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 »

The shift happens - again and again.  This recognition, this remembrance, this pulsing of awareness, and of of being.  The mind dissolves, attempting to keep its judgements, but falling, again and again, into this oneness. 

I shift - again and again, I shift. 

I am back to an "I" in the world.

The top and back of my head buzzes, and I fall into recognition, the "I" being just another cloud in awareness. 

This mystery - going in and out - the back of the head buzzes, and all there is, is awareness. 

A strong identification arises, and I am wrenched back to this bodymind identification.   And I float, and everything floats in the what is.  And there is simply wonder at the clouds moving in awareness - the body, the mind, the people, the buildings.

I don't know the truth of this shifting, back and forth, day in and day out.  A passive, almost disconnected, realization, full or insights and wonder - but seemingly cut off,  or a connected bodymind identification, full of passion and vigor.

Read an article today about the variety of social networking software today - it's huge! 

If anyone has had any experiences with the various tools, and would like to write about it, either please comment here, or send me an email.

Integral "study-groups" so to speak, should be able to do the following - (at least the ones I'm a part of)

1.  Commit to a "practice program" for the body, mind, spirit, creativity that works and integrates for one's life.
2.  Share that commitment publicly with the online study group, using the appropriate networking tool.
3.  Pop-in to the social networking group, to discuss the commitments, have fun, socialize, share issues, etc.  Share wins in the commitment, which we all have more of than we think - if you go from the "glass half full" model.
4.  For those who live in the same area, do a movie/play taboo, etc - work hard and then play hard, have fun.  If possible buddy-up for physical activity, meditation, study group, etc.

A pop culture lesson on colors.  Just so you know, language is crude. 

Well, it looks like I'm really going to have to start learning a lot more about Spiral Dynamics! 

I now have an account at Integral Institute's website, and I'm playing a lot of the talks that I find there.  But what's funny, for me, is the near constant reference to the various colors, as referring to stages of evolution, and various memes. 


I need to keep a handy color chart in my head.   One for the Terror Alert level (on second thought, I suppose I can ignore that), one for the political landscape (Blue, Red, Purple), and now one for the level of consciousness!  (Purple, Red, Blue, Orange, Green, Yellow, Turqoise). 

For what it's worth, since I know it's a burning question for those who read this blog, Karl Rove is a turqoise thinker, according to Ken Wilber.  (UPDATE:  So that it isn't misunderstood, as I understood this passing statement by KW, the "turqoise" mind of Karl Rove is NOT in service to turqoise values - not at all.)

It's humorous to see this "shorthand" so to speak, that develops, in every community.  I'm assuming that this particular shorthand has been adopted because it so powerfully captures the integral theory view, but nevertheless, to keep hearing the constant reference to "blue", "red", etc can be disorienting.  I was very interested in this past election, and I keep getting the colors mixed up!

For over a decade now, my main practices tend to be pretty peaceful in content.  Sitting meditation, heart visualizations, advaita teachings, etc.

However, a couple of times in the last 10 years, I've experimented with "active" type of meditation/psychological release formats.

By this I'm talking about psychological workshops such as gestalt, "shout it out" workshops, beating a pillow, fast breathing, etc.

Or, energized meditations such as Osho (Rajneesh) Dynamic Meditation, or "Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation", a book by Christopher Hyatt, who is one of the rebellious psychedelic crowd of the 60's. 

As I mentioned a couple of days ago when commenting on submitting the will towards God, this adds a certain different "flavor" to meditation. 

These type of meditations can be incredibly enlivening, incredibly powerful, and very opening.  Also, in these type of practices, it is also quite easy to shine a light on all the unconscious and negative elements of the personality.  Sort of like shining a light up your own psychological rear-end, as it were.  I did a style of this type of meditation for over two years.

But for myself , long-term, they tended towards being a distraction from the primary joy (for me) of clear seeing, and a peaceful loving heart, as the "drama" of the psychological release and discovery, seemed to harm clear seeing as much as it helped.  There are aspects of both.  As well, these dramatic and embodies practices are, well, LOUD for the psyche, I would say - at least for me, the truths revealed oftentimes contradicted, or spoke to other levels, of insights that are revealed when I sit.   (What am I in denial of now?  How about now?  And now?)

So I'm left with the quandary of how to integrate these VERY different type of psychological or meditation practices, and the very different, but valuable openings these practices create. 

As I've said before, a single individual can't do everything.  But  I hope at one point to take up an embodiesd practice that is an ally with sitting, heart visualizations/prayers, and advaita.

Lastly, for my mind, the "variety of religious experiences" aspect is simply so fascinating - that so many different experiences can reveal so many diferent insights - somatic, psychological, emotional, energetic, and mental.

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've been thinking about the notions of surrender and obedience, as applied to living life, and spiritual practice. This most recent round of thinking about this subject was spurred by the conversation between Ken Wilber and Brother Wayne Teasdale over at integralnaked. Wayne Teasdale spoke of "surrender" a lot. But when you think about it, the subtle dimensions of that, are really hard. I've been part of "semi-cults" before (actually learned a lot!) - I'm not going to go into details here - but fo course one of the aspects of cults, semi-cults, is that they lean deeply on the spiritual truth of surrender, to motivate people, and oftentimes manipulate people. On the other hand, it is really hard to let go of the really deep attachments, such as to a mate, or to a way of life, or if you are smart and successful, your own way of doing things.   more »

I am a member of Meetup.com, and check monthly the groups that I belong to - which are the SF groups for BFL, Ken Wilber, and Yoga.  

I've gone to a meetup for Ken Wilber - the trouble is, of the 7  "RSVP's", none had shown up except for me and one other fellow! 

Now the two of us had a nice talk, I must say - but since then, I keep checking, and the RSVP has been zero for the succeeding meets. 

I'm also looking at Yahoo Groups - there still exists a group devoted to Integral, but no new message there for quite awhile. 

This got me looking at some of the flaws of early online social networking programs., and looking at various other tools.

I'm thinking of being more active in this, and either starting a new meetup in the SFBay, specifically for integral practice - or perhaps even attempting to get the SF Ken Wilber group to convert.  But before becoming an organizer, and then paying for the year, for that functionality , I thought I would ask the question here, for the small number of people that read this blog.  Any interest in this in San Francisco specifically?  Any other resources one would know about? 

The email is up in the right corner, under the search bar, if there are any suggestions!

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!

Reader adrenalin was gracious enough to post as a comment, a very elegant poem, and I reproduced it below, as adrenalin's own post, which I encourage any readers out there to read.  Thanks again.

While I am still getting this blog up to speed, the feature of "honored guest" will become more prominent, as I learn more and more the capabilities of this blogging software.  This particular site isn't my personal site (purposely very little of "me" is featured, outside of my take on integral subjects) but much more devoted to pragmatic integral practice, and various insightful perceptions, comments, loves and inspirations on this passionate journey of the heart and mind.

By reader adrenalin:

On the tip of my tongue sits a silent ecstasy
always on the verge of breaking out
but never quite aware of itself:
chanting mindful melodies
and colouring the cities of dust
with rainbow anecdotes
Most of the time its tininess is not revealed
realization blocked in gridlocked thought-traffic
but still it's ready any time,
any moment, ready to jump and turn myself
inside out
outside in
blowing out all pain and misery
bowing gratefully to gifts returned
offering all suffering to the whirling winds
merging with a mirrored mind behind the moon
receiving dreams from the stars
and memorizing the sun's sacred rays
by draining conciousness of every concept
and knowing anything by heart
no need to search anymore
the marriage of World and Witness
is celebrated by my seeker's steps