An Evolutionary Day of Consciousness and Culture
On a bright, warm, end-of-summer day in central London, the EnlightenNext UK Centre was ablaze with conviviality, cultural inquiry, spiritual practice, music, song and more. On Saturday, 12 September, we opened our doors and celebrated the launch and continuation of the Discovery Cycle in the British Isles.
The day began with a gathering of practitioners of Evolutionary Enlightenment who had come from as far afield as Dublin and Lille, France. Like in Tuscany, the practice day was organized around an experiential investigation of Being and Becoming, of the timeless Ground of Being and the ever-evolving nature of creation. Having this kind of time together was a joy for everyone and will become a regular part of our annual cycle of activities at the UK Centre.
Later in the afternoon, UK Centre Managing Director Chris Parish spoke to an overflow crowd on British cultural conditioning. Provocatively entitled Cynicism: the British Disease? his talk explored both the extraordinary contributions the British people have made to science, the arts, politics, and much more as well as the impasse that the British penchant for irony and cynicism has produced in recent times. Incorporating humour as well as a wealth of astonishing facts, his insights engendered a lively conversation among audience members that ensued long into the evening. Listen here to a short clip from Parish’s talk or purchase an audio recording of the entire lecture here.
As more people joined the day-long event, everyone reconvened in the Centre’s dining room for one of executive chef Annie Brown’s sumptuous vegetarian meals. The Window, EnlightenNext’s trading arm, has gained quite a reputation in London for outstanding cuisine - the only venue hire in the city that is completely vegetarian! - and with good reason. In fact, having access to our delicious food is one of several benefits that anyone can enjoy when he or she becomes a UK Centre Member.
The EnlightenNext UK Centre Member programme is an exciting new initiative that was officially introduced as dinner came to an end. It enables people who care about creating a better future to attend our weekly Meditation + Evolution evenings on Tuesdays for free (both the programme itself and the dinner which follows) plus network with other like-minded people at the Centre six days a week and much more. For details about the UK Centre Member programme, email: membership.UK@enlightennext.org
And there was still more. Following the membership launch, the terrific food, and the enlightened conversations over dinner, the day was capped with Kosmic entertainment. Barbara Hunt enthralled us all with her songs about life in an evolving universe and Robin Holloway and Ereni Mendrinos of the Kosmic Jazz Cabaret brought out the whimsical side of living in an unpredictable world of perpetual change.
Many thanks to all of you who joined us. It was a perfect end to summer and the beginning of a new era of manifesting the Discovery Cycle at EnlightenNext.
