The intrinsic nature of mind is naturally lucid, aware, bright, open, empty and cling free. It is only temporarily limited or corrupted by being mixed with adventitious obscurations. Lama Surya Das explains & elucidates natural meditation, nowness-awareness, how to sit and gage and be, and explains his original four kinds of mindfulness.
Johnathan Schooler-UCSB; Stuart Eisendrath-UCSF; Lisa Lindeman-U.Wisconsin; Liz Wang-Changchi U. Taipei, Taiwan; Carmen Schooler-U. Maryland; Peta McAuley-Hong Kong
Spirit Rock Meditation Center 2009 Scientists Retreat- January 11-18, 2009
Koren Wright- Argosy U., Phoenix, AZ; Chad Johnson-U. Oklahoma; Kendra Markle-Kaiser; Daniel Levinson-U.Wisconsin; Larry Greischar-U. Wisconsin; Michael Haggerty-UC Davis
Spirit Rock Meditation Center 2009 Scientists Retreat - January 11-18, 2009
Melissa Rosenkranz-U. Wisconsin; Praveen Chopra-private; Paula Sigafus-Kaiser; Sarah Bowen-U. Washington; Jim Saveland-US Forest Service; Michael Warren-Claremont Graduate U.; Francis Haberli-U. Wisconsin; Charlie Thompson-U. Washington
Spirit Rock Meditation Center 2009 Scientists Retreat - January 11-18, 2009
A talk given at "Embodying the Sacred Feminine: A Retreat for Women", exploring the conundrum between embodying the sacred feminine and experiencing our challenging ego self.
Courage is the greatness of heart that allows us, in the face of fear, to be true to what matters. This talk is a reflection on how we can become increasingly courageous in those parts of our lives where we have held back from living and loving fully.
Douglas talks about the thesis of his 1995 book "Stoned Free: How to Get High Without Drugs". This audio excerpted from Open Source Reality - a November 29, 2008 interview podcast.
Examining the miraculous process of individuation, how it has evolved through time, and the possibility of actively guiding it into the future.
Individuation occurs when we develop the capacity to distinguish our psychological world from the external world, when we learn to distinguish between “self” and “other.” It is what gives us our sense of being “someone,” of “self” of “me-ness.”
Exploring the concept of integrity from the vantage point of the universe itself.
The word integrity is central both to the spiritual teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment and to integral theory. Integrity points to the inherent non-separation between the inner and outer dimensions of the universe—between the realm of consciousness and that of the manifest world. For us human beings, this deeper integrity means that what we believe to be true and how we act should be two mirror aspects of one single, inseparable whole.
Wilber outlines these tenets in his book Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (Shambhala, 1995), and he describes them as “patterns of existence” and “tendencies of evolution.”
On this webcast, we will look into the first group of tenets, which are the following:
Wilber presents and discusses the Twenty Tenets in his magnum opus, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, and also in A Brief History of Everything. The tenets describe reality—both interior and exterior—as composed entirely of “holons”—entities that are always wholes, and always part of a larger whole. In tenets that we will discuss this week, we’ll explore how this holonic structure enables vertical evolution. Here are this week’s tenets:
Thus far, we have covered fifteen tenets and their relationship to Evolutionary Enlightenment. In our call this week, we will discuss the final set of tenets, which explore how evolution has a direction, or telos, and is moving toward a goal. Here are this week's tenets:
Evolution has directionality, which includes:
Ken's most recent thinking about the holonic structure of reality and the principles of evolution. Ken has further refined and expanded his theory; in fact you could say that, in true evolutionary fashion, his new approach to evolutionary theory transcends and includes what he had developed before. Tom Huston will explain these newer aspects of the theory as presented in Ken's recent book, Integral Spirituality, and also as elaborated in the unpublished sequel to Sex, Ecology, Spirituality that can be found on the web.
