Awaken to Our Underlying Unity Through the Perennial Philosophy
The Perennial Philosophy stresses that the experience of Oneness is available to all. Author and professor, Dana Sawyer, shares how this philosophy supports our quest for Self-realization and our experience of the unity that lies beneath the apparent diversity of the world.
#kriyayoga, #perennialphilosophy #consciousness #mysticalexperience #mysticism
Dana Sawyer
Dana Sawyer has an academic background in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, but has been writing on comparative mysticism, noetic experiences, and theories of the perennial philosophy for more than 20 years. He is professor emeritus of philosophy and world religions at Maine College of Art and Design and has written biographies of Aldous Huxley and Huston Smith, two famous perennialists. His most recent books are an analysis of The Transcendental Meditation Movement and the book we are discussing today The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded: A Guide for the Mystically Inclined.
WEBSITE: danasawyer.com
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I really enjoyed this deep conversation about the perennial philosophy, a philosophy which is in alignment with the teachings of Yoga. Dana Sawyer's own study and practice of Transcendental Meditation and study with other yogic teachers, his experience with some of the great perennialists from the 60's as well as his study of those who taught and wrote in the late 19th and early 20th century such as Ralph Waldo Emerson has informed his ability to share how this philosophy is relevant to today's seekers. I really appreciated the discussion of what is the enlightenment or unitive experience and why we want it. Basically we want it so that we understand the meaning of this life and how we are a part of the wholeness of the universe. This experience is available to all of us when we let go of our perception of our small self. He quoted Rumi who said "we are not a drop in the ocean, we are the ocean in one drop". I highly recommend this program. As the subtitle of the book says, it is "A Guide for the Mystically Inclined."
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: I really appreciated Dana Sawyer’s depth of knowledge about the Perennial Philosophy and the mystical experiences and writings from so many different religions and spiritual traditions. He described episodes of “unitive mystical experience” that we can access through various means as one of the central aspects of the perennial philosophy, and that we can take the understanding gained from these episodes into our lives. I loved the Rumi quote he shared: “You are not a drop in the ocean; you are the entire ocean in a drop." I enjoyed our discussion of consciousness as not just being “on” when we are awake, and “off” when we are asleep, but rather having a rheostat that can be turned up to make it brighter. We also discussed that there is no one spiritual path for everyone, but that there are many different paths and we must each find one that works best for us.