquestioned cultural and personal story we hold on to. It levels the playing field because humanity has never seen itself like this before; we've never created a culture in response to this recognition. 

Creating a culture and society that is enlightened by an evolutionary perspective is what I understand to be the purpose of life. This includes every aspect of what it means to be a human being, nothing is left out of the picture. And we have to do it together.

My spiritual teacher, Andrew Cohen, came up with a name for the process of conscious evolution I've been describing. He calls it the Universe Project. I've heard him use that phrase for some time now, but I'm just beginning to understand how all-inclusive it is. We're all in it right now, we're all creating the future of this evolutionary process. The question is: how conscious of that are we?

We've all heard it before, if we want to change the world, we must change ourselves. The way I understand that, it means awakening from our narrow views about life to engaging, on a deeply personal level, with the Universe Project. Stay tuned for updates on my, and my close friends', progress with that Project. Which also happens to be your project. :)

Hello,
I'm loving the practice of celibacy and am aware that there are very few resources on the internet about it--and even fewer that make much sense for our lives today. So I'm trying to find some to share with you. This first article comes from Alice Christensen, a yogini and author. It is primarily about seeing through the mind, which is the aspect of celibacy that I enjoy the most.

Other interesting teachings in the article include a conversation with a yogi speaking about cultivating, through celibacy, a sexual feeling towards life that is constant and a million times stronger than the ecstasy of a sexual orgasm. Whoah. I'm not there yet, nor do I think that's the purpose of the practice, but this article is definitely worth a read.

Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita number 2 in d-minor, Chaconne.

No one says it better than Johannes Brahms in his letter to Clara Schumann:

“

On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind.

”

If you've never heard it before... get ready.

I rowed in a regatta Saturday and it was quite an experience. I rowed harder in the race than I ever did in practice--not that I'm lazy in practice, but this was real. I gave it everything and didn't care one ounce that my legs were burning and my lungs couldn't get enough oxygen in them, all that mattered was that I row with everything I had. It was ecstatic. I realized that I could only do that because it was in a race and the race mattered; not in any glorious or monetary way, just that it was the time to give everything.

Because it was real and not practice, I could access a deeper level of my potential. The fact is, life is always real--this is not a dress rehearsal or practice for gametime. This is it. Gametime is now. We're on. Everything is demanded, and it is demanded right now, without second thoughts or apprehension.

This is the stuff right here--the teamwork, technique, fitness and toughness required to do this is awe-inspiring. Let the video load first, then fast-forward to about 2 minutes in. Enjoy

Is way too much! :) I'm sitting in the EnlightenNext center in London after an incredible day with my teacher Andrew Cohen. The 4th floor conference room is humming--with voices, laptops and ideas--as 50 inspired people from around the world are establishing and furthering their online presence. Yesterday in the intensive with Andrew, someone asked him if the internet is an expression of human evolution. He responded that the internet is what we make of it, it's just a medium and it is up to us to make it an expression of higher consciousness. That is the context for this day, with the somewhat ungainly name of "Tools and Training," to imbue this entity with evolutionary idealism and deep purpose. Together!

The reach of the internet is still so untapped, the potentials are as yet largely unmanifest. Just considering that real intellectual, spiritual and relational development can occur through this medium is an idea I'm just starting to let in. But I have a hunch that by linking together, sharing our ideas, being willing to disagree and challenge each other and go deeper together, something very significant can emerge. We can actually discover and create the features of a new culture, one that is based on higher values. And the fact is, we need to do this now, because it won't happen any other way, at any other time.

On another note, Americans really need to travel more. Just being in London is a very cool experience. Over this weekend, I spent time with Germans (I'm typing on a German keyboard right now and keep pressing z when I want y, and they must not have apostrophes in their language because it's in a very remote location), Swiss, Dutch, Danish, British, Swedish, Italian, French and other nationalities and I like being in the minority. It keeps me off balance and reminds me that America is not the center of the universe.

The website for my favorite magazine, What Is Enlightenment?, is in the running for a Webby Award. That's a very big honor, one which we won last year and we want to repeat! So please, take a moment to give us your support and vote today.

From Laura:
What is a Webby Award? The Webby Awards have been called “the Oscars of the Internet” by “The New York Times.” More than 8,000 sites from all over the world were up for consideration…Only five were nominated in each category. And…only one will win. Winning a Webby is more than an accolade. It’s a sign of public support and helps spread WIE.org’s mission of creating an online revolution in consciousness and culture.

Voting is easy. Log in to the Webby site and vote. And please tell your family, friends, and colleagues asking them to support WIE.org by voting too.

VOTING ENDS NEXT FRIDAY… APRIL 27, so VOTE TODAY!

I've been practicing celibacy for the last 8 months and am starting to write about my experience with the practice. I find that writing helps me get to the heart of the matter and take it deeper. The forum for this writing won't be here on my blog, it will be on the evolutionary enlightenment pod discussion on celibacy. So please come check it out and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

pods.zaadz.com/evolving

I just returned from a 10-day silent retreat, where the prime objective was to have no relationship to thought for the whole time. The experience was profound, more so for the strengthening of my own relationship to the mind and seeing it directly as a conditioned mechanism than for any of the experiences of depth.

I was on the retreat with 12 other people, including one of Andrew Cohen's long-time students, Jeff Carriera. He wrote a great blog post on his experience of the retreat here and it is followed up by some comments from others who were with us as well. Check it out and join the conversation.

One thing I can say after unplugging so deeply for ten days, is that the world looks very different. Everyone should do it. This retreat especially, it is perfectly structured to take you as deep as you are willing to go. And Andrew's guidance throughout the retreat took everyone even farther, he is a masterful teacher.