Light on Light Magazine - Issue 2

Wisdom

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Inspiration

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Transformation Summer 2018 - Issue 2

Spiritual Practices & Inspired Lifestyle

Spotlight on Transformative Communities ✦ One Spirit ✦ United Palace ✦ Garden of Light ✦ FIONS ✦ Oracle Institute ✦ Integral Church ✦ Prosocial .world ...and more!

Features: ✦ Andrew Vidich ✦ Chris Grosso ✦ Art of Community author Charles Vogl Illuminations: featuring Karen Palmer #GlobalKindnessRevolution

M A G A Z I N E Spiritual Practices & Inspired Lifestyle

Light on Light Magazine Issue 2 – Summer 2018

Welcome

Host Editor

We at Light on Light Magazine are dedicated to illuminating the light of wisdom and compassion of spiritual practices and inspiring lifestyle features for the flourishing of health, mind, and spirit every day.

............................................................................ Karuna Contributing Editor ...................................................... Kurt Johnson, PhD Managing Editor ........................................ Rev. Shannon Winters, MS Book Review Editor ..............................................Swami Shraddhananda Graphic Editor & Layout ............................................................... David Winters Cover photo © United Palace, Photo by Emmanuel Abreu

Connect with Us Online! www.facebook.com/Light-on-Light-157239711589063

Light on Light Magazine welcomes authors, spiritual teachers, and our readers, to contribute ideas and brief concepts for content in future issues. We welcome light-filled submissions of wisdom, inspiration, and transformation for feature articles, personal transformation stories, poetry, fictional short stories, music, artwork, #ShineYourLight inspirations, and more! Please send a brief description of your content or idea to editor@lightonlight.us for consideration.

Except for fair use extracts with full credit, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher.

We make every effort to obtain proper permission to reproduce images. Images and artwork that do not include a citation for use where they appear in Light on Light Magazine are from Pixabay.

Please contact us with any information related to the rights holder of an image source that is not credited.

The opinions expressed in this issue due not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or editors of Light on Light Magazine.

The Interspiritual Network Serving the Emerging Global Interspiritual Paradigm

a member of the UNITY EARTH network © Light on Light Magazine. All rights reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome from the Editors

by Karuna, Rev. Shannon Winters, and Dr. Kurt Johnson...............................................................4-6 Welcome from Contributors Ben Bowler, UNITY EARTH........................................................7 Yanni Maniates, UNITY EARTH................................................8 Charles Vogl, author Art of Community.................................9 Rev. Diane Berke, Founder, One Spirit Learning Alliance................................................... 10 Recent News and Updates Sw. Shraddhananda to Name Successors at Guru Purnima Retreat in Kentucky ........................................................................................................ 14 Interspiritual Monastics in the World Status Update ........................................................................................................ 15 Columns Life Is a Trip, But Where Are You Going?

The Art of Choosing "Who to Be" Rather Than "What to Do"

by Yanni Maniates...................................................................... 16 Living Light

by Rev. Deborah Moldow......................................................... 18 Features The Coming Revolution of the Heart

by Andrew Vidich...................................................................... 20 Smash the Control Machine

by Chris Grosso......................................................................... 22 Spotlight on Transformative Communities The Art of Community Executive Summary

by Charles Vogl, Mdiv.............................................................. 23 The Practice of Community: Metaphors and Models for Creating Authentic Community

by Rev. Diane Berke................................................................. 27 United Palace of Spiritual Arts: An Inclusive Spiritual Community in Upper Manhattan

by Rev. Dr. José Román............................................................ 31 Contemplative Life: Meeting the Needs Created by the Religious/Spiritual Paradigm Shift

by Jeff Genung........................................................................... 35 Spiritual Coumminty in the 21st Century: Growing a Garden of Light

by Rev. Deborah Moldow.........................................................37 The Oracle Institue Valley of Light Community

by Rev. Laura George, JD....................................................... 39 Creating Community Through Song When Everyone Is the Choir

by Ruth Broyde Sharone.......................................................... 41 Gathering of Light, a Thriving Interspiritual Community

by Rev. JoAnn Barrett............................................................... 45 Good of the Whole by the Editors..............................................................................47 Community In Spirit: Building Something Bigger for Our Future

by Rev. Garrett A. Foster......................................................... 49

Evolutionary Leaders: In Service to Conscious Evolution

by Rev. Deborah Moldow and Diane Williams............................................................................ 51 The Mystery of The Friends Institute of Noetic Sciences

by The Board of Directors at FIONS, New York City............................................................................. 53 A Crossroads in Colorado—Hacienda de Guru Ram Das, Gold Hill by the Editors............................................................................. 56 Sunrise Ranch—A Conference Center Staffed by a Multi-Generational Intentional Community

by David Karchere.................................................................... 58 Community Agreements

by Cynthia Robinson & Roman Hanis.................................. 60 Integral Church: The Map and The Territory

by Joran Slane Oppelt............................................................. 63 Merging the Art and Science of Community: Prosocial.world

by David Sloan Wilson............................................................. 65 Light on Kundalini - Yoga Practice with Karuna Karuna’s Instructional Guide to Yoga Issue 2............................................................................... 67 Foundational Guide................................................................. 68 Session Guide "Growing Closer to the Divine"............................................ 70 Inspired Lifestyles Living in Resonance

by Jeff Vander Clute..................................................................73 Illuminations - Personal Stories of Transformation 3 Steps to Manifesting Global Kindness: How a #GlobalkindnessRevolution Started with One Mom Making a Wish

by Karen Palmer........................................................................ 75 Travel - Along the Journey Spiritual Travel and Women

by Joanna Kujawa.....................................................................77 Books The Blind Vision Story

by Howard Meyers and Chad Meyers................................. 79 Let There Be Light: Experiencing Inner Light Across the World's Sacred Traditions by Andrew Vidich

by Sw. Shraddahanada Saraswati........................................ 81 Short Stories - Spiritual Fiction Penny's Story

by Rob Spencer, MD................................................................. 82 Poetry Inebriated Circles

by Ron Friedman, MD............................................................... 94 Tips for the Trip

by Richard Schiffman............................................................... 94 Catching the Light

by Sw. Shraddahanada Saraswati....................................... 95 I Am You

by Rev. Garrett A Foster.......................................................... 95 Directory..................................................................................... 95

A Welcome from our Host Editor Welcome to this Light on Light issue on Transformative Communities and Congregations!

We are living in an historical paradigm shift “moving I to We” at a global level. This transition will probably determine whether we have what many call either “the soft, or hard, landing into a global multi-cultural civilization.” So, the lessons we learn from inspiring experiments with community, based on the Wisdom of the world’s great spiritual traditions, are incredibly important.

The Wisdom of real community is based in the world of nature given by our Mother Gaia. So, lessons in community are a joining of nature Wisdom and human Wisdom.

When we walk in the forest and see all the trees on top of each other we often wonder, “How do they get along?” The wildlife, the wild flowers—all in community and accepting of each other—they seem to smile in their diversity, and, also smile at adversity. I am always reminded of the words of my tradition’s teacher, Yogi Bhajan, “Adversity cannot remain if one is smiling, and prosperity doesn’t live with those who are frowning. The face is an index, not to the mind but to the soul.” So, the message of nature about community is obvious, and it’s time humanity takes it to heart.

This is why these experiments in community are so important. Around the world, people are now experiencing these “joined” moments, whether it be in their places of worship, practice and service—all acknowledging ancient Wisdom—or at gatherings, festivals, sharings, concerts, where they commune together with their favorite music and dance—and these often in nature with Mother Gaia. All of these are expressions of the human soul of “We.” So, we are on a grand pilgrimage globally and in our human evolution, and these communities are a seminal part of it. Let’s listen to our inner Lights as we make this journey, making them Bright with the innate Wisdom that is within them. On a global level, let’s meditate, breathe and Birth!

Love to all, Karuna Host Editor

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A Welcome from Our Managing Editor There was a moment along my journey when I stepped beyond the edges of “religion,” and into the great wide unknown of life beyond the Truth found within the traditional walls of Christianity that I’d believed in all my life. I believed in the deepest of my heart that there was more to the story than religion offered and I’d found it within myself—the inner light and connection to the Divine—and this mystical and mysterious connection with Oneness and Source transcended description. The infinite and eternal grace that the Divine held for me could not possibly fit into any one box. As it turns out, it appears as though I am not the only one.

Outcomes from a survey conducted in 2017 by Pew Research Center reported that 27% of adults in the United States define themselves as spiritual but not religious. This number has rapidly increased by 8% over the last five years. Most interestingly, this increase appears to span ethnicities, gender, age, education level, and political affiliation.1 While the global percentage of "unaffiliated" population is lower at 16% (in 2010, Pew Research Center),2 considering that equated to more than 1 billion people in 20103 who are spiritual but not religious, agnostic, or atheist, clearly there is great importance in the creation of communities to hold open space for the hearts of those who identify themselves somewhere outside of the religious spectrum.

This is why this issue of Light on Light Magazine with a spotlight on transformational communities and congregations in the era of interspirituality is truly relevant and crucially important. The spaces of which we are meeting in community and connecting, creating synergies and building friendships, are changing—and we are delighted to welcome the renowned global and local spiritual and non-spiritual community and congregational leaders into these pages to share their wisdom and experiences. From online communities to sacred retreat centers to interfaith/interspiritual seminaries to integral congregation perspectives, these leaders demonstrate the wide spectrum of emerging communities for spiritual (and non-spiritual) seekers.

We see a common thread among these communities of acting in full moral and ethical capacity, living in harmony with the Universe and all living beings, cultivating nonviolence, living in humility and gratitude, and being of selfless service and compassionate action for all not unlike the 9 elements of Universal Spirituality described by Brother Wayne Teasdale in his book, The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions, and further illuminated in The Coming Interspiritual Age co-authored by our Contributing Editor, Dr. Kurt Johnson. The shared common values of peace, love, and unity pervading through these emerging communities and congregations are similar to the unity that is found when one gazes deeply into the heart of our World’s Wisdom Traditions and Religions—that is, The Golden Rule, that Rev. Deborah Moldow so eloquently discusses in this issue.

It was for this reason, after I’d walked into the unknown of my “spiritual but not religious” journey, that two years ago I answered the pulling in my heart to hold sacred and open space for others who are seeking within or beyond religion.

In June, I became an ordained as an interfaith/interspiritual minister through One Spirit Seminary in NYC with my ministry focused on serving in the era of interspirituality, the era of the present into our future.4 It is such an honor to welcome our readers and each of these wise and compassionate spiritual and integral community leaders in Light on Light Magazine. We are eternally grateful for ALL that you are, ALL that you do, and ALL of the light upon light that you illuminate every day in community around the world.

May your inner light shine brightly along every road you are traveling.

Namaste with Love,

Rev. Shannon

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http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/06/more-americans-now-say-theyre-spiritual-but-not-religious/ http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/ http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/ 4 https://www.revshanmarie.com/about/189-2/ 2 3

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A Welcome, and a Video with Millennial Leaders, from Our Contributing Editor I’ve been excited for some time about this issue on transformative communities and congregations. It is so important to the unfolding synergy of “The Road to 2020” projected by the many organizations and networks cooperating in that vision. We hope you enjoy these inspiring articles about pioneering groups and the ways they are living and working in this critical time.

We want to thank and congratulate the transformative pioneers whose work and service is showcased in this issue of Light on Light. The good news is that they are exemplary of many more trail-blazers who are experimenting with how we put the values and ideals of the emerging global paradigm of love and interconnectedness into action. Light on Light looks forward to spotlighting more examples of such transformative work in the future.

We know our readers will find the stories in this issue of Light on Light not only inspiring but also providing a sense of fulfillment that we are not dreaming when we think it’s truly possible to build a world of love and well-being that works for all.

To illustrate this vista of promising change, I invite you to enjoy this 27-minute video by three of America’s most influential young transformative leaders: Angie Thurston, Brandan Robertson and Chris Grosso. In an interview with me for Light on Light Magazine and The Convergence on VoiceAmerica, they discuss the views of millennials, pre-millenials and post-millenials about the paradigm shifts going on in spirituality today and their work to create authentic community. So, join us for this video with these young global leaders: Angie Thurston works to deepen spiritual community amidst increasing religious disaffiliation. A graduate of Brown University, and a Ministry and On Being Fellow at Harvard Divinity School, she is the co-author, with Casper ter Kuile, of How We Gather and Something More, two reports profiling new ways that Americans are congregating. Angie is also a leader in the international fellowship of Urantia Book readers. Angie loves helping people come together to co-create something bigger than themselves.

With a successful history as a playwright her work has been featured in The New York Times and on NPR. More recently she has been co-convener of more than 20 spiritual gatherings across the United States. Angie lives in Somerville, MA with her husband Vipin Thekk. See: onbeing.org/author/angiethurston.

Brandan Robertson is a spiritual thought-leader, contemplative activist and commentator at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He is author of Nomad: A Spirituality For Travelling Light and writes regularly for Patheos, Beliefnet, and The Huffington Post. A frequent contributor to dozens of mainstream media on religion and spirituality he has informed diverse audiences from Oxford University to the White House. He is founder and director of Nomad Partnerships, a non-profit working to empower faith leaders around the world to be fierce advocates for human rights. He served as the immediate past national spokesperson of Evangelicals for Marriage Equality. See: www.brandanrobertson.com.

Chris Grosso is the author of Indie Spiritualist: A No Bullshit Exploration of Spirituality; Everything Mind: What I’ve Learned About Hard Knocks, Spiritual Awakening and the Mind-Blowing Truth of it All; and Dead Set On Living: Making the Difficult but Beautiful Journey from F#*cking Up to Waking Up. He writes for ORIGIN Magazine, Huffington Post, and Mantra Yoga + Health Magazine. A youth mental health and healing group facilitator with Newport Academy, public speaker and writer, Chris is passionate about his work with people who are in the process of healing or struggling with addictions of all kinds. He speaks and leads groups in detoxes, yoga studios, rehabs, youth centers, hospitals, conferences, and festivals worldwide. He is a member of the advisory board for Drugs over Dinner and The Evolutionary Leaders. See www.theindiespiritualist.com.

Millennial Leaders Angie Thurston, Brandan Robertson and Chris Grosso discuss the Future of Spirituality with Dr. Kurt Johnson

You can hear more discussion from Angie and Brandan on The Convergence on VoiceAmerica at Episodes 7 and 8, click here to listen online, and more information at the Convergence’s Instagram page.

We’re so happy to share these inspiring voices as we kick off this Light on Light discussion of Transformational Communities and Congregations.

~ Kurt Johnson, Contributing Editor; co-author The Coming Interspiritual Age

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A Welcome from UNITY EARTH It is so fitting that this edition of Light on Light Magazine is centering on Community and features input from living Communities of many varieties across America and around the world. Light on Light Magazine has a beautiful focus on Spiritual Practice and so it is deeply resonant to dedicate this entire issue to the interconnected, inter-relational space in which spiritual practice arises and thrives—community itself.

It has been said that no man is an Island, today we might use a more gender-neutral phrase—but the truth remains, no one and no thing exists in isolation.

We inhabit a profoundly interconnected cosmos where the highest truths are relational, and the highest values are interpersonal— what Thich Nhat Hanh poetically termed Interbeing.

Some of our current World Political Leaders, and not just in the United States, would do well to more deeply recognize the intrinsic relatedness of “all of us” and indeed every-thing.

The rise of the intentional community is one of the emerging developments which offers radical optimism as we navigate through these turbulent times. The creative spaces where community can be fostered and grown is an experiment in consciousness and ethical living that is yielding results that benefit all of humanity as we collectively explore what “A New Earth” may look like.

While we acknowledge the truth that transformation is firstand-foremost a deeply personal matter, occurring in the inner-life of each individual, and while we see that ultimately transformation needs to dynamically impact the world of institutions, governments, and larger entities, we can clearly see that the great connector in all this, the space that binds individuals and families on the inside to institutions, nations and the whole planet on the outside is the intermediary sphere of Community—the connective tissue of transformation.

This is especially exciting when we see the radical diversity of living community and new forms that are spinning into being.

The advent of the digital age has seen a wildly exponential growth towards limitless possibility of what community may look like, utilizing social media and virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom. (Indeed the “Zoom room” has become the Parisian Café of the global spiritual uprising). Community formation which was once a factor of geography and not much else, is now driven by an alignment of values, shared interests and common beliefs from people of all walks of life from across the planet. At its best community can deliver us the Holy Grail of human existence—a deep, affirming and transformative sense of belonging.

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As we rise along the Road to 2020 and in particular toward the Caravan of Unity across America in September 2020, all of us at UNITY EARTH are tremendously excited about the potential that exists in the many, many transformational communities across the United States. While some are more intentionally “spiritual” in essence, others more ecologically or agriculturally orientated, one

common thread is the sincere dedication to experimenting in consciousness and shared ethical living. Such dynamic, committed communities as the ones featured in this magazine, while exhibiting a broad spectrum of passion areas, represent the very soil from which new forms of being can spring forth, where justice, equality, harmony with nature, vitality, consciousness and love prevail—essential organizing principles for A New Earth.

I would like to congratulate Karuna, Dr. Kurt Johnson and Rev. Shannon Winters on this brilliant manifestation of vision through hard work and dedicated application. I would also like to congratulate all the many wonderful contributors, from such a wide array of communities. We are looking forward to working with you and weaving with you on The Road to 2020 and beyond, as we toil each in our calling towards a World That Wants To Be.

With Love and Blessings Ben Bowler Executive Director

Community, Communion, Commitment I have been teaching Meditation, Intuitive Development, Hermetic Wisdom, Healing and other Metaphysical classes for almost 30 years now in the suburbs north of Philadelphia. When I first started teaching meditation classes, it was quite the challenge to find someone to come to them. Meditation was considered way too “woo-woo” back then. Yet now it is considered mainstream.

So, too, is the case with Yoga, Tai Chi, Reiki, Intuitive Development, energy healing, etc.

Since then, there has been a huge shift by the general public into exploring who they really are and into finding what their essential nature is. Over the years, as my classes started to gain traction, not only did the numbers grow, but what most importantly started to happen was that community began to arise. A community of spiritual seekers who no longer identified with a particular tradition, but who were thirsty to find deep connection with their spiritual core and with each other.

It amazes me that some of the people who came to my classes nearly three decades ago are still coming to my current classes, but even more importantly it’s gratifying to see how the classes provided for them an environment where they met like-minded and like-hearted people with whom they have created a lasting, loving community. A community of the heart that has no external structure, but whose bond among them runs very, very deep. A community where an experience of the Divine is fostered and deepened. A community where this experience of the Embrace was the solid ground to their initially coming together and continues to be what keeps them together. For example, my wife and I have held for the past decade a “meditation party” on New Year’s Eve. Usually 35-40 people show up to usher the New Year grounded in this connection of the heart.

As well, over the last three decades a number of long-lasting, strong interfaith communities arose in this area that meet regularly and do service work similar to traditional churches but are not aligned with any particular religion or institution.

What’s wonderful to see is how much these communities have grown and how much they are in service to the individuals involved. They have provided a home or hearth for them. They have helped them to find the Ground of their being. No, not through a series of beliefs handed down by others, but through an experience of community, communion and connection they have come to have an experience of the Divine and to live from and within it. Religion, as you know, is the belief in someone else’s experience; spirituality is having your own unique experience and living from and within it.

So, this issue of Light on Light highlights the beautiful blossoming of this new spirituality of community, communion and commitment. Communities whose ground for their existence is the experience of the heart of the Divine—and who are now “waking up,” “growing up,“ “cleaning up,” and “showing up” in profound ways for each other and for others.

Here are a few of the thriving interfaith communities in my area: Circle of Miracles: Circle of Miracles is an open, non-denominational, interfaith spiritual community. It provides a safe space for connection with the divine energy of Spirit both as it flows within the individual and as it is shared and held in sacred space by the community on the whole. It offers many avenues to Spirit and does not believe that there is any one True path to All That Is. Pebble Hill Church: As an interfaith spiritual community, Pebble welcomes people from all faiths and spiritual backgrounds. Pebble seeks to practice and promote peace and spiritual growth through engaging celebrations, art, music, and many forms of activism. It seeks to make the world a better place through peace in action.

Being One Center: Its soul-purpose is to unite the spiritual community together in love and light. It honors each and every individual’s unique path of spiritual awakening and enlightenment. Its hope is that seekers from all faiths, paths, and traditions will find a home in its community sharing their wisdom, knowledge, and life experience for the upliftment and betterment of society.

Onwards and inwards.........

Yanni Maniates

Interfaith Community of Lower Bucks (ICLB): ICLB’s mission is to bring together people of all faiths to build harmony, community, and understanding by hosting and participating in community work, play, worship, and education. I am a Board Member of ICLB.

www.insideoutjourneys.com 8

A Welcome from Author Charles Vogl, M.Div. My work distills concepts used by many wisdom traditions for over 1,000 years and translates them into principles that are relevant and practical for leadership in our time. You can learn more in the summary of my book, The Art of Community: 7 Principles of Belonging, in this issue.

Research indicates that we may be the loneliest generation in American history: we don’t belong to social clubs (Elks, Lions, etc.); we don’t join churches, temples, or synagogues; we don’t play in bowling leagues or darts teams as we did just a generation ago. But almost everyone we meet, collaborate with, and share space with wants to belong.

Often when training leaders I’m asked, “What can we do now? Right now?” While community building includes many facets, I know there is a simple tool we can always turn to that offers new connections... invitation. It startles me how many aspiring community builders fail to appreciate this tool.

When leaders both formal and informal ask me how invitation can build a stronger culture of belonging, the first questions that comes to my mind are: ● Who are you inviting? ● What are you inviting them to? ● How are you inviting them? ● How many times are you inviting?

The answers to these questions often reveal right away why community development is stalled.

Even if we don’t know if, how or why our new communities will grow, an invitation tells others quite literally that we’re open to bringing people together.

Who doesn’t want to know people who are at least open to connecting people in the loneliest time in our history?

If nothing else comes of your time in with the thought leaders in these pages, may your invitations for connection go out often, authentically, and with generosity. In time, I promise, something enriching will come out of this commitment.

Godspeed, Charles Vogl, M.Div. In Beautiful Oakland, CA Author, The Art of Community: 7 Principles of Belonging

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Community as a Container for Transformation

We Open Hearts The first thing I see as essential to who we are as One Spirit is that our education is heart-centered. One of the comments I hear most often from people about One Spirit is that we open hearts. To me, that means that we support people in connecting to and living from the profound innate capacity for love and compassion, for ourselves and for others, that resides deep in the human heart.

Whatever their differences in background and life experiences, what all One Spirit students and graduates have in common is a deep longing and aspiration to live in this world as a presence of love—as a presence of compassion, peace, healing, and blessing. I believe that when we are able to live that way—when our hearts are open, welcoming, embracing and loving—we feel most authentically ourselves. We feel most truly and naturally “at home.”

Most likely you have heard the phrase, “Home is where the heart is.” I would suggest that the truth goes a little further: “Home is where the heart is open.” And I believe that that is one of the most important things we learn and discover at One Spirit.

The Riverside Church, New York City

In June I had the privilege of ordaining One Spirit Interfaith Seminary’s 16th graduating class and blessing 53 new Interfaith/ Interspiritual ministers into the next step of their sacred service in the world. Beyond the joy of contemplating the countless lives they will touch through their ministries, I also felt the deep joy at witnessing a group of people who, two years earlier, had come together as strangers to one another and through their journey together had become a deeply bonded and loving spiritual community.

I have witnessed this miracle over and over again. A cohort of students from a broad range of generational, religious, ethnic, socioeconomic, educational, and occupational backgrounds walk into the One Spirit space, or join us virtually over the internet, and within a short time begin to feel as if they’ve “come home.” And as they learn together and grow together, they come to love and form deep connections and lasting friendships with people they might never otherwise have encountered or taken the time to have a conversation with.

In reflecting on what allows and supports this to happen year after year, on what I see as the real essence of the One Spirit experience, I recognized three things that I believe make us who we are, as a school and as a spiritual community.

While these things are by no means unique to One Spirit, I have come to see them as essential to creating the kind of experience our students describe having, nearly without fail.

The focus on cultivating a heart that is open, clear, courageous, humble, and wise prepares us to offer ministries of presence: spiritual service to others and to the world that is expressed as much through the quality of our being as through the particulars of what we do.

We Create and Experience Authentic Community One of the most valuable vehicles for supporting the inner work of opening the heart is the experience of developing a sense of authentic spiritual community.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, has suggested that the Buddha of the future is the sangha, and many other modern spiritual teachers agree. Activist Grace Lee Boggs pointed out: “Building community is to the collective as spiritual practice is to the individual,” in other words, the primary vehicle for the transformation of consciousness.

The late Dagara teacher and ritualist Sobonfu Somé described community this way: Community ... is an environment where you can find a home in each other’s heart and soul. It is a living entity with spirit as its anchor, where a group of people are empowered by one other, by spirit, and by the ancestors to be themselves, to carry out their purpose, and use their power responsibly...

The goal of community is to form a diverse body of people with common goals and empower them to embrace their own gifts, selves, and nature. Community holds a space for all its members to work at becoming as close to their true selves as possible.

- Sobonfu Somé, Welcoming Spirit Home 10

a deep trust in people’s capacity to grow and transform, and a powerful commitment to support them in that process.

Most people who go through our programs do not simply gain knowledge and professional skills (although they do, in fact, gain knowledge and professional skills). Rather, they come out of the programs as changed people, more connected to and committed to their own deepest values and highest aspirations for themselves and for the world. And that is how we have our greatest impact in the world—because, as we know, changed people change people. Through our own experience and process of being transformed, we help to catalyze transformation around us.

There are two aspects of community that, I believe, make it an essential crucible for growth and for preparing us to be of service in the world. In her book All About Love: New Visions, feminist social commentator Bell Hooks writes, simply, “There is no better place to learn the art of loving than in community.”

It’s easy to fool ourselves into thinking we’re more enlightened and loving than we actually are if we can manage to avoid or minimize contact with other human beings. Being in community is a powerful and sure-fire way to free us of any such illusions! The art of loving, and the process of creating genuine community, demands of us the essential, challenging, and humbling inner work of recognizing, taking responsibility for, and working with our interpersonal “triggers” and shadow projections. Only by doing this inner work can we clear the way for genuine acceptance and love to blossom.

The second essential dimension of community that I want to highlight is something psychotherapist Francis Weller points to in his powerful and insightful book The Wild Edge of Sorrow. He writes, Deep in our bones lies an intuition that we arrive here carrying a bundle of gifts to offer to the community. Over time, these gifts are meant to be seen, developed, and called into the village at times of need. To feel valued for the gifts with which we are born affirms our worth and dignity. In a sense, it is a form of spiritual employment – simply being who we are confirms our place in the village. That is one of the fundamental understandings about gifts: we can only offer them by being ourselves fully. Gifts are a consequence of authenticity; when we are being true to our natures, the gift can emerge.

One of the most precious gifts of community is that it offers us a place where we can discover and begin to practice offering our own gifts, and to have that experience of “spiritual employment”—whether or not our ministry ever becomes our formal means of livelihood. For many of us, our experience of community at One Spirit restores our faith that authentic human community is possible and offers us a foundation for trying to take that experience into our own lives, communities, and spheres of influence.

We Have a Deep Trust in, and Commitment to Support, People’s Capacity for Genuine Transformative Growth The final element I believe makes One Spirit what it is, is that we don’t merely teach or talk about transformation. We have 11

Genuine transformative growth is the core and aim of every authentic mystical, spiritual path. Yet it is a process that is inherently daunting, unsettling, messy and even scary at times, because old beliefs, worldviews, and identities get questioned, challenged, disassembled, and let go of. As this occurs, people enter an “in-between” time, like a caterpillar in the chrysalis, when nothing feels solid. The old no longer works but the new has yet to take form.

It is easy to become impatient or frightened during this uncomfortable yet essential part of the transformative process. We may be tempted to re-grasp our old ways of thinking and being and abort the process of radical growth that is trying to occur. Yet what we need to do is stay present with, and allow, the discomfort of uncertainty and notknowing, until we begin to glimpse the beginnings of a new and more authentic expression of self.

Part of what makes One Spirit what it is, is that we know and have deep faith in this process, and we’re not quick to give up on people. Instead, we are committed to doing our best to hold and support them during their “chrysalis time” in a container of safety, patience, and trust in the beauty of the butterfly in them that is forming and wanting to emerge.

In a world that values “instant everything,” trusting in, nurturing and cooperating with what Teilhard de Chardin describes as “the slow work of Spirit” in ourselves and others to grow into the fullness of who we are meant to be is a priceless gift.

Rev. Diane Berke is the Founder and Spiritual Director of One Spirit Learning Alliance and One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City. Ordained as an interfaith minister in 1988, she is a widely respected pioneer in developing interfaith ministry education.

Diane is a core faculty member of the Institute for Sacred Activism, a founding member of the Contemplative Alliance initiative of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, and a founding member of The Community of The Mystic Heart. She is the author of numerous books and educational manuals, including Developing and Deepening Your Spiritual Practice and Interfaith Ministers’ Training and Reference Manual.

A psychotherapist and spiritual counselor in private practice for over thirty years, Diane is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of New York.

the One Spirit Interfaith/Interspiritual Voices fromSeminary Class of 2018 “I’ve come to believe in the spiritual life as pilgrimage. I understand more deeply, that God—however we choose to understand God—is always alongside us, guiding us, leading us, challenging us and strengthening us for the work that we have been chosen to do. I no longer need to search the four corners of the world to encounter the sacred, the sacred is right here among us.”

Rev. Sandy Blaine Livestream Recording of the One Spirit Interfaith Commencement Ceremony held at Manhattan’s historic Riverside Church in NYC on June 9, 2018

“…We stand ready to use the energy of infinite possibilities to teach, lead, activate, model and create forgiveness, compassion and love everywhere, all the time, for everyone. That is who we are and that is what we do!”

Rev. Cathy Woods Bristow click to watch Rev. Cathy Bristow’s speech for the Seminary Class of 2018

“Build those bridges Turn hate into love Make joy out of fear Step firmly into the howling wind find the magic, there is static in the air it causes hearts to sing From north to south From east to west It calls Build bridges!

