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Spiritual Development
Kimberley Lafferty (Part 1) – The Path of Wisdom, Heart, and Ethics: A Developmental Perspective on the Journey of Awakening
“Applying a developmental understanding and developmental education is essential to any situation that we have.”
Ep. 174 (Part 1 of 3) | Longtime spiritual practitioner, gifted teacher, Tibetan Buddhist lama, and developmental psychology specialist Kimberley Lafferty integrates contemporary psychology and wisdom tradition in this lively, luminous conversation about the process of awakening, the evolution of ethics, and the extraordinary capacities that come online as we mature into later stages of development. What do developmental perspectives have to add to our understanding of human nature and to spiritual practice? Our meaning-making shifts radically as we develop, Kimberley says, and because of that our reality itself shifts. This is why communicating with people with very different points of view can fail so miserably—one person’s reality is simply not the same as the next person’s reality. We need to discern, what is their meaning-making reality in this moment? What is ours?
Throughout, Kimberley grounds the discussion in practical, real-life scenarios; she also shares intriguing research on later stage development that has found that as we mature, our senses evolve: our hearing evolves to deep attunement; our seeing evolves to witnessing, our capacity of touch evolves to embody presence. It’s exciting and inspiring to see the road ahead, to acquire new insights and tools to improve communication across cultural (and age) divides, to have the concept of bodhicitta unpacked so deftly and common misperceptions about emptiness corrected—and to witness Kimberley’s wise and zesty approach to life: “What connects us all is our luminous, aware consciousness,” she says, “and if we can lean into the messiness, I think we can find our way through.” Recorded October 3, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 8, Part 2) – Navigating the Inner Journey Home: To Presence, With Presence, In Presence
“Presence is the ground of all reality.”
Ep. 173 (Part 2 of 2) | In this 8th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali gives a clear, colorful description of the three stages we go through on the spiritual path: the journey to presence, the journey with presence, and the journey in presence. “There’s much more to the journey than just being free of suffering,” he says, “in the journey with presence, there’s a whole universe to discover—unexpectedly we find there is a whole realm of splendor, beauty, freedom, and liberation.” In the third journey, the journey in presence, the stage of actualization, we are swimming in the ocean of presence or we are the presence itself. Hameed relates how impeccability, strong and pure like stainless steel, is an important part of actualizing presence, embodying our essence in our daily lives. “The ‘I am’ can function in the world as a person,” he explains, “I can be the vastness, an infinite, black, luminous night, completely formless, but still walk in the street as a person.”
Hameed also talks about the “pearl beyond price”—the individuated self that brings a functional capacity to the isness, which is why it is of incomparable price—and the point of existence, point of light, or pure I-ness. He discusses the individuation of the soul and the realization that the nature of the soul is the nature of everything: this is the nondual experience. This dialogue is another treasure trove of spiritual transmission by Hameed—with humor, clarity, precision, and beautiful metaphor, his teachings, even as deeply profound and mysterious as they are, come as wonderful revelations for us to grasp onto, leading us forward on the inner journey home. Recorded January 3, 2025.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 8, Part 1) – Navigating the Inner Journey Home: To Presence, With Presence, In Presence
“The experience of presence is the defining experience of this path.”
Ep. 172 (Part 1 of 2) | In this 8th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali gives a clear, colorful description of the three stages we go through on the spiritual path: the journey to presence, the journey with presence, and the journey in presence. “There’s much more to the journey than just being free of suffering,” he says, “in the journey with presence, there’s a whole universe to discover—unexpectedly we find there is a whole realm of splendor, beauty, freedom, and liberation.” In the third journey, the journey in presence, the stage of actualization, we are swimming in the ocean of presence or we are the presence itself. Hameed relates how impeccability, strong and pure like stainless steel, is an important part of actualizing presence, embodying our essence in our daily lives. “The ‘I am’ can function in the world as a person,” he explains, “I can be the vastness, an infinite, black, luminous night, completely formless, but still walk in the street as a person.”
Hameed also talks about the “pearl beyond price”—the individuated self that brings a functional capacity to the isness, which is why it is of incomparable price—and the point of existence, point of light, or pure I-ness. He discusses the individuation of the soul and the realization that the nature of the soul is the nature of everything: this is the nondual experience. This dialogue is another treasure trove of spiritual transmission by Hameed—with humor, clarity, precision, and beautiful metaphor, his teachings, even as deeply profound and mysterious as they are, come as wonderful revelations for us to grasp onto, leading us forward on the inner journey home. Recorded January 3, 2025.
