Watch for our article titled The VUCA Savvy Leader in MWorld, Summer Edition 2013, for The American Management Association.

VUCA is an acronym coined by leaders at the War College to describe the modern day battle field, which is Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic/Complex, and Ambiguous. Developing our personal and collective capacity to live and work in such a world is both an opportunity and a challenge. We’ll post a link when the article is available, but in the meantime, invite you to read about our work developing VUCA Savvy Leaders here.

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For the past few months our leadership team at Wisdom at Work have been working to help envision, develop, and launch the Compassion Games in Seattle Sept. 21- Oct. 22, 2012 .   We invite those of your in the NW to get involved (along with our cosponsor United Way) and for those of you in other communities – to consider how such an initiative might play out in your region. (See also, our work with the International Campaign for Compassionate Cities - http://compassion.is/blog-view/compassion-action-network/cities/ )
Here is an overview of the compassion games with some links of interest:

Projects and Events
There is the opening day Urban Mural Project  https://volunteer.truist.com/uwkc/user/events/project.aspx?listing_id=10537…, the Peace Vigil and Concert at the Interfaith Community Church http://compassiongames.org/?t2t_event=international-day-of-peace-vigil-conc…, and a booth at the United Way Day of Caring after-party.
During the last five days of the games a “community build” to create a playground is taking place in Roxhill from October 17 – October 21 then there’s the closing ceremonies at the Seattle Center on October 21.
There are many events and community service projects happening between the opening and closing days.
You can find the events here http://compassiongames.org/?page_id=238 and
the volunteer opportunities here http://compassiongames.org/?page_id=339 .

A Cool Facebook Application that lets a person choose how they want to play
http://www.facebook.com/compassiongames/app_102068836552678

Signing Up for SuperBetter
We have our first group of heroes that we are allies with a supporting them in getting SuperBetter.http://compassiongames.org/?page_id=337

Participating in the Kindness Class
We are also hosting a Kindness Class – Led by Andy Smallman Here is a blog post we published todayhttp://compassiongames.org/?p=1049 This is a great for anyone to participate no matter where they are.

Main Stream Media
The compassion games was mentioned on KUOW by the Interfaith Amigos on 9/11.
You can see the blog post we wrote and link to the podcast herehttp://compassiongames.org/?p=969

There was an editorial piece written by Gary Davis and the Stories of Compassion group. That has led to a number of stories appearing. We were the featured story on crosscut.
http://crosscut.com/2012/09/12/nonprofits-philanthropy/110459/stories-compa…

We were in the B-Town Blog
http://b-townblog.com/2012/09/11/guest-op-ed-stories-contest-lets-click-on-…

It was posted on the KPLU website
http://humanosphere.kplu.org/jp/hey-seattle-global-do-gooders-join-the-comp…

Social Media
Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/compassiongames
Our Twitter stream is www.twitter.com/compassiongames
The cool Compassion Games Facebook App ishttp://www.facebook.com/compassiongames/app_102068836552678

The Big Close
This discussion is intended to give you the content you need to spread the word about what’s happening with the Compassion Games. That’s the key thing right now that we need the most….getting the word out.

Getting the word out to participants and volunteers will be the key. This will only happen by us engaging with it. As it says in the Indigenous Guiding Principles “no participation no development”. Please take a few minutes to help spread the word in whatever shape or form works for you!

The post Compassion Games – Survival of the Kindest – Begins Today appeared first on Wisdom at Work: InnerWork Technologies, Inc..

How can we become more adept at resonantly aligning ourselves with the source of visionary guidance?

How can the inner sciences and technologies of the contemplative wisdom traditions help us to open ourselves to source the downloads that inspire our visionary lives?

Drawing insights from 40 years of personal exploration, the Leveys guide our deep reflection regarding these questions and introduce you to a spectrum of meditative skilful means for activating your own creative visionary potential.

Leveys Contemplative Noetic Visionary Artistry  – download pdf

Dr. Joel & Michelle Levey, beloved friends of the Visionary Arts Tribe, have been deeply engaged in many dimensions of consciousness research and the contemplative inner science traditions, and have been blessed to work and study closely with many of the greatest contemplative teachers and mind-science researchers of our times. Joel & Michelle’s teachings have inspired many circles of visionary artists and healers through their teachings at IONS, ISSSEEM, Oracle Gatherings, CoSM, Beloved Festival, this year at Burning Man, and as teachers and advisors for the Art Monastery’s http://www.artmonastery.org/home/   International Otherhood of ArtMonks http://www.facebook.com/pages/Artmonks/276359075578 .