It says Build bridges!

It beckons Build your bridge!”

Rev. James Encinas

“As Modern-Day Mystics, this is our time to not play small, but to step out onto the playground of life.”

Rev. Deb E. Hammond

“One Spirit is a place where we respect and honor all paths. It is a place where true transformation occurs.”

Rev. Garrett A. Foster

Read more on pages 86–92

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“Let us use our voices and shape our communities.

Because we all belong.”

“…Now I am fully immersed in the deep end allowing every beautiful part of me to be seen.”

“I watched each of us step into our ministry, even when we did not realize it. It was so beautiful to Witness.”

Rev Ozgul Ashki Ozcan

Rev. Ryan G. Polly, PhD

Rev. Dawn Welburn

#SHINEYOURLIGHT featuring Alex Reegan & Rob Spencer, MD (from the Upcoming Seminary Class of 2019) “ One Spirit has been another piece of my own puzzle on my Journey Home to Wholeness and becoming who I have always been, and a place to just be me.”

“The process of becoming a healer, mystic, teacher, and student is never finished.”

Rob Spencer, MD

Alex Reegan

Read more on pages 86–92

O u t o f M a n y. O n e S p i r i t .

Reach For The Best In Yourself Inspire The Greatness In Others

Interfaith Ministry Training Interspiritual Counseling Training Public Workshops All classes begin September 2018 please apply early (in-person and state-of-the-art distance learning available) For program information and registration visit onespiritinterfaith.org

An Independent Learning Center 247 West 36th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10018 212.931.6840 13

Recent News & Updates

Sw. Shraddhananda Named Successors At Guru Purnima Retreat in Kentucky Special to Light on Light

Sw. Prakashananda Dharma Heir

Sw. Shraddhananda Founder, Sacred Feet Yoga Preceptor, CMH Sannyasa

In addition to offering an abundance of Sacred Feet Yoga™ Teachings and Practices, in alliance with The Community of The Mystic Heart (CMH) Sannyasa, Sw. Shraddhananda (aka Dr. Sonya Jones) named her Dharma Heirs at the Guru Purnima Retreat July 28-29 in Kentucky.

As Sacred Feet Yoga’s successors, Sw. Prakashananda (London, England) and Acharya Sandra Chamatkara Simon (Pittsburgh, PA) represent the best of the monastic and householder traditions respectively. After they are installed at the Guru Purnima Retreat, they will be in training to disseminate Sacred Feet Yoga and CMH Sannyasa when Sw. Shraddhananda is no longer in her body on planet Earth.

“Successions can be difficult,” said Sw. Shraddhananda, head of Sacred Feet Yoga and Preceptor of CMH Sannyasa.

“I want to give us ample time to prepare for the future. With Sw. Prakashananda headquartered in England most of the time, and Acharya Chamatkara based in the northeastern United States, we should be poised to build a well-organized community,” she continued.

Acharya Sandra Simon Dharma Heir

“Sw. Prakashananda and Acharya Chamatkara are ideally suited to succeed me as the Dharma Heirs of an Interspiritual Yoga which is one of the most elegant spiritual systems in the world,” Sw. Shraddhananda said.

Sw. Shraddhananda intends to step back as the out front Teacher of Sacred Feet Yoga to devote her time to mature students across spiritual traditions, particularly students who have received Shaktipat, or stirrings of the Holy Spirit, and still struggle with issues that serve as obstacles to freedom. She also intends to spend time writing a Guide to Sacred Feet Yoga for posterity.

Sw. Shraddhananda has nominated Sw. Prakashananda to serve as Associate Preceptor of CMH Sannyasa, pending the confirmation of Dr. Kurt Johnson, CMH Administrator, based in New York City.

Acharya Sandra Chamatkara Simon is to continue in her role as Managing Editor of the Sacred Feet Publishing Imprint, eventually rising to the position of Publisher.

“Sw. Prakashananda is well trained in Yoga, Vedanta, Tibetan Buddhism, and what I call intelligent Christianity. She is a seasoned teacher, and she is well-connected internationally,” Sw. Shraddhananda said.

Sacred Feet Yoga and CMH Sannyasa have always been international communities. With bases in the United Kingdom and the northeastern United States, the international focus of the alliance is enhanced.

“Acharya Chamatkara is a model of loyalty and dedication,” she added. “She was my student assistant at Allegheny College for four years, and she has attended every Sacred Feet Yoga retreat since its inception in 2011. Also, she taught herself how to make a book for purposes of launching the Sacred Feet Imprint with publication of my text, Jesus Was a Shaktipat Guru, for which Sw. Prakashananda wrote the Introduction.

Acharya Chamatkara is to hold her first retreat in the Pittsburgh, PA area in Spring 2019. Sw. Prakashananda is also to hold her first retreat in England in Spring 2019 (dates and times for both retreats TBA). One retreat yearly is to be held with Sw. Shraddhananda present at Guru Purnima in Kentucky.

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Recent News & Updates

Interspiritual Monastics in the World

by DEWnada (CMH-IMW Media coordinator)

Interspiritual Monastics in the World (IMW) is a fully inclusive, radically egalitarian, dispersed community of new monastics united in their common aspirations to combine contemplative practice with social activism and to foster mutual understanding between the world’s wisdom traditions. Our members are dedicated to deepening their own interspiritual understanding and experience, while also being supportive of other community members’ personal journeys and chosen traditions. IMW was formed in 2016 as a family within The Community of The Mystic Heart in an effort to: 1) manifest the new monastic model of interspiritual community articulated by Br. Wayne Teasdale, 2) provide a formal yearlong spiritual formation program for incoming members centering upon study of and reflection upon the 9 elements of interspirituality and the 12 marks of new monasticism, and 3) offer on-going friendship, fellowship and encouragement for members.

Since its creation, IMW has established groups in both the United States and United Kingdom, and each of our continental groups currently has two prospective new members in the discernment phase receiving mentoring on the IMW charism. IMW maintains a member’s only group page at contemplativelife.org and a general public group page on Facebook. Our UK wing is in the process of setting up its own IMW website and is even discussing the possibility of eventually forming a residential community. Being a non-residential monastic community at present, with members living so far apart, IMW conducts its business via emails and Skype conference calls.

One of IMW’s current group projects is putting together a collection of essays written by its members on the theme of interspiritual new monasticism which, when completed, will be made available free online. Our IMW members are all engaged in various personal interspiritual ministry projects which include offering their own educational courses and pursuing their own continuing education, leading rituals and providing pastoral services in their areas, creating art infused with interspiritual flavor, and collaborating with other organizations active in the environmental, social justice, ecumenical, interfaith, and interspiritual movements.

Speaking for myself, I am always pleasantly surprised to encounter so many other organizations which have been deeply influenced and informed by Br. Wayne’s beloved spiritual director Fr. Bede Griffiths. Two such groups which I have been fortunate to find and which I am collaborating with are Saint Francis of Assisi Ecumenical Retreat Center and the newly formed Liberal Catholic Union. And somehow, through grace, I even found a spiritual director, Bhakti Ananda Goswami, who knew Br. Wayne and had the chance to speak with him face-to-face for many hours on many occasions, discussing the deep connections among world religions. While the groups participating in the interspiritual movement often have relatively small memberships, the number of interspiritual and interspiritual-friendly associations is certainly great, and ever growing in number. This is very encouraging to me, as is the start of this Light on Light Magazine.

IMW chose the colors blue (for heavenly awareness) and green (for earthly sensitivity) as our community’s symbolic colors, as Br. Wayne at the conclusion of The Mystic Heart states: “Spirituality, finally, is awareness and sensitivity, and sensitivity itself is awareness-in-action... May the mystics lead the way to this rebirth of the human community that will harmonize itself with the cosmos and finally make peace with all beings.”

IMW is honored to be in the lineage of Br. Wayne as part of The Community of The Mystic Heart and our members will continue to sow interspiritual seeds in our gardens. May all beings benefit from our small role in this Great Work. For more information about IMW, please visit communityofthemysticheart.org/monastic-options. Interested persons in Europe are welcome to contact judeanna@gmail.com or neildeuchar@icloud.com and those in North America or other parts of the world may email timolivieri@ icloud.com or dewnada@icloud.com.

Aum Amun Amen Amin 15

Life

Is a Trip, But Where Are You Going?

The Art of Choosing “ Who

to Be” Rather Than “ What to Do”

By Yanni Maniates

e live in a very fast-paced world.

Information, opportunities, and challenges are expanding exponentially every day.

Life is full, to say the least! Too often, our experience of life is like a series of breathless, unconscious, one-after-theother chase scenes in a fast-paced movie. Rather, I believe life is meant to be a series of vibrant still shots or landscapes, to savor and enter into with just a sprinkling of the right amount of madcap scenarios to add some spice.

Most of us, when we wake up in the morning, are immediately overwhelmed with an infinitely long “to do” list.

Instead, I propose that we start off our day by creating an exquisite, rich, high-quality“to be” list.

As I see it, it’s not about what you want to do today that is most important, but rather, what you want to be, or feel, or experience. What qualities of life do you want to primarily participate in today: peace, balance, love, courage, happiness, joy, humor, harmony, confidence, etc? Or do you really want to go into a default mode and experience their opposites?

Why not begin your

day by choosing the quality you would like to experience that day? Then, as the day progresses, create various practices that will help you to remember and reinforce that quality so that your day is filled with what is really most important to you and with that which will bring you the greatest lasting value and joy.

For instance, you could choose feeling “peaceful” as the most important “to be” quality for a particular day. Thus it would be with peacefulness that you would want to begin, follow through with, and end every activity and interaction in your day.

In other words, let the quality you want to experience be more important than frantically getting your “to do” list for the day accomplished. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, and with whomever you are doing it, always ask yourself, “How can this interaction be permeated with the quality I have chosen today?”

Here is a technique which you can use when you first wake up and all day long to help you to focus on your quality:

Take seven, slow conscious breaths. Breathe in Peace and breathe out anxiety. As you breathe in, imagine that you are breathing in the quality that you have chosen for that day; see and feel it permeating your whole body-mind, and then, on the exhalation, see and feel its opposite being expelled.

Really feel it and see it as you breathe in and out deeply and gently.

Trust that as you learn to be consistent with focusing on your quality, you will be surprised that you not only have had the pleasure of experiencing the positive quality you have chosen, but as an added bonus, you also find that what was most important on your “to do” list has been accomplished easily and effectively.

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Wh o

Note that what I am suggesting you begin practicing here is an “art.” Don’t be discouraged if at times you just can’t seem to be able to keep your chosen quality in focus. In time you will get better at it. In time, as well, you will learn that if you do lose your focus, it doesn’t really matter! When you do lose it, first, just notice that you have lost it, and then, with a sense of humor, have a good laugh at yourself, give yourself a break, and when you have calmed down, gently come back to practicing the quality you have chosen.

So, when you wake up in the morning, why not begin with your “to be” list, and then, let the quality that you have chosen permeate your whole day. To help you stay focused, do the breathing exercise described above as often as you can remember. Do it while you are driving your car, standing in line, waiting for someone, etc. Also, you might find it helpful as a reminder to put notes up everywhere with the quality written on them. You can even write your quality on the palm of your hand or automate a message on your computer.

Just imagine, after a year of practicing this, how rich and full a tapestry of qualities and experiences you will have woven

Am I

?

into the fabric of your life. I know many people who have turned their lives around practicing this simple approach!

It is possible! Give yourself a chance; you deserve it. You won’t always do it perfectly, but it’s never about being perfect, is it? Remember, you can always, every day, in every moment choose “to be” filled with a wondrous joy, peace, confidence, love, etc. It is a choice, and it’s yours. You are a human being, not a human “doing”! Begin your day by putting first things first: claim your mastery and step into and experience who you want “to be” today! Slow down, get there fast.

Learn ‘not doing’ and everything will fall into place.

Lao Tsu you’ve got to come out of the measurable doing universe into the immeasurable house of being e.e. cummings For the guided meditation Creating the Experiences You Want: Click here to download…

Yanni has been teaching Meditation, Intuitive Development, Healing, Hermetic Wisdom, Ancient Mystery School and Metaphysical subjects for almost 30 years. His intention is to translate ancient wisdom teachings into modern, real-day, life skills. He has successfully trained hundreds of people to develop their Intuition and taught even more people how to meditate. The primary focus of his work is to help people experience the “still, small voice within” or as he prefers to call it, “The Embrace.” He is the author of six Kindle books on Meditation and Intuition, three Meditation CDs and numerous courses. As well, he has been doing “Soul Readings” for decades. In addition, he has been doing work on the international and national interfaith scenes as the Global Projects Director for UNITY EARTH. His website is insideoutjourneys.com.

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LIVING LIGHT is a regular column for Light on Light Magazine intended for those who feel called to live more fully into the emerging consciousness.

Confessions of a Secret Admirer I admit it: I have a crush. Yes, he’s tall and handsome, but that’s not what I love about him. What’s really special is that he sees everyone through the eyes of the new consciousness, appreciating each individual for who they are and the gifts they bring. There is no one who doesn’t matter in his eyes, no one to be overlooked, no one whom he does not see as the expression of Divine love. And that’s how I’d like to be.

We are all familiar with the Hindu greeting, “Namaste” (or “Namaskar”), spoken with palms together in prayer position at the heart. The term, from ancient Sanskrit, literally means “bowing to you,” but according to Yoga Journal, “The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra.

The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.” In other words, the Divine in me recognizes the Divine in you.

In our old way of thinking, we automatically judged people for what they could give to us: as family, friends, teachers, business associates or objects of desire – or I did, anyway.

We turned away from people who seemed needy or to have nothing to offer. The new consciousness affirms that we are

all in essence expressions of the Divine, joined in an inherent unity with one another in the great cosmic dance of life. Our differences are not to be ranked but celebrated.

And the man I admire? He affirms everyone’s talent. He may disagree, but he never criticizes. He invites everyone into his circle and makes sure to give his attention to anyone who may be on the outside. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all lived from this generosity of spirit?

All we need to do is become secret admirers. You are probably already a kind person who acknowledges cashiers, waiters and bus drivers with a smile and perhaps a friendly hello. But can you see each person you encounter as an expression of Divine light and love?

I think it’s easier to start with a simple blessing. Whenever I find myself judging someone, especially on their appearance, whether positive or negative, I stop myself and bless that person and their precious human body. It’s become a habit that helps me get past the superficial to recognize everyone’s humanity. This is at least step one.

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The next step is to realize that everyone has gifts to offer, a vital personal contribution to the tapestry of our human family. Did you ever notice that when you share an experience with a group of strangers – like a trip or class – you become friendly with them? As we get to know someone, we see more of the richness of their life experience and unique perspective. Whether or not we are drawn to bring them into our sphere, we can see how valuable it is that there are no two of us alike, even identical twins. If we take the time to mine the richness of who they are, there are always treasures to uncover.

The final step is to become like my crush and truly see the Divine expressing through each and every person. Then you, too, may become a secret admirer – of every human being – seeing through the eyes of unconditional love. Would God behave any other way?

Then why stop with fellow humans? Any pet owner will tell us that an animal is not an object, but a being with whom we can communicate, particularly at the level of feelings. And once we begin to see all the beautiful expressions of the Divine, even a blade of grass has its place in the web of life, the wholeness of our living universe.

Once we get past our individual mind filled with opinions, we begin to enter into a deeper relationship with all that is, a communion of being that opens us to a new consciousness leading us toward a very different civilization in harmony with our Earth. Our admiration will no longer be secret but a way of living that is an ongoing hymn of joyful praise. Namaste!

Rev. Deborah Moldow is the founder of the Garden of Light, at www.gardenoflight.org.

You are invited to post your ideas and comments about Living Light at www.gardenoflight.org/ livinglight.

Rev. Deborah Moldow is an ordained interfaith minister committed to assisting in the transformation of human consciousness. She is the founder of the Garden of Light, an online platform for the emerging global spirituality.

Deborah is Co-Director of the Evolutionary Leaders circle, a project of the Source of Synergy Foundation. She served for 22 years as the Representative to the United Nations of the World Peace Prayer Society and the prayer “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” Rev. Deborah leads monthly Interfaith Sundays at the Chapel at Croton Falls and is a Creative Consultant at UNITY EARTH. 19

The Coming Revolution of the Heart As we enter the third millennium, humanity stands at the edge of a precipice. We as a species have made immense intellectual and physical strides. We now have the ability to travel at super-sonic speeds, heal previously incurable diseases, and communicate almost instantly anywhere in the world. Science has provided us with the means to live longer, compute faster, and live more materially comfortable lives.

Paradoxically, the last hundred years of the second millennium have witnessed the unprecedented death of over 200 million people due to war and conflicts, starvation, and epidemics. We have, through the use of these same “technologies,” come close to exterminating the entire race and now move perilously close to destroying the very planet that sustains us.

A range of seemingly insuperable problems; uncontrolled population growth, diminishing resources, ancient animosities, passion for revenge, racial antagonism, religious prejudice, territorial ambition, and the destruction of the very environment, which sustains us, face humanity.

More importantly, our significant intellectual and scientific gains have failed to bring us any closer to achieving true civilization in which the inner human and spiritual needs of humanity have been fulfilled. We have achieved outer material progress at the cost of inner spiritual fulfillment.

Indeed, spiritually, humanity as a whole remains in its infancy. We are in fact spiritual amputees.

In the view of the great Masters of spirituality all these are secondary or derivative problems—mere

symptoms of a great disease. The cause of this disease is the illusion of separateness, the notion that we are unconnected, independent entities, corporations and nations whose particular welfare can be achieved at the expense of the general good.

and meditative inner worlds in a careful, systematic, and scientific way.

We have become masters of thirdperson outer scientific investigation, but we are mere novices in the art of critical first-person inner scientific study or inner practice.

The primary challenge now facing humanity is to recognize the unity of all humanity and in turn, the unity of all life in the universe through a transformation of the heart. It is to realize, not intellectually but spiritually, that despite the superficial differences that divide humanity we are essentially the same as a species—we have the same inner and outer construction, the same psychological, intellectual, and spiritual hopes, dreams and the same human need for love and community.

The world needs people whose hearts are awakened with minds guided by wisdom. Inner practice is universally recognized as central to the development of such people. To succeed, laws and resolutions for peace, justice and human cooperation require people who embody peace in the very core of their beings. Such people transcend ethnic, religious, gender, and national differences.

What separates us from one another is what separates us from God. What brings us together with one another also brings us together with God. Inner practice awakens the heart and the qualities that affirm our underlying unity. People with

The principle reason for the paradox of our situation is that we have largely failed to investigate the contemplative

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such unifying experiences transform families, communities, and nations.

Without such people humanity lacks wise guidance.

We have developed outer technology to treat previously incurable diseases, but our mastery of the “technology” of the inner world is so rudimentary that we can barely contain the passions that lead us to destroy the very life we try so hard to preserve. Thus, we have developed technologies which can melt the polar ice caps and destroy the world with weapons in an hour. Yet it is only the inner technology of spiritual practice which can melt the human heart and reveal the power of peace.

Wise guidance requires the foundation of peace for only people in peace can bring peace.

We have studied the machinery of the brain and have vastly increased our knowledge of how the mind and brain work, yet our ability to apply this knowledge to change our own behavior has been an abysmal failure.

In short, we know how to analyze but not how to realize. We can study consciousness but not increase it. We can recognize our faults but have no power to change or know who we are.

There is a vast difference between mere intellectual understanding and experiential realization. Realization occurs only after spiritual principles become lived truth. To use an analogy, intellectual understanding is like the word “water,” which is only read on a page and cannot be consumed.

Realization, on the other hand, is actually drinking the life-sustaining water. We may study the characteristics

of water—its volume, various elements, how it changes from liquid to gas—but unless we actually taste it we cannot quench our thirst nor have a true understanding of its importance.

Plato told an interesting story about people who were chained to the walls of a cave that had only one opening at the top. Aside from the rock itself, all that they could see when the sun shone through the hole were their own shadows. To them, these things were reality. Then, one day, one of these cave people managed to get outside, where he could see the world of three dimensions. The beauty, color and scope of life so dwarfed by comparison what he had known inside the cave, that he was eager to share it with his friends. When he returned to the cave and shared his vision they all laughed and said that he was crazy. They simply couldn’t conceive of anything outside of their own limited experience.

Plato explained that this is what happens to each and every one of us: we are so focused on living at the level of our physical senses that we cannot comprehend anything more.

Meditation can be compared to the experience of the man who discovered the hole at the top of the cave and realized that there was a vast and beautiful world more real than anything he had previously experienced.

In a similar manner, knowing about truth is not the same thing as living it.

Guru Nanak has said, “Truth is high, but higher still is true living.” Fully understanding this simple truth moves us away from the byway of the intellect to the highway of realization, and from

the fast lane of fruitless debate to the vast lane of profound transformation through sustained inner practice. In short as Sant Kirpal Singh noted, “an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory.”

As each of us ponders our collective and individual challenges, it is time to understand that unless we as a species can transcend our narrow national, sectarian, religious and ethnic differences there is little hope of lasting and sustained peace and prosperity. We can only succeed in this great undertaking if we realize the fundamental unity of all life. This can only be accomplished through a rigorous and sustained inner transformation of the heart.

Let us hope and pray as we move into the next millennia that each of us will become the change we seek as Gandhi so eloquently put it. The great Jewish Rabbi Hillel summarized our predicament when he said, “If not now—when? If not you—who?”

Andrew Vidich, PhD, is an award-winning author, consultant, and international speaker. His books include Love Is a Secret and Light Upon Light: 5 Master Paths to Awakening the Mindful Self. Andrew has been an adjunct assistant professor of religion at Manhattan College and Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. His latest book, Let There Be Light: Experiencing Light Across the World’s Sacred Traditions, appeared in 2016. He is the co-founder of recent the Meditation and Contemplative Studies Training at the Open Center, co-founder of the New York Interfaith Council and member of the board of advisors of the Temple of Understanding.

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1

Plato’s analogy of the cave, Sant Rajinder Singh; Glimpses of Divinity, video tape.

S m as h

The Control Machine

In my fifteen some odd years of this exploration of self (and Self), I’ve come to notice that spirituality is often of little interest for many of us that are independent thinkers and don’t necessarily feel like we fit into mainstream cultural norms in terms of outer style, interests, passions, values, or attitudes. Whether we’re a teenager, a twenty or thirtysomething or older; into punk rock, hip-hop, or alternative music; covered in tattoos and piercings; a skateboarder; gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender; a nerd; or even wearing a suit and tie, something inside of us has felt other than.

Many of us have looked to religion or spirituality for answers but soon found that neither the dogma of old religion, or the love and light fluffy-ness of New Age spirituality were approaches that resonated with us. Still, we were left with an internal yearning– one of virtually deafening silence–which compelled us to answer its call, but how? What can we do? What about the rest of us who don’t resonate with the exceedingly positive love-and-light movement, or that of the dogmatic tenants of spiritual and religious traditions?

What are we left to do when we’re looking for something more, something we can embrace exactly as we are?

Spirituality and religion at their core can be amazing things for the most part. There have been many illumined teachers (both past and present), who have deeply impacted myself and many other indie spirited people in very real and inspiring ways, however as with anything in life, there’s also no shortage of bullshit that can come along with religion and spirituality as well. There’s so many elements that can easily turn any free-thinking individual off including, but not limited to the self-proclaimed gurus, “enlightened” teachers who demand complete obedience of their students, yoga instructors who actually buy into their students’ worship of them, outrageously priced “spiritual” clothing and accessories, the stay-positive at all costs rhetoric, and on and in it goes.

Though years of dogmatic attachments, rigid instructions, and fear-based campaigns have left many of us with not the fondest outlook on religion and spirituality, times are changing, and we no longer have to accept or allow our

By Chris Grosso

beliefs to be dictated by others.

For years, I wrestled with how to reconcile walking a spiritual path with my love of independent culture as well as my struggles with addiction and recovery. This ultimately led me to reevaluate everything in my life and to ask myself questions that are not typically discussed in spiritual circles.

The ideas and questions were not overly esoteric, but rather simple, introspective questions that I personally needed to work through in order to get a clearer picture of my path and purpose.

My spiritual awakening didn’t begin to happen on the mountaintops of the Himalayas or the ahsrams of India. Nor did I find it in a church or monastery.

Hell, I wasn’t even looking for it in the first place, but spirituality can have a funny way of creeping into our lives, no matter how much of a protective barrier we have set up. This spirituality I speak of is not the majority of your parents and grandparents.

Indie spiritualism is a new approach to divine experience for those who reject the trappings and hypocrisies of mainstream spirituality and organized religion, who feel a sense of otherness and don’t necessarily fit mainstream cultural norms in terms of outer style, interests, passions, values, or attitudes. To quote William S. Burroughs: “Smash control images. Smash the control machine,” a saying that’s become somewhat of a template for most of the significant change in my life.

When it all comes down to it, living spiritually is a completely inside job. We don’t need to change our appearance, adopt a new language or change our mannerisms to fit in. We don't need to completely write spirituality off because we may be holding to our own stereotypes, and possibly miss out on some incredible insights and teachings that could make a difference in our lives. Dogma free spirituality is just that— dogma free—being free and open to the exploration.

My sincere and humble intention is that in all your uniqueness, you find peace and happiness while being “you” and walking your own authentic spiritual path.

Chris Grosso is a public speaker, writer, and author of Indie Spiritualist: A No Bullshit Exploration of Spirituality, Everything Mind: What I’ve Learned About Hard Knocks, Spiritual Awakening and the Mind-Blowing Truth of it All and Dead Set On Living: Making the Difficult but Beautiful Journey from F#*cking Up to Waking Up (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books).

He writes for ORIGIN Magazine, Huffington Post, and Mantra Yoga + Health Magazine, and has spoken and performed at Wanderlust Festival, Celebrate Your Life, Yoga Journal Conference, Sedona World Wisdom Days, Kripalu, Sun Valley Wellness Festival, and more.

Chris is passionate about his work with people who are in the process of healing or struggling with addictions of all kinds. He speaks and leads groups in detoxes, yoga studios, rehabs, youth centers, hospitals, conferences, and festivals worldwide. He is a member of the advisory board for Drugs over Dinner and hosts The Indie Spiritualist Podcast on Ram Dass’s esteemed Be Here Now Network.

WEBSITE: www.theindiespiritualist.com ALL SOCIAL (FB/Twitter/IG): @XchrisGrossoX

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities How can you tell the difference? It’s not always easy—until one member of the group is in trouble. If the other members rally around, it’s a community. If not, it’s a group. And it may take an emergency to reveal to the members themselves that they have a true community.

I bring this up because sometimes leaders claim to have, or belong to, a community, but it is just wishful thinking on their part. Managers want to believe their crew members watch out for one another. Executive directors want to believe that board members and donors are a community. Coaches want to believe team members are in a community. It’s certainly possible. But saying it is, doesn’t make it so.

The Art of Community Executive Summary

By Charles Vogl, M.Div.

A community is a group of individuals who share mutual concern for each other’s welfare.

“The Art of Community” (Berrett-Koehler) is the first book to distill principles from 3,000 years of spiritual traditions for leaders to create a culture of belonging in any organization, field, or movement. It supports mission-driven leadership.

After teaching leaders to recognize communities and commonalities in them, the book lays out seven time-tested principles for growing enduring, effective, and connected cultures. This book is a guide for leaders seeking to build a vibrant, living entity that will greatly enrich its members’ lives.

Winner: Nautilus Silver Book Award for Leadership & Business writing.

Recognizing Communities Why belong to a community?

Communities help us succeed where we cannot by ourselves.

Just knowing that we have others to support us makes us stronger, even as we risk failure.

What is a community? For my work community is defined as a group of individuals who share a mutual concern for one another’s welfare. It’s distinct from a group whose members may share ideas, interests, or proximity, but lack concern for one another. Such groups can have huge memberships, like the Museum of Modern Art, the American Medical Association, or Greenpeace, but their members do not share any strong social connectedness.

A group may call itself a community, but if members are really only looking out for themselves, they’re just a group.

Alternatively, a self-identified group could be made up of residents of a particular city block, Olympic weightlifters, or African bush pilots. But despite their loose affiliation, they may in fact care deeply about one another’s well-being. Theirs may be an un-named community.

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What does a true community offer? Belonging.

We want to belong, and we want to let others know that they belong. A big part of that feeling of belonging comes when we see that others care about our success.

Some features are nearly universal in healthy communities: ● ● ● ●

Shared values Membership identity Moral proscriptions Insider understanding

Our experience of community has changed in a single generation. The number of people who say that they have no one to talk to about difficult subjects has tripled in the last few decades. Moreover, the size of the average person’s social network decreased by one-third in the same time (McPherson “Social Isolation in America”).¹ In fact, according to a metastudy by Julianne Holt-Lunstadmore at Brigham Young University, more people say that they don’t have a confidante than those who say that they do.² (Holt-Lunstadmore.

“Relationships Boost Survival by 50 Percent”) Americans, particularly those under thirty, are not participating in formal religious organizations as much as people did even a generation ago. These religious organizations were often the basis for communities of values.

According to a 2012 Pew Research report, “one-fifth of the U.S. public—and a third of adults under 30—are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.³” In addition, about three-quarters of these unaffiliated adults were raised with some affiliation but have chosen to lapse. Note that these statistics do not suggest that Americans think any differently about God or spirituality than they did in the past. On the contrary,

Developing a ritual that’s right for your community can make a profound difference in how welcomed a new member feels.

community. The initiation marks the completed journey over the boundary.

After the initiation, insiders gain new privileges and have nothing more to prove. They feel confident and welcome in their belonging. Ideally, all insiders’ names are known.

The Crisis of Belonging In many groups, particularly highly selective elite ones, it’s common for some members to become convinced that they don’t belong. This can be true even when each member has been invited inside an exclusive community.

overwhelming majorities continue to say that God and spirituality are important.⁴ Churches aren’t the only social institutions to erode. In the 1970s, almost two-thirds of Americans attended some kind of club meeting: Rotary, Lions, PTA, or local bowling league.

