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Posts Tagged ‘Self-transformation’
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 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 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 MoreKim Moore & Fateen Jackson (Part 2) – Guiding Rage into Power: From Prisoners to Lifelong Peacemakers
Ep. 161 (Part 2 of 2) | In this profoundly moving and inspiring conversation, GRIP Training Institute CEO, Kim Moore, and facilitator/trainer Fateen Jackson, Sr., also a GRIP graduate, educate us as to the power and magic of the GRIP prison movement, based on Jacques Verduin’s model: Leaving Prison Before You Get Out. This yearlong trauma healing and accountability program is unique in the degree of radical transformation it aims for—and delivers. It is about freeing minds, and as Kim points out, goes beyond the duality of teacher/student, inmate/not inmate, victim/offender to where everyone joins in a mutual journey of healing, transformation, and liberation.The program is so transformative that ripple effects from GRIP students can be felt throughout the prison, and GRIP graduates often struggle with how little emotional intelligence and trauma healing work the rest of us have done when they get out.
Kim and Fateen shine a bright light on the inestimable value of a caring, compassionate community, pointing out that deep personal transformation and taking responsibility doesn’t happen in isolation. They share illuminating stories of their own experiences, and the dedication and gladness they exude in this talk is itself impactful and inspiring. There is something in this conversation, maybe because it touches our deepest brokenness and then lifts it up and redeems it, that reaches right into one’s heart and infuses it with inspiration, hope, compassion, and love. Recorded November 21, 2024.
Read MoreKim Moore & Fateen Jackson (Part 1) – Guiding Rage into Power: From Prisoners to Lifelong Peacemakers
Ep. 160 (Part 1 of 2) | In this profoundly moving and inspiring conversation, GRIP Training Institute CEO, Kim Moore, and facilitator/trainer Fateen Jackson, Sr., also a GRIP graduate, educate us as to the power and magic of the GRIP prison movement, based on Jacques Verduin’s model: Leaving Prison Before You Get Out. This yearlong trauma healing and accountability program is unique in the degree of radical transformation it aims for—and delivers. It is about freeing minds, and as Kim points out, goes beyond the duality of teacher/student, inmate/not inmate, victim/offender to where everyone joins in a mutual journey of healing, transformation, and liberation.The program is so transformative that ripple effects from GRIP students can be felt throughout the prison, and GRIP graduates often struggle with how little emotional intelligence and trauma healing work the rest of us have done when they get out.
Kim and Fateen shine a bright light on the inestimable value of a caring, compassionate community, pointing out that deep personal transformation and taking responsibility doesn’t happen in isolation. They share illuminating stories of their own experiences, and the dedication and gladness they exude in this talk is itself impactful and inspiring. There is something in this conversation, maybe because it touches our deepest brokenness and then lifts it up and redeems it, that reaches right into one’s heart and infuses it with inspiration, hope, compassion, and love. Recorded November 21, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 5, Part 2) – Boundless Potentials: Opening to the Endless Creativity of Our Being and the Universe
Ep. 159 (Part 2 of 2) | In the 5th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher and author Hameed Ali discusses the dynamic, ever changing, infinitely creative nature of the universe, and explains that our individual souls are in some sense a microcosm of this energy, with endless potentials and possibilities. We can experience creative dynamism, Hameed says, as “a sense of infinite energy, pulsing and throbbing, where we see the whole universe in continual emergence, every moment new.” Although the soul has boundless potential, we tend to take the limited approach that what we already know is the extent of things; the key to loosening the limits we place upon ourselves is to practice inquiry and remain open to all directions of possibilities. Each individual experiences the dynamism in a different way and expresses the potentiality of reality in a different way, says Hameed. When we are in touch with our true nature, we share in the creativity of the divine.
In this conversation, Hameed also talks about death: how we can be curious about it, how it is the ultimate in finality, one more possibility of reality, and that he doesn’t presume to know it, only that true nature is the source of time and does not die. Life can be experienced like a fountain rather than a flowing river, Hameed relates. And the more our ego structures are released, the more we can open to its beautiful array of endless possibilities. Another profoundly intriguing, subtly humorous, and absolutely enlightening conversation with Hameed Ali. Recorded October 10, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 5, Part 1) – Boundless Potentials: Opening to the Endless Creativity of Our Being and the Universe
Ep. 158 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 5th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher and author Hameed Ali discusses the dynamic, ever changing, infinitely creative nature of the universe, and explains that our individual souls are in some sense a microcosm of this energy, with endless potentials and possibilities. We can experience creative dynamism, Hameed says, as “a sense of infinite energy, pulsing and throbbing, where we see the whole universe in continual emergence, every moment new.” Although the soul has boundless potential, we tend to take the limited approach that what we already know is the extent of things; the key to loosening the limits we place upon ourselves is to practice inquiry and remain open to all directions of possibilities. Each individual experiences the dynamism in a different way and expresses the potentiality of reality in a different way, says Hameed. When we are in touch with our true nature, we share in the creativity of the divine.