Joel & Michelle serve as graduate faculty in the Contemplative Education & Transformational Learning program at Mahidol University in Thailand, clinical faculty at University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing where they teach Meditation and Medicine for the Medical School, Clinical Faculty for Bastyr University’s Center for Spirituality, Science, and Medicine, and authors of many books including:  Luminous Mind: Meditation and Mind Fitness; Wisdom at Work; Living in Balance; The Fine Arts of Relaxation, Concentration, and Meditation: Ancient Skills for Modern Minds.  For more info, see:  http://WisdomAtWork.com , http://KohalaSanctuary.com

Blessings & Praise for Joel & Michelle’s Teachings on Awakening the Creative Spirit for Visionary Artists and Performers:

“The presence of Joel and Michelle Levey in our life has inspired our creative spirit and will surely inspire others.”   - Alex and Allyson Grey http://cosm.org,   http://alexgrey.com

Image below – Leveys guide meditation at CoSM Full Moon Gathering with Allyson and Alex Grey

“Joel and Michelle exhibit a beautiful and deep spiritual wisdom and understanding, while maintaining the innate ability to apply it in the form of their life and teachings to a modern world that makes it not exclusive, but accessible to any and everyone with a desire to deepen their search and open their creative hearts and minds…   Shimshai   http://Shimshai.com

Joel and Michelle are rare in their depth of devotion to the spiritual path. They are open minded, open hearted, creative and visionary learners and teachers. They have dedicated much time in this life, to meditation and the profound explorations within, then sensitively and creatively using their enhanced consciousness to help

individuals, and humanity as a whole through their obvious Bodhisattva vow of assisting all beings to gain enlightenment rather than simply seeking their own.  Wisdom at Work has been their vehicle of many years, offering a wide variety of great support, in forms that help individuals become empowered, feel and delve deeper into the rich terrain of life’s internal reflections. I can sense Joel and Michelle equally at home in large institutions teaching Dharma and compassion or in leading informal discussions with small community sanga, developing supportive relationships, urging people onward in their paths… I heartily recommend Joel and Michelle as teachers who lead with integrity and Love, whatever they are offering.” 

—La aka Laurrien Gilman, artist, spiritual seeker, and community builder

“To my fellow Burning Man devotees: Few people in my life have touched my life in such a positive way as Joel and Michelle Levey.  The depth of their understanding, compassion and love inspires me in every creative endeavor I undertake.  I highly recommend their workshops to anyone wanting to go deeper into their spiritual practice and creative source.  Joel and Michelle are “the real deal original gangsta’s of meditation.” Should their paths cross yours, count yourself as one of the blessed.”

—Sidney Genette, www.watersines.com

“When I think of the type of people I want to surround myself with Joel and Michelle come to mind. They truly walk their talk. The love and grace these two radiate, continues to inform my daily practice, their endless giving and care for others, their passion for the advancement of humanity, serves as deep inspiration for my own work. I feel truly blessed to consider these two my mentors.”

— Nina von Feldmann,     oraclegatherings.com

“I strongly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to experience the collective wisdom field facilitated so compassionately and expertly by Joel and Michelle Levey. Their loving light shines through all that they do, and is so clearly grounded in decades of inner work and being in service to such a vast diversity of groups and organizations. If you are seeking to move into the heart of a collective issue or exploration, these are the two who can guide you there with true grace and feeling.” —Jeet-Kei Leung, Vancouver, BC, DJ/Musician http://www.myspace.com/mazeguider

“Joel & Michelle Levey express and exude a deep hearted Authenticity and Grace that simply feels good to be around! I find them to be wonderfully inspiring in their genuineness“.  —Kenny Telesco, Theatre Artist

“Joel and Michelle are radiant embodiments of compassion, love and evolution in action.  They are emissaries of peace and their vibrations are felt beyond words or actions. If you have the blessed opportunity to meet them, you will never forget the light of these two incredible beings.  