By the late 1990s, nearly two-thirds had never attended such a meeting.⁵ Even the number of picnics per capita dropped by 60 percent from 1975 to 1999 while millennials were growing up!⁶ I haven’t even touched on the changing ways we connect, now that we can hide behind text and email. What I hope you understand is that you are almost certainly surrounded by people who long to connect in deeper ways.

The tragedy is that even when many members feel this concern, we continue to act as though this fear doesn’t exist. Our community becomes a crowd of individuals, each one lonely and convinced that he or she doesn’t belong in the crowd. This is a crisis of belonging.

This is easily addressed if community members take a leadership role and use the power of invitation. Invitations are evidence to others that they do belong and tells them that we have the power to connect people.

Community values will mature over time as times and people change, just as values do for whole countries and generations.

7 Principles for Belonging “The Art of Community” presents seven principles that any leader can implement in a growing or emerging community.

All these principles aren’t required for a community. They’re tools to use when you want to strengthen what you have, at whatever level you’re at today.

3. The Rituals Principle 1. The Boundary Principle Rituals: The things we do that have meaning.

Boundary: The line between members and outsiders.

Members want to know who’s in the community and shares their values. Visitors want to know a safe way to explore without committing themselves. Novices prefer to know at what point they’ve joined a community.

A boundary is the recognized demarcation between insiders (members) and outsiders. A boundary should be more about making the inside space safe for insiders than about keeping outsiders out.

In order to ensure our community will welcome members with appropriate values, we must ensure there are gatekeepers to lead visitors across the boundary.

2. The Initiation Principle Initiation: The activities that mark a new member.

We all want to know that we’re truly accepted into the communities we join. An initiation is any activity that’s understood as official recognition and welcome into the

A ritual is any practice that marks a time or event as special or important. The actions are imbued with meaning.

Meaning creates a feeling of stability in the midst of change.

Rituals are a tool to bring meaning into our lives.7 Our lives are filled with rituals that go largely unrecognized or under-appreciated. There are many kinds, including rites of passage (like graduations), celebration (like birthday parties), and mourning (like funerals).

Celebrations often are connected with these rites. The importance of rites of passage and similar celebrations cannot be overstated. They help us feel proud, worthy, and complete as we make important transitions.

Ritual intensity (how much it affects us) can be increased or decreased, as we choose. Strengthening a ritual can make it (the activity) feel even more special and important. When leaders recognize rituals and understand how to make them more powerful, they can help connect communities more deeply.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities 4. The Temple Principle Temple: A place set aside to find our community A temple is simply a place where people with shared values enact their community’s rituals. Members know that it’s where they’ll find their community.

The stories you tell and the people you celebrate in them will reveal far more about who your community is than anything else.

Members who are far away may long to visit the temple. It’s a “sacred space,” a place set aside for a particular use. A designated permanent temple is nice, but not necessary: any space can be made a temple simply by gathering members there and enacting rituals.

Think of a wedding: it can happen anywhere -- in a religious building, on a beach, or in a judge’s chambers. While the space used may not always serve as a temple, it becomes sacred for that event.

The rituals performed inside a temple might be considered weird if performed outside and seen by outsiders with no explanation. Within the temple, they’re meaningful and comfortable. Insider knowledge allows the rituals to be experienced as satisfying and even fun.

If you want to create your community right away, practice telling people who matter to you... that they matter to you.

Symbols represent a set of ideas and values, which is to say, they often represent many things at once. They can stand in for many words. Symbols are powerful tools in building community because they quickly remind us of our values, identity, and commitment in a community.

A community symbol is far more than a pictorial representation of a single word, idea, or memory. In fact, community symbols work best when they’re not too literal.

Literal symbols leave less interpretive room to represent evolving ideas. For example, the circular Peace Corps logo includes a dove within an American flag. Of course, there are no actual doves on American flags. Note that the symbol doesn’t include a depiction of an American digging a well or teaching in a classroom. If it did, the added literalism would weaken the symbol’s power. If you were to ask many Peace Corps volunteers what their symbol means, you would get many different answers. But no matter the diversity of answers, the symbols represent the community and a set of values.

A token is a kind of symbol given to a person as a keepsake to remember an idea, event, or set of values. It’s often a reminder of accomplishment, belonging, and commitment.

The importance of the token’s presenter will imprint on the token’s value.

5. The Stories Principle Stories: what we share that allows others and ourselves to know our values Stories are the most powerful way we humans learn. Every community, like every person, is full of stories. Sharing certain stories deepens a community’s connections. If people don’t know (or can’t learn) your stories, they don’t know or understand your community. Stories are how members, future members, and outsiders learn the values and the value of the community.

There are many ways to tell any story, by selecting what’s shared and what’s left out. This teaches much more than mission statements and brochures. Stories that can tell others who you are include: Origin Stories, Value Stories (about choosing according to values), Vulnerable Stories, and the Personal Stories on how a community changed a life.

6. The Symbols Principle Symbols: The things that represent ideas which are important to us 25

Tokens are like rituals in that they can be created and appreciated. Items that start out simply as useful and practical can in time become infused with meaning.

Communities must have an opportunity to play together.

7. The Inner Rings Principle Inner Rings: a path to growth as we participate We all want to be special to someone or several someones.

We all want to be valued and valuable. We all aspire to belong to prestigious inner rings, perhaps not just for

authority and respect but for new ways to participate and contribute.

A community can decide what makes an appropriate inner ring and how many there should be. Obviously, there’s a point at which it becomes pointless and silly: imagine an organization with only ten members but seven inner rings!

Our endless striving for the next ring can be a dangerous trap. Mature communities create different levels of inner rings that members can enter (not to be superior snobs but to serve differently). At each level, members gain some benefits related to their maturation or formation. The benefits could include new access, knowledge, authority, acknowledgment, or respect.

It’s not important that each member pursue inner rings.

Success in life or in the community should never be defined only by progression into increasingly exclusive rings. Some members may choose to stay at a particular level. Mature communities provide opportunities to progress.

Mature & Powerful Communities Lead Growth

Go defeat loneliness Create belonging.

The world is waiting for it.

Mature and strong communities give members support to succeed in ways they could not achieve on their own. That is, they help members grow in a way they would like to grow.

This growth may be toward managing life as a whole or in some area of life.

The support comes from a body of knowledge and wisdom that members cannot access or manage on their own. So, in a strong community, members must know how to access the knowledge held by others. This can come informally (by hanging out with other members) or formally (with lessons, classes, or apprenticeships). If members no longer believe that the community can teach them how to succeed, their commitment will fall away. _____________________________

The most powerful inner rings journey reflects “maturation” of growing concern for others. On this journey, we follow a path of progression during which concern for ourselves diminishes while concern for the others grows. A common progression of rings looks like this:

If you’d like to learn more, you can read the book: THE ART OF COMMUNITY: 7 Principles for Belonging

Visitor: May have concern for no one else, seeks novelty or fun experiences.

Novice: Concern for individual self, seeks personal achievement and legitimacy.

Member: Concern for one’s peer group, seeks success and respect for the group.

Elder: Concern for everyone in the tribe everywhere, seeks whole tribe success and respect.

Principal: Concern for the whole world, seeks to help the worldwide tribe fit within and serve the dynamic world.

You can also download resources for leaders bringing people together at: www.CharlesVogl.com

Charles Vogl supports leaders in technology, finance and government grow more effective in creating change. Using principles drawn from 3000 years of spiritual traditions, he teaches how to build critical connections for leadership that impacts generations. In his 20s, Charles served in the U.S. Peace Corps in northern Zambia. There, he witnessed inspirational community inside his rural village.

After the Peace Corps, Charles founded Broken English Productions in New York City. His PBS projects touch on topics such as education, school reform and civil rights advocacy. His film, “New Year Baby,” tells the story of Cambodian genocide survivors. The film won many awards including the Amnesty International “Movies That Matter” award.

Charles is a regular guest lecturer at Yale, where he earned his Master of Divinity degree. His first book, The Art of Community, is a guide to creating meaningful communities that enrich both individuals and humanity. It won a Nautilus Silver Book Award for Business and Leadership writing. cv@charlesvogl.com | 917-836-7819 In Beautiful Oakland, CA

[1]

[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Miller McPherson, Lynn Smith-Lovin, and Matthew E. Brashears, “Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks over Two Decades,” American Sociological Review 71, no. 3 (2006): 353–75.

“Relationships Boost Survival by 50 Percent” Scientific American, July 28, 2010, www.scientificamerican.com/article/relationships-boost-survival .

“Nones on the Rise,” Pew Research on Religion and Public Life, October 9, 2012, www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/.

Ibid.

DDB Needham Life Style Surveys, 1975–99, quoted in Robert Putnam, “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community” Journal of Democracy 6.1 (1995): 65-7 DDB Needham Life Style Surveys.

Roy Baumeister, Kathleen Vohs, Jennifer Aaker, and Emily Garbinsky, “Some Key Differences between a Happy Life and a Meaningful Life,” Journal of Positive Psychology 8, no. 6 (2013): 505–16.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

The Practice of Community: Metaphors and Models for Creating Authentic Community

By Rev. Diane Berke

The technology we need most badly is the technology of community – the knowledge of how to cooperate to get things done.

Our sense of community is in disrepair. ~ Bill McKibbon Bill McKibbon, author of Eaarth, has pointed out that “the technology we need most badly is the technology of community – the knowledge of how to cooperate to get things done. Our sense of community is in disrepair.”

The enormous challenges that confront our world today demand that we learn to understand and master the “technology of community.” While pursuing our own individual spiritual paths and embracing our own particular expressions of service, we must also learn to work together—to form empowering and encouraging communities that allow us to be wiser and more effective in the work of personal and collective transformation than we can possibly be alone.

Such collectives, brought together by shared values, passion, aspiration, and serendipity, are able to grow together over time; to pool energies, skills, and resources; to celebrate hopes and triumphs; to share and bear witness to heartbreak and grief; to strengthen each other through times of discouragement; and to support and hold one another accountable to a shared commitment to both inner work and outer action in the world. When people of like mind and heart gather together in shared purpose, miraculously powerful synergy can result.

In two decades of working with creating community as a vehicle for personal and collective transformation and to empower people to express their gifts in the world in support

of the evolution of consciousness, certain metaphors and models have been especially meaningful and useful to me.

The metaphor I have found most inspiring is the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, popularized by evolutionary biologist Elizabet Sahtouris as a metaphor for the transformation of consciousness that is occurring in our time.

Teacher and author Anodea Judith writes of Sahtouris’s work, “When a caterpillar nears its transformation time, it begins to eat ravenously, consuming everything in sight … The caterpillar body then becomes heavy, outgrowing its own skin many times, until it is too bloated to move. Attaching to a branch (upside down …) it forms a chrysalis – an enclosing shell that limits the caterpillar’s freedom for the duration of the transformation.

Within the chrysalis a miracle occurs. Tiny cells, called ‘imaginal cells,’ begin to appear. These cells are wholly different from caterpillar cells, carrying different information, vibrating to a different frequency – the frequency of the emerging butterfly.

At first, the caterpillar’s immune system perceives these new cells as enemies, and attacks them, much as new ideas are called radical, and viciously denounced by the powers now holding center stage. But the imaginal cells are not deterred. They continue to appear, increasing in numbers until the new cells are numerous enough to organize into clumps. When enough cells have formed to make structures along the new organizational lines, the caterpillar’s immune system is overwhelmed. The cells of the original body then become a nutritious soup for the growth of the butterfly.”1 I believe that part of the hunger for community that exists today is our deep intuitive recognition that we are the imaginal cells needed for the transformation that will give birth to a new level of consciousness and new possibilities for how to live in healthy, sustainable, life-giving ways with other people and with the earth and all of its living inhabitants.

Like the imaginal cells in the chrysalis, we are impelled by an inner prompting to find one another, to form clusters called community in support of the transformation we sense is at hand.

The Place of Community in Transformative Change Quaker educator and author Parker Palmer has delineated four stages that, historically, all transformative social

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movements have gone through. One of these stages speaks directly to the importance of coming together in community: forming what he calls “communities of congruence.” But to truly appreciate this stage, we’ll look briefly at all four: the decision to live “divided no more," forming communities of congruence, going public with a vision, and transforming the predominant system of punishment and reward.

The first stage is what Palmer calls the “Rosa Parks Moment,” named for the early civil rights movement leader who catalyzed the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott by defying the law that required her to give up her seat on a municipal bus to a white man.

In that moment, she made a decision to “live divided no more” – to act outwardly in a way that reflected what she knew inwardly to be true: that “she was nothing less than a human being, whole and worthy and free.”2 This decision to live in outer integrity with our deepest inner truth may involve real personal risk: risk to our reputation, to some of our relationships or social support structures, to our livelihood, perhaps even to our lives. Yet we come to a point where we understand that no external punishment or loss we might suffer could be worse than “the punishment we lay on ourselves by conspiring in our own diminishment.”2 The decision to live divided no more is the decision to bring our outer lives into congruence with the deepest truth of our hearts.

When anyone makes that kind of profound inner decision, there is no guarantee that others will join or stand with them.

Yet it is undeniable that, at certain times and under certain conditions, courageous acts and expressions of personal witness to inner truth can stir in others the same profound longing to bring their inner values and outer actions and lives into greater congruence. Inspired and like-minded/ like-hearted people begin to find each other and come together in what Palmer calls “communities of congruence,” to “support each other’s resolve to live by the heart’s imperatives.”

Because the decision to live in a way that is aligned with our inner values and truth may go against the grain of existing structures and prevalent ways of thinking, we may become discouraged trying to explain ourselves to family and friends who don’t share or understand our views. We need kindred spirits to reassure ourselves that we’re not crazy – and this reassurance and affirmation is one of the things a community of congruence provides.2 In addition to providing this kind of support, such communities are also places where people can learn and develop the knowledge, skills, and what Palmer calls the “habits of the heart” that all agents of transformative change must have if they are to be effective in the larger world.

Communities of congruence offer opportunities to learn to listen deeply with openness rather than defensiveness; to learn how to respectfully hold and resolve differences and interpersonal conflicts; to do our own shadow work to reclaim projections that lead us to demonize others or fail to claim our own abilities and gifts; and to practice the skills of leadership, followership, and creative synergy.

Palmer likens communities of congruence to nurseries or hothouses “where plants are tended until they are hearty enough to be transplanted outdoors and subjected to all kinds of weather” – places where we can “speak the vulnerable language of the heart in the presence of people who affirm it instead of tearing it down.”2 Over time, as we continue to make ourselves vulnerable in a nurturing environment, “the heart’s language grows more robust and slowly becomes [our] ‘new normal.’ Eventually the day comes when [we] find [ourselves] speaking [our] hearts in public, having almost forgotten that doing so once seemed impossibly risky.”2 In this way, as well as other more intentional ways, transformative movements move into their third stage, “going public.” Palmer’s insights into this stage are critical for anyone seeking to bring about collective transformation. He points out that if a movement does not go public in order to spread its message and seed transformative social change, it is a secret society, not a movement. Equally important, a movement can only become a force for good through a willingness to engage its critics.

Palmer points out that the “shadow side of any movement is the belief that ‘we are right and everyone else is wrong,’ a belief that goes unchallenged when we talk only with those who share our views.” Unless movement advocates are willing to go public where we attract and must engage our critics, our self-protective circle creates a collective narcissism that undermines the potential for genuine transformation.

Even if our critics are not convinced, as we are willing to respectfully engage those who disagree, others in the public arena may resonate with what we are offering. We also have the chance to look honestly at any legitimate criticisms that are raised and use them to clarify or correct any limitations or errors we may have overlooked.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities The fourth stage of transformative movements is when there begin to be signs that cultural and institutional systems of reward and punishment are undergoing a transformation.

Palmer reminds us that these signs are not merely the “big wins” that make headlines, like the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994, or the legalizing of gay marriage nationally in the United States. These kinds of major successes are “the result of a million invisible acts of courage and the incremental gains that [come] with them, the micromoments in which the history of the heart is written.”2 Palmer points out that “[a] movement’s success is signaled by a slow accretion of small changes in the system of institutional rewards and punishments … Qualities, commitments, and actions for which people in an earlier era were unjustly punished begin to become sources of reward in a process so gradual that it attracts little notice.”2 Year after year I have witnessed the forming of communities of congruence among the students who train with us at One Spirit. The support of this quality of community serves as an essential part of their preparation to step into spiritual leadership in their lives and in their circles of influence, and to be cogent and effective voices for the interspiritual message into the larger world.

Creating Authentic Community Another model for the practice of community that I have found very useful is the work on community building that has been done by M. Scott Peck and the Foundation for Community Encouragement (FCE). FCE considers community “to be a group of people that have made a commitment to learn how to communicate with each other at an ever more deep and authentic level.”3 They have identified four stages that groups typically go through in the process of forming and growing into authentic community.4 1. Pseudocommunity The first stage is the stage of pseudocommunity, a stage in which a group “pretends it is already a community, [and] that the participants have only superficial individual differences and no cause for conflict.”5 In the best of circumstances, this stage is akin to falling in love. A group may come together through a deep connection at the level of essence and experience a powerful sense of relief, excitement, and euphoria over having “found each other.” While this experience of connection may be genuine on a soul level, it is also incomplete; it has not yet confronted the complexity of human personalities, differences, and agendas that make for interpersonal friction and conflict.

At this stage, the group maintains the pretense of community through a set of unspoken norms: try your best not to say anything that might antagonize or upset anyone else; if someone says something that triggers or offends you, swallow your feelings and pretend it doesn’t bother you; if a disagreement or other unpleasantness occurs, gloss it over or change the subject as quickly as possible. As the FCE website points out, “These are rules that any good hostess knows.

They may create a smoothly functioning dinner party but nothing more significant. The communication in a pseudocommunity is filled with generalizations. It is polite, inauthentic, boring, sterile, and unproductive.”

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Many groups and organizations never move beyond this initial stage of pseudocommunity. Yet if we want to mine the real treasures of authentic community we must go further, venturing into the next stages, which are more painful, challenging, and difficult.

2. Chaos If the initial stage of pseudocommunity can be likened to the “falling in love” stage of a relationship, the second stage is like the sobering and even jarring disillusionment that typically follows the honeymoon. Over time in the group profound individual differences may gradually emerge that lead to irritation and conflict among members of the group, and the group enters the stage of chaos. Whereas the theme of pseudocommunity is denying, minimizing, or covering up the differences among people, the predominant theme of the stage of chaos is attempting to obliterate such differences.

Group members try to change, convert, or fix each other.

Interactions between people are reactive, thoughtless, even disrespectful or provocative. The temptation is high for the group to break down into factions, for group members to talk about, rather than to, each other, and for at least some members to want to quit the group to escape the conflict. At this stage, many groups do, in fact, self-destruct.

Recognizing that this stage of chaos is, like the dark night, a necessary part of birthing true community can give us the courage, strength, and willingness to stay with the process, and move into the third stage of the community-building process.

3. Emptiness If a group is able to hang in together through the unpleasantness of the chaos stage, without either selfdestructing or retreating back into pseudocommunity, it begins to enter the stage of emptiness. FCE describes this stage this way:5 “This is a stage of hard, hard work, a time when the members work to empty themselves of everything that stands between them and community. And that is a lot. Many of the things that must be relinquished or sacrificed with integrity are virtual human universals: prejudices, snap judgments, fixed expectations, the desire to convert, heal, or fix, the urge to win, the fear of looking like a fool, the need to control. Other things may be exquisitely personal: hidden griefs, hatreds, or terrors that must be confessed, made public, before the individual can be fully ‘present’ to the group. It is a time of risk and courage, and while it often feels relieving, it also often feels like dying.”

Another way to think of this part of the process is that each member of the group must ask themselves, “How am I contributing to this collective space being less than safe for everyone?” and then to look within themselves with deep honesty for the kinds of attitudes and behaviors described above. Having discovered their part in the chaos stage, the obvious next question is, “Am I willing to let that go? And am I willing to do whatever inner work I need to do to be able to release those attitudes and behaviors?”

Rarely is the work of this stage dramatic or quick; often it is agonizingly prolonged. One or two members of the group may risk expressing themselves with a real depth of vulnerability and authenticity, only to have another member who becomes frightened by this depth switch the subject to something superficial. The group may bounce back into temporary chaos. But with a sufficient commitment to selfhonesty, courage, and compassion, the group as a whole begins to deepen in its capacity to listen, and the emptying process continues. Eventually, it becomes “sufficiently empty for a kind of miracle to occur.”5 4. Community This miracle is the emergence of authentic community. FCE describes this stage this way:5 “At this point a member will speak of something particularly poignant and authentic. Instead of retreating from it, the group now sits in silence, absorbing it. Then a second member will quietly say something equally authentic. She may not even respond to the first member, but one does not get the feeling he has been ignored; rather, it feels as if the second member has gone up and laid herself on the altar alongside the first. The silence returns, and out of it, a third member will speak with eloquent appropriateness. Community has been born.”

When a group moves into true community, the change is palpable. Both a spirit of peace and an enlivening energy of creative possibility pervades the space. In the group, as Scott Peck wrote, there is,

“… more silence, yet more of worth gets said.

It is like music. The people work together with an exquisite sense of timing, as if they were a finely tuned orchestra under the direction of an invisible celestial conductor. Many actually sense the presence of God in the room. … now that it is a community it is ready to go to work - making decisions, planning, negotiating, and so on - often with phenomenal efficiency and effectiveness.”6 Understanding the general sequence of movement through these stages of building community can be a useful framework for people facilitating community formation and development to hold as a backdrop to whatever challenges arise through the development and work of the group, as well as offering a powerful vision of what is possible in terms of working together.

Conclusion No matter how many times I have witnessed authentic community being born and coming to fruition, it never feels to me like less than a miracle. While it inevitably involves hard work, there is also a simplicity and naturalness to it that I find both humbling and inspiring. This description by Buddhist meditation teacher Jack Kornfield captures the simple, yet miraculous nature of community so beautifully: The patrons sit at a communal log table and each finds before his place a modest bottle of wine.

Before the meal begins, a man will pour his wine not into his own glass but into his neighbor’s. And his neighbor will return the gesture, filling the first man’s empty glass. In an economic sense, nothing has happened. No one has any more wine than he did to begin with. But a loving community has appeared where there was none before.7 Rev. Diane Berke, PhD, is Founder & Spiritual Director, One Spirit Learning Alliance/One Spirit Interfaith Seminary. Diane holds a Master’s Degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s Degree in psychology from Yale University, and a PhD in therapeutic counseling. She was co-founder and Senior Minister of the Interfaith Fellowship and is well-versed in the world’s spiritual traditions, psychology, and the Course in Miracles. Ordained as an Interfaith minister in 1988, Diane became a leading figure in Interfaith education, serving as a dean and faculty member at The New Seminary for ten years before becoming its Director from 1998 to 2002. Diane is a psychotherapist and spiritual counselor in private practice for over 25 years, as well as an inspiring teacher for over 20 years. Diane has authored many articles and several books including Love Always Answers and The Gentle Smile.

References 1. Anodea Judith, Waking the Global Heart.

2. Parker Palmer, Healing the Heart of Democracy.

3. From “The Joy of Community,” an Interview with M. Scott Peck in Living 3. Together, the journal of the Context Institute, Summer 1991, p. 26.

4. This model of community building was developed by M. Scott Peck and is taught by 3. the Foundation for Community Encouragement (FCE). To learn more or to participate 3. in a community-building workshop experience, visit their website, 3. www.fce-community.org.

5. The Foundation for Community Encouragement website, 3. www.fce-community.org, “Stages of Community Building.”

6. M. Scott Peck, A World Waiting to be Born.

7. Jack Kornfield, The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

United Palace

of Spiritual Arts

An Inclusive Spiritual Community in Upper Manhattan

Exploring the world’s enduring spiritual and religious traditions, celebrating great art and entertainment; Opening Hearts, Expanding Minds, Changing the World.

By Rev. Dr. José M. Román Spiritual Counselor at United Palace

pirit is consciousness expressing itself, changing, evolving, manifesting as creation and communicating itself as love. Spirit is a deep Oneness expressed as rich diversity. Spirit is a remarkable web of Being into which we are invited and of which we are an expression.

In our modern world it’s nothing short of amazing the way Spirit is showing up and transforming old ways into new patterns of life and new forms of community. Nowhere in New York City do you experience that more vividly than at the United Palace (www.unitedpalace.org). The fourth largest theater in Manhattan sitting nearly 3400 people, the United Palace of Spiritual Arts is a transformational organization that fuses, in new and extraordinary ways, culture, entertainment, the arts, and spirituality.

Speak to anyone about the Palace and they will tell you that it is more than just an extraordinary place situated in the heart of New York City; it is a center of spiritual celebration, creative expression, and personal growth. It is a place with a rich history of interspiritual exploration and interfaith understanding. It is a place committed to expanding and transforming human consciousness by fusing the arts and entertainment (see www.unitedpalace.org/upca) with the highest forms of science and spirituality (www.unitedpalace. org/uphi).

Located in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan (4140 Broadway New York, NY 10033), United Palace brilliantly mirrors its surrounding community, a community that enjoys profound ethnic and racial diversity, along with a rich mixture of houses of worship, religious organizations, and spiritual traditions.

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As a result the Palace is a place deeply committed to diversity and inclusion in all its rich and challenging forms.

It is impossible to explore and celebrate the world’s varied spiritual and religious traditions without acknowledging and respecting the complex racial, ethnic, geographic, cultural, and historic variations that lie at the core of these traditions.

At the United Palace there is a commitment to cultivate a spirit that welcomes diversity because such a spirit is an unconditional requirement to achieve an open heart. And without such a heart, the soul will always find foreign the transformative wisdom born of the world’s many religious and spiritual traditions. At a recent spiritual service at the Palace the presiding minister said it clearly: “A closed heart always leads to a barren soul…and such a soul is unworthy of one’s divine dignity!” At the United Palace people are committed to finding, expressing, and celebrating that divine dignity!

Since its opening in 1930 as one of five Lowes’ “Wonder Theaters," United Palace has been a sanctuary for first-rate entertainment, hosting community events and programming, inspiring individuals to reconnect with their most authentic selves and with each other. The United Palace was brilliantly designed by noted architect Thomas Lamb (who also did the Cort Theatre, the former Ziegfeld Theatre) with interiors overseen by decorative specialist Harold Rambusch (who was also responsible for the Waldorf Astoria and Radio City Music Hall). The genius of this design and the building’s wonderful history was formally recognized in 2016 when the United Palace was designated a landmark building.

From the early vaudeville performances to today’s film screenings, concerts, and life-transforming community

As an inclusive spiritual community, the United Palace seeks to cultivate compassion, wisdom, and peace through spiritual practices born of the enduring wisdom traditions, sacred service, and joyous connection to spirit through music, arts, and entertainment.

To make this a living statement, the Palace is also considering the adoption of what it calls a Code of Compassion. This Code, inspired by Karen Armstrong’s work, is meant to help guide the community towards a deeper level of personal integrity and communal relationship. It reads: Compassion is one of the core principles of the world’s enduring religious and spiritual traditions. Asking us to see and treat others as we would like to be seen and treated ourselves, compassion requires us to commit ourselves to a life of inner and outer peace and non-violence. Such a life is dedicated to sacred acts of service that seeks to alleviate the suffering of others. Compassion asserts the dignity of every human person, treating everyone with deep respect and justice.

Compassion calls us to recognize the ineffable value of life, the necessity of profound diversity, and the interconnected and interdependence of all creation. In community the Code of Compassion requires us: • To treat each other with loving-kindness, dignity, •and respect services and conferences, United Palace has had a simple goal: empower the mind, heart, and spirit to be free and whole; help every person to become his/her best and highest version in a constantly changing world.

In 1969 the church served by Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, better known as Reverend Ike, bought the theater. One of televangelism’s pioneers, Rev. Ike evolved an interfaith message that was ahead of its time, as well as a theology of empowerment and personal dignity that was profoundly transformative to many in the community.

Recently the United Palace brought in a new leadership team, led by Rev. Heather Shea, who serves as CEO and Spiritual Director. Rev. Shea is an ordained interspiritual/interfaith minister, experienced non-profit manager, and trained performing artist. Under her leadership the new United Palace team has continued the development of a spiritual community that is grounded in an inclusive vision of the spiritual life, and an expansive understanding of the religious wisdom that can nurture that life. In today’s United Palace the spiritual and the scientific joins the arts and entertainment to celebrate the ineffable mystery that is life in this cosmos.

• To nurture the joy of loving-friendship, inclusion, •equity, and justice, celebrating diversity and •difference • To promote the art of listening and •compassionate communication, resolving •conflicts through courageous dialogue, grounded •in mutual respect and honesty • To create an environment that causes no harm, •empty of prejudice, bigotry, and bias • To provide for personal and communal growth, •evolution, and healing • To refrain from gossip, personal attacks, injury of •any kind, and us-them thinking

Notably the United Palace community is holding steadfast to an inclusive spiritual vision at a time of resurgent tribalism, where religious, ethnic, and racial differences have become reasons for heightened fear, distrust, division, anger, hate, and violence. In fact the United Palace community continues to create a space that defines differences (especially spiritual and religious differences) as gifts to be respected, shared, understood, and celebrated. At the United Palace the world’s enduring religions and spiritualties are explored as pathways to healing, human dignity, community, compassion, wisdom, and transformation.

Recently the United Palace community, which meets every Sunday at noon, adopted the following as our statement of belief: 32

Spotlight on Transformative Communities At the heart of the United Palace is the desire to be a catalyst of higher consciousness. In a recent statement the community asserted: We awaken wonder, joy, and freedom across the human experience. We are servant leaders—to our community, our city, and like-minded thinkers around the world.

United Palace is an illuminating space and a global stage for transformation. Together, we awaken and nourish the light that lives within us all.”

Guided by the creativity that arises from divinity, United Palace touches the universal and inspires the individual.

We bring to life magic and enchantment, in stirring the spirit and reawakening our sense of curiosity in the world; we explore the limitless bounds of human experience through the creative interplay of artistic expression and spirituality.

