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andrew cohen
April 2007 
Class 4 - Going Down with The Ship
Mark
In Class IV we moved further into the heart of these teachings of liberation for the 21st Century. We looked at and experienced the two radically different perspectives of Evolutionary Enlightenment, the Ego and the Authentic Self. Indeed, between the last class and this one, we all experienced, to varying degrees, the basic movement of Evolutionary Enlightenment which is letting go of the Ego, or a negative relationship to life, "falling back" into the ground of being, where there is no relationship to life and then re-emerging on "the other side" as The Authentic Self, or a positive relationship to life.
Andrew Cohen talks about the movement out of the ground of being "where there is absolute, unparalleled freedom, abiding for eternity in the infinite peace of the ground of being. And yet, from this empty ground, beyond life and death, there mysteriously arises a pure impulse to become, to take form. This imperative to evolve or God impulse, when experienced directly, is felt as absolute love-an ecstatically positive, completely unified surge towards manifestation. Utterly life-affirming, the expression of this imperative in the awakening human is called the authentic self."
As I taught this class, I could feel a tension and stirring in the room, as if together, everyone was grappling with these two aspects of us. And, on the way back to New York, Kevin, a fellow student, also remarked that there seemed to be a lot of moving around in the room, people getting up, even taking cell phone calls, etc. And, although I could be wrong, when I thought about it, it made sense. The Ego, the holder of our self-consciousness and self-concern, is resistant to change, especially at the foundational level of our Self. Indeed, I can sense where in my own life I am still so invested in maintaining my self-identity. The Authentic Self, on the other hand, thrives on change and creating the future.
The practice of Evolutionary Enlightenment all comes down to the choices that we make. Specifically, the choice to live in accordance with the Authentic Self vs. the Ego, until our allegiance to the Authentic Self accounts for more than 51% of our choices. So could it be that even though we were recognizing the truth of what was being said, the stirring and tension in the room (including me!), was The Ego, appearing as us (or rather as us unconsciously choosing it)? Indeed, if the self that you know yourself to be, that you are indeed even comfortable with, suddenly gets called into question, wouldn't you have the impulse to protect "yourself" or even fight back?
Its one thing to understand what "ego-death" is, but it is quite a different story when it comes to having the strength to change in the face of it. Who wants to go down with the "ship"?
Access: Public
Hello everyone, I missed the last class because I was visiting my Mother for her 85th birthday and T-giving. It was a very good laboratory for becoming conscious of the ego vs. the authentic self. There were choices to make at every moment as to whether to be sucked into the ego or to not participate in the entangled scenarios in my family. And what's true is that this isn't personal, its cultural. I had the oppportunily with my own family, maybe more clear that ever before to be conscious of the strong pull in the culture to be egocentric and to forget that life is volitional. And its difficult not to want to be a reformer. However, I shared with my family that I have been studying Andrew's teachings and my family knows that I have been meditating for years. i would love for my family to be free from the heaviness of the some of the thoughts and feelings that they think are themselves and this caused some pain for me. However, I am becoming more and more able to let my thoughts and feelings go in the midst of the experience because I want to be free.