- little woo, Vancouver BC Canada  
http://www.littlewoo.org/

“Joel and Michelle Levey shine the brightest light.  Whenever I’m around them I feel nurtured by the warmth of their glow, profound but gentle presence, deep wisdom, and pure love.  The stunning result is that my own heart and spirit are activated, my own vibration rises, and I find myself reflecting back to the universe the deepest and brightest essence of my creative nature.   The Leveys are potent in their ability to inspire us to share our own luminance, and in helping us clear the noise that obstructs that self-expression.   I’m deeply grateful for opportunities to experience their catalyzing gifts.” — Gwen Williams, Designer/artist, http://www.spacetransform.com

“Joel and Michelle Levey generously offer their hearts and teachings to those who are blessed to cross their paths.  Their presence embodies their teachings and their teachings support all beings to step into their highest creative potential.   Being with Joel and Michelle is inspiring, in the same way I feel inspired when I smell the fragrance of a blooming gardenia.  There’s a depth, sweetness, and strong impulse to shout out Yes!” —Tamara Newmoon, Psychic & Healer http://www.newmoonspeak.com/

“I have known Joel and Michelle Levey for many years. Due to a lifetime of study of Buddhism and their own in – depth meditation practices, they teach from a place of true integrity and personal understanding.    Joel and Michelle work seamlessly as a team and are inspiring teachers, presenting the Dharma in a way that is both practical and  inspiring … resonating deeply with my own inner truth. Michelle’s joyful presence  fills the room, and her knowledge of Buddhism is vast. Joel has the extraordinary ability to make the invisible visible by articulating the world of consciousness so it becomes tangible to the rest of us. Clear presence and deep compassion is evident in all that they do and say. They have encouraged and supported my art in many ways, generously providing contacts, ideas, images and  new possibilities. In addition, their work encompasses a  passionate interest in integrating the various disciplines of science, art, social activism as well as spirituality.  I highly recommend their work. “ —Robin Maynard-Dobbs, Silk painting artist,  owner of Silk Creations; Personal coach and founder of Aware Eating http://www.awareeating.com

“It has truly been a blessing to know Joel and Michelle Levey. These teachers walk in grace and offer wisdom with every word. They offer their generous spirits to all who cross their path. We are grateful for the gift they bring to our Mother Earth, who is calling us all to love this big.”  —Alli Chagi-Starr, Arts Activist, Cultural Arts Director for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights’ Reclaim the Future Program and & Ashel Eldridge, music and meditation facilitator with Art in Action – Youth Leadership Program in Oakland http://artinactionworld.org/index.php?key=bios

Here’s what participants had to say about the Art Monk Retreat that Joel & Michelle Levey guided for the Art Monastery Project 2010 – 2011 – 2012 retreats:

~  Ever since I went on this new year’s retreat I can feel my path becoming so much more clear. Gaining the tools to steer me back on track when life throws curve balls, I have new found sustainable joy. The tools are so simple….just breathe! For me, this year is dedicated to healing the fractured parts of myself. I am recognizing and in doing so letting go of the influences that have been blocking my path and diverting my energy as a creative healer. I am finding deep peace and acceptance within and it feels good to point the laser my way for a change.  Also, in my search for definition of healthy community, I have new attributes to add; time spent together in noble silence. The space to really tune in to self and each other in relation to the space we share. The gift has been the key that I have been looking for, unlocking the doors to exalted human potential.  ~   – Nina von Feldmann, artist, community organizer

~  While I have only done one Art Monastery retreat, and it was a great success, I want to say that the word, the concept, Artmonk, has been a huge inspiration. I am moved by the idea that I can, with like-minded people, merge inner, spiritual pursuits with creative urges. While I love the Vipassana practice I sometimes come to odds with its earnestness. (For instance, I recall a teacher advising a poet who asked what to do with a beautiful line that sprang to mind to let it pass and continue meditating.) I believe a beautiful image or insight might evaporate, never to be seen, and should be savored – that perhaps its value might be as good as learning observation. While that point is open for discussion, I love the intention of the Art Monastery, which I interpret to be an invitation to find the spiritual through expression and sharing, as much as in meditation. And being aware, overly perhaps, of the mood and intention of my surroundings, I so relish being among like-intended people, finding a mood of warm safety and invitation that opens the creative heart.  The retreat at the Integratron was truly wonderful and I am eager to rejoin my new friends in new surroundings for new adventures. At long last I feel I know what is worthy and valuable in this, our wacky world, and I am happy to now be an Art Monk. I send my deep appreciation for those who conceived and made the Art Monastery live.