Elizabeth Debold and Jeff Carreira start an in-depth discussion of some of the most profound Guru/Pandit dialogues between spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen and integral philosopher Ken Wilber from the pages of EnlightenNext magazine. On this webcast they discuss the Guru/Pandit article from Issue #24 of EnlightenNext magazine called, “In Search of a New Moral Compass.” This article addresses some of the most pressing moral issues of our time from an evolutionary and integral perspective.
Jeff Carreira and Elizabeth Debold delve into the Guru and Pandit dialogue from the inaugural issue of the magazine under its new name, EnlightenNext (Issue 42). In this dialogue, entitled “The Interdynamics of Culture and Consciousness,” Andrew and Ken take a fresh look at some of the foundational questions underlying their wide-ranging conversations: What does it mean that enlightenment is evolving? How is the evolution of consciousness related to the evolution of culture?
Vimala Thakar passed away on March 11th 2009 in India. In this webcast we honour the life of this deeply enlightened and independent woman, and share our personal experiences of both meeting and interviewing her. She was a rare and inspiring example for us all of what real spiritual attainment looks like, and of integrating the inner and outer life.
In March 2009 EnlightenNext's Director of Education, Jeff Carreira, gave a presentation relating the development of American Philosophy to the spiritual teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment. During the presentation he shared the ideas and lives of some of America’s most celebrated visionaries and examined how consciousness and culture developed during times of enormous change and creative growth.
Jeff Carreira and Elizabeth Debold host guests Andrew Cohen speaking on the Discovery Cycle and Steve McIntosh, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Jenny Wade and Gary Lachman answer the question "What do you see as the relationship between inner and outer evolution and where do you feel it is most important for Evolutionaries/Integralists to focus their efforts for conscious evolution?"
Jeff Carreira and Elizabeth Debold host guests Andrew Cohen speaking on the Discovery Cycle and Steve McIntosh, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Jenny Wade and Gary Lachman answer the question "What do you see as the relationship between inner and outer evolution and where do you feel it is most important for Evolutionaries/Integralists to focus their efforts for conscious evolution?"
Ellen Daly, the editor of the Guru and Pandit features for the past seven years joins Elizabeth Debold and Jeff Carreira on this webcast. Ellen chose one of her favorite exchanges “A Kosmic Roller-Coaster Ride,” (Issue 40). In it, Cohen and Wilber tackle one of the biggest questions there is: What is the purpose of the universe? Ellen guided the conversation through the key insights of this exchange and shone a light on how it captures unique qualities of both of these evolutionary thinkers.
Sally Kempton, Ken Wilber and Marc Gafni discuss the notion of the Unique Self, which represents the deepest possible expression of consciousness—a subject that can never be made object, the union of ever-present consciousness and individual perspective at a radically fundamental level.
The recording of the Dalai Lama’s talk from the University of California Santa Barbara Events Center entitled, “The Nature of Mind”. Recorded April 24, 2009.
Elizabeth Debold continues the exploration of Evolutionary Enlightenment and integral theory. Starting from two very different standpoints, Cohen and Wilber have come to many of the same conclusions about spiritual evolution and humanity's future. Last week's webcast focused on Wilber's early work, and this webcast focuses on how Cohen developed the integral evolutionary spiritual path known as Evolutionary Enlightenment. Joining Elizabeth Debold was special guest Amy Edelstein, who met Cohen shortly after his awakening and is one of his most senior students.
In this webcast there are two 5-minute audio clips recorded during a phone conversation between Cohen and Wilber, in which they discuss how the transformative approach of Evolutionary Enlightenment and the contextual power of Integral Theory cover the two critical requirements for real development—practice and theory. These complementary approaches are a match made in evolutionary heaven!
Helena Norberg-Hodge speaks on the effects of economic globalization. Helena Norberg-Hodge is a leading analyst of the impact of the global economy on cultures and agriculture worldwide and a pioneer of the localisation movement. She is the founder and director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC). Based in the US and UK, with subsidiaries in Sweden, Germany, Australia, and Ladakh, ISEC’s mission is to examine the root causes of our social and environmental crises, while promoting more sustainable and equitable patterns of living in both North and South.