In service of this vision the Palace has developed an array of powerful programs that bring to the public the world’s enduring wisdom teachings and best contemporary thinkers:

• Every Sunday at noon the United Palace of Spiritual

Arts hosts an inclusive spiritual service that looks to all the world’s spiritual and religious traditions for insights and wisdom on the human condition, with music under the direction of United Palace Artistic Music Director, Anwar Robinson. Every week the service is also livestreamed: www.unitedpalace.org/live-stream

• On the last Sunday of every month, at 3pm, United

Palace hosts Open Heart Conversations (www. unitedpalace.org/programs-c2/open-heart-conversations).

This program invites experienced teachers and respected leaders from all the world’s enduring wisdom traditions to come and share their faith and teachings, helping to foster a deeper understanding of our shared humanity, and a profound appreciation of the richness of paths to healing, growth, and transformation that exist in the world today.

• Here is the schedule for this coming year: º º º º

August (8/26/18) – African Spiritualty September (9/30/18) – Judaism October (10/28/18) – Islam November (11/25/18) – Christianity

• United Palace hosts renowned guests in special event programs, such as cosmologist, planetary healer, futurist, and author Dr. Jude Currivan who led Living in the Universal Heart earlier this summer and Jean Houston, Ph.D., scholar, philosopher and researcher in Human Capacities, and one of the foremost visionary thinkers and doers of our time, who led a team of major teachers in a program entitled: Social Artistry in Action in July.

Upcoming in February 2019, the United Palace is hosting UNITY EARTH in a special event of The Road to 2020, one of a global series of public events held in New York City; Crestone, Colorado; Delhi, India; in the Australian outback for the return of Mungo Man; and U Day Ethiopia at the African Union with the United Religions Initiative and other partners. These powerfully transformational events are all building up to the climactic Caravan of Unity across the United States in September 2020.

• The Spiritual Arts Manor is United Palace’s parsonage and retreat house in upstate New York. An active part of its ministry, this beautiful venue has provided an intimate teaching setting for some of the world’s leading voices in the emergent interfaith, interspiritual, and evolutionary consciousness movements such as renowned author and creative thinker Jean Houston and Margaret Nash (Peggy) Rubin, founding director of the Center for Sacred Theatre in Ashland, Oregon and Lynne McTaggert, best-selling author, journalist, and lecturer, and one of the world’s foremost authorities on intention, spirituality and the new science.

• United Palace also provides a brilliant array of cultural and artistic programming, and entertainment. Meant to 33

enrich and enliven the life of the community the United Palace serves, all the programs are reviewed to ensure they align with the institution’s mission and values. (See www.unitedpalace.org/upca). From old movies to dance performances and music concerts, all the way to a lobby series that brings into the Palace some of Washington Heights’ most brilliant artists, United Palace treats arts, entertainment, and culture as pathways to Spirit and personal transformation. As the United Palace community loves to say, creativity is divinity!

At a time of challenging chaos and transformational opportunity, the United Palace means to redefine “worship," “congregation," and even “art” in the modern world. The United Palace is creating a space where people come and participate in a community defined by rich and deep diversity, love of spiritual and scientific exploration, and the sheer joy of artistic and cultural celebration. It is a place characterized by a joyful and hopeful YES to all of life.

At the United Palace people are invited to experience the richness of religions and spiritualties with which they may be unfamiliar. The hope is that they will see different religions and spiritualties living and dialoguing in harmony, and will soon experience some of the profound unity that lies at the heart of their mystical paths. Through community, dialogue, teachings, music and the arts, the United Palace is redefining the experience of worship, as people learn to celebrate spirit in ways that will be new, inclusive, powerful, and transformational.

In all its work the United Palace seeks to foster interfaith understanding and respect. It will expand people’s understanding of faith traditions and spiritualties they do not know or may misunderstand and even fear. By providing a forum where people will meet, talk, and learn about traditions alien to them, the United Palace seeks to destroy stereotypes, end misunderstandings, and provide the bases for further dialogue, learning, friendship and community… these are true pathways to expanded consciousness and a healed planet. These are some of the reasons why the United Palace is fast becoming one of New York’s premier centers of interfaith dialogue and action, interspiritual exploration, and multicultural celebration. We intend to change the world, one consciousness at a time. Come join us!

Rev. Dr. José Miguel Román Spiritual Counsel, United Palace Rev. Dr. José Miguel Román serves as Minister and Spiritual Counselor at the United Palace in New York City. He is a graduate of the City University of New York (BS and MS degrees in Economics) and New York University School of Law and receiving his Juris Doctor. His entire professional life has been dedicated to public service. In the past 30 years, José has worked globally on numerous issues: youth development, LGBT civil rights, HIV/AIDS, vaccine research, and international emergency relief and development.

Rev. Dr. Román is an Assistant Vice President at New York University, serving as one of the institutions senior research administrators. He has served on numerous Boards, including the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and the Board of Trustees of the oldest and largest Interfaith seminary in the United States, One Spirit Interfaith Seminary. He also serves as the Co-chair of the National LGBT Advisory Board of Democratic Party.

He was formally ordained an Interfaith/Interspiritual minister and in 2016 he received his Doctorate in Ministry at the New York Theological Seminary. In his capacity as an Interfaith Minister, Rev. Dr. Román serves a diverse population in Upper Manhattan and has developed programming that has brought Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and African and Native American spiritual communities together in fellowship.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

Contemplative Life: Meeting the Needs Created by the Religious/Spiritual Paradigm Shift

By Jeff Genung

We have seen the impact of disruptive innovation across the spectrum of business in the last decade. Traditional industry leaders have often been caught flat-footed, failing to respond fast enough to the changing needs of the people they serve. This is especially true for today’s religious and spiritual institutions. They are ripe for transformation, as are the systems by which religious and spiritual people access information and build community.

The most forward-looking, awake, and creative participants in this dynamic era must step forward to help others navigate the sea-change on the horizon with truly innovative ideas and technologies.

The means of transmitting sacred wisdom has remained largely unchanged for centuries, even while significant cultural shifts render the old religious models increasingly obsolete. Millennnials are a major driving force of this change as they walk away from organized religion in droves. An ongoing Pew Research Center study reveals that 24 percent of adults in the United States have no religious preference or affiliation—a number that has actually tripled in sized since the 1990s. Sometimes referred to as the “Nones” due to the box they check on religious surveys, this is the fastest-growing group in the U.S. and includes over one-third of adults under 30. This is not surprising when you consider that Millennials represent the largest generation in American history and, like most everything else in their world, they approach religion and spirituality on their own terms.

Although this trend is remarkable, it doesn’t tell the whole story. "Not religiously affiliated" does not necessarily mean "not spiritual.” In fact, when this same group of people is asked if they consider themselves spiritual, they overwhelmingly say yes. The growing number of “spiritual but not religious” people (SBNR) seek something that is authentic, meaningful, and experiential, more often in the form of a practice rather than a creed. This need is evidenced in the growing interest in mindfulness, yoga, and various religious and secular meditation practices. Practices once considered on the fringe have now entered the main stream, while previous norms have become increasingly archaic.

Millennials tend to be data driven, results oriented, and willing to act if the benefits of a given action are clear. And so, they are drawn to Contemplative practices that have the capacity to transform. Scientific and sociological research provides compelling evidence of the benefits of deep and sustained practice. Better yet, first-hand experience supports these findings for people who decide to conduct their own personal experiments. But here’s the problem: when it comes to transformative practice, there’s no one-size-fits-all. With thousands of practices to choose from and experiment with, it’s confusing to know which ones to choose. The right practice for a person depends on many factors: Are you in crisis or are you in flow? Are you primarily a head, heart, or body person?

Are you just beginning to experiment or have you been practicing for decades?

These questions, followed by practical and logistical dilemmas associated with finding the support of a solid, trustworthy community and qualified teachers, can leave people stranded, stalled, or completely paralyzed in their quest for transformation.

Having a regular practice is much like having a healthy diet and regular exercise. Most people recognize the value of such a commitment, but few actually take the initiative to develop a daily practice. It’s a process that takes discipline to sustain and deepen over time, and we all need help along the way.

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This is why I co-founded a non-profit organization and digital platform called ContemplativeLife.org. C-Life serves as a digital hub that brings a diverse range of transformative practices under one umbrella to help people connect with the practices and communities they’ve been searching for.

The vision for C-Life was greatly influenced by my dear friend and mentor Brother Wayne Teasdale. A deeply contemplative sage and great modern-day mystic, Brother Wayne had a vision of the future that is truly “interspiritual”, a word he coined in his seminal book, The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions. Although he died at the young age of 59 in 2004, he left a legacy of wisdom in his many writings and touched the lives of countless people around the world with his love, humor, and vision. Even while battling cancer, he pushed the spiritual/religious paradigm forward to make room for the significant shift we’re currently experiencing. In his now famous words: “The real religion of humankind can be said to be spirituality itself…We might also say that interspirituality—the sharing of ultimate experiences across traditions— is the religion of the third millennium.” (The Mystic Heart, 1999, p. 26) Brother Wayne’s vision is both a harbinger of and an inspiration to the vision unfolding at Contemplative Life and throughout the interspiritual movement.

Navigating Contemplative Life

So, in alignment with Brother Wayne’s focus on the future, the Contemplative Life platform was designed and built by and for millennials.

It has a simple and elegant user interface that offers users a safe space to learn about new practices and connect with practice leaders and communities representing all paths and traditions. In addition to the current web platform, we’re launching a Contemplative Life Community, a private social network that enables members to collaborate and build community with others of like mind without the noise, cross talk, and distractions associated with mainstream social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Contemplative Life exists to meet the changing needs of those involved in the global spiritual revolution currently under way. We welcome your participation and invite you to become part of this evolving community.

Navigating Contemplative Life Contemplative Life has recently joined the UNITY EARTH network.

Here are some links that may be of interest to you: Navigating Contemplative Life Contemplative Practices Contemplative Life Community Contemplative Life Newsletter A Contemplative Life Jeff Genung is co-founder and President of Contemplative Life, a non-profit technology company that helps connect people and communities with transformative practices. He also serves on the board of The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, a pioneer in bringing contemplative pedagogy to higher education. Jeff has spent decades studying and teaching contemplative practices that apply to many areas human life and experience. He is currently focused on developing technology solutions that can enable people to find and integrate transformative practices into their life and easily connect with others with like mind. Jeff has a BS in Business from Cornell University and lives with his family in Austin, Texas.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

Spiritual Community in the 21st Century: Growing a Garden of Light What is spiritual community? For starters, it’s a contradiction in terms, since our spirituality is perhaps the most interior aspect of ourselves that can’t ever be fully communicated, whereas community is an outward cultural experience that is by definition shared with others. When we imagine our ancestors living in tribal clans, there was no question of community: our kin were our life. We lived deeply connected to nature and everyone around us looked similar to us, spoke like us and worshipped the same way. Our spirituality and our community were inseparably intertwined.

As our modern world emerged through conflict and conquest, clans merged into empires and the great religions came into being as codified systems of belief shared by people of different languages and cultures. You can join a religion, by consent or by force. As travel became faster and accessible to more people, we began to have some choice in where we lived, unthinkable in our tribal past. We could choose to leave the clan behind and start an independent life. In many parts of the world we could choose our religion.

But all of this individual choice was at the expense of community and of the once-secure foundation of our spirituality. Interfaith dialogue began in earnest in 1893 and grew throughout the 20th century. In the age of the Internet and the jet plane, the wisdom of the great spiritual and religious traditions has become available to all seekers. For the first time in history as we know it, the average person is 37

able to carve out his or her own spiritual path. What is most remarkable is that in this “spiritual marketplace” so disdained by organized religions, common values are emerging.

Those who are delving into their spirituality and embracing these shared values are likely to be holding multi-level cultural identities cobbled from nationality, language, race, religion, and many smaller community identities, such as schools, political parties, clubs, interest groups, preferred entertainment, taste in consumer goods, and many more.

All of these mini-identities can leave us feeling fragmented, which is often the trade-off for the freedom gained in leaving behind the kind of homogeneous community that may have felt stifling to our personal growth and expression.

Now even close family members may live halfway across the planet.

And yet Catholic nuns sitting in Zen meditation, Jews chanting Vedic mantras at their yoga classes, descendants of European conquerors participating in rigorous Native American Sundance ceremonies, and towns grieving tragedies together at interfaith services are actually forming a community of belief around a number of shared principles. A perfect example of this is the growing acknowledgement that the Golden Rule is expressed in all the major world religions and its value is disputed by none. Those on a contemporary spiritual path tend to agree that they are responsible for their lives, they pay more attention to what they eat and what healing modalities they choose, and they are recognizing the importance of living in harmony with nature. They are seeing the Divine in one another. They are seeking out spiritual community in various ways, such as meditation classes and online events. But this community as yet does not have a name, an established dogma or any standardized way of meeting, and maybe it never will.

The Garden of Light was established at www.gardenoflight. org to create a home for this movement, a place to explore what the shared beliefs and practices may be, and to assure those who resonate with it that they are not alone. As the rapidly growing spiritual community becomes visible, it will become more powerful in the world, a positive contagion that welcomes everyone into its ever-expanding embrace.

The impulse behind the emergent spirituality is no less than the enticing siren song of evolution itself. At this moment, when we are moving inevitably toward a global civilization, we are being called to recognize that we are all one human family sharing one planetary home. The spiritual community that celebrates this truth is pushing us toward our next place on the evolutionary spiral, where we are once again a single tribe—this time appreciating our diversity—that shares our resources, stewards our habitat with care, and lives from the heart-based values we all share. Attaining this global culture of peace will be the greatest achievement for all humanity and could be the only way to marshal enough collective creativity to save our species from the looming effects of climate change. And perhaps there is more. Humankind learning to live with full awareness into the wholeness of our interconnected matrix of life on Earth may be just the invitation that other civilizations in our vast universe are waiting to receive before they come knocking on our door.

What is spiritual community in the 21st century? It may just be the call of our time.

Reprinted with permission from Paul McKenna. Available online at: www.scarboromissions.ca

Rev. Deborah Moldow is an ordained interfaith minister committed to assisting in the transformation of human consciousness. She is the founder of the Garden of Light, an online platform for the emerging global spirituality.

Deborah is Co-Director of the Evolutionary Leaders circle, a project of the Source of Synergy Foundation. She served for 22 years as the Representative to the United Nations of the World Peace Prayer Society and the prayer “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” Rev. Deborah leads monthly Interfaith Sundays at the Chapel at Croton Falls and is a Creative Consultant at UNITY EARTH. 38

Spotlight on Transformative Communities

The Oracle Institute Valley of Light Community

by Rev. Laura George, JD

The “Messages” started after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Back then, I was an attorney and a divorced mother of three young children. We were living on a farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, where we enjoyed a charmed life complete with horses, cows, gardens, and home of my dreams. All that was about to change…

Pentagon (one-half complete). Our Campus also contains two homes for residents, a guest house and campground for visitors, the “Turtle Island” labyrinth, and the “Peace Pole Medicine Wheel,” among other amenities.

We broke ground on the Peace Pentagon in June 2012, at the end of a rare 243-year Venus transit. Indeed, the “Plant of Love” plays a symbolic role in the Oracle story, as our icon—the Pentacle—is made by Venus every eight years.

The first Message instructed me to quit my job and write a book entitled The Truth: About the Five Primary Religions.

The next Message instructed me to start The Oracle Institute, an interfaith educational charity. Later Messages informed me that I would write two more books: The Love and The Light. The final Message (a vision, actually) provided full architectural designs for the “Peace Pentagon” – a structure I was to build and which would become Oracle’s headquarters.

Early in this journey, I sought the services of a psychiatrist, as my family and friends thought I had lost my mind!

Fortunately (and synchronically), my psychiatrist was a retired Catholic priest. Lovingly, he said to me, “The Messages are telling you to write books about Truth, Love, and Light – not shoot up a post office. I bless you and release you, my daughter.” And then I kicked into high gear, acquiring land in Independence, which is a small town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.

Today, the Oracle Campus is comprised of 22 acres along the New River, which some geologists believe is the oldest river in the world. The heart of the Campus is the Peace 39

The sacred geometry of the Peace Pentagon is based on our cherished numbers 5 and 11. The exterior of the building is a perfect pentagon, as is the interior chapel. In 2015, we officially launched “Oracle Temple,” a multi-faith church that meets once a month in the Peace Pentagon.

Our church and chapel are dedicated to spiritual unity among the five primary religions: Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.

In 2015, we also launched the “Valley of Light” community.

Our name honors our location in the New River Valley and the Federation of Damanhur in Italy—the “City of Light”— which we consider our muse and model for communal success.

With 600 residents, Damanhur is a “full-spectrum” community.

Their temples are routinely called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” We are proud to have a relationship with Damanhur, which includes publishing The Three Books of the Initiate, written by founder and mystic Oberto “Falco” Airaudi.

The Valley of Light community also is based on the “Wheel of Co-Creation” designed by visionary Barbara Marx Hubbard, who visited our Campus after the “Building the New World Conference,” which featured Charles Eisenstein, Kurt Johnson, Philip Hellmich, Paul Chappell, and Amy Edelstein.

The Valley of Light has five “Paths of Perfection” – Paths of the Peacemaker, Native, Artisan, Scientist, and Oracle.

Colored sashes indicate our member’s level of experience

in the community: white for an Initiate, black for Sojourner, red for Apprentice, green for Lightbearer, and purple for Wayshower.

We also utilized the Damanhur Constitution as a template for our own. The five resident members who manage the Valley of Light are called “Sages,” and they operate in the same manner as the Damanhur “King” and “Queen Guides.” Truly, we have invoked the power of myth, magic, and archetype into every facet of our community.

Indeed, the Valley of Light employs every one of the “Seven Principles for Belonging” identified in Charles Vogl’s Art of Community: shared spiritual values, story, symbols, temple, ritual, initation, and paths for growth. We welcome Second Tier souls to join us in this adventure of a lifetime!

Rev. Laura George, JD Rev. Laura George, JD, is the Executive Director of The Oracle Institute, a 501(c)(3) educational charity that operates a multi-faith spirituality school, an award-winning publishing house, and a national peacebuilding practice. Laura is the author of the Oracle Institute Trilogy: The Truth: About the Five Primary Religions; The Love: Of the Fifth Spiritual Paradigm; and The Light: And the New Human. The Oracle Campus is located in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia along the New River—the oldest river in America. In 2015, Laura founded a micro-community called the “Valley of Light” in honor of Damanhur, the “City of Light.” Currently, the community is building the “Peace Pentagon”—their headquarters and first temple dedicated to a Culture of Peace.

www.TheOracleInstitute.org * www.PeacePentagon.net

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

Creating Community Through Song When Everyone Is the Choir

by Ruth Broyde Sharone, creator of INTERFAITH: The Musical

After 30 years of activism, I had come to the conclusion that as devoted as we might be and as much as the interfaith movement has grown nationally and internationally—we still haven't reached our largest audience: "mainstream." Like it or not, I told myself, peace activists are still on the fringes and there is still a dearth of understanding about people outside of our own tribal communities and a troublesome lack of recognition of our shared humanity and common spiritual heritage.

That message alighted on my doorstep in a very personal way recently, through dialogue with a new friend, Martin, a very intelligent, highly-educated and well-traveled architect. I met Martin at a Salon on the Spiritually Creative Life, founded 22 years ago by Carol Soucek King. The theme that September morning was "Harmony." Carol had asked me to share several songs from a new musical I was writing. Martin listened to the songs, bought my CD, played it five times when he got home, and then called me to say how much he enjoyed the music and how it reminded him of the musical "HAIR," because

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it reflected the zeitgeist of our times and the contemporary theme of multiculturalism.

After learning about my long-standing work in the interfaith and inter-spiritual worlds, Martin asked me to explain what those terms meant. He listened, fascinated. I spoke about my long- time collaboration and interaction with many spiritual and religious communities, including the local Muslim community. At that point Martin sheepishly confessed he had never heard of "interfaith" before he met me and, also, he had never met a Muslim.

The first Muslim I personally introduced to Martin only days later was my Bangladeshi friend of 15 years, Omar Huda, who joined us in my garden for a Jewish holiday celebration of Succoth. The two men immediately hit it off. Martin was very pleased and perhaps even a bit surprised.

Martin's curiosity was now peaked. Curious to find out if he himself was the only one "out of touch" with our country's

current religious/social/political reality, Martin decided to conduct an informal survey among the members of his weekly networking group in Los Angeles—who represent more than 50 different professions.

All of the members of that group are socially active as well as being hard-working professionals committed to meeting as many new client prospects as possible. Together they probably encounter a minimum of 250 new people every week. Martin completed his informal survey among them and among his personal friends and architectural colleagues and returned to report the shocking (to me) news that only one person knew what interfaith engagement meant and that person happened to be a Pastor.

After all of my years of activism, I was forced to acknowledge that we had achieved considerable less influence on the world at large than I imagined. This in the light of daily news and broadcasts inundated with reports about religious conflict and hate crimes. As a result, many interfaith organizations have stepped up their activities urging teach-ins, solidarity marches and peace vigils. Spiritual retreats and Burning Maninspired festivals such as Lighting In A Bottle are advertised everywhere, especially on the Web. Many offer Indianstyle Kirtan music, yoga instruction, mindfulness practice, techniques for awakening consciousness, and workshops to prepare vegan and vegetarian cuisine. But to what avail, I wondered.

Spiritual enlightenment is not a new concept. So why then do so few people seem to know about our work and how can we reach the mainstream? And when oh when can we expect to reach the "tipping point," described by social commentator Malcolm Gladwell as the moment when critical mass is achieved causing the entire world to instantaneously transform?

I have always believed the arts to be the most powerful vehicle to convey the core message of our shared humanity, a message I jubilantly advocate with anyone and everyone who is willing to listen, as my friends know. As a writer and filmmaker, until now I was most at home expressing myself through the written word and cinematographic images. But I have now decided the best way to reach out and touch mainstream is through musical theater.

That revelation first occurred about four years ago when, inexplicably, the interfaith message I wanted to share suddenly came to me in song. During my daily walks I started to hear melodies in my head that seemed to erupt, complete with lyrics, like fully-formed children.

No one was more surprised than I. The first song that popped out was openly playful.

What if, when you awoke, you were wearing a stranger’s shoes?

What If, when you awoke, you shared your enemy’s extremist views?

What if, when you awoke, you’d think in color -–not black or white?

What if, when you awoke, you could imagine not being right!

Where was it all coming from? I felt I was being enlisted to promote the collective creative genius of many souls who were standing in line on the other side of the Great Divide wanting to share their songwriting gifts with me. The music was being channeled and I was the lucky recipient.

Next came the chorus...

What if . . .what if . . . what if we all could see . . .

The beauty of one expanding humanity?

By the time I finished my walk, some 20 minutes later, I had a complete song in my head. I would polish it slightly, in the days to come, but most of the original lyrics remained intact, such as: 42

Spotlight on Transformative Communities What if Mormons could recite a Buddhist mantra and feel at ease?

What if Muslims could admire the Hindu's tantric expertise?

What if Jews could tell the difference between Peter, Paul, and Mark?

And the faithful would confess that they too fear the dark?

What if, through song, we could help people explore ideas and philosophies that seemed strange and foreign to them? The juxtaposition of unlikely religious and political combinations that were popping up made me laugh out loud.

What if Witnesses of Jehovah could quote Upanishads?

What if Buddhists would grant the existence of One or many gods?

What if Sikhs agreed to master a few Gregorian chants?

And leftists would try on a pair of right-wing pants?

The final verse of “What If” seemed to encompass my own unrequited dream of the future.

What if, when we awoke, we could practice empathy?

What if, when we awoke, we could embrace diversity?

What if we could see ourselves as the lilies of the field?

What if, when we awoke, we were ready to be healed?

In the two years that followed, I wrote almost 30 songs, which included both serious and amusing lyrics. I was eager to use the songs to explore the clashes in belief that profoundly affect people’s lives on a daily basis and also to be able to poke fun at our foibles and idiosyncrasies.

The song “I’m a Bu-Jew” became a musing about friends of mine who I observed successfully practicing two distinct religions simultaneously—with no noticeable deleterious side-effects. Hadn’t we been told that was impossible?

I'm a Bu-Jew I emulate the Buddha and his world view

I like to meditate and then to argue

I agonize all day, a true Jew I shared my songs with my friend Yuval Ron, an internationally known composer-musician and founder of an interfaith ensemble. “You’re writing a musical,” he said. “Did you know that?”

I hadn’t noticed that although I recognized my desire to reach out to mainstream America, beyond the usual suspects. In retrospect, I was mostly eager to attract new people who had never heard about the interfaith or inter-spiritual movements.

I felt sure they would be willing to be entertained by a musical performance with a great story, and so I began to concoct an interfaith story about love and longing, about hope and doubt, about conflict and fulfillment. Perhaps people who had no direct knowledge of interfaith matters could be drawn into an auditorium where, through the irresistible power of music and the theater arts, they could first acknowledge—then celebrate—the scope and beauty of our diversity.

Yuval introduced me to KC Daugirdas, a very talented young arranger who collaborated with me for a year and helped me record an album of 11 songs. (www.interfaiththemusical.com).

Last summer three of the songs were performed publicly in Balboa Park, San Diego, by the Adat Shalom Choir, as part of the 2018 North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) Connect. My involvement with the choir and their community as they prepared to perform the songs publicly helped me realize that I now had the capacity to reach mainstream and simultaneously advance the interfaith movement. youtu.be/xr0QHvdZ76w Let's Make Room at the Table youtu.be/5YRsbD95Cvw We Have More in Common Than We Knew youtu.be/4CepA-6IYa8 Meet Me There As the album gained traction, one of the most popular songs turned out to be "Spiritual But Not Religious." It was inspired by my friend, Interfaith Minister Doris W. Davis, who likes to refer to herself as a free-lance mystic.

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I don’t need your dogma to know that God exists I don’t need good karma to know that life persists I don’t need a mantra to lead me to my bliss

Because I’m a transcendent, independent, first amendment, free-lance mystic.

I had written those lyrics influenced by reports from the Pew Foundation indicating that 40% of young people and 20% of the adult population consider themselves "spiritual but not religious." I was convinced they needed their own theme song.

I don’t make decisions to fit majority view I don’t trust religions that keep me far from you I have inner visions and, trust me, you do too Because I’m a transcendent, independent, first amendment, free-lance mystic.

I don't need confessing because you have complaints I don't need a blessing from ancient holy saints You should stop obsessing if I'm pure or if I ain't Because I’m a transcendent, independent, first amendment, free-lance mystic.

The chorus and last verse always evoked enormous laughter when the song was publicly performed. Was it the laughter of recognition?

I’m spiritual, but not religious CHORUS: OH MY GOD, SHE’S DELIRIOUS I’m spiritual, but not religious CHORUS: OH MY GOD, YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS I'm serious but not delirious.

I'm spiritual but not religious.

My abilities are prodigious, Because I’m a transcendent, independent, first amendment, free-lance mystic!

My most recent public performance was in May, billed as the main entertainment at a Pre-Parliament event held at the

University of La Verne in Pomona, California. The arranger and I performed four of the songs, and I invited the audience to join in a sing-a-long for each chorus, by following the lyrics projected on a big screen at the front of the auditorium. At the conclusion, the audience applauded vigorously, followed by total silence. The silence continued on for several moments. Everyone seemed stunned.

I looked around the room at the faces of our world. Sitting next to each other were Christians, Jews, Muslims, Cao Dai, Unitarians, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus, Brahma Kumaris, Global New Thought and atheists. I knew at that moment, without a doubt, that it is musically possible to create community and understanding through song, especially when there is no gap between the performers and the audience— when everyone is the choir. Now my goal is to create a choir with the mainstream. They will be ready to join, I believe, once they really hear the musical message, "Broadwaybound on the wings of peace."

Honored internationally for her interfaith activism and leadership, filmmaker/journalist Ruth Broyde Sharone is the creator of INTERFAITH: The Musical, “Broadway-bound on the wings of peace.” She co-chaired the Southern California Parliament of the World's Religions for 10 years and led multiple interfaith pilgrimages to Israel and Egypt. Well-known for her award-winning film God and Allah Need to Talk, her interfaith memoir, Minefields and Miracles, won three literary awards and is considered a "primer" for interfaith engagement. She is a regular correspondent for The Interfaith Observer, a contributor to The Huffington Post, and a member of Morehouse College's Martin Luther King Jr. Advisory Board.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

·

Gathering of Light i , a Thriving Interspiritual Community

by Rev. JoAnn Barrett

True transformation of self is confirmed in our relationships with others. How do we respond or react in close quarters? How do we care for wounds and hardships? How are we with being intimate at a soul level? Community is the perfect testing ground for these questions. It challenges our degree of transformation and ability to shine our light.

At the heart of all the world’s spiritual traditions, there is the mandate to create some kind of community: a sangha. In order to create community, there needs to be some binding theory or belief. However, the Interspiritual movement is one without dogma and specific rules of any kind. Gathering of light Interspiritual Fellowship has found a way to be truly Interspiritual while bridging the traditional concepts of community. This group began in 1996 in Dix Hills, New York a suburb of New York City in western Suffolk County

by Reverend JoAnn Barrett. Literally, phone calls were received requesting a space for people to gather in their light.

It was founded as a response to this desire within the area for some type of spiritual worship service in which those identifying themselves as spiritual but not religious could participate.

Thus began Gathering of Light that has as its foundation a weekly worship service. From this initial sacred space, this community provides programs that include scholastic endeavors, support groups, social activities and service outreach projects. It is able to capture all the aspects of traditional religious communities while supporting the concept that each individual participant is a unique modern mystic.

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It is a community of diverse people dedicated to ‘Higher’ consciousness who wish to maintain an environment where all can feel safe and validated while holding in their heart a very personal expression of spirituality: their light. This requires members to appreciate and respect different points of view and still work together.

It challenges one to listen to others, holding universal spiritual principles as primary in their interactions with each other. This community is filled with people who will stand by others and witness their journey for them.

John Shelby Spong, an Episcopal scholar, called for this in his book, A New Church, “We need to develop a church or a spiritual community or a faith that takes people as they are and says, ‘We’re gonna walk with you into the mystery of God. And there’s no roadmaps. We can’t tell you what you have to do. We can’t tell you what the rules are, you discover them as you go.’