~  William Dailey, proprietor of Hacienda Hot Springs, rare books collector

~ The Art Monastery Project and the International Otherhood of Artmonks inspire me to make art a central part of my life.  They provide permission for me to consider myself an artist and offers a structure, a focal point for my creativity.  ~  Leah Hofkin, Gli Amici dell’Art Monastery Board member, Development Director

~  May I never awaken from this awakening.  ~  Raphael Barker, actor

When asked to say one word that arose when thinking of the retreat, participants offered these:

Reverence, Gratitude, Simplicity, Steadfast, Presence, Satisfied, Spacious, Sweetness, Amazing, Improvipassana, CoLuminating, Ahhhhh, BoYopoYay  (Venusian for FUN), Breath, Truth, Now, Radiate, Ding!, Prismatic, Burst,Savoring, PartOfSomethingGreater, Grateful, Home

((()))

Bio:  A Glimpse of the Life-Work of Michelle & Joel Levey

Joel & Michelle Levey have devoted their lives to exploring the disciplines that awaken extra-ordinary human potentials for wisdom, compassion, and creative intelligence.

Their pioneering lives’ work spans many disciplines including: integral mindbody medicine; noetic mind sciences; contemplative education and transformational learning; social neurobiology; collective wisdom; cyberphysiology, neurofeedback and clinical biofeedback training; mind-fitness, peak performance training and extra-ordinary human potential; transformational leadership development & change resilience; developing healthy high performing organizational teams and cultures; multidimensional medicine work; and r/evolutionary interactivational practices necessary for communities to resonantly align with their highest potentials amidst the creative complexity of our times.

The Dalai Lama, an advisor and supporter on a number of the Leveys’ projects, blessed them in their work-teachings saying: “You are presently engaged in work that has great prospects for bringing the Dharma (the inner sciences and technologies of human development and transformation) to a very wide section of people who may not under ordinary circumstances come into contact with these teachings.” His Holiness also wrote an inspiring foreword for their book Living in Balance ~ a book-of-the-month club main selection.

Michelle and Joel are dedicated to the study, practice, and teaching of many of the world’s great wisdom traditions. They have been fortunate to study intensively with many of the most revered contemplative teachers of our time, and have been blessed and encouraged to keep these wisdom traditions alive through teaching others. They are active in inter-spiritual community work with a diversity of other leaders from faith traditions and social justice movements in the NW US and in Hawaii. Their combined 60 years of intensive contemplative practice draws inspiration from many of the world’s great wisdom traditions. Their teachers include: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kalu Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche, Zazep Rinpoche, Chagdud Rinpoche, Gen Lamrimpa, Lama Tharchin, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Lama Thubten Yeshe, Dipama, Sakya Dagmola Kusho, Robert Thurman, Rina Sircar, Krishnamurti, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Reb Shlomo Carlbach, Reb Zalman Schacter Shalomi. Ram Dass, Sogyal Rinpoche, Thich Nhat Hahn, Faisal Muqaddam, Venerable Deshung Rinpoche, S.N. Goenka, Munindra-ji, Venerable Taungpulu Sayadaw, His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, David Chethlahe Paladin, Genki Roshi, Sasaki Roshi, Seung Sahn Soen-sa, Pir Vilayat Khan, Postneshin Jelaleddin Loras, Dhiravamsa, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Stephen and Ondrea Levine, and Vimala Thakar.

During their 40 years of intensive meditation practice Joel and Michelle have been fortunate to devote a number of years of their lives to intensive silent contemplative retreat, including a one-year silent meditation retreat in the Tibetan tradition. They have also been intensively involved with psychophysiological research on meditation, consciousness, and extraordinary human performance, and were recognized by the Institute of Noetic Sciences–for whom they have participated in numerous research colloquiums and conferences–as leading contemporary “teachers of transformation.”

