About Panentheon

A Kosmopolitan Rite for the 21st Century

Panentheon is developing the Universal Rite, also called the Kosmopolitan Rite or Apollonionic Rite (Kosmopolis Rite (Κοσμόπολις Τελετή) or Kosmothiasic Rite (Κοσμοθίασος Τελετή)), as an expression of a kosmocentric and nondual meta-religious philosophy integrated with material culture. This rite inherently supports religious pluralism and celebrates our unity through diverse expressions of The One. It is both culturally restorative and nurturing, embracing ethnic diversity in religious practice while providing a cohesive, integral framework for a universal religious language.

Far from being a static or dogmatic system, the Universal Rite is a critical tradition—one that continually evaluates its own positions through ongoing discourse, inquiry, and revelation. It embraces a dynamic relationship with spiritual evolution, always open to new insights and self-reflection. This critical nature ensures that the rite remains responsive to the unfolding reality of the Logos, growing and adapting in accordance with deeper revelations of truth and the changing conditions of the world.

Rather than being purely reconstruction, this rite advances the Neoplatonic Heliopolitanism of Emperor Julian, evolving its intent through synthesis with Western and Eastern nondual traditions. It honors the continuous efforts of great civilizations and enlightened individuals who have sought to renew and build upon the Great Tradition—the underlying current of divinity manifesting through all things and calling humanity to awaken to its immanent reality of perfect grace and enlightened awareness.

This rite is designed to complement any faith, inviting participation from all religious traditions, while also serving as a vehicle for religio-civilizational reform and renaissance and as a unique expression of the Logos. It is restorative because it promotes religious pluralism through dialogue, respect, understanding, and a shared pursuit of wisdom. Violent religious antaganonism, demonization, and ethno-religious war is considered fundamentally antithetical to divine will, a form of politic manipulation usurping religious authority, a fundamental misunderstanding of how Logos manifests in form, and therefore heresy and blasphemy.

Ultimately, this rite transcends ethnocentrism and is not confined by any specific person, people, language, or time. The One and the Logos reveal themselves continually, through all aspects of reality, to all beings equally. It is our responsibility to listen to this ever-new revelation and engage in critical reflection, ensuring the tradition evolves through discourse for the benefit of all. By its very nature, this revelation is meant to be shared for the collective good and in fulfillment of the divine mandate of participatory cosmotheosis—the cooperative divinization of the cosmos.

Universal Panentheism is a comprehensive metaphysical and spiritual framework that integrates insights from a wide array of religious, philosophical, and mystical traditions. It views the cosmos as existing within the divine, while the divine transcends the universe, encompassing both immanence (the presence of divinity within all things) and transcendence (the divine beyond all things). This framework synthesizes the teachings of multiple traditions, positioning itself as a bridge between different spiritual perspectives without diluting their uniqueness.

One of its core aims is to reintegrate Western nondual traditions, particularly the work of Platonist thinkers and other excluded streams of thought, into the larger spiritual and religious dialogue. By acknowledging these traditions and weaving them into the broader narrative of spiritual development, Universal Panentheism creates a more inclusive lineage of religious evolution, allowing for the deep wisdom of these systems to reemerge in modern spiritual contexts.

At the heart of Universal Panentheism is a tenet system offering a complete path of henosis (mystical union with the divine) and theurgia/methexis (divine co-participation in the becoming of the universe). This process emphasizes not just personal spiritual realization but active engagement in the divine unfolding of reality and consciousness awakening in form (cosmotheosis). Practitioners are encouraged to become co-creators in this cosmic process, participating in the dynamic interplay between the material and spiritual realms, transcending dualities like subject and object.

Moreover, Universal Panentheism is working toward a spiritual and political renaissance based on our evolving understanding and embodiment of the divine. It seeks to create a framework for both individual and collective transformation, grounding this in a shared sense of purpose and cosmic participation. It also focuses on building a common language and culture, providing a space for those wishing to express their religiousness within society. This language fosters a new cultural renaissance, where spiritual and metaphysical principles can influence not only personal development but also social and political structures.

Universal Panentheism draws from a rich tapestry of philosophical and religious schools that influence its development. These include Platonism and Neoplatonism, which contribute insights into the relationship between the One and the Many, as well as Eastern nondual traditions, such as Advaita Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism, which emphasize the transcendence of dualities. Process theology and Process philosophy, inspired by Alfred North Whitehead, also play a critical role by offering a dynamic view of the divine as evolving with the cosmos. Integral philosophy, particularly the work of Ken Wilber, contributes a framework for synthesizing multiple dimensions of reality. Mystical Christianity, Sufi mysticism, and Kabbalah offer deep insights into divine immanence and the process of mystical union, while Sri Aurobindo's evolutionary spirituality and Andrew Cohen's evolutionary enlightenment inform the understanding of cosmic evolution as a spiritual process. Stoicism, Pyrrhonism, Neoplatonism, and Pre-Socratic philosophy also enrich the metaphysical grounding of Universal Panentheism, helping it bridge the gap between the Western philosophical tradition and spiritual inquiry. Additionally, Sri Aurobindo, Integral Theory, and the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism offer pathways for integrating spiritual evolution and the experience of divine consciousness into everyday life.

In this way, Universal Panentheism offers a path for spiritual, philosophical, and cultural integration, inviting individuals and communities to participate in the unfolding of divine reality, while also advancing the cause of spiritual renewal in both the personal and societal dimensions. In this way it also advances the cause of Unitarian Universalism towards a global religious framework and ability to sustain peaceful and dynamic relationships of mutual enlightenment across religious boundaries.