I've been traveling, and have had no access to the internet for about a week.  Today's the first day I am in a room with internet access. 

Lots of stuff to ponder, when you have been away from the internet for a week. 

At any rate, one important note, that I've seen from Hokai, is that Daniel Ingram has put his book, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, in blog format.

Worth reading, a bit at a time.

Great post from Per at Mystery of Existence, on Big Mind and Indwelling God:


So where Big Mind is impersonal and everywhere, the indwelling God is personal and right here, in the heart space of the physical body. The experience of it, at least for me right now, is of a fragment of God for this particular individual soul and human self, and a fragment that includes and reflects the whole of God. It is not diminished in any way, yet also right here and for this particular individual.

Make sure to go read the whole post.  I'd love to see Chris at Indistinct Union comment on this as well, as he has commented on other MOE posts - and this seems right up his alley.

Read this Tricycle post to find out why.

Noticed this at Blogmandu.

A very interesting post at Parzifal's Blog.

I think this has been linked to before, but what is interesting about this, is that this attempt to define what is spiritual intelligence, and what defines that, is backed up with research that has been compiled through various workshops.

The results utilize the framework of the quadrants, as well as the framework of competencies and assessments, and an attempt to separate out levels - or consolidate ALTITUDE.  Very consonant with Integral Spirituality.

I also simply like the SQ distinction as well.  As multiple intelligences go, why not an SQ?  And the assessments which measure it?

An interesting report from Pongsathorn on meeting Dzogchen teachers.

Video from David Johnson - know NOTHING about this guy, but interesting video - a dry discussion - let me know what you think.

A great post by David Jon here.

"Yet, I was still taken up with the promise of what a comprehensive philosophy would look like. It wasn't Ken Wilber's vision that held me in thrall anymore. It was the underlying nature of a comprehensive philosophy–i.e., a non-reductionistic philosophy–that I sensed as being the original basis for my resonance with Ken Wilber's work and what I might now choose to call 'Integral Cognition.'"

I would agree with this - and I find that those who attempt to embrace the highest forms of - Spirit, Mind, Body, Other, Soul, Skillful Means In Living - these are the people I want to be my "tribe" so to speak.

Grounded in the world.
In communion with the Divine Soul
Self aware, of one's own shadows and B.S.
Learning, giving, growing, creating - "He not busy being born is busy dying".
Relaxing into the Buddha's smile, that is perfect as it is.

I wonder about the efficacy of Big Mind, 3-2-1 - well, for me, specifically about Big Mind. 

There is no doubt, that a perspective shift is engaged in, when Big Mind practice occurs.  As always though, as for my other big realizations, it fades away. 

Perhaps it is the nature of the beast - all realizations fade away - I shouldn't expect anything else, right?

What is so, is so.  And - that means "me experienced as me", and "other experienced as other" as well. 

I'm not sure, really.  I've had enough peak experiences, enough time in silent awareness, in meditation, watching the universe quite literally "rise and fall", as one breath, in one moment - it still seems strange that I so easily revert to "me against the world", objectifying and identifying myself with - er - myself...

I'm sure there is something I am missing there, so I decided to kvetch on it...

I clearly haven't been posting a lot here - mainly because I've been pretty busy.

But also, this particular blog has focused on the "basics", of integralism (when not veering to tech stuff and philosophy!)

For various dimensions, it is now pretty clear what the basic practices are.

Physical - I've blogged before - but 2 to 3 times a week, cardio, stretching, and weighlifting for exercise.

For diet - barring special circumstances - less carbs, and balanced eating.

Meditation - while there is a lot around the map here, the basic practices involved for integral involve:

Basic Zen/Vipassana sitting
BigMind/Advaita training
Compassion/Heart work


Now, of course, I'm missing a lot of the I-Thou meditations.  Perhaps I could blog them.

In terms of professional, career - one of the best books out there for this is Pathfinder, and What Color Is Your Parachute?

Both are passionate and practical, and give a very good sense of what are the gifts one has to GIVE, in terms of skills, abilities, and desires.

Psychological/interpersonal- while there are a lot of books out there, self-assessment is fairly easy to use, and I have also used this site to point to inexpensive therapeutic options.  And then there is the Shadow Work of the 1-2-3, as well as Byron Katie's work.  I could write more about relationship as well, but it is so easy for this to become narcissistic, in my opinion.