Michelle & Joel are founders of the International Institute for Meditation in MindBody Medicine, and the International Center for Contemplative Inquiry and Dialogue. They serve as faculty for Bastyr University’s new Center for Science, Spirituality, and Medicine, where they are directors of the new “Meditation and Medicine: Exploring the Vital Role of Contemplative Disciplines in Integral Medicine & the Healing Arts” program. Joel & Michelle are also on the clinical faculty for the Center for Spirituality and Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School, adjunct faculty at the Institute for Religion and Health at the University of Texas Medical Center, and graduate faculty in the Contemplative Education and Transformational Learning program at Mahidol University in Thailand. They have also served as faculty at Antioch University, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad India, the International Center for Organization Design, and the World Business Academy. They are beloved elders in the Oracle Gathering Tribe and the Communiversity Creationship scene in the N.W., and have led meditations at CoSM with dear friends Alex and Allyson Grey.

Joel and Michelle are co-founders of: WisdomatWork.com; InnerWork Technologies, Inc.; SportsMind, Inc.; and The International Center for Corporate Culture & Organizational Health. Their work in the world has lead them to work with leaders and teams in over 200 leading organizations around the globe including: NASA, M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center, HP, Intel, Intuit, Microsoft, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, MIT, and Stanford Research Institute International. They were honored to serve at the Clinton Global Initiative as facilitators of dialogue among world leaders seeking to find solutions to the great challenges of our times. They are adept at carrying the medicine of these profound teaching into very powerful and conservative organizations where transformation in the hearts, minds, and values of people is so essential.

Joel Levey, Ph.D., directed clinical programs in Biofeedback, Stress Management, Pain Management, Psychophysiological Therapy, and Hospice Training for Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound. Michelle Levey, M.A., directed similar programs at Children’s Medical Center in Seattle. Their pioneering work in Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) education, Meditation and Medicine, Integral Medicine, Mind-Science & Medicine, and “Ethics, Psychophysiology, and the Sacred,” has inspired faculty and students at dozens of medical and nursing schools.

Michelle and Joel’s published works have been translated into 9 languages and include: Luminous Mind: Meditation and Mind Fitness; Living in Balance: A Dynamic Approach for Creating Harmony & Wholeness in a Chaotic World; A Moment to Relax; The Fine Arts of Relaxation, Concentration, and Meditation: Ancient Skills for Modern Minds; Simple Meditation & Relaxation, and Wisdom at Work. They have contributed chapters to many anthologies including: Voices on the Threshold of Tomorrow; Buddhism Through American Women’s Eyes; Be the Change; Intuition at Work; Community Building in Business; Rediscovering the Soul in Business; and The New Bottom Line.

Joel & Michelle Levey live in Seattle and steward The Kohala Sanctuary, an organic permaculture farm, learning center, and zone of peace on the northern tip of the Big Is. of Hawaii. (See http://KohalaSanctuary.com )

To learn more about their lives-work, we invite you to explore:

• http://Wisdomatwork.com
• http://KohalaSanctuary.com
• http://web.me.com/levey1/Meditation/Meditation_Guidelines.html
• http://www.collectivewisdominitiative.org/files_people/Levey_Joel.htm
•           http://www.collectivewisdominitiative.org/files_people/Levey_Michelle.htm
•           http://meditationandmedicine.ning.com

Contact Joel & Michelle

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On the full moon of May we landed in Thailand and were met by our friend Hajar. “Oh, you have timed your arrival perfectly, this is the Vesak, the celebration of the enlightenment of the Buddha. This is a three-day holiday and the whole country is very happy!” Can you imagine living in a country that has a three-day national holiday dedicated to affirming and celebrating the potential for yourself — and all beings — to awaken fully to our true nature and highest potentials? Depending on your frame of reference, or reverence, you might translate this for yourself to mean awakening to your wholeness, true self, divine nature, or to Christ, or Buddha within you.

“If a living being is suffering from ill health, the remedy is to connect it with more of itself,” said Francisco Varela, a pioneer in mind-science research. So, if the Buddha’s teachings are about ending suffering and realizing our true nature, then it would seem that the path toward ultimate wellness must lie in the direction that Einstein referred to when he said that to realize our wholeness we must learn to “widen the circle of our compassion to embrace all living beings and the whole of nature in all of its beauty.”

Making our way through the coconut groves and windy lanes to our hotel, there were signs of excitement and celebration about to happen. People were finishing their work for the day, and incense and flowers were being offered on altars outside homes and temples, with people gathering and chanting. We had just arrived in Thailand to lead a meditation retreat for a group of students and colleagues from Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. Our old friend who was living in Ko Samui took us around the island. After a wonderful day touring various villages and a lovely forest hike to a remote waterfall, we found ourselves on a deserted beach with a huge, conical, golden stupa temple complex prominently situated on a sandy point between two bays in the shallow sea. The stupa is a symbol for the mind of enlightenment, and this one was built in honor of a local saint who had devoted his life to meditation and to service in teaching for the community there. He was said to have awakened fully in a small cave surrounded by our retreat center just down the beach, and since he loved the sea and sailing, this commemorative stupa was built on the beach he saw from his cave.