As human beings, we move between the boundless, profound dimensions and the more mundane, worldly realms of body and mind. How do we in our practice cultivate an openness and receptivity to our boundless nature and not be so caught in our minds?
Exploring the shadow - personal, relational, and collective - is one way to work through the deep structure of ignorance. We explore the nature of the shadow, the phenomenon of projection, and several ways to practice with the shadow.
Tami Simon speaks with Jack Kornfield, the author of The Wise Heart and one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Kornfield reflects on four decades of personal meditation practice and how this has informed how he works with students.
Tami Simon speaks with Tara Brach, an author, clinical pychologist, and founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (District of Columbia). She’s the author of the Sounds True audio learning program Radical Self-Acceptance: A Buddhist Guide to Freeing Yourself from Shame and Meditations for Emotional Healing. Tami and Tara discuss radical acceptance in the face of difficult emotions.
In this episode Elizabeth and Jeff are happy to welcome Zachary Stein as our special guest. Zachary is the senior analyst for the Developmental Testing Service and is currently a doctoral student of philosophy and cognitive development at Harvard University.
Last talk after a week long metta retreat. Puts metta in context of other dharma teachings and mindfulness practice. Some suggestions of practicing metta in daily life.
“What is the self?” To the ancient East Indians, it is “the light of consciousness.” How can we as Westerners study the self, including such tantalizing questions as posed by H.H. the Dalai Lama, “is there a physical basis necessary for consciousness to be present?” Meditators have studied various aspects of the self from the first-person perspective for thousands of years. The more objective perspective used by modern science is comparatively new, yet it offers helpful tools to investigate the great question of the self.
In this dialogue with Integral Zen teacher Diane Hamilton, we learn what it means to work with the shadow elements of consciousness before they work with us. For instance, we may be able to access expanded states of awareness, but still get hung up when addressing personal or interpersonal matters. Learn tools to help you address this discrepancy between personal and the transpersonal work, so that your spiritual awareness can be fully manifested in everyday life.
In the midst of our turbulent times, a new spiritual impulse is emerging, compelling us to turn our spiritual passion toward the transformation and upliftment of the world. For many of us, the question of how we can best serve the evolutionary process is paramount. Join global changemaker Dr. Don Beck for an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities of evolutionary leadership, and what it takes to be an effective agent of transformation.
Speaker: Daniel Siegel, MD Psychiatrist, researcher, therapist and author Dan Siegel says there is a deep truth to the question, “Who are we?” If the brain is a social organ, as Dan’s research and clinical experience show, then what does “I” mean? It takes the practice of mindfulness to to dissolve the delusion [...]
Tami Simon shares her experiences of being painfully disappointed by various spiritual teachers, as well as her own personal methods of working with this disappointment. What do we do when our spiritual guides don't quite measure up to our own expectations of them? Can recognizing their limitations actually help free the wisdom the have to offer us?
Source (incl. comments): http://integrallife.com/node/2030
Part and parcel of forging a new spiritual path is the need to create equally innovative forms of spiritual practice. Join Integral Institute core member and Integral Life Practice author Terry Patten as he takes us to the leading edge of this bold new frontier, discussing how this bold, new approach to transformation can help us all to fulfill our two deepest evolutionary impulses — the urge to wake up, and the inspiration to make a meaningful contribution to the world.
This is a conversation that I had with film-maker Velcrow Ripper. Our conversation started with an overview of his current and forthcoming films and ranged though contemporary ecoactivism, the anarchoprimitivism of Derrick Jensen and the forthcoming film END:CIV, the Integral movement, the divine feminine, his spiritual practice, transhumanism and the singularity, and the numbers 11 and 9.
Recorded at the Dharmalab on September 23, 2009.