And as you do that you honor people’s questions instead of pretending that you have the answers and you let people journey at different paces.“ The community is run by both Interspiritual ministers and Trustees that develop the year’s activities based on the calendar of the world’s religions and emerging spiritual traditions. The Interspiritual movement is sparked by the growing globalization and communication with all the peoples of this planet. The celebrations of us all are the callings of our hearts. The energy that is being generated during different times of the calendar year is taped into and honored. The members of the community are able to develop

specific spiritual tools and skill sets that parallel these celebrations. The change of seasons is a perfect example of this. Although the energy is flipped depending on where on the globe one finds oneself, the lesson is still some aspect of “time to change and refocus”.

The community’s ministers develop themes based on this energy. Each week the focus and flavor of the service changes to reflect this diverse wisdom.

This is done within a similar framework of songs, chants, prayers, meditation, sacred text readings, an inspirational message and inclusion of those in need. All are encouraged to participate at whatever level they are comfortable with. The opening purpose statement is “We gather here together to worship with love, to inspire and encourage each other with our spirit and through the wisdom of the world’s diverse faiths.

We commit to listen with open hearts that we might gain positive practical tools to continue to grow spiritually and enrich our personal beliefs”. Each week it ends with this statement, We are grateful for the opportunity to witness to the Divine in each other and trust that our showing up is another step towards peace on earth… All: Aloha, Om Shanti, Shalom, Salaam, Peace, Pax, Sat Sri Akal, Jai Jinendra, Blessed Be, He Ping, Amahoro, Aquene, Namaste, Pace, Ashe, Aho! Every major faith tradition is represented at least one week within the calendar year. This has organically changed throughout the years depending upon the needs of the community. Many from 12 step programs found their way to Gathering of Light and requested two services

a year exploring the influences of this spiritual program. The closing words of the service have changed over the years to incorporate the diversity of members and friends attending each week.

Holy days like Yom Kippur provide opportunities to develop the universal concept of forgiveness. Wesak can be used to promote mindfulness or compassion. Easter resurrects our souls. A celebration of the Jain master, Mahavier strengthens our commitment to nonviolence at the core level of our hearts and minds. There is a wealth of resources and opportunities to grow.

Gathering of Light will actually chant different faith chants and say prayers from all the world’s traditions and original prayers. Sacred scriptures will be read from all around the world as well. Some will whirl as we chant The emphasis is on getting to the heart.

The goal is to work together to have an experience that will move us in some way outside of our daily concerns and give us a sense of awe, wonder, connection, love; a personal experience with the Divine or a true heart space.

The key elements for Gathering of Light have been its consistency and flexibility yet maintaining a standard for inclusion and diversity. Members report feeling that they have found a place of true belonging and a space that allows for continued growth and expansion.

The workshops and classes provide opportunities for deeper exploration of items brought up in the weekly services. It is also an opportunity to address topics and skills that are beyond the scope of a one and a half hour service. Recently a small seminary has developed due to the need to have additional weekly services in other locations. Spiritual growth is continued as members can support each other through the support opportunities available. Or they can share it in the larger society with the Prayer Star program.

They can take the newly awakened skills into the larger community with

the outreach programs that have been developed. A few of these services are completely unique in the society and fill gaps in services directly to those in need, like the S.T.A.R.T.E.R. pack program. Members can relax and share their joy in social activities that spark the inner child, now experiencing life in a whole new way. This community even developed unique events for the diverse community to join together annually for inclusive sacred sound, chant, song healing, like The Voices of Faith for Peace event.

This community started in the basement of a chiropractic office and is now renting space with a Presbyterian church. It has moved locations due to space and time availability or as hosting organization’s tolerance and acceptance levels allowed. It has actively participated in prayer services in the county level to the United Nations. It has marched for inclusion of others like the LBGTQ community and for healing of issues like the opioid epidemic. It has made its name known through local and area newspapers and International newspapers including The Times of India.

As those in the seminary class complete their requirements for ordination in 2019, the availability of this organization to branch out will manifest. Weekly services with the same themes and programs can be happening simultaneously in diverse areas; even on different days of the week for those who cannot attend the Saturday morning services. Currently aspects of the service are recorded and placed on a YouTube channel. Some services are live on Facebook. The vision for Gathering of Light is to continue to grow and include and experience together, body, mind and soul. The financial focus has been to develop a building fund to within three years have a physical home base for an office and main events. The goal is to plant roots that the outreach might extend in strength continuing to gather and transform hearts and awakening souls to the light of one’s highest Self.

Rev. JoAnn Barrett, the founder of Gathering of Light Interspiritual Fellowship, was ordained in 1995 from the then New Seminary which is now One Spirit. She is the Senior Officiant/ Minister at our community and Founder and Spiritual Director of Lightpaths Wisdom Studies.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Policy, specializing in collaborating efforts with faithbased organizations and social service agencies.

She is also a certified counselor with a degree in Substance Abuse. She currently Co-Chairs Interfaith Anti-Bias Task Force of Suffolk County, and serves as member of Faith Leaders Task Force for NY State, as appointed by Governor Cuomo's staff. She has held many prestigious offices since 2003, served as member of Suffolk County Hate Crimes Task Force; Peace Island Institutes Center of Interfaith Studies advisory board; Religions for Peace Long Island (a local branch of a world-wide NGO at the United Nations) and was affiliated with, "Dignity for All Students Act" Committee, which was consequential in passing this bill in New York.

Newsday has regularly featured her in many of its publications.

Her ongoing classes in ‘A Course in Miracles,’ since 1980, have helped numerous seekers on the spiritual path. She founded many Community Service projects, under GOL's ‘LightWorks,’; Starter-Packs for the homeless families of Long Island and Bedding for Babes, are a few. She has also served as the Pastoral Care Associate for North Shore, Syosset and Huntington Hospitals, and has held the position of Clinical Director of a major Long Island Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment Center. Locally to GOL, she is a member of the Huntington Clergy Association and Leadership Huntington, and was asked to author a chapter in the well-received book, Mature Interspirituality: Wayne Teasdale's Nine Elements—and Beyond. She also has published prayers and poems with Guideposts.

She has officiated and performed hundreds of individualized wedding ceremonies in the tristate area and conducts sacraments and ceremonies for all life events. Several prestigious institutions including Stony Brook School of Social Welfare, and VA Medical Center have invited her to render spiritual and inspirational orations.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

Good of the

connections that inspire and accelerate individual and collective awakening. Each week, Dr. Julie is joined by evolutionary thought leaders and change agents from around the world, to explore social change, the generative power of conscious co-creation, and what’s emergent with health, science, spirituality, and the evolution of consciousness.

Guests include luminaries like Marianne Williamson, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Riane Eisler, Charles Eisenstein, Matthew Fox, Andrew Harvey, Joanna Macy, Neale Donald Walsch, Marilyn Schlitz, Elisabet Sahtouris, Scilla Elworthy, Elizabeth Lesser, Gregg Braden, Bruce Lipton, Jean Houston, Sharon Salzberg, Christiane Northrup, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Joe Dispenza, Jude Currivan, Kurt Johnson, and more.

W hole by the Editors

From the prairie of America’s early pioneers, Dr. Julie Krull lives and works a few miles from the geographic center of the United States, in Minden, Nebraska. Rich in the ancestral history of her forefathers and mothers, Dr. Julie turns her

pioneering spirit toward exploring the new frontiers of consciousness and worldviews. Like the historical trails that passed through the area connecting the westward expansion, Dr. Julie is trailblazing new pathways and cultivating connections of another sort. On the leading edge of personal, social and global transformation, she’s doing her part, right there in the Heartland, to connect global pioneers around the world.

Krull hosts The Dr. Julie Show: All Things Connected on Empower Radio and 12 different syndicated media platforms including iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, the Empower mobile app, and iHeartRadio. The show is making

'

Living the shows tagline, Dr. Julie also “breaks through the illusion of separation,” by building a global community that transcends boundaries. She is a Founding Steward of GOOD of the WHOLE, which serves and connects individuals and organizations who cultivate the ethos of wholeness

and advance the WholeWorld-View, from the grass roots to the evolutionary edge. “I’m blessed to belong and work with stewards who are passionate about the evolution of consciousness and midwifing a new world into being,” she said. “GOOD of the WHOLE has many dedicated and passionate mentoring stewards who come together every week to co-create a resonant field and hold the intention of love and wholeness for ourselves, humanity and the entire planet. We are a growing, global community that supports this shared mission and vision.”

GOOD of the WHOLE is more like an organism than an organization, she explained. It’s designed like a “mothership” where others can dock, fuel up, recharge, be nurtured, share, send and receive valuable information and resources. This collaborative effort is building a large repository of opensource resources available to everyone for free on the website. She noted, “No one owns GOOD of the WHOLE, and everyone owns GOOD of the WHOLE.” The Nebraska Non-Profit Corporation also provides opportunities for others to experience, embody and express their inherent wholeness. Krull, a visionary healer herself, states, “With the evolution of consciousness, it’s important

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to create visceral, embodied opportunities for all persons to really experience their true nature. The ultimate communitybuilding is in remembering who we really are—consciousness itself. We are whole beings expressing, contributing to, and in service of the greater, undivided whole. As we assist others in this remembering, we heal the world. It’s as simple as that.”

Dr. Julie said she is deeply moved by Unity Earth’s Road to 2020. She states, “The Caravan of Unity is a beautiful opportunity to raise awareness and uplift the spirit of unity across our nation, as well as the world. I find it intriguing that we are retracing the steps of the early pioneers—backwards.

It’s like coming back home to our wholeness, after our great expansion into freedom, independence and opportunity. As we travel back from west to east, we remember our inherent unity, our interdependence, and shift our consciousness from a mechanistic, materialist worldview of separation to that of our oneness and unity—nurturing and supporting the WholeWorld-View. We are settlers of a new kind of frontier now—pilgrims of the unified field. It’s time for a cosmic, multidimensional expansion as spirituality and science converge on the new trails of consciousness.”

Nearly two-hundred years after the Pony Express passed through the area, Dr. Julie is co-creating a new kind of communications hub, creating live, virtual and transmedia opportunities to deliver the new story and share a new

message. She is especially keen on using and supporting the arts and working with other social change artists. So, when the Caravan of Unity passes through from the West Coast to New York in September of 2020, Dr. Julie will be ready to support the troop of spiritual and religious leaders, artists, activists, and visionaries as they converge upon the area, traveling through with the convoy of peace.

If you’re looking for conscious community, you don’t have to look far. Visit www.goodofthewhole.com. Consider gathering virtually or learn how to mentor and host your own evolutionary community. You will be “welcomed home” by the grounded and loving energy from the heart of the Heartland.

Dr. Julie is a steward of the new earth, midwifing the evolution of consciousness and the WholeWorld-View.

Her 30-year career as an intuitive, integrative health practitioner/psychotherapist has influenced her global work with evolutionary leaders and change-makers—co-creating connections that inspire individual, collective and planetary healing. Her authentic, down-to-earth approach invites others to embody their highest creative potential while shifting from ego-centric challenges of separation to a healthier soul-centric flow of resonance and coherence. She is a mentor, mystic, speaker, teacher, Founding Steward of GOODoftheWHOLE.com, host of www.thedrjulieshow.com/, and author of the forthcoming book, Fractured Grace.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

Community In Building something Spirit: bigger for our future The most basic definition of a “community” is a “group or fellowship of people who share common attitudes, interests and goals.” Unfortunately, those commonalities often result in exclusivism and elitism.

One night I had a calling to create a community that would be accessible to people everywhere; welcoming to all; and committed to social justice, and to healing and empowering through love, forgiveness and gratitude. These are the predominant themes in Community In Spirit. While I will be a regular voice in the discussion of the group, the members are the true driving force. I also plan to bring in guest presenters and to reach out to like-hearted communities to share resources and wisdom.

My definition of “community” extends far beyond this and is in alignment with the values and scope of interspirituality.

It describes the online community I created, “Community In Spirit.” I see the best communities promoting diversity, inclusivity, unification, and a sacredness that invites people to love themselves and others just as they are. These are all hallmarks of the interspiritual era.

I believe there has been great consistency with the original vision for “Community In Spirit.” I know that because of the lives that have already been touched. I have had many people share that this is a “place” where they can connect with others and truly be themselves; where they can explore the larger questions; and where they can experience transformation through love, forgiveness and gratitude.

I believe that the interspiritual movement is a response to the number of people who now identify as “spiritual but not necessarily religious.” I believe these people are attracted to intersprituality, even if that is not what they might call it, because they are concerned with honoring all paths, seeing the Divine in all things, and living an ethical life—not arguing about dogma, being told what to believe, and debating whose God is better.

When I think about the success of this community, I think about growing the membership while also keeping it intimate and sacred; I think about the lives that will be transformed and healed; I think about it being a living, breathing thing that changes with the needs and wants of the members; I think about it providing a generous income for me to travel, learn and do even more good in the world.

By Rev. Garrett A. Foster

During a time when there is so much talk about building a wall, I believe that the fewer walls there are the better— both visible and invisible. It is one of the leading tenets of Community In Spirit. Walls separate, whether constructed of stone, fear or judgment. They keep people out… or in. They are imposing. They restrict.

The qualities associated with “interspiritual ministry” couldn’t be any different: open, welcoming, inviting, and free of judgment. Even if a church or spiritual center doesn’t have

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physical walls around it, it might as well be a prison if its leaders and members teach intolerance, and fear of people or ideas that are different.

I have always envisioned Community In Spirit as primarily an online community. Members can live or be anywhere.

We don’t have to be in a certain place at a certain time to connect. It also creates even more opportunity for diversity in membership. Community In Spirit will continue to have a strong FaceBook presence, but the companion website (www.communityinspirit.com) is going to become the primary hub.

I already offer daily inspiration, support, “spiritual dares,” and more on the FaceBook platform. I introduce members to new spiritual leaders, ideas and resources. We participate in

discussion forums and Zoom online meetings; I am about to launch even more opportunities to learn and share. I also plan to offer in-person events.

Advantages of building your community online ●

I am not anyone’s guru. I do not have all the answers.

I am the conduit for us to figure it out together; to help each other; to listen to each other; to realize we are one; and perhaps most important to find ways to be of service together.

●

I believe the key to Community In Spirit’s growth is to be as authentic, transparent and welcoming as possible; to keep the teachings and content fresh and relevant; and to listen to what people want and need and then find a way to create it for them.

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I see Community In Spirit becoming a go-to spiritual hub that offers classes, workshops, discussions, daily and weekly events, networking opportunities, worship services, interspiritual counseling, guided meditations and more—reimagined for today’s digital and “spiritual but not necessarily religious” world.

The message I hope to convey through Community In Spirit is that no matter how dark things get, there is transformation through love, forgiveness and gratitude.

There is transformation in defining and developing our own spirituality. There is transformation in becoming an active member of a spiritual community.

If interspiritual communities are going to not only survive but flourish, they need to look at the empty seats and pews in worship centers everywhere and reimagine the way people express their spirituality, connect with others, and find the inner peace that eludes so many. They need to be highly responsive in this quickly changing world—and committed to educating people about interspirituality so it becomes a household term.

I believe that interspiritual communities and congregations are going to have a huge impact on future generations.

As traditional churches decline even more rapidly in attendance, and as there are even more blended-faith families, there will be an increasing need for places where these people can explore their spirituality in a way that is very different from previous generations.

● ●

They can be located and operated from anywhere.

With members from all over the globe, there is great diversity.

The online format is extremely convenient and appealing.

The cost involved in operating an online community can be far less than brick-and-mortar—even if you pay someone else to build your site.

Because the community exists in cyber space, there is much more fluidity and ease in shifting directions, making changes, creating new offerings and more.

Avoiding the Pitfalls Despite all of their many advantages, online communities also have challenges. Being aware of them from the start can go a long way in making sure that a pitfall doesn’t become a disaster.

Pitfall #1: Brick-and-mortar churches and spiritual centers can only get so big. There is a maximum capacity by law. People will only drive so far to reach it. Online communities have the potential to go global and become huge. The challenge in this is to maintain intimacy when members can reach into the hundred of thousands. It is important to always find ways to keep everyone connected and feeling involved.

Pitfall #2: With the Internet such a vast landscape with so many options, people may have trouble finding you. This takes creative marketing strategies, and knowing who your “tribe” is and how to best reach them. What is your niche?

Pitfall #3: Not keeping up with technology can be your downfall. When you are a primarily online community, you need to be informed of the latest ways to reach a digital audience—or know someone who does.

Rev. Garrett A. Foster is an ordained interfaith/inter-spiritual minister, prayer chaplain, writer, Life-Cycle Celebrant™ and community builder.

He is the founder of Community In Spirit, and the author of the novel The Accident of Being Human.

Perhaps most important I think there needs to be a more cohesive network of interspiritual centers and places of worship so that people begin to think of it in the same way they do Catholicism, Judaism and Islam. In today’s marketsavvy world, “interpsirituality” needs to become more of a recognized brand.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

A COMMUNITY OF LEADERS Evolutionary Leaders: In Service to Conscious Evolution

By Deborah Moldow and Diane Williams

The Source of Synergy Foundation has been bringing together visionary authors, educators and social activists who are forging a movement for the conscious evolution of humanity since 2006. In 2008 the Evolutionary Leaders Circle made up of leaders in the consciousness movement formed to collectively inspire, support and serve conscious evolution.

The Evolutionary Leaders Circle grows each year through its members nominating new Evolutionary Leaders (ELs).

There are currently 139 on our roster, united by a shared commitment to strategically engage our collective field of potential. The Source of Synergy Foundation provides opportunities for synergistic engagement among these leaders by organizing an annual retreat, as well as local Synergy Circles, salons and roundtables, and by providing an online communications platform.

Over the years, we have learned more and more about what it means to grow a community of people who are highly successful in their individual work, so that we can all feel part of an expanding field of unity and support in service to the evolution of consciousness.

The ELs Circle gathers annually in retreat to come into communal relationship with one another, deepening our collective consciousness and strengthening our mutual intention, thus setting the foundation for the emergence of the next steps of our evolutionary journey. In the early days of the retreat, we stressed the collective out of concern that if participants shared about their work, it would pull them back into their individual selves and away from the feeling of community. As our sense of collective engagement deepened, we learned that the key is to encourage authentic communication. This realization led participants to draft 51

together a “How We Engage” statement that has served us well.

We also learned that an important component of the whole is the vibrancy of its parts. At our annual retreat, we now offer opportunities for the EL’s to share the cutting edge of their work, which energizes everyone and lets others envision future collaborations. But beyond that, it reinforces a key aspect of the new consciousness, to recognize and uplift the unique contributions of each individual, especially when these gifts are offered in service to the whole.

Our engagement with one another inspires cooperative partnerships within the EL Circle and also enhances and amplifies the work we are already doing in our various fields of endeavor. Members of the community have formed deep friendships and collaborations.

The fruits of our community experience have been a profound appreciation of the collective field of love and intention that has emerged and grown stronger from year to year. This has intensified through smaller self-selecting groups coming out of the retreats. One group of ELs at the 2014 retreat have continued to engage in exploration of the nature of consciousness together. Another group that was randomly assigned to be a clan at our 2016 co-evolutionary vision quest retreat has continued to meet on line as a laboratory for evolutionary practices, building a collective field that is immediately palpable.

The 2018 retreat in Santa Barbara encouraged the formation of Synergy Circles, which will support EL’s with similar passions to group together to continue to direct their synergistic engagement into areas such as media outreach,

conscious business, community coherence building and other various forms of collective action. We anticipate that this distributed model of mutual empowerment will help to bring the powerful work of these brilliant ELs more fully out into the world for the kind of impact that is strengthened by the collective field.

The Source of Synergy Foundation encourages all ELs around the world to come together in synergy circles of mutual support and empowerment. The future lies in replacing the old model of separation and competition for private gain with this kind of heart-based co-creation and cooperation for

the good of the whole. As American systems theorist R. Buckminster Fuller famously said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

The Source of Synergy Foundation and its EL Circle will continue to strive to inspire and support evolutionary leadership and visionary action throughout the world by giving voice to conscious, transformational and evolutionary ideas and practices that meet the challenges of our time.

For more information, please visit www.sourceofsynergyfoundation.org

and www.evolutionaryleaders.net, or contact info@sourceofsynergyfoundation.org In October 2018, the Source of Synergy Foundation will be co-hosting with The

Findhorn Foundation an experiential Synergy Circle at Findhorn in Scotland focused on “Co-Creatiing with the Intelligence of Nature.” We are also planning a journey to Greenland to bear witness to climate change there, listen deeply and gain insight on how not only heal our relationship with nature but partner with it to make the shifts necessary to protect our Earth.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

The Mystery of The Friends of The Institute of Noetic Sciences

From The Board of Directors of FIONS, New York City

The Mystery of FIONS

by Victoria Friedman Co-Founder, Vistar Foundation www.vistarfoundation.org Conscious Communities emerge from what seems like nothingness into somethingness. A mystery draws individuals together, and a new creative entity is born. That is how FIONS began. Some of us knew each other and some did not and as if some metaphysical romance took place, a force of mutual attraction was activated. A group of individuals, all of whom are spiritual leaders in New York City with total dedication to their own organizations, came together for‌ what? We did not quite know.

From first meeting the atmosphere was electric!

All the pre-requisites for enlightened encounters were present.

There was attentiveness, humor, willingness, freedom, creativity and open expectation. The energy went through the roof and in that meeting we spiritually downloaded our first project, a dramatic, interactive inspiring day event entitled‌Answering The Call to Wholeness featuring the entire group.

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An opportunity quickly presented itself to revitalize a prior FIONS group based in New York, which had existed for years.

In what seemed like overnight, we had become a 501(c)(3) organization, which not only provided a base to return to from separate activities all over the world, but also provided a new springboard for outreach into conscious culture, with an emphasis on activities in New York.

We recognized our strong affiliation with The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), and honored the depth and richness of that connection with our event Epiphany: A tribute to Edgar Mitchell.

The mystery is that this very loosely defined association of leaders seems to create a space for a highly inventive energy with an exciting anticipation of where, how and what’s next.

Looking at the unfolding situation with eyes on what IS, we see enhancement of non-local connection, freedom from the tyranny of time, and an unconditional fidelity to each other.

We still talk among ourselves about the need to clarify our directions but then, the winds of inspired expression interrupt and blow through, talking us in delightful surprising directions.

Conscious, Turquoise Communities

by Mitchell Rabin Founder, “A Better World” abetterworld.tv/ If you’re going to do something in this life, do it big. Make a splash and get all wet. This is the way I see us doing things at FIONS. A group of high-minded, big-hearted, large-souled people who have been splashing about to some extent in their own ponds, joined to splash and swim together in a bigger lake.

And it appears, that each time we do an event, indeed, we are making a splash.

In Spiral Dynamics, turquoise represents a tier of consciousness that is intrinsically kind, loving, compassionate and embracing of the Divine, transcendent of particulars of religion or culture.

It sees the One and lives from it, acts through it. Is this not the way to our shaping new communities, a better world for all?

The Co-working "We" Style

by Dr. Kurt Johnson President, FIONS; Co-Founder, The Interspiritual Network

www.thecominginterspiritualage.com/

It’s interesting that almost the entire founding group of this iteration of FIONS, are still together (aside from a person or two no longer residing in the area). We think that the answer is not as simple as the fact that we’re all leader-type people, good speakers, and creative event planners. The real reason we think goes back to our original reason for gathering. We had all experienced the downsides of competitive, egoic, or singleleader organizational cultures. All being dedicated spiritual practitioners, we were also aware of the general emergent understanding that the old paradigm of “I” was fading away and being replaced a deep new sense of “We." It became apparent to us that such an organizational culture only works well when everyone had bought into this

“convergent” way of working. We came to identify these kinds of persons as “convergent players.” “We” is easy for them. It’s what they want, and thrive on. If, on the other hand, there are still players more directed to their own desires and agency, that's what we came to call “parallel players." So, it has been an interesting experiment.

Parallel players usually just drifted off to where they could be in single-leader style leadership again, while convergent players just tended to naturally stay together.

If you examine that a little more, it’s probably because there is a great sense of fulfillment that comes from "The Co-working 'We' Style."

New Realities of Transcendent Action

by Alan Steinfeld Founder, New Realities www.newrealities.com/ In the past, an idea about a community of leaders would have been considered an oxymoron. Throughout history there was either the community and a leader emerged; or a leader created the community. In both cases the leader knew the direction to take. However, there is a calling now is to go beyond individualized knowing.

A community of leaders is a redirection out of the old ways. Like the archaic concept of leaders, we can now see with polymorphous awareness that communities do not exist in isolation. We are a community of communities, which will “lead” to new realities of transcendent action.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

Convergent Players

by Michele La Gamba-Himmel Founder, Energy Matters energy-matters.us/ Our board consists of “convergent players,” each possessing a strong, spiritually fortified soul. All of us have the wisdom to connect with the creator force to activate change. This magical, invisible process enables billions of cells internally to shift on the individual basis and emits healing frequencies that travel throughout space, time and dimensions to all beings. When our board collaborates, this creates an exponential effect that manifests extra-ordinary events and extra-ordinary transformation.

Unity Consciousness

by Drs. J.J. & Desiree Hurtak Co-Founders, The Academy of Future Science futurescience.org We all understand that it is necessary to mobilize a unity of consciousness together so we can collectively meet the challenges of a changing planet. We know we have come together to create a networking with those who practice a consciousness unity and to make a harmonious movement forward. The importance of sharing and working together has become first and foremost in most of our lives.

The Evolutionary Impulse

by Dr. Ron Friedman Co-Founder, Vistar Foundation www.vistarfoundation.org FIONS is indeed evidence of an ongoing experiment conducted by the evolutionary impulse itself. Communities of leaders are not isolated. They are passionately involved in the social, cultural, and philosophical issues and challenges of their time. Sooner or later, in all of these gatherings, many

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crucial interrelated questions have to be addressed. For example, what is the relationship of the individual to the group? What is natural hierarchy? Where does authority reside? What is the form and function of leadership in this emerging community? What are its operating rules?

FIONS is an example of an organization of leaders whose very function is an attempt to define and address these questions and the answers may well be at the heart of the next stage of human social evolution.

One a la FIONS

by Dorothy Cunha Shamanic Healer fions.org/ We each desire to serve the evolution of consciousness on planet; therefore, we are called to come together and choose to help paint that next vision of humanity.

We blend our gifts, skills and talents; our hearts, minds and hands; our experience, our spirits and our love, to tickle open the consciousness of those who attend our events and inspire them to choose to go higher with the hope that the rising consciousness lifts all souls.

An immensely satisfying, inspiring and joyful union of souls, we are ultimately self-sustaining in service to those who are called to join our wavelength flow in the same current and embrace the journey of One a la FIONS.

Mysteries

by Robert Levine Treasurer FIONS; Instructor, Integral Yoga Institute iyiny.org/ Embedded in all mysteries, alive to the touch, the sharing, the knowing and unknowing of living ever so present in the flow.

A Crossroads in ColoradoHacienda de Guru Ram Das, Gold Hill

By The Editors

ight on Light Host Editor Karuna comes to us from a long history of “hosting” across the interfaith, yoga, and global transformative communities. Her sprawling, amply decked, log-house in the Colorado historical district of Gold Hill, at 8400 ft above Boulder, Colorado, has a yoga studio below and lovely meeting rooms above which have hosted everything from United Nations NGO roundtables on sustainability and climate change, to live-in workshops on spiritual energy work and subtle activism. Surrounded by 150 acres of Front Range forest, deer, and even Brown Bears are a frequent sight. The Hacienda is also an active Airbnb. retreat. She was a part graduating hundreds of now certified yoga teachers.

In the last decade she, and the Hacienda, began partnering with United Nations NGO’s for the Self Care to Earth Care programs across Colorado (www.selfcaretoearthcare.com) and partnering with the growing United Nations associated Sacred Site work that UNITY EARTH and Forum 21 Institute have been pioneering at historic indigenous and ecological sites around Crestone, Colorado.

The community around the Hacienda is both secular and sacred. Karuna pioneered Level 1 Kundalini Yoga training for the Kundalini Research Institute in the tradition of Yogi Bhajan for years, hosting trainings and retreats at the Hacienda and the nearby larger “Starhouse” facility.

Members of this community join her annually in Costa Rica, at Blue Spirit Retreat Center, for her annual Kundalini Yoga

Karuna and the Hacienda hosted a series of recorded roundtables of international spokespersons on sustainability, climate change and spirituality, providing a mid-United States location for west and east coast experts to more easily gather. These followed on a series of discussions in both New York City and San Francisco on the emerging “altruism paradigm” the founding of the Altruism Channel at YouTube.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities important messages above to the wider world community.

With the support of a local spiritual practice community, visitors and retreatants at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das are treated to a special, intimate environment—what Karuna calls “cozy”—perfectly catering to the deep needs of spiritual retreat and practice. So many transformative stories have begun here, and at the other large activity area, the “Starhouse” just down the road. These range from diving into meditative and yoga practice to experiencing indigenous shamanic ceremony. Private time is important to visitors to the Hacienda and one of its hallmarks. Moving out from the sprawling multi-level home, with two levels of decks looking out into the Front Range of the Rockies, and a yoga facility on the lowest level, retreatants are also able to move out onto the land. It holds a series of trails and manicured spiritual “niches” especially including those reflecting the land’s indigenous heritage. This allows the “deep dive” that Widely distributed videos on Sacred Earth and Gaia were shot on the Hacienda’s surrounding lands by photojournalist Mel Sellick.

Indigenous elders are a prominent part of activities at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das, following on Karuna’s own role as a medicine keeper—“chante’ eton Wo wa gla ka win,” meaning woman that speaks with/from her heart—and her being an ordained Wisdom Keeper in this and her Kundalini Yoga traditions. Frequent hosts have included Woody Vaspra of the World Council of Elders and Roger LaBorde, who assisted Fr. Thomas Keating for decades in the historic Snowmass Interreligious Dialogue (today known as the Snowmass Interspiritual Dialogue) from which came the book The Common Heart, 2006. It announced the “Nine Points of Agreement” among the world’s religions. From them came the “Nine Elements of a Universal Spirituality” which interspiritual pioneer Br. Wayne Teasdale, in his now classic book The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions, also gave to the world.

people are looking for when seeking out a spiritual retreat.