As we strolled along the beach, talking and meditating, the sun began to set, and the sky burst ablaze in shimmering crimson colors. As we turned around to head back to our car, meandered towards the stupa, we were delighted to find a colorful festival of lights with nearly a thousand local villagers gathered to celebrate the Buddha’s enlightenment. Circumambulating the stupa clockwise, with candles, chants, and hearts full of joy and celebration, the many smiling people in the throng motioned for us to join them, offering us candles and flowers to make offerings with. We were drawn into the vortex of chanting and joined in this moving celebration of our innate potential for awakening. Little did we know that in the week to come as we lead a meditation retreat just down the beach from the stupa, that many of the locals who were at this ceremony were on staff at the resort and would show their kindness to us, expressing their appreciation that we as Westerners had an appreciation for their culture and were brothers and sisters on this universal journey of awakening.

Over the past 30 years we have been fortunate to study closely with respected teachers from many of the world’s great wisdom and wellness traditions — including the Dalai Lama, Nobel Laureate and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. On numerous occasions we have heard him say that “Each person is a Buddha.” Properly understood, the word Buddha is composed of two syllables. The first syllable bud means fully purified or free from all the confusions, delusions misconceptions, and poisons of the mind. The second syllable dha refers to having fully realized, matured, or awakened all the wholesome true and most essential qualities of being, such as the wisdom of the interrelatedness of all things being inseparable from the compassion that embraces all beings. The term “Buddha” refers to anyone — regardless of tradition — who has purified and awakened their heart-mind in these ways. Be they Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Democrat, Republican, or even atheist — if a person has engaged in the inner transformational disciplines necessary to free themselves from their delusions and realize their true nature and highest potentials, then by definition, they are a Buddha — even if they have never heard the term.

The Dalai Lama explains that we are all like Buddhas of different sizes. If you are ignorant of your true nature and the full dimensions of your being, and you are totally identified with the whirlwind of instinctual drives, chaotic thoughts, neurotic tendencies, toxic emotions, and locked in a self-made prison of reified beliefs that are incongruent with reality, then you are like a tiny nano-Buddha. Though you have the potential for awakening, you haven’t a clue of that potential. If through meditation, prayer, or grace, you have glimpsed your true nature and highest potentials and are on the path of dedicated practice to refine and mature this realization, then you are a larger Buddha. And when you have fully realized, integrated, and stabilized your innermost identity within the wisdom of this selfless, awakened, compassionate, universal identity, then you are a fully realized Buddha of vast proportions.

The teachings of all the world’s great wisdom traditions remind us that we have both an ordinary and a extraordinary identity, a personal and a universal nature, a self that is anchored in both the relative world of conditioned appearances, and also within the absolute dimension that is the mysterious, imperceptible source or ground of being that gives rise to all things and all beings. Interestingly, an analogue of this view is alluded to by our colleagues in modern cosmology and physics, who often remind us that only 4 percent of the universe is measurable, and that the remaining 96 percent exists as “dark energy” and “dark matter” which are both nearly mythical in their undefinability.

At the recent International Symposium on Contemplative Research in Denver, we heard our old friend and teacher Brother David Steindl Rast, an elder monk in the Benedictine tradition who has been active in dialogue with mind-science researchers for many years, explain that it’s like we have two legs that we stand on. One leg is the “I,” or personal self. The other is the “self,” our universal, non-dual, divine nature. Spiritual practice helps us to discover and shift more of the “weight of our identity” to the true universal self, which is a selfless non-dual state of being. This shift of identity gives us more freedom to play with the “I” leg as a vehicle for our universal nature to creatively express itself through the uniqueness of our unique personality and embodied being. While there are many individual “I”s, he explained, there is just one “self.”