Now - community - this is probably one of the biggest lacks that I personally have, or have not written a lot about, and I've been attempting to address this through the Ken Wilber MeetUp, and organizing the San Francisco ILP Group. 

And then, when you do all the above, do you have time for rest, play, and creativity? Where is the balance?

I still believe there are things that are important for an "integral practitioner" to deal with - deeper delving into the interpersonal, dealing with MOTIVATION and destructive subpersonalities (just because all the practices are out there, doesn't mean you are doing them!), and also re-introducing some concepts into the integral community with ethics - such as "duty", "community commitment" etc.  A community is defined by the individuals that "take on" the duties of that community, and it is duty and volunteerism that is the glue of community.  Which conflicts a bit with "my/your integral growth".  And you want to keep away from any cultism, as such.

At any rate, opening up for questions - what integrally, needs to be worked on?  My integral growth, rather than "our" integral growth? 

Per has a good initial analysis here.

Here is the Amazon link.


cross-posted at Zaadz

A good post from Per.

Also note, his blog has changed. He is blogging from absentofi.blogspot.com.

This is from NDhighlights, but I think it is worth reprinting:

Song of the Mahamudra (Tilopa's Song to Naropa)




Mahamudra, the royal way, is free
from every word and sacred symbol.
For you alone, beloved Naropa,
this wonderful song springs forth from Tilopa
as spontaneous friendship that never ends.
The completely open nature
of all dimensions and events
is a rainbow always occurring
yet never grasped.
The way of Mahamudra
creates no closure.
No strenuous mental effort
can encounter this wide open way.
The effortless freedom of awareness
moves naturally along it.
As space is always freshly appearing
and never filled,
so the mind is without limits
and ever aware.
Gazing with sheer awareness
into sheer awareness,
habitual, abstract structures melt
into the fruitful springtime of Buddhahood.
White clouds that drift through blue sky,
changing shape constantly,
have no root, no foundation, no dwelling;
nor do changing patterns of thought
that float through the sky of mind.
When the formless expanse of awareness
comes clearly into view,
obsession with thought forms
ceases easily and naturally.
As within the openness of universal space
shapes and colors are spontaneously forming,
although space has no color or form,
so within the expanse of awareness
realms, relations and values are arising,
although awareness possesses
no positive or negative characteristics.
As the darkness of night,
even were it to last a thousand years,
could not conceal the rising sun,
so countless ages of conflict and suffering
cannot conceal the innate radiance of Mind.
Although philosophers explain
the transparent openness of appearances
as empty of permanent characteristics
and completely indeterminable,
this universal indeterminacy
can itself never be determined.
Although sages report
the nature of awareness to be luminosity,
this limitless radiance cannot be contained
within any language or sacramental system.
Although the very essence of Mind
is to be void of either subjects or objects,
it tenderly embraces all life within its womb.
To realize this inexpressible truth,
do not manipulate mind or body
but simply open into transparency
with relaxed, natural grace
intellect at ease in silence,
limbs at rest in stillness
like hollow bamboos.
Neither breathing in nor breathing out
with the breath of habitual thinking,
allow the mind to be at peace
in brilliant wakefulness.
This is the royal wealth of Mahamudra,
no common coin of any realm.
Beloved Naropa, this treasure of Buddhahood
belongs to you and to all beings.
Obsessive use of meditative disciplines
or perennial study of scripture and philosophy
will never bring forth this wonderful realization,
this truth which is natural to awareness,
because the mind that desperately desires
to reach another realm or level of experience
inadvertently ignores the basic light
that constitutes all experience.
The one who fabricates
any division in consciousness
betrays the friendship of Mahamudra.
Cease all activity that separates,
abandon even the desire to be free from desires
and allow the thinking process to rise and fall
smoothly as waves on a shoreless ocean.
The one who never dwells in abstraction
and whose only principle
is never to divide or separate
upholds the trust of Mahamudra.
The one who abandons craving
for authority and definition,
and never becomes one-sided
in argument or understanding,
alone perceives the authentic meaning
hidden in the ancient scriptures.
In the blissful embrace of Mahamudra,
negative viewpoints and their instincts
are burned without remainder, like camphor.
Through the open door of Mahamudra,
the deluded state of self-imprisonment
is easily left behind forever.
Mahamudra is the torch of supreme liberty
shining forth through all conscious beings.
Those beings constituted by awareness
who try to ignore, reject or grasp awareness
inflict sorrow and confusion upon themselves
like those who are insane.
To be awakened from this madness,
cultivate the gracious friendship
of a sublime sage of Mahamudra,
who may appear to the world as mad.
When the limited mind
enters blessed companionship
with limitless Mind,
indescribable freedom dawns.
Selfish or limited motivations
create the illusory sense of imprisonment
and scatter seeds of further delusion.
Even genuine religious teaching
can generate narrowness of vision.
Trust only the approach
that is utterly vast and profound.
The noble way of Mahamudra
never engages in the drama of
imprisonment and release.
The sage of Mahamudra
has absolutely no distractions,
because no war against distractions has ever been declared.
This nobility and gentleness alone,
this nonviolence of thought and action ,
is the traceless path of all Buddhas.
To walk this all-embracing way
is the bliss of Buddhahood.
Phenomena on every plane of being
are constantly arising and disappearing.
Thus they are forever fresh,
always new and inexhaustible.
Like dreams without solid substance,
they can never become rigid or binding.
The universe exists in a deep, elusive way
that can never be grasped or frozen.
Why feel obsessive desire or hatred for it,
thereby creating illusory bonds?
Renounce arbitrary, habitual views.
Go forth courageously to meditate
in the real mountain wilderness,
the wide open Mahamudra.
Transcend boundaries of kinship
by embracing all living beings
as one family of consciousness.
Remain without any compulsion
in the landscape of natural freedom:
spontaneous, generous, joyful.
When you receive the crown of Mahamudra,
all sense of rank or attainment
will quietly disappear.
Cut the root of the vine that chokes the tree,
and its clinging tendrils wither away entirely.
Sever the conventionally grasping mind,
and all bondage and desperation dissolve.

