I've been thinking quite a lot of the technological world and emerging interrelated networks, and how this applies in a power and political sense to spiritual communities, and more importantly to integral communities. The last ten years, with the rise of Linux, the term "open source" has become known. This is the idea that written software that is open and viewable by all, is able to be easily fixed and improved upon by any person who has the requisite desire, skill, and persistence. In this case, all knowledge is in a sense, "shallow" - open to all who invest the time and energy. I've alway thought that the term "open source" is (or should be) a beautiful term for spiritual knowledge. For example, the bookstore in Marin is called "Open Secret" - alluding to the fact that the supposed "secret" of enlightenment is open to all. There are many other examples of this, of course... The other trend in technology (well, at least it used to be a trend - this is in debate now, given the tech crash of 2000, and the resulting consolidation) is that in modern work is that there is a lot of "flattening" in the decision making process - i.e. that there is less and less of a hierarchical overlay, top down structure, but more and more, functionally independent and overlapping ciricles of execution that get things done without a large "guiding hand", so to speak. You can see this in the statistics of more and more independent contractors, people working from their homes, etc. What does this have to do with spirituality, politics, etc?   more »

There is an article on What is Enlightenment that I recommend everyone read. 

The title is, "Is God a Pacifist?".  It's a pretty in-depth run down of various positions around peace, religion, spirituality, in a way that both acknowledges the wish for peace in every religion, but also acknowledges that every religion has also been used to justify war. 

What is the response of an enlightened integral spirituality, to violence? 

How many enlightened beings were killed in Tibet, do you think, when the Chines invaded over 50 years ago, and burned monasteries?  One hundred?  One thousand? 

One of the "intuitive understandings" that nearly everyone goes through during a spiritual awakening, is the sense of the Other as yourself.  The union, oneness, non-separateness that is true.  For me, at those "peak" moments, the ability to do harm is ludicrous.  The metaphor that seems obvious is that it would be like cutting off your own foot.  When I return to the small i, however, and I'm on some dark street in the city, and a couple of suspicious characters are coming towards me, I keep my calm.  But if that same character starts harassing me, it is easy to notice that I still have the "fight or flight" syndrome going on, in the body.  The adrenalin washes over me, training kicks in, I go to stance and I'm - ready.

This has only happened a couple of times, but the dichotomy is what's fascinating.  Two hours previous, if not within the same hour, I can be floating on the bliss, of a good meditation.  And it takes only a dark night, a couple of shouted words, with fast movement towards me, for the bliss and peace to turn into fight or flight.

I see from Stuart Davis's blog, that he has made the decision to choose a teacher (if he will be accepted of course!)

This is a good post.  Like a lot of Westerners, especially the intellectual types, the idea of a spiritual teacher can work, but only if the "teacher" is a teacher like the ones who teach at college.  Or perhaps (the view that works for me) having an "apprentice" type of situation.  This particular post reflects a lot of the avoidance, resistance, trepidation, and hope that anyone feels when thinking about having a spiritual teacher.  It is useful to go read the post, and see what arises in you around the idea.
My own experiences in this dance have been disappointing, to say the least.  But I wish all all those who wish to be born fully into self-realization - may you find the teachers you need to complete the journey!