Participants over the years have formed both a local, and a far-reaching international, community. It’s easy to understand why this community formed around the Hacienda and Karuna’s work “keeps coming back.”

Karuna’s Yoga Day 2018 Summit message, presented by The Shift Network in association with UPLIFT and Parmarth Niketan. For more on the Yoga Day Summit, click here.

Based on these activities over the last decade Karuna joined the host team for Unity Earth’s Convergence radio series on VoiceAmerica, which reached over 100,000 listeners in 2017.

Closely following thereafter was her formative role in helping create Light on Light Magazine. All of these further bring the 57

We’re excited about all the possibilities of the future and ongoing practices and activities and at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das and invite readers to contact Karuna with suggestions and interest. As Light on Light continues to grow, and reach literally now thousands of people, the possibilities for Hacienda de Guru Ram Das, Gold Hill, to meet its calling and destiny become only more rich. So, it’s wonderful for us at Light on Light to write a bit about this haven and home in the Rockies for the ongoing global transformative discussion.

SUNRISE RANCH — A Conference Center Staffed by a Multi-Generational Intentional Community

By David Karchere

most of all, within oneselves. We teach and practice Primal Spirituality—an embrace of the intrinsic connection with the Divine that is behind all the world’s great religions and spiritual paths.

Primal Spirituality is the spirituality we were all born with, and which ideally develops and strengthens over a person’s lifetime.

Since 2000, I have lived at Sunrise Ranch, a multi-generational intentional community of about one hundred people in Loveland, Colorado.

Established in 1945, we are the oldest community of our kind in the United States.

Sunrise Ranch is a conference center, a working ranch, and a teaching and demonstration site for regenerative community. We are the global center for Emissaries of Divine Light.

The guiding principle of Sunrise Ranch is the honoring of Universal Being within all people, within all nature, and

Our spiritual practice is the daily intention to express and embody the highest spiritual reality we know in everything we think, say and do.

Sunrise Ranch, with the opportunity to deepen their life experience.

Sunrise Ranch welcomes people from many faiths, philosophies and spiritual paths. We incorporate into our program teachings from many places that resonate with the intrinsic knowing deep in the heart of all people. And we invite brilliant teachers in many fields to share their work here. Yet our

We see all forms of community life and all human activity as an opportunity to live transparently, to connect more deeply to the infinite wisdom and love within us, and to let it stream through us into the world. We are keenly interested in the ideas, practices and beliefs that assist in this process.

People who come to live here have the opportunity to join our six-month Full Self Emergence internship program.

They become guest members of

ultimate goal is something beyond any teaching, even our own. It is the activation of the human soul from within. It is the liberation of love in the living of a human life. It is access to an inspired wisdom that answers the great challenges our world is facing today.

We teach and practice the emotional intelligence that unlocks these spiritual gifts.

We believe that humankind is walking a long journey home, and that each of us are walking that path. We are learning and evolving as a race. And 58

Spotlight on Transformative Communities humanity, and then share it with others.

We are pushing through to the actual experience of this, beyond the inspiring ideas about it.

We are following a five-part strategy, developing five dimensions of Sunrise Ranch:

now, our journey is accelerating, and the pace of change is quickening. In this time, the world needs visionary ideas and heart-connected resonance in a community of people. The Sunrise Ranch community—people who live and visit here—are devoted to being that for the world. With people around the globe, we are on the journey together.

There all kinds of ways for people to participate in this multi-faceted community. Locavores buy produce from our greenhouses at farmers markets. People come from all over to learn more about regenerative culture at events like the Tribalize Summit and the Emerging Tech conference.

Thousands flock to the Arise Music and Camping Festival, an annual event drawing music icons such as Ziggy Marley, Michael Franti and Peter Yarrow.

We offer workshops and courses on wellness, art, personal development

and spirituality, featuring luminaries like Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Barbara Marx Hubbard and Joel Salatin. And we are proud to host the conferences and events of such enlightened organizations as Evolutionary Leaders, Humanity’s Team and Naropa University.

Sunrise Ranch is a place for people who feel the profound urge to realize in their lifetime a new vision of who we are as human beings; people who have the strong heart-desire to know for themselves the rebirth of

• Home • The strength and integrity of community function • The teaching of Primal Spirituality • Becoming a teaching and demonstration site for regenerative culture • Radiating to the world We are closely connected with other communities of Emissaries of Divine Light born out of Sunrise Ranch: Edenvale in British Columbia, Canada; Gate House in Cape Town, South Africa; and Riverdell in Gawler, South Australia. I have the opportunity to opportunity to visit those communities, and other places around the world where I offer workshops and courses in Primal Spirituality, Healing Chant and Attunement. These programs share some of the core understanding and experience of the Sunrise Ranch community.

David Karchere is an author and workshop leader. His first book is Becoming a Sun: Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence for a Happy, Fulfilling Life. It describes the human journey in evolutionary terms through poetry and prose.

David is the foremost thought leader on Primal Spirituality worldwide. David describes Primal Spirituality as our first spirituality—the spirituality we were born with, and the innate, sacred bond that is behind all the world’s great religions.

David is the spiritual director at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, the oldest intentional spiritual community in the United States, and he is a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle.

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Community Agreements

by Cynthia Robinson and Roman Hanis

Speak from “I” rather then a general “we” or “you”. This allows for greater accountability and authentic space of relating, simultaneously avoiding assumptions or projections about others.

No shaming or making others wrong. No one’s receptive to being told they’re wrong and our perspective is that there is no “wrong”. Instead, there’s wisdom and ignorance. Where wrong can never become right, ignorance is just not knowing any better, thus containing the seed of wisdom. Each experience is a building block of evolutionary growth.

Work to separate observations and feelings from the projections and stories that arise from them. Many disharmonies start simply from making stories after observing only a small part of a situation. The mind loves filling in blanks, so it helps greatly if we understand our stories are just that: stories. They may not be true.

Cultivate curiosity rather than judgement: Judging someone or something is a closed way of being. Alternatively, asking with true curiosity why someone is being a certain way creates an opportunity for deeper understanding.

When we first heard about the idea of living in community with like-hearted people, we were captivated. Spending our days in harmony with others who shared our values sounded like a dream come true. In some ways, it is. But what we discovered is that harmony doesn’t arise automatically; it requires sustained effort.

Our Paititi community was created from a heart-centered ideal that humanity can collectively embody a harmonious, symbiotic and joyful existence with all life on earth.

2) Be transparent; No hiding Transparency involves embodying qualities of openness, receptivity and vulnerability. Consciousness is the main medicine and resolution requires recognition that there's even an issue. First and foremost, this means being transparent with oneself and choosing to see all outer feedback as reflections of our inner world. When disturbed, we first ask, “How is this a reflection of me? Am I disturbed because this person is reflecting something I don’t want to face in myself?”

From the beginning, we resonated deeply that to realize this vision, we must “be the change”. Little did we know that community living would catalyse our personal evolution so effectively.

Despite experiencing many more uplifting moments than grueling ones, we’ve learned that conflict arising within community is inevitable; there’s often reflections of both light and shadow. These interpersonal challenges are blessings in disguise and powerful teachers for those intent on unravelling their evolutionary nature.

Years of such lessons helped develop our community agreements which, when actively practiced, turn conflict into creative friction and deeper relatedness. These agreements live and breath alongside us and continue to evolve as we do.

Here are simple guidelines ourselves and communities we’ve shared them with find useful: 1) Own your own experience and respect the experience of others This vital agreement encompasses all the others, inviting community members to take an empowered view (rather than a victim stance) in life. Owning our personal experience means we understand that our experience and that of others may be different. Some supportive techniques include:

Transparency also means no gossiping. Gossiping never solves anything. Instead it creates unnecessary drama that distorts reality. It’s everyone’s responsibility not to gossip and call others when they do.

Instead, go to the source of your disturbance—afflicting emotions. How can you transmute this energy and grow as a human being? This approach engages external triggers with grounded, compassionate curiosity. Don’t avoid confrontation. Experienced friends can help mediate when necessary.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities Be open about your process and challenges, especially when it affects others.

Challenges are the raw ingredients for individual growth and collective evolution.

3) Be in integrity and 100% responsible Coming into integrity is a process of aligning one’s thoughts, words, actions and feelings. A community unanimously taking 100% responsibility for all four creates an inspirational space.

The Paititi Institute for the Preservation of Ecology & Indigenous Culture The Paititi Institute for the Preservation of Ecology & Indigenous Culture originated from the symbol of “Paititi”, which for Inca and Pre-Inca civilization was an enlightened realm manifested through the awakening of humanity’s shared heart. Via the awakened spirit of the individual comes the greatest potential for the planet’s transformation. Our organization and intentional community is dedicated to embodying this paradigm shift and demonstrating what is possible through ordinary human efforts, in service to Mother Nature and the infinite human potential.

With an interdisciplinary approach of diverse fields of AndoAmazonian and Tibetan living wisdom traditions, Jungian Transpersonal Psychology and Permaculture among others, our efforts are dedicated to supporting a society of deep, nurturing and true values. We serve as a cross-cultural bridge, supporting individuals and communities to live activated, responsible and joyful lives in harmony with both inner and outer landscapes. As humans, we’re inexorably linked to the earth and each other. As part of this magnificent symbiotic organism, we’re committed to co-creating the enlightened world we all have in our hearts.

Focus on solutions, rather than problems. Our community motto is that everything is perfect with infinite room for improvement. If you can see it with that attitude, you can solve it and the best way to truly benefit is through personal example. Resolving situations helps, whereas complaining doesn’t. Notice when you make a mess and clean up, whether it’s energetic or physical.

When stepping out of integrity, be honest with oneself and others and make amends with those affected. Sincere acknowledgement cultivates integrity.

Paititi’s efforts to create a harmonious balance in human life and with this planet fall into 5 key categories: 1) Conserving and restoring the Earth’s natural resources Currently the Institute legally owns and preserves 4,000 acres of pristine land in the Machu Picchu region.

2) Preserving and integrating indigenous wisdom and culture The land reserve is near some of the last uncontacted tribes on the planet and acts as a buffer zone to keep illegal mining and logging activity out.

3) Cultivating health through traditional and natural methods Working with indigenous wisdom and rekindling the interest in local and international community.

4) Embodying true stewardship Working with eco-regenerative community living in collaborative Permaculture projects involving neighbours native to the area.

5) Understanding consciousness and engaging in cognitive evolution Earth-based spirituality and integration of inner and outer landscapes.

Through practical application of ancient wisdom in the modern world, we build bridges for the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing of all people from all cultures, spiritual traditions and walks of life. In this natural way, we channel the healing and rejuvenation of the planet herself. Using holistic models based upon our points of focus listed above, we engage as a community to improve social and environmental life via spiritual evolution and maturation on collective and individual levels.

We utilize the planetary wisdom of humanity to become fully conscious and responsible human beings embracing our shared heart. The ancient, unbroken, and living lineages of direct consciousness transmission are here to help all of us fully realize our true nature in the current turbulent times. By sharing our life experience with each other, synergistic networks are cultivated among all like-hearted people in the world motivated by the freedom and liberation from suffering and it’s causes for all beings.

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4) Honor your true self It’s not possible to benefit others if the basic needs of the human organism are not met. Don’t assume others can read your mind, and communicate your needs to reciprocate support.

It’s essential to recognize the difference between what we want and what we need to thrive and actualize my full human potential.

5) Practice presence with self and others “The true master is a beginner in every moment.” As life experience gathers, it can become difficult to maintain beginner's mind. Commit to practice presence with yourself and others. Actively listening, no matter how much you know, helps awaken heart wisdom.

Cultivating presence alone transforms disharmony and is the greatest support anyone can offer.

6) Take initiative and be engaged Everyone in the community takes initiative to be fully engaged in community projects, meetings, and their own personal growth. It’s

up to each person to benefit from their life experience and no one can undergo your personal evolution for you. Each individual commits to serve as an example.

Our Sustained Effort to a Greater Vision The journey to create a supportive and empowered container for conscious community to thrive provides greater understanding and compassion for all the world’s conflicts. Even among peaceful people who share a resonant worldview, conflict and tension still arise. The beautiful gift is that resolution starts from within.

More than mere conceptual formulations, practicing these agreements bridges spiritual practice into every moment of life. When everyone participates, every step becomes filled with meaningful, compassionate insights into human potential as a key to world peace.

With each individual’s engagement, the enlightened society many ancestral lineages saw as a possibility can become a reality. All it takes is for each of us to agree it’s worth the effort. Practice makes perfect.

Cynthia Robinson

Roman Hanis

Since childhood, Cynthia Robinson has had a deep love for nature and natural healing. She always knew she would devote her life in service to the healing of people and the planet.

Roman Hanis has been working closely with the indigenous Peruvian cultures in the Amazonian rainforest and Andean mountains since 2001. During this time he has devoted this life to learning the ancient healing ways of these cultures while seeking possibilities for creating ecological sources of sustenance for local populations and working to preserve the rainforest and its spiritual heritage of sacred medicinal plants.

Cynthia got her BA at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design with a focus in Design, Communication and Creative Problem Solving. After graduation, she pursued her passion to bring deeper values for nature and humanity into the world working as a brand strategist and designer supporting both Fortune 500 as well as smaller companies to implement Permaculture thinking into their infrastructure, product designs and marketing.

Working in the corporate world of New York City led her to discover a more profound passion to support herself and others in establishing deeper connection to nature, ancestral values and unlocking our highest potential as human beings. She traded in the corporate boardrooms for 100 acres in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest where she co-founded the Paititi Institute for the Preservation of the Amazon Rainforest and Indigenous Culture.

Seeing the vital role that ancient cultural practices can play in today’s world, Roman honors and shares their value and wisdom through his work in community projects, healing retreats and educational workshops in both Peru and the U.S. He is a certified Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner in Peru, and studied the fundamentals of TCM and acupuncture as an apprentice under the director of the Open International Institute of Oriental Medicine, Myriam Hacker, in Iquitos, Peru.

At Paititi, Cynthia works alongside her partners to create a platform that practically applies ancient wisdom to our modern world, building intercultural bridges for healing on physical, emotional and spiritual levels for all people from all cultures and all spiritual traditions. She currently works to develop and facilitate holistic experiential education models, weaving together our inner and outer landscapes through nature awareness, traditional Permaculture education, health education and indigenous Amazonian teachings and practices integrated with ancestral wisdom from around the planet.

In 2002, Roman was fortunate enough to be cured of a terminal genetic illness , Crohn’s disease. In 2004, he was pledged as a healer-curandero by the Whitoto and Yahua tribes and has served the international community as a medicine man ever since. He has also practiced physical trauma rehabilitation, medical massage therapy and Eastern bodywork, having earned his degree from New York’s Swedish Institute of Health. With these tools and concentrated efforts, he has been able to help numerous individuals overcome many health issues and pathologies on physical, mental and spiritual levels.

In addition, in her role as Paititi’s Director of Permaculture, Cynthia is in charge of establishing tropical permaculture models on-site, while cultivating an intentional community that implements ongoing outreach projects in local native villages and tribes. Some of these projects’ focus include: appropriate technology for sanitation and clean water, fair trade exports, and cultural healing exchange programs which establish natural medicine clinics.

Since 1999, Roman has also practiced the Eastern spiritual disciplines of Tibetan Buddhism, breathwork & meditation, QiGong, Yoga, Shaolin physical therapy and Toltec practices. In addition, he has worked to understand these disciplines from the perspective of Jungian psychology. He speaks Spanish, Hebrew, Russian and English.

Finally, Cynthia is currently in the process of being initiated into Indigenous Amazonian Healing practices to become a medicine woman and carry on this ancient lineage of healing wisdom.

Roman looks forward to eradicating suffering in the world and its cause, ignorance, by promoting education on the possibilities of more sustainable, harmonious relationships with nature, while simultaneously creating supportive, self-sustaining and nurturing communities.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities Consider the ancient cartographer’s parchment with the dark and dangerous areas illuminated by inky shadows and fanged sea monsters (“Here there be dragons!”). Those edges of the world remained ominous and unknown until someone brave or stupid (or well-funded) enough ventured forth and provided detailed reports of the seas, deserts and caves. Where are the caves and dragons of today?

Integral Church:

The Map and The Territory

by Joran Slane Oppelt

[The following is an exclusive excerpt from the book Integral Church: A Handbook for New Spiritual Communities.

Integral Church is an interfaith community that is committed to religious literacy, personal transformative practice and community service. They hold regular circles in St. Petersburg, FL and Kecskemét, Hungary. For more information, visit integralchurch.org.]

Religion is a map that is continually being drawn from the inside. Alfred Korzybski (who coined the famous phrase “the map is not the territory”) knew that our “knowledge of the world is limited both by the human nervous system and by the structure of language.”

Let us consider a life that is both—inner experience and exterior observation, contemplation and action, the media and the message, the sheet music and the song itself. We must make this distinction, as some people have the map firmly in hand (some even know it by heart) but have never once planted their feet on the ground. While others may have lived in a place their entire life but never truly know where they are in orientation to those around them.

Consider the bright, colorful and oversized Rand McNally Road Atlas. As children, it kept many of us active in the backseat during cross-country road trips with its arterial red and blue highways stretching across each page. But, the states were sorted alphabetically, not spatially or intuitively, and inevitably the family would hit some road construction that wasn’t on the map. We were then forced to pull out a pencil and chart our own course. How do we sort, classify, organize and access the religious maps we use today?

From subtle changes in roads, borders and territories to huge shifts in actual landmass, the world has changed dramatically since these maps were drawn and continues to change faster every day. Google Maps (and others) now provide interactive, up-to-theminute renderings of the entire planet —three-dimensional images delivered to the screens in our vehicles and the devices in our pockets. Every shadow, edge and corner of the world is now brightly backlit and available at our fingertips.

Which spiritual maps (or religious worldviews) are we holding onto out of sheer nostalgia?

Which sections of these interior maps (i.e. the chakras, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle) can be left behind, and which are just as meaningful and relevant today as the day they were written?

Science and spirituality have had a checkered past. In recent history, they have charted deliberate and divergent courses, both thinking they have the only map we need—with science viewing spirituality as unnecessary and “not of this world,” and spirituality viewing science as too narrow in scope or not taking all dimensions into account.

If religion, then, is our spiritual map of the world — a manmade rendering co-created by our collective consciousness and the Divine, yet always falling short of the ineffable whole of the Cosmos – which maps (or parts of them) should we keep, and which should we discard? Where are the unexplored places that we should continue to chart on our own?

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Unfortunately, we still live in a world where nightmares, altered states or religious experiences are mostly viewed as aberrations from a properly-functioning and mechanistic universe—the proverbial “ghost in the machine.” Sigmund Freud viewed religion as a form of psychological regression—a return to the womb (sanctuary) of the mother (source)—with nothing redeeming, constructive or creative about it. Carl Jung, on the other hand, saw value and meaning in the religious experience and familiarized himself with the interior (transpersonal, spiritual) dimensions and adapted the language of psychology to support these newfound structures.

The quest for a synthesis of sense and soul continues today. Like Arthur Koestler (and his controversial Roots of Coincidence) so many years before her, Lynne McTaggart, in

Our prophets and poets have attempted to describe this Cosmos. Our artists have attempted to convey the depth and span of this Universe in music or images. Our sages and shamans have shared stories about their visits to these outer regions. Our priests, rabbis and imams point their fingers to the Cosmos and instruct us to know God. They are all pieces of the map, and all language fails us.

We must explore and know this territory first-hand, not through studying the words and pictures of those who came before us, but by standing on Earth, our eyes to the sky, surrendering to the unknown and allowing the Mystery to warm our faces.

her book The Field, asked psychologists and physicists alike to weigh in on the realms of faith healing, ESP, telekinesis and the power of prayer. In journalistic fashion, McTaggart took quantum physicists to task for doggedly, almost religiously, focusing on “matter,” yet consistently and historically ignoring the interiors of the human animal.

McTaggart writes, “We are quantum beings. All living things are connected by an invisible web. The brain perceives the world through quantum frequencies. Everything is indivisible and living consciousness is not isolated. In effect, there’s nothing that is not part of this field. There’s nothing that is not God.” Our universe, if we are reading the map(s) correctly, is an ever-unfolding composite of light, sound, vibration, emptiness and form. Most of us perceive only the parts of our world that are necessary for survival. We trust our senses to serve

It is the aim of the religious to know the backroads to the Soul, the alleyways that cut between the biosphere and the noösphere on the way to Christ Consciousness, and the detours around the non-stop construction at the intersection of Psychology and Theology.

With a new map we may arrive at a cohesive understanding of the Cosmos. We may travel up the many mountain paths of interfaith dialogue to the summit, where all paths converge.

And only then will we realize that the mountain (which we fought so hard to conquer) is a grain of sand. The map we were holding onto so dearly was written upside down, in a different language, using invisible ink. The only map we needed was laid out before us in our original mind, and the only compass that functions without ceasing rests in the engine of our soul.

This is an excerpt from Integral Church: A Handbook for New Spiritual Communities by Joran Slane Oppelt. It is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. To buy the book, click here.

ABOUT THE BOOK Integral Church: A Handbook for New Spiritual Communities is a collection of prayers, meditations, songs and other tools for transformation from many of the world’s religions. This new revised edition for 2018 includes a history of Integral Spirituality, new essays, the Integral Church Facilitator’s Guide and an expanded appendix featuring wedding ceremonies (religious, non-religious and interfaith), memorial services, fatherhood and motherhood ceremonies, and other seasonal and life cycle rituals (including the Cosmic Dance). This handbook is perfect for clergy, healers, therapists, interfaith ministers, as well as those interested in developing their own spiritual practice or starting their own home church, study group or spiritual community using integral frameworks.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

as a window to a complete vision of the Universe when in reality they act as a kind of lens or filter (what Aldous Huxley referred to as a “reducing valve”) to throttle the ratio of signal to noise, or to block out that which the body (or mind) cannot process or comprehend.

There remains “information” beyond the fringe or between the frequencies and we are occasionally offered a glimpse of it. The veil of perception is sometimes parted and we are illuminated by Oneness, struck speechless and still by the beauty and grace of a perfectly chaotic Cosmos. One might think of our entire Self (body, mind and Spirit) as a sort of prism that refracts an infinite amount of information down into the most basic tones and colors.

Joran Slane Oppelt is an international speaker, author, interfaith minister, life coach and award-winning singer/songwriter. He is the owner of the Metta Center of St. Petersburg and founder of the Integral Church. Joran is the author of Integral Church: A Handbook for New Spiritual Communities, Sentences, The Mountain and the Snow and co-author of Order of the Sacred Earth (with Matthew Fox). Joran holds certificates in Religious Literacy (Harvard Online) and Sacred Storytelling (Multifaith Storytelling Institute). He serves as President of Interfaith Tampa Bay and Ambassador of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. He has spoken around the world about spirituality and innovation at events like South by Southwest in Austin, TX; Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City; Embrace Festival in Portland, OR and Integral European Conference in Siófok, Hungary.

For more information about Integral Church, visit integralchurch.org and for more information on Joran’s books and workshops, please visit joranslane.com.

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Spotlight on Transformative Communities

Merging the Art and Science of Community: Prosocial.world

By David Sloan Wilson

Creating a vibrant community is an art, requiring vision, passion, talent, and experience. But it is also a science, requiring theory, experimentation, and assessment. Fortunately, these two approaches to community-building need not be opposed but can mutually reinforce each other.

Prosocial.world is a science-based approach to building strong groups and multi-group “cultural ecosystems." It is based on a fusion of scientific disciplines, including evolutionary theory, the Nobel-prize winning work of political scientist Elinor Ostrom, and the latest mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques.

It begins with the fundamental question: how can cooperative social interactions survive in a Darwinian world? This question can now be answered in considerable detail, explaining both the presence and absence of cooperation in the natural world and in human social life.

Armed with this scientific knowledge, it is possible to help groups reflect upon their purpose, assess how well they are currently functioning, and to improve their social organization so that they can function better.

Elinor Ostrom received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2009 for her work on the famous “tragedy of the commons," which is the tendency of groups to overexploit their natural resources. By studying actual groups that utilize common-pool resources such as forests, fields, pastures, and fisheries, she showed that some of the groups were able to avoid the tragedy of overuse, without the need for top-down regulations or privatization, but only if they possess certain “Core Design Principles (CDPs)." I was fortunate to work with Lin, as she preferred to be called, for three years prior to her death in 2012.

Our collaboration showed that the same CDPs needed by common-pool resource groups are needed for almost all cooperative endeavors. Prosocial. world provides an easy way for groups to learn about the CDPs, assess how well they are currently being implemented, and to implement them more effectively.

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The CDPs can be regarded as a blueprint for becoming a stronger group. Changing in a positive direction can be difficult, however, as we remind ourselves every year when we first make and then fail to fulfill our New Year’s resolutions! And change can be even more difficult for groups than for individuals. That’s where the other major component of Prosocial.world comes in, based on the latest techniques in mindfulness-based training/ therapy, which help groups reflect upon their true values, mental barriers that get in the way, how the mental barriers manifest as counterproductive behaviors, and how to avoid these behaviors to move toward the valued goals. These methods have a proven effectiveness for accomplishing individual change and can be just as effective for groups.

Prosocial.world is being developed by a team of scientists working through the Evolution Institute with financial support from philanthropic organizations such as the Templeton World Charity Foundation. It has been used to help groups as diverse as community radio stations, urban parks, schools for at-

One of the central insights of Prosocial. world is that human social life consists of groups within groups within groups.

At every rung of this multi-tier hierarchy, the same social dilemma repeats itself.

What’s good for me can be bad for my group. What’s good for my group can be bad for the larger community within which it is nested. What’s good for the community can be bad for other communities, all the way up to planetary welfare. Therefore, the goal of Prosocial.world is not only to help groups become more cooperative internally, but also to function as cooperative agents in larger, multigroup cultural ecosystems. This is possible because the CDPs are scaleindependent and can be used to structure between-group interactions in addition to within-group interactions.

risk youth, businesses, government agencies, and villages in Sierra Leone, where it was used to combat the ebola epidemic. Visit the magazine section of the website for more on these examples.

A Prosocial.world facilitation can take place quickly—as little as two days in a retreat-like setting or three meetings spaced a week apart. Progress is rigorously assessed, and most groups experience a measurable improvement in variables such as positive feelings about the group, psychological safety, psychological flexibility, and trust-even by the end of the short training period. The assessment continues in 30, 60, and 90-day follow-ups, with the intention of working with our groups over the long-term.

In addition, our network will provide rich opportunities for interactions among groups.

We are especially eager to engage groups whose members appreciate the importance of spirituality and art. These go a long way toward providing a strong sense of meaning—which happens to be the first Core Design Principle. Indeed, we are in a position to scientifically assess the degree to which a spiritual and artistic orientation “adds life” to a group. Join us for one of the boldest social experiments of our time!

David Sloan Wilson is SUNY Distinguished Professor at Binghamton University and President of the Evolution Institute (EI), a nonprofit that formulates public policy from an evolutionary perspective. He has made fundamental contributions to evolutionary theory and its application to human affairs. He writes for a spectrum of readers, from experts to the lay public, in his books and the EI's online magazine This View of Life. His last book is Does Altruism Exist? Culture, Genes, and the Welfare of Others (Yale/ Templeton 2015). His next book is This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution and Evolving the Future (Pantheon 2019).

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Karuna’s Instructional Guide to Yoga, Issue 2

We’re pleased to present, issue by issue in Light on Light, an Instructional Guide paralleling the Yoga Sessions available on Karuna’s Apple and Play Station App and for your yoga practice in general. Instructions and demonstrations in each issue of Light on Light will be built around an at least 30-minute Yoga Session demonstrated in a linked video and described in the Instructional Guide.

As Light on Light issues accumulate this will build a general guide and manual for your exploration and development in yoga. And, we plan to present that in a stand-alone manual in the future too. Exciting!

In using the Instructional Guide, you’ll want to refer both to (1) the Foundational Guide, which is about activities and poses common to all yoga practice or sessions (warming up and fundamental poses and breath work) and (2) the Session Guides which provide instructions for particular sessions taught by Karuna.

What’s great about our format is that all session elements (eg, asanas, mudras, mantras, etc.) will have a number—the Manual Tag (M-tag: #)—and this will allow you to locate them easily as they are arranged in different orders or sequences in future sessions and issues.

In both the Foundational Guide and the Session Guides, the elements will be added gradually, session by session and issue by issue, and so will accumulate for you in a natural way.

The purpose of the guides, overall, is to give you a comprehensive reference tool as you build your yoga practice and development.

Worldwide, there are over twenty kinds, or schools, of yoga. Karuna’s expertise is in Kundalini Yoga, in the tradition of the Sikh master Yogi Bhajan. Although we’ll center on that tradition in this manual for fundamentals, warm-ups, and so on, we will also universalize. For instance, in naming the various elements, we’ll provide both the common English names and also the range of names used in the ancient Indian (Sanskrit) traditions.

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Q&A with Karuna What is the difference between Kundalini Yoga and other Yoga paths?

Kundalini Yoga is regarded as “the dangerous yoga” because it opens you up! It clarifies the depth of how much you want to glow, feel good, trust, share, and find happiness. We all have experienced the Hatha Yoga Path. It was Yogi Bhajan’s first path. But then he said, “I just don’t want to wear a loin cloth.”

He reached his personal heights through meditations, and yoga asanas, in the “kriya style” of sequences—to work on specific organs, tissues, joints, glands, the skeleton, and so on. He also employed sound current to uplift from the heart center and out of the “lower triangle” to the upper, higher, Self.

You can raise your frequency and elevate with balanced Yoga asanas (posture practices) and then further culminate these with sound current through Gong, laying out with Gong and in deep meditation.

What does your daily practice look like?

My daily practice is what is called “Aquarian Sadhana”. It combines yoga, meditations, and teachings. Details of those elements change all the time (there are over 4000 variants to choose from!) but the essential makeup of Aquarian Sadhana always includes those three essential core components.