Part and parcel of forging a new spiritual path is the need to create equally innovative forms of spiritual practice. Join Integral Institute core member and Integral Life Practice author Terry Patten as he takes us to the leading edge of this bold new frontier, discussing how this bold, new approach to transformation can help us all to fulfill our two deepest evolutionary impulses — the urge to wake up, and the inspiration to make a meaningful contribution to the world.
In this special two-hour teleseminar, Terry and Craig take a look back over the key themes we've covered throughout the Great Integral Awakening series. Includes a review of key learnings around how the spiritual path needs to evolve to meet the challenges of our moment in history; what it means to face and transcend the obstacles to our own unfolding; what a truly "integral" spiritual path looks like, and how each of us can more fully engage in the process of conscious evolution.
Join pioneering scientist, author and Institute of Noetic Sciences president Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, Ph.D. for a firsthand look at her groundbreaking research into the nature of human spiritual transformation. She shares her latest insights into the unique mechanisms of the transformative process, how to understand them, how to facilitate them, and how these fundamental shifts in worldview result in a richer, more meaningful experience of being alive
In this teleseminar on "the Unique Self," Dr. Marc Gafni explores what it means to move beyond egoic specialness or uniqueness into an experience of radical "enlightened uniqueness." Marc explains why he feels that Unique Self is the most powerful and complete expression of enlightenment, love, Eros and joy, and why it will fundamentally challenge—and evolve—our entire understanding of life purpose, enlightenment and just about everything else.
There’s an impulse being felt by millions of people around the world: the yearning to reclaim the feminine. Yet, in order for this reintegration of the feminine to catalyze our next evolutionary stage of development, it must be consciously evolved and expressed through women at the integral level of consciousness. Join Claire Zammit, who has been pioneering a pathway for women’s evolution in her work with thousands of women, to learn how to awaken the integral feminine in yourself and midwife it into our world.
Join EnlightenNext Executive Editor Carter Phipps for a riveting exploration of the emerging worldview of evolutionary spirituality. Challenging traditional concepts of enlightenment and the nature of the self, Carter illuminates an entirely new context for human life, redefining the basic goals of spiritual practice and revealing our ultimate potential for transforming ourselves and our world.
Join Integral Enlightenment Founder Craig Hamilton for an in-depth look at the core shifts that have the power to propel us beyond the confines of the separate ego and into a life of wholehearted engagement with the evolutionary process. Includes an overview of the Integral Enlightenment approach to transformation, and a description of the Integral Enlightenment 9-week Telecourse.
Join American Buddhist teacher Lama Surya Das for an exploration of how Buddhism is evolving--and needs to evolve--to meet the complexities and challenges of the 21st century. We explore questions including: What would an "evolutionary Buddhism" look like? How is the emerging Integral worldview changing the expression of Buddhism? And what is the enduring value of tradition in our fast-changing postmodern world?
Join visionary futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard for this lively exploration of the practice and promise of evolutionary spirituality. Learn how to awaken to the "Impulse of Evolution" that is eternally unfolding within us, moving us to reach toward an ever deeper understanding of and participation in the processes of creation - until we literally become 'co-creators' on a universal scale.
In this teleseminar, Genpo Roshi shares with us the essence of Big Mind, Big Heart, an original approach to Zen practice that can enable even the novice student to have a direct and potentially life changing experience of their own true nature. He also explains why it is vital that we find new ways of understanding, teaching and practicing the timeless spiritual paths of the East.
To be mindful of our present experience along with our gentle breath, can allow us to free our grasping and ill will, and allow us to feel the conditions that come and go like ocean waves.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center: New Years (2009-12-26)
With hearts established in mindfulness, we are truly present for sitting and walking meditation, and for reciting the sutras. May this practice center, with its Fourfold Sangha, be supported by the Three Jewels and Holy Beings, well-protected from the eight misfortunes and the three paths of suffering.