April 4th from 6:30 – 9:00pm:

$10 (Boulder Integral members)
$15 (Non members)
Please pay at the door. Checks and cash only please. Checks to be written to “Boulder Integral”

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Evolutionary Spirituality is about right relationship with reality.  When we are not aligned with reality, we suffer, and so do those around us.  To “Evolutionize Your Life” means to follow where your joy and the world’s needs intersect — pursuing your evolutionary calling — while growing in deep integrity.

During this dynamic multimedia program, Michael will discuss proven deep integrity practices that work for people of all religious and philosophical perspectives.

In this evening program we will learn how to grow in “deep integrity” by appreciating our inherited instincts for how they served our human and prehuman ancestors, while channeling our most compelling bodily and emotional urges in ways that are life-giving for today and tomorrow.  As we grow in trust, authenticity, responsibility, and service — the very purpose of the spiritual path — we gain the promises of religion in this life.  The freedom we thereby discover clears us to devote our energies toward evolutionary ends.

Learn about our teachers

Rev. Michael Dowd is one of the most inspiring speakers in America today. He is the author of Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World, which has been endorsed by five Nobel laureates and other leading scientists, including noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum. He and his wife, Connie Barlow, a noted science writer, have spoken to 1,000+ groups since launching their itinerant ministry in 2002. At home in both liberal and conservative settings, and uniquely gifted at building bridges between religious and non-religious people, Michael shares the 14-billion-year Epic of Evolution in ways that uplift and expand heart, mind, and soul. His passion is showing how an evolutionary understanding of human nature can inspire and empower each of us to live with greater integrity, joy, and zest for life. Find out more about Michael at www.thankgodforevolution.com

Connie Barlow is an acclaimed author of popular science books and articles, and developer of The Great Story website. Connie’s most recent book, The Ghosts of Evolution (Basic Books), was Amazon.com’s top-recommended science book for several months in 2001. Her previous books, Green Space, Green Time: The Way of Science (Copernicus Books), Evolution Extended: Biological Debates on the Meaning of Life (MIT Press), and From Gaia to Selfish Genes: Selected Writings in the Life Sciences, all explore the nexus of science, spirit, and meaning (check out all of Connie’s books here). She is founding member and webmaster of Torreya Guardians, an internet community of botanists, naturalists, and others dedicated to ensuring the continuing persistence in the wild of America’s most endangered conifer tree: Torreya taxifolia. The June 2008 issue of Orion Magazine included an in-depth article on “assisted migration” for this highly endangered tree, featuring Connie’s leadership in this effort.

Connie is a Unitarian Universalist, and a well-known developer of curricula for children’s religious education programs. Since 2002, she and her husband (Rev. Michael Dowd) have lived entirely on the road, as “America’s evolutionary evangelists”. Find out more about Connie Barlow here.

Michael Dowd’s book Thank God for Evolution

Thank God for Evolution presents in a lively and accessible manner the reasons why it is now possible to view evolution as a call to deep integrity; how a dozen scientific disciplines reveal evolution to be measurably creative, rather than meaningless blind chance; practical methods for using evolutionary insights to achieve greater joy and personal fulfillment; and how aligning with evolutionary trends can guide activists and others hoping to make our world a better place. As a Christian minister, Dowd especially addresses the concerns that Christians have about evolution, but this book contains insights that will appeal to all people of faith and of no faith. Fun and uplifting, Thank God for Evolution goes beyond the current debate to offer up a whole new way of thinking about science and religion.

Endorsements for Thank God for Evolution, by Michael Dowd

“The science vs. religion debate is over. Michael Dowd masterfully unites rationality and spirituality in a world view that celebrates the mysteries of existence and inspires each human being to achieve a higher purpose in life. A must read for all, including scientists.” – Craig Mello (2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine)

“Dowd shows that there are many ways to be a spiritual person and that all of them are enriched by an understanding of modern science, especially evolution. This is a creative, provocative book that sheds light on just about any spiritual path one might be on. Many will find their faith revolutionized.” —Eugenie C. Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education

“In Thank God for Evolution Michael Dowd has produced a thoughtful, timely, challenging-and readable-synthesis of science and spirituality. This compelling book is the product of candid reflection on the religious and ethical significance of evolution and contemporary cosmology in the spirit of Thomas Berry and Teilhard de Chardin. The author’s generosity of soul and depth of ecological concern have allowed him to create a challenging spiritual vision out of an exceptionally wide variety of sources.” – John F. Haught, Professor of Theology, Georgetown University; Author of Deeper Than Darwin; Christianity and Science; And is Nature Enough?

“Michael Dowd has written a book that is at once fun to read and a significant contribution to those who think about God without the blindfolds of past centuries. Dowd affirms science, and shows how a spiritually alive consciousness must embrace evolution and understand it in the wider context of a world filled with the presence of God. It will be faith renewing to many Christians and has much from which people of all faiths can learn.” —RABBI MICHAEL LERNER, EDITOR OF TIKKUN, NATIONAL CHAIR OF THE NETWORK OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESSIVES, AUTHOR OF THE LEFT HAND OF GOD

“Michael Dowd is one of my heroes… I’m pleased to see more and more people address the patterns of human emergence. Michael has made a significant contribution to understanding this critical aspect of human nature.” —DON BECK, CO-FOUNDER OF THE NATIONAL VALUES CENTER, CEO OF SPIRAL DYNAMICS GROUP