What is most inspiring in your yoga practice?

Hearing, and watching how the flow takes its time to seep into my cells step by step, demon by demon, until all becomes peaceful and reunited into the present moment of breath and serenity. It’s an incredible experience each day from sunrise to sunset.

How has yoga changed your life?

Yoga has given me the courage to understand the “AKAL”— the deathlessness, having no fear, and letting go into trust.

Working with my practice gives me stamina and vitality and helps heal layers of wounds, freeing old subconscious patterns that no longer serve me. Discovering the Divine Feminine brings more and more love, and love to share with everyone.

I’m always thanking the past for all it has taught me and understanding that, just as we’ve had generations before us to serve, we have generations after us to serve as well. Actually,

it’s all about being in LOVE!

Foundational Guide The Foundational Guide will grow step by step.

Elements included below are those from the Yoga Session(s) of Issue 1 Warming Up and Tuning In Begin Warm Up and Tune In from “Easy Pose.”

Easy Pose (Sukhasana) [M-tag: 1] is the most common sitting position in Yoga, and the position that is most often employed between other position elements (each called an “asana”) or sequences of asanas (sequences called “kriyas”). In Easy Pose (often in English called “sitting cross legged”) you sit comfortably on the ground or floor with your legs crossed in front of you, spine and head straight.

A modified version of Easy Pose, often used as part of, or between, other poses is Rock Pose (Vajrasana) [M-tag 2]. You sit as in Easy Pose but, instead, of sitting with legs crossed in front of you, the legs are folded under you and you “sit on your heels.”

Warming Up Sitting in Easy Pose hands are drawn together in front of you, palm to palm, and the palms are briskly rubbed back and forth as if to warm them. This livens the arms and body and gets you ready for Yoga practice.

Tuning In The hands are drawn together, palm to palm, in front of the chest at heart level, as in the gesture of “Namaste” or Eastern bowing. This is also called “Prayer Pose” (Pranamasana) [M-tag: 3] whether done standing or sitting.

In Karuna’s tradition, tune-in is done with two short Ancient Chants (mantras) from the Sikh tradition.

The language is Gurmukhi but you’ll easily accustom to it from the demonstrations and the English transliterations of the words, often used as below.

The opening Mantra is known in the ancient traditions as the Adi Mantra (meaning “primal sound”) sometimes colloquially also called simply “Ong Namo.” Of course, the Teacher will often demonstrate but the transliteration below makes it easy: Ong Namo, Guroo Dayv Namo, usually repeated three times, or as instructed.

On “Ong,” the emphasis is on the “oNG,” letting the NG vibrate in the sinuses and on the upper palate of the mouth. “Namo” is pronounced “Nam” (as in Vietnam)- O (oh). Guroo is pronounced as in “Guru,” “Dayv” is more like “Dave.”

The literal meaning is usually translated “I bow to the Creative Wisdom, I bow to the Divine Teacher” meaning, of course, both within and without. This tuning in connects you to both Source and Self.

This mantra is followed by a second short “mantra of the Heart,” also often called, from its first line, Aad Guray Nameh Pronounced more like “odd,” “guray,” “na-meh.”

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This mantra is a prayer for protection and success. Translated through all four of its lines its means “I bow to Primal Wisdom; I bow to the Wisdom of the Ages; I bow to True Wisdom; I bow to the great unseen Wisdom.”

The four lines of the mantra as easily transliterated for English as below: Aad Guray Nameh Pronounced more like “odd,” “guray,” “na-meh.”

Jugaad Guray Nameh Pronounced more like “ju-God,” “guray,” “na-meh.”

Sat Guray Nameh Pronounced more like “sought,” “guray,” “na-meh.”

Siree Guroo Dayvay Nameh Pronounced more like “Sirie,” “Guru,” “Day-vay,” “nameh.”

After the Tune-In the Teacher then leads the participants into the asanas and kriyas of the session.

Practice Warming Up and Tuning In with Karuna in the video above.

Universal Lying Poses Corpse Pose (aka Savasana, "total relax") [M-tag: 7] The classic yoga pose for resting. Lay on your back with legs and arms comfortably relaxed; arms at your side; hands relaxed, palms up, and head placed comfortably. Corpse pose can be a starter pose for numerous asana variations.

Universal Breath Work Breath of Fire (aka Bhastrika or “Shining Skull”) [M-tag: 8] is a fundamental breathing technique used in combination with numerous asanas.

Rhythm: It is a rapid breathing (or “panting”) in which the exhale goes out and then back (as inhale) in a natural and steady rhythm which can be done at various speeds. If the exhale is proficient the inhale follows almost automatically. The diaphragm moves up and down from the navel point. This is often described as “short rapid exhalations followed with passive inhalations."

It is important to learn Breath of Fire correctly and not force it, thus starting out from slower rhythms (like 4060 breaths per minute) and then increase with experience.

Method: Classic Breath of Fire is back and forth through the nose. However, it can be learned also by “panting, mouth open, like a dog."

Mudras Mudras are positions of the hands which are a part of asana and kriyas. There are dozens of mudras and mudra variations which will be introduced into the Instructional Guide as they arise kriya by kriya.

Gyan Mudra (Gesture of Consciousness or Seal of Knowledge) [M-tag: 13] Gyan Mudra is perhaps the most well-known mudra to public parlance. The hand is held open, palms up, with the tip of the thumb joining with the tip of the index finger (to form a circle). Gyan Mudra has two variations—active and passive.

In "active" the index finger is tucked under the end of the thumb; in "passive" the tips of the thumb and index finger are touching directly. The passive version is the most widely used.

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Session Guide Growing Closer to the Divine Description: This Light on Light issue on "Community" invites us to grow closer to the Divine—and that is all of us and all things!

This is Divine Community! To join with All, lets grow closer to our daily practice and meditation, and also freer from distractive noise—inside and out. This kriya intentionally emphasizes the meditative—quieting and calming. With appropriate asanas for the body, it moves through breathing, cleansing and mindfulness—and then culminates in a deep resting with gong and mantra. With daily awareness we are realizing and finding Peace, Harmony and the Creative Forces within and around us. True Community! Many blessings from Heart to yours!

Quote:

“Kundalini Yoga gives a human nothing but prosperity and perpetual strength, an unending strength that can't be stolen; it can't be taken away.”~Yogi Bhajan Sufi Grind (Siri Om) [M-tag: 14] Beginning in Easy Pose [see Foundational Guide M-tag 1] grasp the kneecaps with the hands and rotate the torso in circles, holding the head nearly stationary. Use the spine like a "grinding wheel" going first clockwise numerous times and then counterclockwise numerous times, etc. as further instructed by the Teacher.

3 minutes or as instructed by the Teacher.

Bowing (Dhanurasana) [M-tag: 15] Generally, bowing can be seated or standing, moving or still (the Teacher specifies). From Easy Pose / Prayer Pose [see Foundational Guide M-tag: 1] do repeated slow and reverent waist bows, breathing as appropriate.

M-tag: 14

3 minutes or as instructed by the Teacher.

Knee Bounce (Butterfyl Knees) [M-tag: 16] From the Easy Pose just above, beginning gently, bounce the knees up and down becoming more vigorous as possible (be cautious and measured re: vigor if you have any chronic knee complaints).

As you bounce the knees, inhale and exhale deeply in a rhythm that suits you.

M-tag: 15

2 minutes or as instructed by the Teacher.

Long Deep Breathing (Pranayam option) [M-tag: 17] with Concentration on the Third Eye Point (Ajna point) [M-tag: 18] From the Easy Pose just above, breathe in complete and long breaths while concentrating on the Third Eye Point [with eyes closed, look up at the "Third Eye", the space between the eyebrows, the sixth chakra].

M-tag: 16

Note: in this kriya "Growing Closer to the Divine," Karuna asks that while practicing this asana, you "scan the body for tensions and pain" and "relieve these by 'equalizing'consciously relaxing those areas."

5 minutes or as instructed by the Teacher.

M-tag: 17 & 18 70

Nadi Cleansing (Alternate Nostril Breathing) [M-tag: 19] Eye Position: Eyelids can be gently and narrowly open and relaxed, focusing lightly on the Brow Point.

Hand Positions (Mudra): Thumb and index finger are used to close and open the appropriate nostril ("U-breathing").

Breathing Pattern (inhale, hold, exhale): holding the right nostril closed with the thumb, inhale through the left nostril; then, opening the right nostril, holding the left nostril with the index finger, exhale through the right nostril.

M-tag: 19

In same position now inhale through the right nostril; then, opening the left nostril, and holding the right nostril with the thumb, exhale through the left nostril.

Repeat, or as instructed by the Teacher.

3 to 5 minutes or as instructed by the Teacher.

Front Life Nerve Stretch (Paschimottanasana or Siri Om) [M-tag: 8A] with a breathing asana "inhale, head up" and the "exhale, head down." Slow but powerful breaths, increasing speed as instructed by the Teacher (be careful not to compress the neck when moving the head back).

M-tag: 8A

Life Nerve Stretch Variations can also involve, on the exhale (1) alternate bending of the back and head toward the knees, reaching out with the arms and hands to touch the toes, first right, then left or (2) bending of the back and head toward the center, reaching out straight with the arms and hands between the legs. The Teacher will instruct concerning these choices and the number of repetitions.

90 seconds or as instructed by the Teacher.

Breath of Fire while in Corpse Pose See the Foundational Guide [M-tags: 4 and 5].

In “Growing Closer to the Divine” Karuna asks that while practicing Breath of Fire from Corpse Pose, you also shake/ move your body, as motivated in the moment, to “expel pain” and “negativity.” Consciously concentrate on these expulsions as you do this asana.

3.5 minutes or as instructed by the Teacher.

Savasana See the Foundational Guide [M-tag: 4] In “Growing Closer to the Divine” Karuna provides 11 minutes of Gong which can be found on the YouTube video from minutes 26-37.

Seated Meditation with Mantra (“The One Meditation”) In “Growing Closer to the Divine” Karuna ends the Kriya with 15 minutes of the Mantra “Me in God, God in Me, are One” from easy pose sitting with palms up and hands in Gyan Mudra [see Foundational Guide, M-tag: 9].

On the YouTube video this is from minutes 40-60. While the mantra is sung the right hand is moved step by step from chakra to chakra, starting from the base of the spine to the crown chakra above the head. After each stepwise movement the hand dropped slowly from the crown to the base of the spine and the sequence repeated.

Musical Versions: a 20-minute YouTube Version is available here.

And a 7-minute version by Snatam Kaur and GuruGanesha (after a short introduction) is available here.

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COSTA RICA RETREAT December 1 to 8, 2018 I Blue Spirit, Nosara www.lightonkundalini.com YOGA INFO LINE: 303.803.0159

lightonkundalini app for your mobile device

Kundalini yoga offers ways to transform the complexities of modern life into a rich tapestry of joys and blessings, using ancient yogic practices that have survived through the ages because they really work.

• Full length 60 - 90 minute yoga classes, taught by Karuna • New yoga classes added weekly • Track your progress with the Calendar & Streak Tracker • Like classes to add them to your favorites collection • Access the entire Light on Kundalini catalog to practice past classes • Advance your yoga practice with sadhana, meditation, and more If you are brand new, I want to offer you a 7-day trial, free with your initial subscription. click icon to be taken to app page

Come on in. You’ll see.

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Inspired Lifestyles

Living in Resonance

By Jeff Vander Clute

A decade ago I transitioned from living in one place, to being at home in many places.

The shift happened quite naturally and organically after I had been devoted to a spiritual path for about a year and a half.

The exploration began with A Course in Miracles and then expanded to embrace the teachings of the major faith traditions. Buddhism and the mystical aspects of Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam all spoke to me, as did Nonduality. Amidst such a richness of spiritual beauty and profundity I soon found myself on a contemplative and pathless journey, without a single tradition or lineage to rely on, into an all-encompassing Divinity of Love.

With no established path to follow, my wanderings became – slowly at first – a spiritual practice of standing in the Unknown, listening for subtle signals from a source beyond manifestation, and stepping consciously into the currents of life with love and compassion. After a year of living in this manner, while on a road trip in the USA, the foundations for

a process called “Resonance Mapping” appeared in a flash of insight that transformed my wanderings into a science.

In essence, I realized that it was both possible and totally appropriate to navigate the complexities of life by paying close attention to what had the most aliveness, or resonance.

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Having studied mathematics and the sciences, my natural tendency was to be systematic. So I created a matrix of the opportunities that life was presenting (e.g. where to travel, roles and volunteer positions, etc.) and used my felt sense of aliveness – initially a kind of rising energy sensation around my spine – to rank each one on a scale of 0-10. Then I sorted the matrix by descending resonance and voilà… I could literally see where life wanted to go. Then, when sitting in meditation with the highest-resonance items, additional insights came as to how I could flow and collaborate with life consciously rather than unintentionally moving against it.

As a science experiment, I chose to align with life in every moment to the best of my ability. This required me to set aside my ideas about how life should work, and certainly I was not always successful. Nevertheless, my persistence was rewarded as life flowed more and more gracefully with dramatically less inner and outer conflict. Perhaps because I found myself passionately engaged in an experiment that was working, instead of settling into complacency as life improved, I became radically dedicated to learning how life works. From there, the quest to understand life led me inexorably to dedicate my days to discovering how God works.

Fast-forwarding a few years, the pathless path of resonance has led me to a “Grand Unification” of science and spirituality, of intuition and analysis, and of individual, collective, and universal service at this painful and yet utterly profound moment in human history. I said “yes!” to serve Humanity’s waking up and growing up, and the well-being of Earth. This has brought me into relationship with luminous organizations such as Alliance for the Earth, Charter for Compassion International, NewStories, Planet Protector Academy, Source of Synergy Foundation, and UNITY EARTH, to name just a few. Each of these groups is working egolessly to inspire a new, life-affirming way forward that includes everyone – and the whole web of life.

of going was maximal according to the latest evolution of Resonance Mapping, and that was enough for me.

That afternoon my colleague and I reached the ashram and were welcomed with a warmth and a quality of Love that I had never experienced. Over the following two days something in me was broken open – my heart! – and healed. It is said that there’s no substitute for a mother’s love. Indeed, the Love of Mother Ganga and the Divine Mother energy, so strongly present at the ashram, proved this to be true on a cosmic scale. I am eternally

grateful to H.H. Pujya Swamiji, Sadhviji, and our new friends Indu and Laurie at Parmarth, as well as to Lakshmiji and all of my colleagues at UNITY EARTH, for your many gifts on this Great Adventure of the Spirit.

The spiritual practice of living in resonance has transformed my entire life into a Great Adventure of service and illumination. Last month, after a UNITY EARTH Convergence event in Delhi, India, I had the joy of visiting Parmarth Niketan, an ashram on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh that is home to the International Yoga Festival. As I had never been to Rishikesh, I boarded the 6:45 am train from Delhi to Haridwar without any idea of what to expect. The trip was, as usual, a leap into the Unknown. Nevertheless, the resonance

The experience of Parmarth Niketan confirmed for perhaps the ten thousandth time that the spiritual practice of listening deeply to life – whether in the form of Resonance Mapping or in some other way – works. Everything I have learned so far while wandering through the fields of resonance suggests that listening to the subtle whispers of Grace, and then responding from Love, is the way life works… and maybe even the way Creator, Divinity, God the Mother-Father, Great Spirit works. Yet, whatever I may have learned on this pathless path, I remain in listening and in service, humbled by the Great Mystery. There is always infinitely more.

Jeff Vander Clute is a veteran entrepreneur, consciousness coach, and organizational consultant committed to co-creating a society filled with humans and organizations that are AWAKE. Through working with a variety of luminous ventures – and with Life itself – Jeff has developed unique wisdom systems and transformational processes that enable individuals and teams to operate with radical clarity, develop extraordinary abilities, and get results. He loves offering powerfully transformative retreats and experiences such as “The Consciousness of Money.” Jeff is a committed UNITY EARTH team member, a co-founder of Sourcing The Way, and a co-steward of the Center for Awakened Human Capacities.

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3 Steps to Manifesting Global Kindness: How How aa #GlobalkindnessRevolution #GlobalkindnessRevolution started started with with one one mom mom making making aa wish wish

By Karen Palmer

It all began with a thought. I thought, "It is almost my birthday; what do I wish for?" I am honestly living my dream life and have been happily married for 23 years to my best friend. I have a beautiful 21-year-old daughter who is manifesting her dreams. I work as a Conscious Dog Trainer, Success/Mindful Coach and Kundalini Yoga Instructor. I am happier than I have ever been in my whole life, but it was not always that way. I reflected back to the years when I was suffering in silence as a victim of domestic abuse and when I was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Those were some hard times. But, during that time I learned these three steps that I believe can help anyone manifest anything. I began to think of how I changed my thoughts and all the external circumstances changed too.

Now my life is about helping people and animals step into their greatness. I decided on my birthday in December of 2014 to make a wish that Global Kindness go viral. Then I remembered the three steps that changed my life.

I bet you want to know what those three steps are; they are very simple, but you need to choose to believe your thoughts will become things.

Let your imagination and emotions run wild for 68 seconds. Thinking wouldn’t it be great if……..

The idea of global kindness made me feel really good. I thought about it and imagined how I could help it spread. Then I remembered the how’s are up to the Universe. My job is to be super focused and clear on what I want. I choose to see a world where we can use social media for good. I have a great community online and followers on social media. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone would help spread kindness? Then the thought popped into my head–I can make a video and ask people to do one act of kindness. I asked them to share the video and post what their act was so we as a community could focus on the good things people are doing. It was amazing. People shared the video and posted from all over the world. I heard from London, Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, and all over the United States. I knew this wish was divinely inspired through me but that our world was ready for Global Kindness to go Global. Every day I would let my imagination go. Then I would feel how happy I was when I thought about all the ways I could help spread kindness. I know what you think about you bring about.

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Take action steps in the direction of your dream (even if they are baby steps). The Universe is watching.

I began to journal any ideas that came to me after I imagined. I decided to create Global Kindness TV. I set up an appointment with my nephew who is a professional videographer and I got in touch with the International Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. I asked local stores in my area if they would donate a product and I set up a website. I live in a beautiful town that is filled with tourists from all over the world. It is a magical place where all races get along. I thought this would be the perfect place to begin filming Global Kindness TV. This would be the City of Kindness and I would be the host and give a gift to a stranger on the street with a “Tag You’re It” card asking them to "Pay it Forward" and share on our website what they did so we could focus on kindness and all the good things people are doing. Many of my friends in my social networks heard about what I was doing and asked me to be a guest blogger for them. I was really seeing how powerful my thoughts and intentions really are and I was about to see things get even better. The dream was big, and I knew invisible helpers would be guiding my steps. I started doing several online talk shows featuring people and organizations who were being part of the solution and we collaborated to cross-promote each other. I connected with several National Kindness Leaders and co-created #TeamKindness my two girlfriends also wanted to use social media for a higher good. We co-created www.facebook.com/ spiritualitygonewild. The movement kept growing and hundreds of thousands of people were watching and sharing.

Allow the Universe to take care of the details and be grateful Many of my friends in my social networks heard about what I was doing and asked me to be a guest blogger for them. I was getting invitations to be on popular podcasts. My social media as @MindfulMediaMom had grown to over 30,000 followers. I was teaming up with other organizations and impacting many lives daily. I was really seeing how powerful my thoughts and intentions really are and I was about to see things get even better. I am now a recording artist with musical coloring kindness activity books. My advice to anyone who reads this and wants to share their message and gifts globally, is to JUST START. Let go of the how and get ready for the wow. Enjoy the magical moments and the journey, trust in your inner guidance, and shine your light as bright as you can.

Karen Palmer is the mom who made a wish and started a kindness revolution. She is the founder of The #Globalkindness Revolution networking with many to co-create a kinder and more loving world. She has been nick-named The Queen Of Globalkindness, and is also known as a Modern Day Mystical Mr.Rogers who uses music, meditation, mindful practices, and mantras for empowerment of all ages. You can manifest your dreams at www.globalkindnesstv.org

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Travel

Along the journey

Spiritual Travel and Women

By Joanna Kujawa

woman was allowed ‘absolution’ from her martial vows and was free to travel. An English housewife, Margaret Kempe, travelled to Jerusalem and to many other places of pilgrimage in Europe. She had to agree to fulfil many demands put forward by her husband, such as: firstly, paying off his debts, stopping fasting on Fridays so he could enjoy feasting with her, and going back to her duties as a wife upon her return. She encountered, at times, comical obstacles and had off beat adventures, one of which included arguing with the Bishop of York about her right to travel before winning the argument in front of the entire congregation.

As did Birgitta of Sweden, a wealthy aristocratic woman who, upon her husband’s death, decided she was now ready to fulfil a destiny larger than that of a wife. But this was not easy, as she needed to convince her priest that her vision of Jesus telling her to go on a pilgrimage was legitimate. She first travelled to Rome, and not quietly, as she was famous for telling the Pope what she thought of the schism in the Church that was taking place at the time.

Then she moved on to Jerusalem.

Similarly, in the 12th century the famous Eleonor of Aquitaine, the Queen of France and England, insisted on accompanying her husband on a crusade to the Holy Land, mostly because of her taste for adventure. It was during the pilgrimage, away from the familiarity of her regular surroundings, that she began to assert herself as a person and as a woman in her own right. The pilgrimage in many ways was the turning point in her life—something that her

Spiritual travel has always been around, even in times believed to be very unfriendly to travellers. In the early Middle Ages, many people, including women, travelled to holy shrines all over Europe and even as far as the Holy Land. The most notable traveller of the fourth century was Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great.

She travelled widely in the Holy Land and is credited with the rediscovery of major Christian places of worship, including the Holy Sepulchre, where legend says Jesus’ tomb had once been. At the moment this location is highly contested, but it does not take away from the courage of the woman who, at the ripe old age of 80, undertook the adventure of her life!

Throughout the Middle Ages women were avid travellers, whether they were aware of Helena’s achievements or not. Despite the fact that married women needed their husband’s permission to travel, travel they did—and a lot. In some ways, pilgrimages were the only way a 77

Macchu Picchu—in the search for answers that are difficult to find on home ground.

So, what is it about pilgrimages and spiritually inclined travel that empowers and transforms not only us but also people of the past, who were relatively powerless before their experiences in spiritual travel?

contemporaries, such as Joh of Salisbury and Richard of Deviez—did not fail to notice or comment on.

I believe that when we travel for spiritual purposes, be it through a traditional pilgrimage, be it spiritual travel in search of a Self not necessarily religiously defined, we allow ourselves to explore our new Selves. Removed from the familiarity of our surroundings, we experience both emotional and spiritual freedom to rediscover ourselves by pushing the boundaries of what is known for us psychologically, geographically and spiritually. In the end, we come back renewed and strangely empowered, knowing that we can face our own growth—which implies change to old routines. And most of all, we move ever so closer to the mystery of being a spiritual person.

There were many others. Two of these women, Margaret Kempe and Birgitta of Sweden, later wrote travel memoirs, sharing their spiritual adventures with their contemporaries and for posterity. In their books they focus on the transformational aspect of pilgrimage and their personal experiences. This was probably the first time in history, scholars argue, that women were able to put themselves at the centre of the narratives of their lives.

And this happened through their descriptions of spiritual experiences whilst travelling.

In modern times, travelling for spiritual reasons has become a great industry, with numbers exceeding 100 million people per year and growing. Starting with Madame Blavatsky in the 19th century who travelled to India, Tibet and Egypt and continuing in most recent decades with Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love and Sarah Macdonald of Holy Cow! Many other women also undertake spiritual travel for the very same reasons as their famous predecessors. Their destinations may vary from India to the Holy Land to

Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love

Joanna Kujawa, PhD, is the author of a spiritual travelogue Jerusalem Diary: Searching for the Tomb and House of Jesus and the Journaling to Manifest the Lost Goddess in Your Life Workbook. She is also co-author and co-editor of Tourism Management Perspectives' issue on Spiritual Travel and many other articles and academic papers on Spiritual Travel. She is inordinately passionate about her Goddess News blog.

Author’s note: Except for the Sea of Galilee photographed by me, the rest of the images are courtesy of Wikimedia.

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Books A Note from the Host Editor: This book, and story, found us as we were creating this Light on Light issue on "Community". One might, at first, ask what the connection is between a special issue on "transformative community" and the story of a veteran's experience with trauma, as in Blind Vision. But the answer hits you pretty fast.

What is more a story of transformation, and community, then a family and community that experience both a trauma and then a healing? There is so much wisdom-building in that process. Chad and Howard say it very well: "You may be reading this book because you are a member of a club one never wants to join…comprised of people who have survived a traumatic or catastrophic event. If “triumph over tragedy” seems like a nice idea, but hardly attainable given what you have been through, then this book is for you."

We heartfully welcome Chad and Howard's message to this Light on Light issue.

Love to all, Karuna

The Blind Vision Story “I may of lost my sight, but I never lost my vision” H.L. Myers I am an ordinary man who has had some extraordinary experiences. In particular, my life changed forever when, as a soldier in Viet Nam in 1967, I lost my eyesight.

Permanently. Now it is the 50th anniversary of that event, and these past five decades have been both the most challenging and the most rewarding imaginable.

For anyone who has experienced any kind of life-altering trauma like me, I’m sharing my story here. Not because it is the most amazing story you’ll ever hear, but because it is one of triumph over tragedy, and people tell me it is inspiring, it is empowering, it gives hope. To my readers who are veterans: I am veteran. If I can make a difference and help my Veteran Brothers and Sisters move from tragedy to triumph, then that would please me. And, I know many non-veterans who have heavy crosses to bear, having had terribly unfortunate things happen that confirm, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that life isn’t fair. I write this with you in my heart.

A blind person asked St. Anthony, “Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?” He replied, “Yes, losing your vision.” If you or someone you know has lost their vision for a bright future, I promise you it is not too late to build a life you love—starting from wherever you are now.

You may be reading this book because you are a member of a club one never wants to join…comprised of people who have survived a traumatic or catastrophic event. If “triumph over tragedy” seems like a nice idea, but hardly attainable given what you have been through, then this book is for you. Throughout the dark hours of my days and nights, I’ve 79

never lost my vision of having a life worth living, connected with loved ones, doing meaningful work, and most importantly, contributing to others. Whatever your vision, you can live it and it will sustain you. In partnership with my son, Chad Myers, I have been able to share my story with many audiences. With my story of victory over victimhood along with his insight and life coaching mastery, we make an impact everywhere we go—in schools, veterans’ organizations, churches and corporations. I write this not as a glowing review for myself, but as the miracle that it is.

That I could reach out and touch other people whose pain is no less than mine, who are hungry for hope and a vision of a life restored to joy…that is a miracle. I may not have the honor of meeting you in person, of sitting down in front of my glowing fireplace on a crisp Michigan evening…so I am writing this book as my way of chatting with you, in hopes you can relate, be inspired, and find yourself a little stronger. With a more firm footing, you can continue your path of healing and strengthening.

This book is for anyone in “the club” of trauma survivors who could use some inspiration, a little humor, and plenty of encouragement—and especially for those close to them who seek more understanding.

About Us Howard Myers is a motivational speaker, inspiring audiences from small church congregations to large conferences with thousands of attendees. He is the co-founder of Blind Vision, a company that provides coaching, workshops and training in personal empowerment. Non-profit organizations, veterans’ groups, schools, churches and companies in multiple industries have asked Howard to bring his message of hope and empowerment to audiences from every walk of life.

Howard had a long career as “a multi-million-dollar insurance producer who just so happens to be blind.” Howard finished #2 in the nation among rookie agents as a career life insurance agent with Mass Mutual. Howard is a former national lives leader and winner of the Oscar of Salesmanship where he spoke to a crowd of 3,000 at Ford Theater with the late Paul Harvey.

Howard is published author, an inspirational speaker, a semi-retired independent insurance agent, co-founder of the Mindworks Performance Group, and along with his son, Chad, co-founder of Blind Vision. Howard may have lost his sight but never lost his vision.

He enjoys a very active lifestyle, residing in Michigan with his wife of 44 years, Debbie. He is a member of the Bobby Crim Hall of Fame, an avid runner, a family man, a father of four, and grandfather of seven.

Chad Myers is certified life coach, mentor, and inspirational speaker. His passion is to empower people to change and grow. With his extensive background as a school teacher, researcher, and parent educator he is able to help individuals, families and organizations with social and emotional intelligence, resilience, goal setting and achieving, communicating to connect, mental and physical well-being, fatherhood, spirituality and shifting from trauma to triumph.

He has 25 years’ experience in the profession of education. He has worked with people from all walks of life from school aged children, to prison inmates, to corporate leaders. Chad is the co-founder of Blind Vision and also The Mindworks Performance Group.

Chad has a BS Ed. and M.Ed.; he attended University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Marygrove College. Chad is a proud parent of his 27-year-old son, Cameron, advertising agency owner in Traverse City Michigan. Chad and his fiancée Joanna currently live on Longboat Key in Florida.

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Books Let There Be Light

the most influential mystics across sacred traditions: Rabbi Abraham Abulafia (1240-1296) and his students, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), and St. Symeon (949-1022). Lesser known mystics are included as well.

Arthur Stein, PhD & Andrew Vidich, PhD Integral Horizons, 2016, 293 pages Soft Cover

When I opened the pages to Chapter 3--Hinduism: The Light That Illumines the Self, I held my breath. “Hinduism,” a name given to Indian religions by the British when they were trying to make sense of all the gods and goddesses on the banks of the Indus River, can take down even the most erudite.

Stein and Vidich made some wise decisions in dealing with the vastness of India.

Experiencing Inner Light Across the World’s Sacred Traditions

By Sw. Shraddhananda Saraswati Book Review Editor

When Let There Be Light first appeared in 2016, the late Dr. Joyce Liechenstein, for many years a Dean and Chaplain at One Spirit Learning Alliance in New York City, strongly encouraged people to read it.

“You have got to read this book,” she said to me at least twice, with great enthusiasm, once as we spoke of Interspirituality over tea in her lower Manhattan apartment.

An Interfaith seminarian myself at the time, I made a note to examine this book dedicated to “experiencing inner light across the world’s sacred traditions.” It might be a text we would want to introduce into The New Seminary curriculum.

