Saturday, August 2, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. CT
Throughout the final year of his life, Trappist monk and celebrated spiritual author, Thomas Merton (1915-1968), wrote and spoke of a “universal consciousness” as one possible goal of the spiritual life. Following the influence of Sufi psychoanalyst Reza Arasteh, Merton developed his own understanding of what it might mean to become a “universal person” through what Arasteh termed “trans-cultural maturity.”
Arasteh and Merton found evidence for this radical form of mystical practice in the 12th and 13th century Sufi masters, Ibn al-‘Arabi and Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī. Practicing “the religion of Love,” this stream of the Sufi mystical tradition challenges myopic religious claims (“religious ignorance”) and advocates for a form of consciousness that transforms the individual into a “universal person” through a process of mystical death and rebirth.
This workshop is an opportunity for in-depth study of this aspect of the Sufi tradition through the lenses of Merton and Arasteh. Merton’s recently published California conferences offer a roadmap for a type of universal consciousness with tremendous implications for inter-religious dialogue and comparative mysticism.
Participants will be offered time for brief guided contemplative practice and ample discussion to make this a “mini-retreat” experience with the potential for encountering the Mystery beyond word and name.
Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for two weeks following the conclusion of the program.
TS members: $35 • Nonmembers: $40
David M. Odorisio, PhD, serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Psychology, Religion, and Consciousness program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA. He is editor of Thomas Merton in California: The Redwoods Conferences and Letters, and Merton and Hinduism: The Yoga of the Heart. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Mysticism Unit for the American Academy of Religion. David presents regularly and leads retreats on the life and writings of Thomas Merton. For more information, visit www.ahomeforsoul.com.
Program Format
This is a live, interactive online program that will also be recorded. Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for two weeks following the conclusion of the program.
Join online via a Zoom link that will be emailed upon your registration. Please download Zoom for free at zoom.us/download and test your connection at zoom.us/test. For further information, check out www.theosophical.org/FAQ or email webinars@theosophical.org.