The illumination from an oil lamp
lights the room instantly,
even if it has been dark for aeons.
Mind is boundless radiance.
How can the slightest darkness
remain in the room of daily perception?
But one who clings to mental processes
cannot awaken to the radiance of Mind.
Strenuously seeking truth
by investigation and concentration,
one will never appreciate
the unthinkable simplicity and bliss
that abide at the core.
To uncover this fertile ground,
cut through the roots of complexity
with the sharp gaze of naked awareness,
remaining entirely at peace,
transparent and content.
You need not expend great effort
nor store up extensive spirtual power.
Remain in the flow of sheer awareness.
Mahamudra neither accepts nor rejects
any current of energy, internal or external.
Since the ground consciousness
is never born into any realm of being,
nothing can add to or subtract from it.
Nothing can obstruct or stain it.
When awareness rests here,
the appearance of division and conflict
disappears into original reality.
The twin emotions of anxiety and arrogance
vanish into the void from which they came.
Supreme knowing knows
no separate subject or object.
Supreme action acts resourcefully
without any array of instruments.
Supreme attainment attains the goal
without past, future or present.
The dedicated practitioner
experiences the spiritual way
as a turbulent mountain stream,
tumbling dangerously among boulders.
When maturity is reached,
the river flows smoothly and patiently
with the powerful sweep of the Ganges.
Emptying into the ocean of Mahamudra,
the water becomes ever-expanding light
that pours into great Clear Light
without direction, destination,
division, distinction or description.

READ THIS FIRST - before watching the video below.

One of the things that I think is very important to understand - in spite of our blogs, in spite of our intelligent minds, in spite of our wise, synthetic analysis -

Blogging - at this point - is coming from a specific band of human capability.  And this band - the intellectual, the silent awareness, the peaceful watching - is actually one of the least satisfying ways to touch the Divine.

Now - it happens to be the way that I am most comfortable with.  But there are a lot of assumptions about "how to behave" that come with this perspective - that are important to be aware of.

I spent enough time in my 20's "checking my mind at the door", that I can assert that the other ways in which we touch God - matter more to people.

The bliss-devotional aspect of the Divine, is, for most people, simply more important to the Spirit - to connection - then any amount of theorizing and satori.

When you are really INTO the bliss-devotion aspect of your SELF - at least in my own experience - the analytic portion of self is pretty "checked out".   I would say that to the analytic portion of self, the bliss-devotion aspect seems fundamentally ALIEN.

