Beyond Mindfulness: Embodying Freedom in Space and Time

Since the Age of Enlightenment, modernity has inculcated a view of identity that separates the mind from the world, and in which space and time are considered nothing more than convenient maps and background mediums for human affairs. This separation from both the natural world and our natural intelligence has resulted in increasing alienation, spatial crowding and temporal acceleration, culminating in a climate crisis with its destabilizing effects on economies and the potential for civilizational collapse. It’s almost as if space and time and even knowledge have turned against us. While mindfulness techniques have helped people to reduce their stress and anxiety in a world out of balance, we need more than palliatives and coping skills. The meta-crisis that we face is partly due to a failure in our ability to see how our ways of knowing, being and acting are short-sighted and have bound us to repetitive cycles of suffering. We lack a vision that can helps us to use knowledge to embody space and time in ways that promote the growth of freedom.

In this course, we will engage in a new kind of inquiry, using Tarthang Tulku’s seminal book, Time, Space, and Knowledge. We will explore Space, Time and Knowledge as fundamental facets of human experience, offering visionary pathways for expanding our natural intelligence, intrinsic freedom, and direct nourishment of our humanity. The course will utilize weekly readings, discussions and practice of exercises.

There will be one week off during Thanksgiving Break (Week of November 22nd-26th).

Beyond Mindfulness: Embodying Freedom in Space and Time (Every Wednesday)