Read MoreKeith Witt (Part 2) – Relationship’s Farther Reaches: Exploring the Potentials of Loving, Learning, and Growing Together
Ep. 169 (Part 2 of 2) | Integral psychologist Keith Witt can’t get enough of the magic and beauty that happens in relationships as people begin to develop what he calls “a post-issue consciousness.” He explains that when our executive self, our wise self or witness, kicks in and forges a caring connection with the places where we hold our hurt and our traumas, then integration and healing start to happen, eventually with almost no conscious energy expenditure. “My job is to help people develop the witness,” Keith says, so they can observe their defensive or destructive states and reach for compassionate understanding, for themselves, for their partner, and for others.
Keith tells us the three foundations of the modern marriage are friendship, a love affair, and an ability to resolve issues that come up, and says the shift to a post-issue relationship happens when all three facets become intentional. “Post-issue couples don’t let things get in the way of their love,” he says. Throughout the conversation, Keith shares a goldmine of therapeutic wisdom on the subject of relationships, including the client/therapist relationship, and in true Integral fashion, he includes perspectives from all sorts of interesting angles, such as our evolutionary development, neural development, and moral and spiritual development. This discussion is warm, friendly, cheerful, lively, and chock full of useful information and insights. Keith’s excitement about the evolutionary directionality of human relationships is contagious and inspiring. Recorded August 16, 2024.
Read MoreKeith Witt (Part 1) – Relationship’s Farther Reaches: Exploring the Potentials of Loving, Learning, and Growing Together
Ep. 168 (Part 1 of 2) | Integral psychologist Keith Witt can’t get enough of the magic and beauty that happens in relationships as people begin to develop what he calls “a post-issue consciousness.” He explains that when our executive self, our wise self or witness, kicks in and forges a caring connection with the places where we hold our hurt and our traumas, then integration and healing start to happen, eventually with almost no conscious energy expenditure. “My job is to help people develop the witness,” Keith says, so they can observe their defensive or destructive states and reach for compassionate understanding, for themselves, for their partner, and for others.
Keith tells us the three foundations of the modern marriage are friendship, a love affair, and an ability to resolve issues that come up, and says the shift to a post-issue relationship happens when all three facets become intentional. “Post-issue couples don’t let things get in the way of their love,” he says. Throughout the conversation, Keith shares a goldmine of therapeutic wisdom on the subject of relationships, including the client/therapist relationship, and in true Integral fashion, he includes perspectives from all sorts of interesting angles, such as our evolutionary development, neural development, and moral and spiritual development. This discussion is warm, friendly, cheerful, lively, and chock full of useful information and insights. Keith’s excitement about the evolutionary directionality of human relationships is contagious and inspiring. Recorded August 16, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 7, Part 2) – The Alchemy of Transformation: Exploring the Essence of Presence
Ep. 167 (Part 2 of 2) | In the 7th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us as to the nature of presence. Our path begins with the recognition that spirit is presence, he explains, an insight which all spiritual traditions share; this is where most of their focus lies. But this is not the end of the story, Hameed tells us—discovering spirit is only half the work. The other half is actualizing presence by clarifying and purifying our souls. Presence works as an agent of transformation in this process; appearing in our souls as curiosity and a love of truth, it leads us home. The discussion turns to virtues, the fruition of realization, and how it is that realized teachers can behave in entirely unethical ways: “realization is no guarantee of ethical behavior.”
This conversation is packed with insights regarding many related topics: how ethics most importantly concern our relations with others, that kindness becomes spontaneous for the true master, the distinction between universal grace and specific grace, how inner spaciousness or emptiness is the other side of the coin from presence or fullness, and the question arises, “Why is it that some people are interested in going deeper and others not?” Hameed also speaks of his own experience of unilocal realization, where all time and space are found in the center of the heart and accessing information from the future is possible. It is not so much I am this or that, he says, it’s simply I am. This warm, illuminating discussion has a fascinating flow and sparks many instances of quiet laughter on all sides. Recorded December 12, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 7, Part 1) – The Alchemy of Transformation: Exploring the Essence of Presence
Ep. 166 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 7th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us as to the nature of presence. Our path begins with the recognition that spirit is presence, he explains, an insight which all spiritual traditions share; this is where most of their focus lies. But this is not the end of the story, Hameed tells us—discovering spirit is only half the work. The other half is actualizing presence by clarifying and purifying our souls. Presence works as an agent of transformation in this process; appearing in our souls as curiosity and a love of truth, it leads us home. The discussion turns to virtues, the fruition of realization, and how it is that realized teachers can behave in entirely unethical ways: “realization is no guarantee of ethical behavior.”
