Parallax Sangha

Our Vision

Formerly the Manifesto Media Academy and now part of the Parallax Academy—Parallax sangha is an online school dedicated to the study, practice, and contemplation of mind, body, and soul. In other words, we are a convivial network of friends, writers, teachers, and podcasters offering online study circles and public events. Note: we use the Buddhist word 'sangha' to indicate a sacred community which runs through gifts and donations; however, we are not a church or temple and don’t promote any particular religion.  

Inner Work

Firstly, our move from Maniphesto to Parallax will allow us greater autonomy and the capacity to invite women into the fold—since there is no reason for our content to be limited to men. However, we have kept a men's circle for those interested in men's work and have plans to work with women and women's groups.  Traditional communities have always recognized the virtue of both separate and combined spaces for men and women. In this next stage of our development, we aim to work with differentiated and undifferentiated groups. 

Inner work is the ‘sacred’ aspect of Parallax Sangha and this year there will be private and invite-only groups, as well as our public ‘profane’ events. We welcome the application of new members to our sacred community, who will have to 'pass the test' of maturity and friendship. The private meetings include a study group, a men's group, and a cinema club at the moment.  New groups are arising, and we encourage our members to create their own unique projects.  We also offer personal online coaching and mentoring for those who are interested. 

Outer work

Besides private sessions, we will continue to offer public bi-weekly online events and podcasts with Q&A, which are open to everyone. For these, we will invite the most vital thinkers, philosophers, and luminaries of the day.    Furthermore, besides our weekly online meetings and events, we will gather a couple of times a year somewhere in Europe for some serious conversation, fun, and games.

Our syllabus this year will revolve around 3 main areas:

1. Soul and psyche

2: Magic and religion

3: sex and art

This will involve a study of classic psychoanalysis, esoteric religion, and the humanities in general.  Rather than work with a linear syllabus like last year, we will spiral between philosophy, art, and religion and try to integrate our most powerful themes. Furthermore, we will look at the hidden or esoteric traditions, including Western Hermeticism, Jewish and Christian symbolism, and Tantric and Sutric Buddhism.  

In our ecstatic and experimental first-year launch, we studied unrepresented and politically incorrect thinkers like Marshal Mclhuen, Réné Girard, and Ivan Illich; we hosted people from all over the ‘so-called’ liminal web: philosophers like Jonathan Pageau, Alexander Bard, and John Vervaeke. In short, we created a vibrant community.  By the end of the year, we began to reinvent ourselves and give our members greater creative autonomy and involvement in the group. 

Vision

Within the reinvention of education in the digital age today, the aim of Parallax Sangha is to cultivate deep and convivial learning friendships, which were always at the heart of the humanities and authentic education in general. Our mission, in the age of technocrats, netocrats, and robot managers—and while the present world system threatens to collapse—is to be a bright island in the digital fog. 

Today we are living in apocalyptic times.  However, the root meaning of apocalypse is to 'uncover' or 'reveal' dharma or truth, and perhaps we are truly living in a 'meaning apocalypse,' even more, than a mere 'meaning crisis, which is John Vervaeke's understated term. Paradoxically, the 'meaning apocalypse' and the seismic paradigm shift, provide a unique opportunity for deep education and personal development.    

If you are an innovative and curious seeker who likes to think deeply and play seriously, please apply to Parallax Sangha or join us at one of our public events. 

If you are interested in joining Parallax Sangha, please write me at andrewpgsweeny@gmail.com or Owen Cox at owenlcox3@gmail.com

Stay tuned for public events beginning Wednesday September 21, 2022, 8pm CET, 2pm ET

Video Version and a conversation between Andrew Sweeny and Owen Cox