With hundreds of hours of talks, seminars and interviews out in the world - along with half a dozen books - it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees when it comes to understand the central thrust of my work.
Because of this, I’ve decided to run a six-week introductory course designed to provide an entry point into the material.
The course itself is designed to lay out the two central elements of my work. The first being a commitment to offering a clear understanding of what we might call the Cure/Salvation/Freedom. The second being the development of practices that enable us to enter into - and remain faithful to - this event.
WHAT IS THIS ‘CURE’ THAT WE’LL BE EXPLORING?
Having sold over 30 millions copies, in 50 different languages, The Secret is a book that promises to help people achieve their dreams by harnessing the ‘law of attraction’.
While it has been widely critiqued, the basic idea is really just the crystallized version of an underlying ideology that is ubiquitous today. Whether we turn to superstitious rituals, psychedelic enlightenment, sexual revolution, the political purity culture or the promise of prosperity, we find ourselves caught up in a frenetic pursuit of something that might fix everything.
In contrast, I’ve spent over 25 years (1) showing how this type of pursuit is detrimental to our individual and communal lives, and (2) helping people find freedom from it.
My work has combined elements of philosophy, psychoanalysis and theology to develop a theory and technology aimed at helping individuals and communities find freedom from the dangerous pursuit of certainty and satisfaction. Offering instead, a way of experiencing joy in the embrace of ambiguity, complexity and meaningful struggle.
In short, the Cure - which we will be dissecting in detail through this course - offers a way of moving from seeking happiness in some utopia offered by a guru, to the place where we find joy in a freedom from the idea of a final utopia, and the guru who offers it.
A pilgrimage that can offers revolutionary results in both the personal and political realm.
DATES
3rd May - The Magic Trick
10th May - Secret of the Lack
17th May - The Absurd Cross
24th May - The Happy Reaper
31st May - Non-Membership
7th June - Absurdo Confido
All seminars will be given live at 11am PST.
These will be video lectures, but you will also be able to download the audio within 24 hours of the live video. The video and audio will continue to be available after the course, so you can go at your own pace.
HOW TO JOIN
There are two ways to take part in this in course. The first is to sign up to Patreon at the Blaze level. This is not only give you access to this course, but a dozen other courses and over 30 hours of single lectures.
Or you can buy a ticket. When you purchase the ticket, you’ll be sent a download. You need to click the download link within 24 hours (don’t worry, if you don’t, you can email me and I can resend the information). Once you open it, you’ll have a document with all the information.