This conversation is packed with insights regarding many related topics: how ethics most importantly concern our relations with others, that kindness becomes spontaneous for the true master, the distinction between universal grace and specific grace, how inner spaciousness or emptiness is the other side of the coin from presence or fullness, and the question arises, “Why is it that some people are interested in going deeper and others not?” Hameed also speaks of his own experience of unilocal realization, where all time and space are found in the center of the heart and accessing information from the future is possible. It is not so much I am this or that, he says, it’s simply I am. This warm, illuminating discussion has a fascinating flow and sparks many instances of quiet laughter on all sides. Recorded December 12, 2024.
Read MoreTami Simon (Part 2) – Waking Up the World: Being True to Life with the Founder of Sounds True
Ep. 165 (Part 2 of 2) | Tami Simon, founder of the highly regarded multimedia publishing company Sounds True, covers a lot of inspiring ground in this heartening, lively, candid conversation. She tells the extraordinary story of how she came to devote herself to disseminating spiritual wisdom; about finding the edges and growing into them on her own path of awakening; the spiritual teachers she has encountered whose teachings have affected her the most; the wholeness of spiritual vision and psychological health; and discovering that, like all of us, spiritual leaders can be both luminous and in need of healing at the same time. Tami is an ardent torchbearer for the conscious business movement, explaining that business can be the way we give our gifts—that the endeavors of an inspired entrepreneur can be expressions of love and provide an incredible way of connecting with other people.
What is so striking throughout is the depth of Tami’s clarity about what matters in life and her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity. Tami has a remarkable ability to translate her spiritual insights and principles into action—as co-host Roger Walsh points out, she is a beautiful example of a karma yogic life, where being of service is the fuel, the inspiration, and the content of her life, as she continuously works towards furthering both her own spiritual awakening and the awakening of all. Tami offers a lovely, poetic rendering of the effects of living a true and meaningful life: “The litmus test is always somebody’s wake, the ripples of their life, how they’ve impacted others . . . the beauty, love, and justice that live in the wake of a person.” A genuinely engaging, illuminating, memorable conversation. Recorded October 17, 2024.
Read MoreTami Simon (Part 1) – Waking Up the World: Being True to Life with the Founder of Sounds True
Ep. 164 (Part 1 of 2) | Tami Simon, founder of the highly regarded multimedia publishing company Sounds True, covers a lot of inspiring ground in this heartening, lively, candid conversation. She tells the extraordinary story of how she came to devote herself to disseminating spiritual wisdom; about finding the edges and growing into them on her own path of awakening; the spiritual teachers she has encountered whose teachings have affected her the most; the wholeness of spiritual vision and psychological health; and discovering that, like all of us, spiritual leaders can be both luminous and in need of healing at the same time. Tami is an ardent torchbearer for the conscious business movement, explaining that business can be the way we give our gifts—that the endeavors of an inspired entrepreneur can be expressions of love and provide an incredible way of connecting with other people.
What is so striking throughout is the depth of Tami’s clarity about what matters in life and her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity. Tami has a remarkable ability to translate her spiritual insights and principles into action—as co-host Roger Walsh points out, she is a beautiful example of a karma yogic life, where being of service is the fuel, the inspiration, and the content of her life, as she continuously works towards furthering both her own spiritual awakening and the awakening of all. Tami offers a lovely, poetic rendering of the effects of living a true and meaningful life: “The litmus test is always somebody’s wake, the ripples of their life, how they’ve impacted others . . . the beauty, love, and justice that live in the wake of a person.” A genuinely engaging, illuminating, memorable conversation. Recorded October 17, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 6, Part 2) – Awakening to Our True Nature: Releasing Limiting Ego Structures and Freeing the Soul
Ep. 163 (Part 2 of 2) | In the sixth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali tells us that whereas pure consciousness is already perfect and does not change or grow, individual consciousness is an impressionable organism—alive, changing, moving, developing. Hameed explains that because the soul is impressionable, the impacts of experience are imprinted upon it, shaping our very consciousness. Ego structures form from repeated impressions, and although they are necessary for survival and to function in a relational world, these structures make it difficult to experience the living presence of our true nature. We experience the ego self instead, mistaking our self-image for what we truly are. When we loosen our conditioning, with help from practices like inquiry and bodywork, our soul becomes free of its imprint and our true potential arises naturally, along with greater compassion and other qualities of the soul.