A similar view is expressed in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, where it is said that while there may be countless beings who have awakened to their true nature as Buddhas, the innermost nature or identity of each of those individuals would be the same fully awakened mind-essence — a quality of boundless wakefulness that is present within all beings. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this innermost dimension of all beings is referred to as the Dharmakaya, or the “wisdom truth body.” Whether we regard this innermost, universal dimension of ourselves as the Buddha mind, Dharmakaya, Christ self, or true self, really does not matter. As we refine our capacity to shifts the locus of our identity toward this selfless, streaming, compassionate quality of radiant clear presence, we awaken to a quality of being described as “divine dignity.”

Such a universal perspective runs deep in most mystical traditions. Thomas Merton famously offered a glimpse of this potential in his famous “Fourth and Walnut epiphany.” As he wrote in his private journal on March 19, 1958, the day after his fateful visit to Louisville and the 17th anniversary of his taking the vows of the Trappist order:

Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed … I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.

Can you imagine how different our lives and world would be if we were to individually and collectively dedicated ourselves to opening our “wisdom eyes” in order to regard ourselves and each other more deeply and clearly as we are in this light? It is interesting that in this same season that many Buddhists celebrate our potential for awakening, Christians celebrate the holiday of Pentecost as described in the book of Acts, a time when countless individuals within a whole community were brought to their knees in awe and celebration, filled with the holy living spirit. Perhaps this unrealized potential is closer than we think — individually and collectively! When Sister Bernadette Roberts, a contemporary Christian mystic taught that, “Emptiness is two things at once: the absence of self and the presence of the Divine. Thus as self decreases, the Divine increases.” She reminded us that as we expand our identity to its more universal proportions, we also become more selfless and transparent to our more essential and universal nature. In the non-dual tradition, Nisargadatta Maharaj echoed a similar insight when he taught:

“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows.”

Similarly, the late Kalu Rinpoche once said,

“We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a Reality. You are that Reality. Seeing this, you know that you are everything. And being everything, you are nothing. That is all.

When we talked about such matters with Joel’s grandfather Abe, who had a deep grounding in the Jewish tradition, he would smile with wisdom and patience and often say, “Yes, this is really deep stuff.” In closing, we’ll leave you to ponder two more wise reflections that seem appropriate in concluding this post. The Gospel of Thomas says, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” The Taoist sage Tung Shan, reminds us, “If you look for the truth outside yourself, it gets farther and farther away. Today, walking alone, I meet him everywhere I step. He is the same as me, yet I am not him. Only if you understand it in this way will you merge with the way things are.”

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No better time than the present to start our new blog. This is our first post!

May the conversation be fruitful, for the benefit of all.

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While the holidays, solstice and New Year may present a myriad of complexities and distractions, this season also offers the opportunity to pause and reflect more deeply on your life, to clarify priorities and affirm clear directions and intentions for the year to come.

As the old year draws to a close and a new cycle is about to begin, it’s a good time to contemplate the patterns of relationship that weave the various systems in your life together: beginnings and endings, what is developing and what is dissolving. What is manifesting, and what are the system’s potentials? Where is there movement and flexibility? Where is there “stuckness” and resistance to change?

To the degree that there is a high degree of connectivity and free flow of energy-information throughout a living system, it will be responsive to change, learn, adapt, heal, sustain itself and thrive. When any part of the whole become rigid, when the flow of energy or information stagnates or when parts of the system become isolated or cut off from the whole, then the health, vitality and capacity of the whole system is compromised. From the perspective of integrated wholeness, we understand that when any living system is suffering from ill-health or impaired in any way, then the remedy will be found by connecting it with more of itself.

In turbulent and rapidly-changing times such as these, if we seek to thrive and to discover, affirm and live more fully into our own wholeness, then having reliable ways to align and attune ourselves more deeply with our wholeness and highest capacity is of vital importance. In this spirit, we offer the following blog post as a seasonal reflection and contemplative practice to help you discover dynamic balance within the whole of your life. May these reflections illumine the path as you journey inward and onward.

Begin by orienting yourself to the four directions: east and west, north and south.

Turn first to face the east — that place of dawning, sunrise and new beginnings, the place of inspiration where what was hidden by the night is revealed and becomes clear. It’s the direction that the earth forever turns toward and returns to. If you’re not sure of the directions, simply hold for now that the direction you’re facing is the east, and then at a later time when you get your bearings, repeat this technique facing each of the actual directions.

Next turn to face the south, that place of the brightest light, that noontime sky when the sun is most high and the light is warmest and brightest. The south — the place where everything is manifest, full-blown, and full grown and, in being in its fullness, is sure to wane from here.

