Contemplative Practice Archives

A Letter of Condolence to the Community of Andrew Cohen

A Letter of Condolence to the Community of Andrew Cohen To Andrew’s students, friends, and the wider community, I am writing to offer my sincere condolences for the passing of Andrew Cohen, who died on March 25, 2025, in Tiruvannamalai,

Anaximander: Philosophy and Mysticism

Anaximander: Philosophy and Mysticism Introduction to Anaximander Anaximander: Philosophy and Mysticism introduces a Presocratic vision of the apeiron—the infinite source from which all things arise and to which they return. As philosophy, it replaces myth with law-like order and the

“Vegetarian food does not create spirituality, but it can remove friction from the nervous system, allowing meditation to deepen naturally.”

"The Light is not something you see. It is something you are learning not to obscure."

“The Light appears when the meditator is least in the way of it.”

'Life is like a play; it's not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters'
(Seneca)

“At Initiation, the mind is no longer the knower. It becomes the surface.”

“Trying to get beyond the mind is the mind’s most sophisticated form of self-preservation.”

“Go into your meditation simply, without carrying the day’s understanding. Let the Sound steady you, let the Light arise if it wishes, and let everything else be background.”

Science asks how the universe holds together, spirituality asks why it matters that it does.

“Saturn teaches the soul how to stand. Jupiter teaches it why it stands at all.”

"Alchemy becomes real when it is recognised inwardly."

“Care of the soul is the chief concern of philosophy.”
Plato (The Apology)

“The soul, when using the body as an instrument, is confused.”
Plato (The Phaedo)

“Nothing in the soul is wasted: every weight endured becomes the ground from which meaning later unfolds.”

“True alchemy completes itself when the soul realizes it was never meant to be perfected, only rendered transparent to what already is.”

“True reflection is itself a form of alchemy, the quiet phase where nothing appears to happen, yet everything rearranges.”

“From the Absolute, there has never been a soul.
From the relative, the soul has always been necessary.
From realization, neither position is clung to.”

“In the Absolute, there is no soul because there is no ‘other’ for a soul to be.”

Sun	15° Pisces 41' 55"
Moon	18° Libra 59' 05"
Mercury	18° Pisces 02' 51" R
Venus	29° Pisces 47' 28"
Mars	02° Pisces 54' 15"
Jupiter	15° Cancer 07' 34" R
Saturn	02° Aries 21' 33"
Uranus	27° Taurus 51' 27"
Neptune	01° Aries 14' 09"
Pluto	04° Aquarius 40' 21"
Chiron	24° Aries 17' 54"
TrueNode	08° Pisces 57' 45" R