Simply and clearly, Hameed brings us to a deeper understanding of our soul, elucidating what holds us to our limited self-identity and describing what we have to look forward to as the myriad imprints hammered into us by experience become diaphanous, and new impressions no longer make indelible imprints. Hameed also delves into the different ways various traditions talk about the soul, the difference between ordinary knowledge and “knowing,” or gnosis, and tells us that sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment are an artificial dichotomy, sharing a story of a sudden enlightenment experience of his own. Once again, Hameed transmits an extraordinary amount of wisdom in a relatively short time, and we emerge brighter, hopeful, and inspired as to our boundless spiritual potential. Recorded November 14, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 6, Part 1) – Awakening to Our True Nature: Releasing Limiting Ego Structures and Freeing the Soul
Ep. 162 (Part 1 of 2) | In the sixth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali tells us that whereas pure consciousness is already perfect and does not change or grow, individual consciousness is an impressionable organism—alive, changing, moving, developing, growing. This is why “it’s easier to experience pure consciousness than it is to experience individual consciousness,” Hameed says. He explains that because the soul is impressionable, the impacts of experience are imprinted upon it, shaping our very consciousness. Ego structures form from repeated impressions, and although they are necessary for survival and to function in a relational world, these structures make it difficult to experience the living presence of our true nature. We experience the ego self instead, mistaking our self-image for what we truly are. When we loosen our conditioning, with help from practices like inquiry and bodywork, our soul becomes free of its imprint and our true potential arises naturally, along with greater compassion and other qualities of the soul.
Simply and clearly, Hameed brings us to a deep understanding of our soul, elucidating what holds us to our limited self-identity and describing what we have to look forward to as the effects of the myriad imprints hammered into us by experience become diaphanous and let us go. Hameed also delves into the different ways various traditions talk about the soul, the difference between ordinary knowledge and “knowing,” or gnosis, and tells us that sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment are an artificial dichotomy, sharing a story of a sudden enlightenment experience of his own. Once again, Hameed transmits an extraordinary amount of wisdom in a relatively short time, and we emerge brighter, hopeful, and inspired as to our wondrous spiritual potential. Recorded November 14, 2024.
Read MoreSean Esbjörn-Hargens (Part 3) – The Boundless Riches of Nonduality: Understanding Nondual Experiences Across Traditions and Over Time
Ep. 157 (Part 3 of 3) | Integral polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is the first comparative scholar to undertake exploring and differentiating the myriad varieties of nonduality. A longtime spiritual practitioner within several nondual traditions, Sean wanted to find out how we can understand the relationship between reality, consciousness, and practice. When he delved into an analysis of different traditions’ experience of nonduality, Sean was surprised and excited by what he found: 40 distinct nondual traditions, ancient and new, from both East and West, fascinating in their differences, their similarities, their uniqueness, and their depth. Sean’s hope is that his comparative study of nondual traditions will open the door to a global, cross-tradition dialogue that will supersede centuries of misunderstanding and conflict among people arguing that their realization is the only correct and/or best interpretation of reality.