Now turn to face the west. Behold that place of sunsets and completions, the time and place where the last rays of light, the last waves of breath disappear across the threshold into night. The place of transformation and unification of light and darkness, day and night.

Turning again, face the north, home of the North Star — that one relatively still unchanging point in the spinning universe that seems always to be there. That dark place where there is infinite potential for the light of new potentials to emerge.

Returning now to the rising light of a new dawn, face the east, restoring your faith that again out of the deepest darkness, light will surely come, that out of the coldest winter will come a new spring, that out of the darkest night will come a new bright dawn, a new birth and a new beginning.

Return again to face the south. And return again to face the west. And return again to face the north.

Each breath carries you round this wheel and through every phase of the cycle. Exhaling completely, you arrive at the north, empty, open, receptive. As the inhalation begins, you turn to and through the east to reach your fullness at the top of the inhalation facing the south. Then, exhaling, turning toward the west, releasing and letting go of your fullness, trusting to release and let go, returning again and again to the still point of infinite potentials in the north.

Turning again, growing, sprouting, gestating toward a new birth and new beginnings and emergings in the east. Contemplate the meaning of east — spring equinox, inhaling, creativity, blossoming, filling, becoming in your life.

Turning again, reflect upon the meaning of south — summer solstice, full inhalation, ripe fruit on the trees, the prime of life. Growing, strengthening, expanding to the fullness in the south.

Turning again toward the west, contemplate the meanings behind the experience of crossing the threshold into night, autumn equinox, leaves falling from the trees, getting colder, darker, older, endings, deaths, wanings, diminishings, deepenings, dissolvings, exhaling toward the west.

And turning toward the north, ponder midnight, winter solstice, exhalation, receptivity and emptiness soon to be filled, that plenum void of unmanifest potential waiting to be expressed in a new dawn. North is an old friend. You’ve been here before, no need for fear of stillness or frozenness, knowing that spring, inspiration and the seeds of new beginnings are enfolded in potential here. Here you know winter as the womb of spring, darkness as the womb of light and death as the womb of birth.

You can use this process in your daily life to step into the center of a question or a project in order to see how all the complex forces and phases fit together in search of balance. For example, turning toward the east, metaphorically or in actuality, ask yourself, “What is beginning and emerging here? What has yet to fully emerge into clarity? What is being born that needs to be developed and brought through to fruition? What is the potential for breakthrough in this breakdown?”

To the south, ask, “What is clear here? What has reached its peak, fullness, maximal extension or expression and is about to wane?”

To the west, you ask, “What in my life or world is passing or coming to completion? What seeds are being sowed into the earth now and what is being composted to feed the next cycle?”

And to the north you ask, “What remains unchanged? What are the possibilities or potentials latent here that have not yet been recognized or realized? Where am I stuck or withdrawn, and what seeds of potential are frozen that must thaw or be released for the next cycle of being to begin?”

Use the basic truth of the natural cycle to organize your attention and focus your thinking and expand and refresh your perspective. With each cycle of the process, a clearer, deeper, more vibrant sense of wholeness emerges. With each iteration, you deepen your wisdom of balance by seeing how each part is included in the whole, and how the whole is inseparable from its many parts. Each circle defines a whole: a whole breath, a whole day, a whole lunar cycle or year, or a lifetime.

Understanding this, contemplate how the insights you come to may apply across many dimensions of wholeness, many cycles of time, many relationships, situations, priorities or projects that you seek to balance in your life. This quality of multidimensional, whole systems thinking will help you to focus on the many elements of your life and weave them into a dynamically-balanced integral view of wholeness.

Ultimately, your greatest wisdom will be realized in learning to hold all of these perspectives and points of view simultaneously, to behold a global vision of the whole, dynamic system in all of its phases and stages as present in this timeless moment of unified awareness.

As you reflect more deeply about the unique aspects of each phase of the cycle, you’ll begin to see a complete view of the whole system. You will start to recognize that the rhythms of energy and change within you and around you are deeply related, and in each phase of the cycle you’ll see every part of the system in its dynamically-balanced relationship to a larger wholeness. By coming to realize that the same forces that are alive within you are alive and unfolding in the world around you, you awaken ever more deeply to the mystery of life’s circle of wholeness.

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