The Timeless Story: Cross-Paradigmatic Universals and the Evolution of Meaning

Details:
What if religion isn't a static set of beliefs but rather an unfolding process—an evolving dance that mirrors the ever-deepening complexity of human consciousness? A process that expands in tandem with our capacity to perceive, interpret, and make meaning of the world around us. This is the invitation extended by Nish Dubashia and Marie Murtagh in their integrative exploration, rooted in Nish’s book A Brief History of God: From Nature Spirits to Cosmic Consciousness. This new, expansive offering builds upon their earlier work presented at the Center for Process Studies and promises an immersive, developmental inquiry into the evolution of human spirituality.
This session is not merely a theoretical treatise but an experiential journey through time—tracing how the understanding of the divine has unfolded across the ages, from the animistic and mythic worlds of our ancestors, through classical religions, modern rationality, and the critique of postmodernity, to the nascent expressions of integral and post-integral spirituality.
At its heart lies an exploration of seven archetypal principles that have shaped the spiritual lives of humanity for over 40,000 years. These principles—Spirit, Self, Suffering, Hope, Knowledge, Salvation, and Love—have remained constant, even as their manifestations shift across cultural epochs and stages of human consciousness. Rather than treating these archetypes as fixed and immutable, Nish and Marie will guide participants through the rich and ever-changing expressions of these fields, revealing how they evolve in tandem with the expanding scope of human awareness and understanding.
In a world increasingly torn by ecological crisis, cultural fragmentation, and rapid technological advancements, many find themselves caught between spiritual longing and religious disillusionment. It is in this very space of uncertainty that the inquiry into the evolution of meaning becomes crucial—offering not only a historical map of humanity's spiritual evolution but also a compass for navigating contemporary crises of meaning.
This session offers a developmental framework that integrates history, psychology, philosophy, systems thinking, and spirituality. Through this integrative approach, participants will not only learn about these archetypes conceptually but will also engage in embodied practices that invite them to experience these archetypes within their own lives. The process becomes both a reflective and transformative one, offering insight into the very structures that continue to shape our modern spiritual identities, our understanding of self, and our relationship with the cosmos.
The session includes:

• A clear, developmental map of religious and spiritual evolution.
• Exploration of the seven archetypal principles that shape our evolving structures of consciousness.
• Insight into contemporary crises of meaning as transitions between developmental stages.
• Guided experiential practices to embody and explore these archetypes firsthand.
• Discovery of one’s own meaning-making structures using the Seven Principles as an initial pattern of possibilities.
• Reflective dialogue rooted in Integral Theory and collective inquiry.

This is not a critique of religion, nor an argument for any single tradition. It is a spacious, open-ended inquiry into how religion evolves—how its deepest structures continue to inform modern identity, culture, and spirituality, and how they may give rise to new forms in the future.
Who Should Attend
This gathering will resonate deeply with:

• Integral practitioners and students seeking a more expansive understanding of spiritual evolution.
• Spiritual seekers navigating post-religious or post-modern terrain.
• Those drawn to developmental, evolutionary, and transpersonal perspectives.
• Anyone sensing that the spiritual maps of the past no longer suffice but who feels something deeper calling.

Whether you're an experienced practitioner of Integral Theory or someone encountering it for the first time, this session offers a rich, integrative space to reflect on the evolution of human spirituality and consider what the future of religion—and meaning—may look like.

Bio:
Nish Dubashia is a British author, philosopher, and Integral thinker known for his work on the Diamond Model—a framework that synthesizes Bohmian physics, Integral Theory, and Eastern philosophy. Having studied with leading mathematicians at the University of Warwick, Nish has presented his work at prestigious forums, including the Science and Consciousness Conference, World Unity Week, and MIT’s Global Forum. He is the author of several books, including Gifted, Dancing with Angels, The Unity of Everything, and A Brief History of God. Nish is a faculty member at The Collective Edge and co-founder of Evolving Nexus, which supports personal and collective transformation.

Marie Murtagh is a spiritual facilitator and coach, known for her work in Integral transformation and consciousness facilitation. With a background in complexity science and developmental psychology, Marie offers a grounded, heart-centered approach to spiritual growth and inquiry. She supports individuals and communities in navigating the liminal spaces between outdated paradigms and emerging possibilities. A long-time collaborator of Nish Dubashia, Marie brings warmth, insight, and embodied presence to their shared exploration of spiritual evolution.