In this conversation, Hameed also talks about death: how we can be curious about it, how it is the ultimate in finality, one more possibility of reality, and that he doesn’t presume to know it, only that true nature is the source of time and does not die. Life can be experienced like a fountain rather than a flowing river, Hameed relates. And the more our ego structures are released, the more we can open to its beautiful array of endless possibilities. Another profoundly intriguing, subtly humorous, and absolutely enlightening conversation with Hameed Ali. Recorded October 10, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 4, Part 2) – Discovering the Soul’s Treasures: Awakening Our Deepest Capacities and Highest Potentials
Ep. 154 (Part 2 of 2) | In this 4th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher Hameed Ali explains that much of the beginning of the spiritual path is spent clarifying our individual consciousness from the conditioning of the past in order to wake up and discover our true nature. In the Diamond Approach, this is accomplished using the practice of inquiry, and as we inquire deeply within, qualities intrinsic to consciousness emerge in our awareness. These qualities—like truth, courage, steadfastness, curiosity, and love—each have their own particular sensory expression: a certain color, texture, warmth or coolness, varying degrees of sweetness. The more these qualities emerge, Hameed says, the more powerful our practice and the more authentic our life. He calls these qualities treasures of the soul.
This beautiful conversation ranges from profoundly moving, as Hameed evokes specific qualities of presence, to humorous, when he tells a funny story about Maharishi Yogi, to intensely illuminating as Hameed talks about the teaching of the first turning, the miracle of ordinary life, what it means to be spiritually mature, the nature of true sorrow, the fact that we are the universe being conscious, and how fundamental nature lies deeper than consciousness, deeper than awareness. It is a multifaceted gem, not to be missed. Recorded September 19, 2024.
Read MoreA. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 4, Part 1) – Discovering the Soul’s Treasures: Awakening Our Deepest Capacities and Highest Potentials
Ep. 153 (Part 1 of 2) | In this 4th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher Hameed Ali explains that much of the beginning of the spiritual path is spent clarifying our individual consciousness from the conditioning of the past in order to wake up and discover our true nature. In the Diamond Approach, this is accomplished using the practice of inquiry, and as we inquire deeply within, qualities intrinsic to consciousness emerge in our awareness. These qualities—like truth, courage, steadfastness, curiosity, and love—each have their own particular sensory expression: a certain color, texture, warmth or coolness, varying degrees of sweetness. The more these qualities emerge, Hameed says, the more powerful our practice and the more authentic our life. He calls these qualities treasures of the soul.
This beautiful conversation ranges from profoundly moving, as Hameed evokes specific qualities of presence, to humorous, when he tells a funny story about Maharishi Yogi, to intensely illuminating as Hameed talks about the teaching of the first turning, the miracle of ordinary life, what it means to be spiritually mature, the nature of true sorrow, the fact that we are the universe being conscious, and how fundamental nature lies deeper than consciousness, deeper than awareness. It is a multifaceted gem, not to be missed. Recorded September 19, 2024.
Read MoreRon Interpreter (Part 2) – Ancestral Wisdom for Spirituality, Recovery & Life: An Integration of Native Traditions, Psychedelic Experiences & Integral Theory
Ep. 152 (Part 2 of 2) | Life coach, recovery coach, and plant medicine ceremonialist Ron Interpreter has created a multidimensional, whole person healing modality that integrates Navajo spiritual teachings and traditions with Ken Wilber’s Integral Model and Integral spirituality. Humanity is shifting, Ron explains, and is now looking to the teachings of the ancestors and Indigenous practices that can bring a sense of authenticity, purpose, and meaning to our lives. Native spirituality teaches us how we can relate to the elements of earth, fire, water and air in terms of remedies and medicines, and also in terms of beliefs and emotional connections. Plant medicine and other mind-altering ceremonies provide us with the means to get beyond the psychological limitations we put on ourselves, attain higher states of consciousness, and receive answers to our deepest questions.
With a calm, articulate fervency, Ron shares the ancestral wisdom he teaches to people in recovery or who are suffering from trauma, including special ops forces and veterans: the Native concepts of taking responsibility, being accountable, forging a relationship with God or Spirit, and living from a profound understanding of what it means to be a human being. “We are in the creation of self—how do we practice our selves?” Ron asks. The Indigenous teachings that Ron brings forward provide a deep sense of grounding in Nature and Spirit, as we come to a better understanding of our place in the universe and the practices that can open us up to living in a sacred way, in connection with divine being. Recorded August 1, 2024.
Read MoreRon Interpreter (Part 1) – Ancestral Wisdom for Spirituality, Recovery & Life: An Integration of Native Traditions, Psychedelic Experiences & Integral Theory
Ep. 151 (Part 1 of 2) | Life coach, recovery coach, and plant medicine ceremonialist Ron Interpreter has created a multidimensional, whole person healing modality that integrates Navajo spiritual teachings and traditions with Ken Wilber’s Integral Model and Integral spirituality. Humanity is shifting, Ron explains, and is now looking to the teachings of the ancestors and Indigenous practices that can bring a sense of authenticity, purpose, and meaning to our lives. Native spirituality teaches us how we can relate to the elements of earth, fire, water and air in terms of remedies and medicines, and also in terms of beliefs and emotional connections. Plant medicine and other mind-altering ceremonies provide us with the means to get beyond the psychological limitations we put on ourselves, attain higher states of consciousness, and receive answers to our deepest questions.
With a calm, articulate fervency, Ron shares the ancestral wisdom he teaches to people in recovery or who are suffering from trauma, including special ops forces and veterans: the Native concepts of taking responsibility, being accountable, forging a relationship with God or Spirit, and living from a profound understanding of what it means to be a human being. “We are in the creation of self—how do we practice ourselves?” Ron asks. The Indigenous teachings that Ron brings forward provide a deep sense of grounding in Nature and Spirit, as we come to a better understanding of our place in the universe and the practices that can open us up to living in a sacred way, in connection with divine being. Recorded August 1, 2024.
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