Enthusiasm and excitement flow throughout the conversation as Sean reveals the provocative patterns he uncovered in nonduality’s history, like the mysterious flourishing of nondual traditions for a 300-year period starting in the 11th century. He covers specific distinctions he has mapped: the primary polarities across traditions (goal, path, context, practices), the different qualities that are emphasized (emptiness + omnipresence, emptiness + bliss, and more), and the six possible subject/object orientations of the traditions. Informed by A. H. Almaas’ awareness that there is no endpoint to spiritual realizations and Ken Wilber concluding that nonduality evolves (nonduality = emptiness + view; emptiness doesn’t change, but view does), along with his own findings of ever deepening and broadening nondual realizations, Sean wonders, “What will our nondual traditions look like in a thousand years? In two thousand years?” And, “What are some of the nondual seeds from other traditions that we are not watering?” Hang on to your hats for a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening ride through a goldmine of information about the many faces of our nondual traditions. Recorded September 12, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 3, Part 2) – What is Consciousness? The Key to Experiencing Our True Nature
Ep. 150 (Part 2 of 2) | In the third dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali brings us to a deeper understanding of individual consciousness, our true nature, in relation to pure consciousness. Once we come to know what consciousness is, he says, our spiritual experience truly begins. The conversation flows through many illuminating teachings: how true nature manifests itself in many ways—there is no one way, no final way; reality is only what we perceive it to be—there is no hard and fast reality “out there;” and the ego is not some sort of developmental mistake—it only becomes a problem if we become fixated on it. Psychology helps us see how the soul became the ego, Hameed explains, and psychodynamics reflect how our individual consciousness becomes imprinted by experience, the effects of which can be unraveled through spiritual inquiry.
When asked how he is able to write so remarkably clearly and concisely, fine-cut like a diamond, Hameed explains that the teachings articulate themselves as he writes by becoming his direct experience in the moment. He is not channeling, nor is his individual self expressing an opinion, the teaching simply expresses itself by becoming his true nature. This conversation is inspiring on many levels as consciousness becomes more graspable and because, as Roger says, Hameed’s teaching is grounded in our being capable of realizing being. At the end, Hameed gives a beautifully resonant account of why we love freedom. Once again, Hameed’s profound teachings come as a transmission and are a joy to receive. Recorded August 8, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 3, Part 1) – What is Consciousness? The Key to Experiencing Our True Nature
Ep. 149 (Part 1 of 2) | In the third dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali brings us to a deeper understanding of individual consciousness, our true nature, in relation to pure consciousness. Once we come to know what consciousness is, he says, our spiritual experience truly begins. The conversation flows through many illuminating teachings: how true nature manifests itself in many ways—there is no one way, no final way; reality is only what we perceive it to be—there is no hard and fast reality “out there;” and the ego is not some sort of developmental mistake—it only becomes a problem if we become fixated on it. Psychology helps us see how the soul became the ego, Hameed explains, and psychodynamics reflect how our individual consciousness becomes imprinted by experience, the effects of which can be unraveled through spiritual inquiry.
When asked how he is able to write so remarkably clearly and concisely, fine-cut like a diamond, Hameed explains that the teachings articulate themselves as he writes by becoming his direct experience in the moment. He is not channeling, nor is his individual self expressing an opinion, the teaching simply expresses itself by becoming his true nature. This conversation is inspiring on many levels as consciousness becomes more graspable and because, as Roger says, Hameed’s teaching is grounded in our being capable of realizing being. At the end, Hameed gives a beautifully resonant account of why we love freedom. Once again, Hameed’s profound teachings come as a transmission and are a joy to receive. Recorded August 8, 2024.
Read MoreCindy Wigglesworth – Spiritual Intelligence: 21 Skills That Underlie Our Capacities for Wisdom, Compassion & Love in Action
Cindy Wigglesworth, trailblazer in the field of spiritual intelligence, has created an assessment tool that identifies our spiritual strengths and weaknesses—qualities that fall outside the traditional IQ or emotional intelligence (EQ) parameters—in order to provide a guide for determining which skills we as individuals need to develop in order to show up in the world as love in action. Early on, Cindy recognized the profound benefits that both spiritual practice and EQ assessments had in her leadership development work, wishing only there was a map similar to what EQ offers but going one step higher, to lead people in the realm of spiritual development. So she created a multidimensional self-assessment tool to do just that, wrote the book SQ21: The 21 Skills of Spiritual Intelligence, and founded the global leadership development network Deep Change.
Cindy’s dedication, brilliant intellect, integral understanding, and the effects of a lifetime of spiritual motivation and practice are abundantly evident in this warmly personal, articulate, and inspiring conversation about spirituality and how we can come to embody the values we aspire to. It’s easy to love people in the abstract, Cindy points out, but how we actually behave is what’s critical. What would love see? she asks, when talking about the practice of reframing. As co-host John Dupuy said, this conversation is like “an infusion of spiritual vitamins.” It’s also very timely—Cindy reflects that spiritual intelligence skills and learning how to sustain faith are more important than ever in these times of polarization and crisis. Recorded July 18, 2024.
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