June 29 — July 10, 2009
Brian Swimme, Ervin Laszlo, Bernadette Brady, Stephan Harding
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Our appreciation of the nature of the universe fundamentally affects how we understand our role as humans on Earth. New insights in contemporary science allow for a profound and creative interpretation of the universe which challenges earlier mechanistic models.
Brian Swimme opens the course by considering current scientific understandings of the evolution of the universe, life and humanity. What does this tell us about how to live well and the way in which human consciousness has evolved? In the second week, Ervin Laszlo will discuss the scientific foundations of a holistic view of the cosmos and consciousness, which is known to mystics and sages as the Akashic field. Bernadette Brady will complete the course with an exploration of different cosmologies, from ancient Greek to modern. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of how complex scientific concepts can inform a new approach to philosophy, society and consciousness.
This course is intended for: scientists, astrologers, cosmologists, healers, philosophers, students, academics and any individuals with an interest in the profound questions of life. Specialist scientific knowledge is not required but a willingness to explore is.
Week 1: Brian Swimme
Brian Swimme will open the course by reflecting on what new scientific understandings can tell us about human consciousness and how to live well in the universe. In particular, he will address:
Week 2: Stephan Harding, Ervin Laszlo & Bernadette Brady
Monday: Holistic Science Programme Coordinator, Stephan Harding, will introduce the group to Gaia theory and its implications for understanding our relationship to the natural world. The day will include a field trip up to Dartmoor for some experiential learning around these themes.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Ervin Laszlo will talk to the group about his recent work on:
Universal coherence: the new scientific foundations of the holistic view of cosmos and consciousness
Science’s understanding of the fundamental nature of the universe is radically new. The universe does not consist of bits of matter moving about in space and time. Matter, in the last analysis, is a bound form of energy, and space and time are an integral dynamic element, interacting with matter and energy in all its forms. Moreover, the various forms of energy emerge from and are embedded in a fundamental field or medium that was not part of the conventional world picture. This “deep basement” of the universe is variously called quantum vacuum, unified vacuum, physical spacetime, hyperspace, or nuether. Notwithstanding the classical implication of these names, space is not a vacuum: it is an energy- and information-filled plenum, the womb of all that exists in the manifest universe.
The cosmic plenum is not the only surprising discovery at the cutting edge of the sciences: it turns out that the coherence of the universe is also far greater than was hitherto thought. This coherence is quasi-instantaneous throughout space, and it is enduring in time. It embraces particles, atoms, molecules, cells, living organisms, and entire ecologies and biospheres. The plenum is a fundamental medium that connects things throughout space and time, and creates the presently discovered forms of coherence among them.
The Akashic Field – an ancient insight re-discovered, and its implications
The plenum is the contemporary re-discovery of the “ether,” the fifth and most fundamental medium known as Akasha in Indian philosophy. This “Akashic” medium offers a bona fide scientific explanation of extra- or non-sensory experiences that are meaningful but were hitherto dismissed as without foundation in reality. But are the intuitions that occasionally surface in consciousness mere delusion? There is a possibility that they may have a physical basis. There are findings at the cutting-edge of scientific research that support this proposition. The crucial finding is the discovery that the brain is not merely a classical biochemical system; in some respects it is a “macroscopic quantum system.” Certain cerebral functions involve processes previously thought to be limited to the domain of the quantum. The pertinent functions concern the reception and transmission of information at the cellular and subcellular level: these involve quantum-effects and processes. These same processes may also account for the new forms of healing variously called energy- information-, or nonlocal-medicine.
Wednesday evening, Thursday, Friday morning: Bernadette Brady will lead sessions on:
A consideration of different cosmologies, their role in dictating a person’s life style and a person’s beliefs about their responsibility and/or place within the world, with particular emphasis on:
Transcendence verses Immanence – Living within a system rather than standing outside it, with particular emphasis on:
Brian Swimme PhD, is faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco where he teaches courses in evolutionary cosmology to graduate students in the humanities. He is co-author, with Thomas Berry, of The Universe Story, and creator the dvd series “The Powers of the Universe.” brianswimme.org.
Ervin Laszlo is a philosopher of science, systems theorist and author or co-author of over 75 books, including Science and the Akashic Field and You Can Change the World. He is editor of World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution. In 1993, he founded the Club of Budapest to “center attention on the evolution of human values and consciousness as the crucial factors in changing course — from a race toward degradation, polarization, and disaster to a rethinking of values and priorities so as to navigate today’s transformation in the direction of humanism, ethics, and global sustainability”.
Bernadette Brady has worked as a professional astrologer since 1980 and, in this field, is also an internationally-recognized software designer, author, and lecturer. She has been honoured with major astrological awards in the UK, as well as the USA and Australia. She holds a Masters degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology BSU, UK. Her MA dissertation focused on the mapping of chaos theory and complexity science to astrology and developed into the book Astrology: a place in chaos (Wessex astrologer, 2006). In 2008 she became a tutor at Lampeter University, Wales in the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology and is currently reading for her doctorate at Bath Spa University in determinism (fate) in western astrology.
Stephan Harding is Programme Coordinator of the MSc in Holistic Science at Schumacher College. He is a close associate of James Lovelock and an expert in the study of Gaia theory and deep ecology. He is the author of Animate Earth.
For businesses: One week £1,200, Two weeks £1,800
For individuals, NGOs, Educational & Public Sector Organisations: One week £700, Two weeks £1,300
All course fees include accommodation, food, field trips and all teaching sessions.
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Discounts
10% for residents of South West England
10% Spring Deal if you book your place(s) by 6 March 2009
20% with five or more people coming from the same organisation on the same course
(only one discount applicable per booking)
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