"WTF are those crazy people doing??"

But they aren't crazy, really - they are riding on a wave of bliss-devotion. 

It goes without saying that this wave of bliss-devotion is RIPE for manipulation of people - which makes it dangerous.  But it also is the juice of Spirit - and as such, needs to respected, and be accepted in the integral conversation.

I found the following on YouTube - watch it when you get a chance.  I don't know anything about this particular guru - not the history, not anything - but I can pretty much tell you, simply by the characteristics -that as silly as this guy seems to be, it most likely is the case that this guy, and a large percentage of the worshippers - are riding on a wave of bliss-devotion - where you must dance! 

Finally, a real question - if you find the following soccer behavior acceptable and fun (which I do), do you feel similarly about the below?  If not, why not?

I don't know who might have read this post on Subjective Reality by Steve Pavlina.

It is an interesting mix between the non-dual perspective, and the New Age perspective - (I'm specifically thinking about Seth type of material.)

Certainly, the description of the subjective is pure advaita.

 Simply read any of Ramesh Balsekar's works, and the similarity is quite apparent.

Or perhaps, this is closer to A Course In Miracles outlook.

Where the digression begins to occur, is the entry of what I would call "co-creation".  Here is a section of Pavlina's Q&A:

Question:  So if I were to believe in something that didn’t exist or that wasn’t possible yet, it would actually begin to manifest in the physical universe?

Answer: Yes, it would.  The physical universe is a summation of thought.  So first of all, in order to change this universe, you must adopt the belief that creation by thought is possible.  You must not only believe it.  You must know it.

If you try to create by thought, yet deep down you still believe it’s impossible or highly improbable, then it will not manifest for you.  The physical universe, including time and space, can only manifest in a manner that is congruent with your beliefs.

So here now an INDIVIDUAL belief will begin to have an affect on the OUTER subjective world experienced.  Beliefs are the mediating entity between the true subjective self and the normal objective self.

This is as opposed to the advaita view - that the experienced outer world - the normal world of form - is actually the subjective's dream - Brahma's dream - and not "your" dream.  "Not MY will, but THINE."  And implicit in this, is the surrender to God, the subjective, WHAT IS, rather than an attempt at manipulation through  "belief changing".

But again, it isn't JUST that simple as that because - guess what?  Each individual is blessed with a "creative self", and an ability to affect the world, at least on a social level. 

So Pavlina's version of Subjective Reality for the "world" and how to affect that world, is a bit different from - say, the "two truths" doctrine.

Or, the more sophisticated version of the Two Truths doctrine promoted by Ken Wilber, that is Integral Theory.


I could say more on this, but I would like others feedback as well.  Any thoughts?  Post and trackback on your blogs and I'll link and discuss, or comment here, if you feel so inclined.

Pongsathorn has been delving deeply into the "academic" side of integral thought, in particular, drawing out some of the details of the Integral Spirituality draft, and, I assume, what will be present in the new Integral Spirituality book.

You need to spend time with this, translating the variables into perspectives - but I offer up the links, for those who are interested:

Integral Math and Order of Mind - Part I

Integral Math and Order of Mind - Part II

Complexity, Spirituality, Reinterpretation

(Quick cheat sheet - instead of the world resting on turtles all the way down, the world is perspectives - all the way down!  Take that Bertrand Russell!)

As I pointed out a couple of days ago, "shifting perspectives" has quite an impact on how consciousness is experienced to the person - or p1 - 1st person perspective.  

The important question is how deep this goes - and how to stay grounded, I suppose, and in the real world, as perspectives shift.

Also, I have the sinking feeling if I talk about this a lot, I'm going to start sounding very lawyerish - example:

"The party of the 1st part - er sorry - the perspective of the 1st person, would like to embrace the perspective of the 2nd person, without reference to the 3rd person's perspective.

However, this gets problematic when..."

More than simply an overview such as this, however, I still say what will radically push things forward, is for all practices, a disciplined intake, reporting, and assessment methodology.  This will be delivered over web 2.0 at some point, and will radically transform the ascending nature of revelation - from the Bald's One's head, into a bottom-up, more egalitarian practical revelation of what works. It's just a matter of time.