The Sophia Institute is proud to bring you a very special event as part of our Conversions on Consciousness series with Dr. Lee Irwin
“Exploring Consciousness: An Introduction”
Thursday, July 24, 2025
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET
2 CEUs are available by filling out this form.
To Dr. Irwin, consciousness is a mystery, a spectrum of awareness that permeates all of nature, from the most minute particle through all creatures to the majesty of galaxies and cosmic formations.
Consciousness is not something we have, but something that we are, an awareness that extends throughout the body and senses, but also beyond our sense perceptions into the subtle, energetic, and spiritual aspects of on-going creation.
We inhabit a world of shared consciousness, a soulful world of sentient beings that includes humans, animals, plants, elementals, and etheric entities who are all co-workers in sustaining the complexity of consciousness.
Each of us is a unique expression of shared consciousness and through both individual efforts and collaborative interactions, we can enhance the qualities of consciousness and cultivate compassion and kindness to improve our world.
This event includes a 30 minute presentation, a brief guided meditation, and time for dialogue and questions. Let’s explore this mystery together and see how it applies to our shared awareness with others!
Meet Dr. Lee Irwin
Dr. Lee Irwin is an emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, now retired from the Department of Religion at the College of Charleston where he taught world religions with an emphasis on Native American traditions, western esotericism, hermeticism, contemporary spirituality, mystical cosmology, and transpersonal religious experience as related to dreams and visions. He is a founding member of the Association for the Study of Esotericism (ASE) and of Hieros: Honoring Sacred Space.
He is also a current member of the Sufi Inayati Order and the Ancient Mystical Order of Rosicrucians. He has been a workshop leader, group facilitator, and public speaker for over thirty years, particularly in the areas of mediation, visionary cosmology, mystical dreams, and the development of the sacred human.
He is the author of over 60 articles and 10 books, most recently: Dreams Beyond Time: On Sacred Encounter and Spiritual Transformation (Lexington Press 2022); Sophos Ontology: On Post-Traditional Spirituality (Lexington Press 2024), as well as his forthcoming publication, The Divine Feminine Gnosis: The Lesser and Greater Mysteries of Sophia (Inner Traditions 2025).