First, they distinguished conventional Hinduism from the neo-Hinduism we find practiced in the United States.

Secondly, they were careful to call Yoga by its own name and to explore major figures such as Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) whose Autobiography of a Yogi has attracted millions of readers since publication in 1946.

Yogananda’s metaphor of inner light as a “luminescent sea” beautifully supports Stein and Vidich’s claim that light is “universal and a deeply meaningful mode of human experience.”

The clear light of Buddhism is explored here as is the esoteric light of Shamanism. A chapter is devoted to light as it appears in near death experiences, again, an inclusion which distinguishes this text from academic offerings. Ultimately, while LTBL could be used in university and seminary classes, it is a book for everyone.

Dr. Leichenstein was right. But, it took me another couple of years to scale down my waiting list of must read texts to get to LTBL. As the late Huston Smith, pioneering scholar of Comparative World Religions, is quoted as saying in LTBL: “Light is a universal metaphor for consciousness.” Further, as Stein and Vidich note, light, sound, and unconditional love are the three pillars of spiritual truth.

The authors certainly shed light on these pillars as recurring themes.

They also highlight practices which emerge in the experience of advanced practitioners--an inclusion which distinguishes Let There Be Light from academic texts.

Happily, Stein and Vidich also consider how the deeper understandings of “expansive consciousness positively affect the quality of life” of individuals as well as society.

A stated goal of LTBL is to “provide practical and heartfelt guidance in utilizing the wisdom of the great mystics.” Each chapter concludes with core teachings and guidelines for daily use.

Let There Be Light explores the lives and insights of some of

My only complaint about Let There Be Light, forgive me, Dr. Leichenstein, is that there is not enough of it. The book is well written and intelligently organized.

By virtue of space constraints, however, Drs. Stein and Vidich left some sacred areas unaddressed. Dr. Vidich assures me that he and Dr. Stein are working on a second text designed to complete the sacred spectrum.

Dr. Joyce Liechenstein most likely made her transition surrounded by luminous beings and angels, sacred figures which she loved. Although her spiritual attainment was not solely determined by her high regard for Let There By Light, which I share, it certainly did not hurt her to read it carefully and to insist that others do likewise.

COMING NEXT ISSUE: Sw. Shraddhananda’s review of Philip Goldberg’s recently published The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru.

Sw. Shraddhananda Saraswati serves as head of Sacred Feet Yoga, an Interspiritual path, and Slate Branch Ashram in Kentucky.

A college professor for 35 years, she has published numerous books and articles, most recently a collection of poems entitled Are You Dancing with Me, Shiva? She holds a doctorate from Emory University and has lectured on six continents.

We welcome submissions for consideration for book reviews.

Contact, Sw. Shraddhananda, Book Review Editor at: swshraddhaji@gmail.com

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Short Stories Spiritual Fiction

Penny’s Story

Penny was a very small coin made of copper. As the years passed, she was stored and spent and stored and spent, again and again. Her body became dull and worn, bit by bit. She hardly knew who she was anymore. Finally, she went to see a therapist who helped remove the dirt and polished away the dullness. While not new, she felt shiny again. Her markings revealed more clearly who she was, even showing the date and place where she was minted. She began to know herself.

As Penny began to comprehend more about her value as a coin, she visited a church were she met other coins. Some were pennies like her. Others were different: nickels, dimes, and quarters. As she got to know them, she began to realize that she was a part of something greater than herself. Together, she and the other coins were a part of a congregation worth multiple dollars.

And their congregation could join with others worth five, ten, twenty, fifty, or even hundreds of dollars. Across the country, thousands or even millions could be counted.

Being the curious coin that she was, she wondered if there was more to the story. She searched beyond her own church, even beyond her own country. In her travels she met coins with markings different from hers and unlike any she had seen in her congregation or other churches of her own religion. These new friends looked different on the surface. Their markings said nothing like “cent” or “dollar.” Instead, they had words like, “peso, franc, dinar, ruble, rupee, dram, yuan” and others. She came to know, through interfaith dialogue, that another country’s currency, while different from hers, was quite similar in many ways and served exactly the same purpose.

Penny was pleased that she had gained a broader sense of herself as not just a coin, but one that represented a particular denomination among many wonderful currencies used around the world.

However, she still had a nagging feeling that there was more to the story. What did it mean to be a coin? Not just a penny or a peso, but any

By Rob Spencer, MD

Short Stories Spiritual Fiction

coin? What was it all about? In her search for deeper understanding, she finally met a teacher who shared wisdom about money in general. She learned that we, as physical objects, a coin or even a bill, represent something more abstract, independent of our physical properties. That abstract something remained constant even when we became dull, dirty, worn, or torn. We each had a value that couldn’t be diminished as long as we lived.

A penny was always worth one cent, no matter what.

What a comforting feeling.

She took it on faith that the value of being worth something was constant. But what did that really mean?

Searching further, she came to understand that a coin or a bill was only a marker or place-holder, a tool for buying and selling. She even learned about theories of money such as a “gold standard” where each coin was thought to be a substitute for something more real or substantial. This was another leap of faith. How could a piece of copper, small and insignificant like her, represent something more sublime and precious as gold?

Her understanding continued to grow and evolve as she was exposed to more ideas, each agreeing with but transcending the previous ones—raising her understanding to a new level of complexity. She met a professor of economics who shared about market theory: things like inflation and recession, cycles of boom and bust. So, the concept of maintaining a “constant value” even as the pennies grew older was true at one level but not completely accurate a description of the whole truth of who she really was. There was a more complex reality as more advanced levels were discovered and appreciated.

As she became more comfortable with receiving and accepting new levels of understanding, she also met an interspiritual mystic who showed her something really amazing and mind-bending. Not only was she, as a copper penny, capable of representing value of an abstraction such as money, but her body was simultaneously a physical being made of the same matter that was used to create copper wires. These wires could carry electrical power, send signals of sound from one place to another, or even make up part of a filament in a glass bulb that generates light and heat. This light and heat was the same kind of abstract “energy” that was used to extract copper ore from the ground and transport it to mints where it was used to create new coins just like her. Her body may die one day but the substance of which it was created is immortal. She was no longer just some small, separate, independent piece of metal, a coin or currency. She was the stuff from which miracles are actually made!

Rob Spencer, M.D., has been involved with end-of-life care for more than 30 years as a volunteer, nursing assistant, spiritual care provider, and physician with board certifications in anesthesiology, pain management, hospice and palliative medicine. He has created and facilitates an experiential curriculum entitled, “Mindful Mortality: Lessons Learned at the End of Life Teaching us How to Live Today!”

(Learn more at www.MindfulMortality.com) He is a writer, inventor, and glider flight instructor with a passion for helping others learn to soar! A long-term Quaker living in Concord, New Hampshire, he is currently enrolled as a student at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City.

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We welcome submissions of fictional short stories for future issues of Light on Light Magazine, please send a brief description or the manuscript to: editor@lightonlight.us for consideration.

y tr e Po

INEBRIATED CIRCLES Come dear reader and join us, let’s enter the circle of those starry eyed ones, those who drink red wine as the elixir of love, an offering of earth to heaven in celebration of the joy of One. Where are those circles, illumined by Praise the pure extract of a divine infusion given to those who know that neither prayer nor bowing is now fitting to the ecstatic Soul.

The transcendent warmth of such a gathering throws off with abandon all earthly cares and grants to all present a divine ichor, a new circulation far beyond blood’s toxic touch.

O, in that circle we shall join together and sway with a rhythm that we learned from the stars, and as our round ascends we’ll be joined by angels who impatient and urgent search far and wide to join inebriated circles, drunken circles, such as ours.

Ron Friedman, MD is the Co-Founder of Vistar Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the Power and Potential of Collective Consciousness. Ron and co-founder Victoria Friedman developed the Vistar Method ™, a spiritual technology for collective awakening, co-creativity and conscious communication. Ron has 38 years' experience with intensive spiritual group work. He is a retired physician who suddenly and unexpectedly began writing poetry 6 years ago. Ron’s first poetry book, Unaccustomed Looking: Insights on the Path” is available on Amazon. For more, visit www.vistarfoundation.org.

Tips For the Trip Be vacant on a train, disengage your brain On planes, take flight.

Or float by boat.

Just sail by rote.

No need to steer.

Stay clear of shores.

Bring less, not more.

To paddle a river raft is daft. But swift to drift without a second thought, or first.

Just unrehearsed.

To flow is all you know or need to.

Don’t grieve to leave the grind behind.

Don’t mind your mind.

You’ll be just fine.

Leave the driving to us says the driver of the bus.

Die if you must to artifice and art.

Be smart. Depart.

Just start. No chart.

No reason. No season.

Leave your worries at the station.

Forget the destination.

Unchain imagination.

Go lean, unseen, Nowhere to go.

Abide. Inside.

Enjoy the ride!

Richard Schiffman is an environmental reporter, poet and author of two spiritual biographies. His journalism appears widely in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Scientific American and other publications. His poems have been published in a variety of literary magazines. His poetry collection What the Dust Doesn't Know was published

by Salmon Poetry last February.

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y tr e Po

Catching the Light Carefully rooting out weeds, twigs, thorns, it is with ourselves we must be finally firm no motive unturned no hurt too dear to hold onto. Let go, let go, let go, I hear thé Siddhas sing— in place of bitterness

plant an imperishable tree.

Then go quietly leaving it small and green to catch the light.

"Catching the Light" was originally published in Darshan Magazine, and later collected in the book, Are You Dancing with Me, Shiva?

Sw. Shraddhananda Saraswati serves as the head of Sacred Feet Yoga, an Interspiritual path, and Slate Branch Ashram in Kentucky.

A college professor for 35 years, she has published numerous books and articles, most recently a collection of poems entitled Are You Dancing with Me, Shiva? She holds a doctorate from Emory University and has lectured on six continents.

"I Am You" I am the trinity of life: Creation, possibility, eternity.

I am born of love.

I dwell and dream in love.

I live on in love.

I am a miracle.

I am the richness of the past, The stillness of the present, The mystery of the future.

I am a miracle.

Stardust illuminates my very being.

The waters of the world cleanse me.

The winds breathe life into me.

I am a miracle.

Emerging, arising, beginning.

Showing, serving, sustaining.

Floating, renewing, resurrecting.

I am a miracle.

Through your eyes I see.

Through your heart I love.

Through your imagination I am reborn.

I am a miracle.

I am you.

I am all of you.

Rev. Garrett A. Foster is an ordained interfaith/inter-spiritual minister, prayer chaplain, writer, Life-Cycle Celebrant™ and community builder. He is the founder of Community In Spirit, and the author of the novel The Accident of Being Human.

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Voices from the One Spirit Interfaith/Interspiritual Seminary Class of 2018 Rev. Sandy Blaine When I applied to One Spirit, I was preparing for a pilgrimage to the Isle of Iona in Scotland, a very small island known for its Celtic Christianity and for being a “Thin Place.” A thin place is said to be where the space between heaven and earth is very thin, making it possible to encounter the sacred. I walked all over Iona in search of this thin place, I so wanted to experience something sacred. But the only real experience I had was a panic attack on the top of Dun I, the island’s highest point. I had gone on a group hike up Dun I and when on the way down, I was faced with hiking down a wet, slippery hill. When we reached a steep point, I stood frozen in fear and tears, not being able to take one more step. With the guidance of the pilgrimage leader, I crawled on my hands and knees until I felt confident enough that I could stand and walk the rest of the way.

Six months later I started at One Spirit Seminary. I didn’t quite know what I was walking into, I didn’t yet understand the idea of “interspirituality” or “interfaith,” but I knew that it was part of my journey. What I found there was an amazing group of spiritually enlightened people, I studied the world’s religions and their practices and delved further into spiritual self-exploration, deepening my spirituality.

Rev. Cathy Woods Bristow Having been educated as an elementary school teacher, further educated and experienced as a business executive and founder of a diversity consulting practice, I entered One Spirit Seminary and have been ordained minister of Interfaith and Interspirituality. I now put words to how I see myself, my work and my commitment to serve. This clarity is because of my experience with my cohorts at One Spirit.

The last two years have changed my life in ways I couldn’t imagine—I realized that when I entered One Spirit, I entered a sacred thin place filled with the love of the Divine Spirit. I’ve learned to encounter the sacred in my every day journey in the ordinary, in opportunities, and in new beginnings. I can see the thin place all around me now. I’ve learned to welcome and embrace those scary intimidating times in my life, not be afraid to walk the road less traveled, to see the divine spiritual source in all people and situations.

I’ve come to believe in the spiritual life as pilgrimage. I understand more deeply, that God—however we choose to understand God—is always alongside us, guiding us, leading us, challenging us and strengthening us for the work that we have been chosen to do. I no longer need to search the four corners of the world to encounter the sacred, the sacred is right here among us.

After attending One Spirit, I worship God not only as an Episcopalian in the mystery of the Trinity, but also as an interfaith minister, experiencing the Divine source of the universe welcoming us all to the thin place.

Rev. Sandy Blaine is a graduate of the One Spirit Interspiritual Seminary Class of 2018. She will continue her studies in One Spirit's Interspiritual Counseling program so that she can focus her ministry on companioning people on their spiritual journeys. Her spirituality is based in 12-step recovery and in the Episcopal Church where she is an active member at Trinity Church Wall Street, as well as being on the Board of Directors of the Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church representing the Diocese of New York. In her professional life she is an administrative professional at RBC Capital Markets where she hopes to design an Employee Resource Group based on spirituality.

Our world’s contemporary environment is thick with religious, class and racial discord and rife with economic tension.

That world of discord and tension provoked me and my cohorts at One Spirit to throw away titles, smash labels and push boundaries. A story about my grandson will illustrate our experience.

After carefully teaching him the directions of north, south, east and west, I left the room. While I was gone, he changed positions. When I returned, he pointed from his new position and asked if that was north. I said no. He, as children often do if we listen, gave profound clarity, and said you did not tell me that what you see is different if you change positions. So it was with my class at One Spirit: We shifted positions and we saw ourselves and our lives differently. Our perspectives

were broadened and we felt an intense awareness of our shared humanity.

We learned that when we believe we are right, it is always contextual and that what we each see is not necessarily what is seen by others. As part of our curriculum we worshipped with groups outside of our familiar and engaged in many spiritual practices.

We whirled with the Sufi, shouted hallelujah with the Baptists, felt the quiet peace from silence that our Quaker brothers and sisters taught us and then, we chanted with the Buddhists. These worship experiences awakened us to feel and to be connected; to release the illusion of being separate and to feel our interconnectivity.

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Then we shared our gifts, those unique gifts that the Divine gives to every human being that only that person can offer to the world, and we shared our gashes. Gashes are our griefs, sorrows, shame, regrets, biases, prejudices and assumptions. Assumptions about ourselves and about human beings.

We searched deep inside and gained “radical self-awareness.” And inside our being, we found capacity for compassion, forgiveness and love, first for ourselves and then for others.

This spiritual excavation fueled us with the Divine spirituality of our shared humanity and showed us that our diversity is a container, a container for our gifts, a container for our gashes and most importantly, a container for our shared humanity.

Armed with this and the grace that comes from practicing forgiveness, we stand ready to use the energy of infinite possibilities to teach, lead, activate, model and create forgiveness, compassion and love everywhere, all the time, for everyone. That is who we are and that is what we do!

Rev. Cathy’s career and community involvement have demonstrated her commitment to justice, compassion and the interconnectivity of people everywhere. Her MBA thesis from Pepperdine in 1976 was about transferrable skills for women into the workplace, an early indicator that her life’s work would not just be about gender, but about justice. Her engagement included international corporate roles in Europe and Japan and a personal solo journey to the Middle East to talk with women about life, love and family. Today as an ordained Minister of Interfaith and interspirituality and President of Bridges Consulting, Cathy continues to creatively connect people through their differences.

Contact her: cathywoodsbristow@gmail.com

Rev. James Encinas Desmond Tutu said, "To choose hope is to step firmly into the howling wind, baring one's chest to the elements, knowing that, in time, the storm will pass."

Dear Ones choose hope!

Traverse the bridges and build the bridges needed to cross the chasms, streams, and tides forged by the storms!

Surrender trying to know who is supposed to cross the bridge and when.

Build bridges because someone built bridges for you!

Build bridges because nobody built bridges for you!

Build bridges because the bridges you have crossed have changed you!

The poem The Bridge Builder by Will Allen Dromgoole beautifully illustrates the fact that we are all here to act out our nature fully, at whatever cost: An old man going a lone highway, Came, at the evening cold and gray, To a chasm vast and deep and wide.

Through which was flowing a sullen tide The old man crossed in the twilight dim, The sullen stream had no fear for him; But he turned when safe on the other side And built a bridge to span the tide.

Why build this bridge at evening tide, you ask?

Dromgoole answers the question in the last stanza of his poem.

The builder lifted his old gray head; “Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said, “There followed after me today A youth whose feet must pass this way.

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This chasm that has been as naught to me To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be; He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

Dear Ones, The world thirsts for you.

Tragedies happen, people get hurt We suffer, we get old There is nothing we can do to stop time’s unfolding!

Nothing that is - but to cross bridges and build bridges!

Joseph Campbell wrote “We have not even to risk the adventure alone for the heroes of all time have gone before us.

The labyrinth as Campbell says “is thoroughly known” ...we have only to follow the thread of the hero’s path.

Build those bridges Turn hate into love Make joy out of fear Step firmly into the howling wind find the magic, there is static in the air it causes hearts to sing From north to south From east to west It calls Build bridges!

It says Build bridges!

It beckons Build your bridge!

I came to One Spirit because having entered into the second half of life I felt that I needed to solidify and strengthen my spiritual practice, little did I know that I would acquire so much more. One Spirit has blessed me with a community of loving beings and it has given me new tools, practices and insights from which to draw. Most importantly as I set out to live my life’s purpose and give back fully and freely what was given to me to give One Spirit has empowered me to own - what is mine to do.

Rev. James Encinas is a parent educator, child abuse/domestic violence service provider, activist, author, actor and public speaker. Propelled by his Aspen Fellowship experience he completed a cross-country bicycle ride and as a result has written a book titled Wheeling to Healing: Broken Heart on a Bicycle.

His second book is a companion guide titled, Your Own Wheeling To Healing: A Guide To Healing Yourself And Groups of People Who've Experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences. It offers readers a way to own their process of healing, and to share it with others. Prior to this James was as an educator and role model for the heavily Latino population at Westminster Avenue Elementary School. James helped found the Westminster Avenue Elementary School Endowment, a not-for-profit focused on strengthening ties with parents and the community at large. Faced with continuing declining enrollment in the school and the possibility of eventual closure, he and his colleagues focused on building ties with a diverse group of parents and community members.

As a result, Westminster's enrollment stabilized, and standardized test scores soared. James was very active in addressing teacher quality issues. He is a Fellow of the first class of the Aspen Teacher Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

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Rev. Garrett A. Foster When I feel hopeless about the extreme challenges and injustices facing the world today, I remember the power in the collective love and light of the One Spirit community. One Spirit is a place where we respect and honor all paths. It is a place where true transformation occurs.

When I joined One Spirit, I kept hearing a voice say, “Tell them what you know.” The voice grew louder until I could no longer ignore it. “Tell them what you know.”

It turns out I know a few things. I know that love, forgiveness and gratitude can change a person’s life. I know it because they changed mine. I know that being fully engaged in a community like One Spirit is more healing than any round of chemo. I KNOW that before we can truly love someone else, we must learn to love ourselves. It is like putting on our own oxygen mask first.

I told a story in class this year about slipping into my mother’s red high-heel shoes when I was three. I put them on because I wanted to click my heels three times and feel at home in my own skin. As a lost and frightened gay kid, I didn’t love myself very much. It caused me a lot of pain over the years.

And then these brilliant people at One Spirit taught me how to love and accept myself. They taught me the importance of being myself. They taught me how to be a better person in this world by no longer apologizing for who I am.

My prayer for all of you is that you find the courage and freedom to slip into your own red shoes—that you find a way to love yourself unconditionally without regret. If you need help doing it, don’t worry—I know a bunch of really great ministers who are about to make their indelible mark on the world.

God bless you all! Amen.

Rev. Garrett A. Foster is an ordained interfaith/inter-spiritual minister, prayer chaplain, writer, Life-Cycle Celebrant™ and community builder. He is the founder of Community In Spirit, and the author of the novel The Accident of Being Human.

Rev. Deb E. Hammond To all of the Modern-Day Mystics doing lightwork out in the world, or those who know that they're gifted, and are nervous about sharing your gifts and insights, Sawubona. Sawubona is an African Zulu greeting that means "I see you."

Many of us have been on this mystical journey for many years—maybe even lifetimes—and I'm sure, for all of us, this journey has been life changing and challenging. Something that I've come to know about all of you, is that you all are BAD. Please don't take this in a negative way.

Excerpts from Michael Jackson's song, "Bad," says this:

"I'm giving you

And to me that's really true

On count of three

But my friend you have seen nothin' Just wait

To show your stuff

'til I get through.

Or let it be

You know I'm bad, I'm bad

I'm telling you

And the whole world has to

Just watch your mouth

Answer right now. Who's bad?"

I know your game What you're about Well they say the sky's the limit

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We are!

We are the ones showing up as Bold, Audacious, Daring beings in the world!

This journey that we're on is not for the faint of heart. We may not all know what our next steps are, or how we're to use our gifts in the world, what is true, is that we get to show our stuff and let the world know what we're about. And we show up in a world where who we are will matter, we bring much to the table of life and the world will have to answer.

Whether you've said yes to this mystical journey many years ago, or you're sticking your feet into the mystical waters now, you've said “Yes” to a brand-new life (every day is brand new), you've taken the steps to say, “I want to make a difference, not only in the world, but in my life.”

As Modern-Day Mystics, this is our time to not play small, but to step out onto the playground of life and let the world know.

Just as Howard Thurman said, "Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

We're the Bold, Audacious, Daring ones...We're BAD! Namaste… Sawubona… I see you!

Rev. Deb E. Hammond is an Ordained Minister of One Sprit Learning Alliance as well as a Spiritual Licensed Coach with Centers for Spiritual Living. Rev. Deb's is a person who openly contributes to answering the Call to live a life that lifts her to a higher consciousness and supports others in doing the same.

Her passion is to support others in rediscovering their Truth as unique expressions of the One; Whole, Perfect, and Amazing exactly as they are! Rev. Deb Hammond can be reached at: myrootconnections@gmail.com

Rev Ozgul Ashki Ozcan Where do you belong? Maybe this is a question that you have asked yourself sometimes. I certainly have.

You may have left your social group of friends, because you no longer fit; the town you grew up in, because you no longer felt comfortable; your church because you no longer felt those sermons in your heart, your mosque because …, the temple, the synagogue...

You may have felt you are different and don’t belong.

This piece is about that: Belonging. And it is about your voice—a voice you own, and a voice that needs to be heard in order to create and shape the community you want to belong to.

I felt ‘different’ from those around me all my life, and was silent for much of it, too. And then I asked myself: What if we have been made differently to give each of us the chance to add to the world we live in, like a colorful mosaic, piece by piece? If I didn’t use my voice, didn’t I just deprive myself of the chance to co-create the world I wanted to live in?

Various spiritual leaders have shown us how they walked this path, often times in communities they helped unearth, like Mother Teresa, who founded a charity order, serving the poor, or Martin Luther King Jr., leading the Civil Rights Movement, or Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi, shedding the shackles of conformity.

These leaders might have felt as well at some point in their lives that they did not belong, they might have had doubts and thought maybe it would be better if they kept quiet. But no—this was their world, too. And they used their voices and actions to shape the place they wanted to live in, contributing their wisdom and co-creating communities they could belong to, proclaiming unconditional Love, even if they were not met by acceptance right away.

We, you—do have a voice. You don’t need to be a prophet or a guru to have a contribution to this world.

We, you—do have a voice. And it needs to be heard, to create a place where everybody feels they can belong, to co-create the communities we want to live in, for us, for the young, ‘different’ kid next door and for the stranger so they, too, can feel at home.

We, you—do have a voice. And it can be used to express ourselves and make our world more diverse, more beautiful, more peaceful.

Let us use our voices and shape our communities. Because we all belong.

Amen. Amin. Ashe. Aho. Rev Ozgul Ashki Ozcan is an ordained interfaith Minister and devoted lover of the Muslim Sufi practice of Dhikr, the remembrance of Allah, God, the Divine. As former humanitarian aid worker with twelve years of experience in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas, she is the founder of Verity Coaching UK, offering her services to people who provide care for others, as nurses, aid workers, therapists, social workers, mothers and fathers— and also simply to those in need of finding their way. Her priority is to support her clients to nourish themselves and their spirits.

Rev Oz is writing poetry for all senses and inspirational pieces with a message of hope, home and belonging, acceptance, self-care and love.

She cares deeply for “the other,” for migrant children and their parents, and for anyone in any form of transition.

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Rev. Ryan G. Polly, PhD For most of my life I have been a searcher; never fully settled, always looking for something to calm my mind and spirit. And year after year I’d find something to engage in that would do just that, albeit temporarily. And then boredom would set in and off I’d be running looking for the next thing. One could say I’ve always had a high need for novelty; so, when I signed up to attend One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, most people figured it was just the next box I’d tick off and honestly, I wondered that too.

As an agnostic walking into One Spirit, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. But within minutes of the very first class, I realized that One Spirit was going to be different. This was a place that would challenge me, not just intellectually, but with every fiber of my being. I still recall how I introduced myself “my name is Ryan and I am here to work on the shame I feel for being a spiritual person.” I didn’t know at the time, but I would overcome that shame while also working to overcome years of internalized transphobia that prevented me from fully embracing myself.

Fast forward, two years and I am a changed person. I am now confident in all of who I am. One Spirit provided me with a safe harbor, a place to allow myself to show up. First, I just placed a toe in the water but now I am fully immersed in the deep end allowing every beautiful part of me to be seen. I am grateful for One Spirit, for the community I know call my home and I am looking forward to seeing what lies ahead as the Ministry I am called to lead emerges.

Ryan G. Polly is a thought leader, presenter, researcher, educator and author with nearly 20 years of combined professional experience in organizational and leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and college-level teaching. Personal triumphs in the face of adversity have provided Ryan with unique insight into the complexity of the human experience. He is an ordained Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister and founder of Community Inspired, an emerging spiritual and social justice community organization designed to bring people together to love deeply, learn together, and take action towards a better future (communityinspired.com). In addition, he serves as a Board Member at Pride Center of Vermont. Ryan’s website is ryanpolly.com.

Rev. Dawn Welburn When I started this journey at One Spirit, I could never have imagined myself talking to you— and being seen by all of you—like I am right now.

When I started, I was feeling very alone and unsure of my path and my place in the world. I strongly felt a need to hide my spirituality because I was certain I would never fit in. I was unsure if I would ever connect with anyone. Then, during a study group session in one of the first months of the first seminary year, I had a vision. I saw a few robed people standing in the dark, holding lanterns. I interpreted these people as those in my study group, that they were safe, and I was not so alone.

From that safe space, I began to speak in class more often.

I opened myself up, and as I kept saying yes to more opportunities to connect with everyone, I watched all my classmates do the same. I watched each of us step into our ministry, even when we did not realize it. It was so beautiful to Witness.

As I prepared for ordination, I was thinking about my transformation, and the transformation of our entire 91

seminary class. In that contemplative place, I had a vision.

This vision was an…expanded…more illuminated…version of that vision I had forgotten I had in my very first months at One Spirit. I saw so many robed people, all standing in the dark, holding lanterns. In that moment, I realized...this is my class. This is my class, standing gently and bravely in the dark.

Know that, when you are holding a lantern in the dark, you often cannot see that others are standing beside or behind you. You can only see in front of you and what might need your illumination. With that realization, my vision suddenly changed, and I was no longer looking at these people as an outsider. I was holding my own light in the dark, only now I knew that, although I could not see you all, you were standing in the dark beside me.

As we go forward on our individual paths of ministry into a world that often feels dark and full of uncertainty, may we remember this vision and know that we are never alone.

Rev. Dawn Welburn strives to live in love and service to Goddess and the World through her hands, words, and voice. She is an interfaith minister and graduate of the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary class of 2018, a clinical/ intuitive massage therapist and holds licenses in both NY and LA, a creatrix of jewelry and whatever else moves her, and an ever-evolving writer and poet. For more information contact her at: Dawn@DawnWelburn.com

Editor's Note from Rev. Shannon: In June, I was immensely blessed to spend time with the the upcoming graduating seminary class of 2019.

Truly, the upcoming class is a chorus of inspiring lights who are already greatly illuminating our world with their hearts. We are delighted to include Alex and Rob in this issue and more voices of One Spirit Seminary class in the future. Namaste with love, my friends!

#SHINEYOURLIGHT

Featuring Alex Reegan and Rob Spencer, MD from the Upcoming One Spirit Interfaith/Interspiritual Seminary Class of 2019

Alex Reegan, Minister-in-training and Soul Seer My whole life as a trans man has been about my Journey Home to Wholeness. I was taught from a young age that coloring outside the lines of your family’s belief system was the quickest way to Hell. Being who I was seemed only to bring pain and isolation to my life--or that’s what the young child inside me was convinced of for many years. But then something changed. As I began to find my true tribe—the people who spiritually matched my vibration, the people who wanted to expand beyond their old norms and ways of consciousness–it was then that I began to realize all that had happened had been yes, volatile, but it had been the most fertile ground for growth I could have asked for. And that’s just it, I did ask for it. I chose this experience, this life, as this man. Finding One Spirit was like coming home to a place I thought I had in so many ways lost forever. I’m finding my tribe, finding a family, where yes, we can have our issues, but we also have our joys and deep connection. The beauty is that in being a family of choice, people choose to be there, to connect, to dive deeper in growth and love and community. There’s no obligation, just love. So for me, I can say that One Alex Reegan speaks about "The Path to Spirit has been another piece of my own puzzle on my Journey Home to Wholeness Wholeness" at the United Palace Spiritual and becoming who I have always been, and a place to just be me.

Sunday Service on July 1, 2018.

As a One Spirit Interspiritual Minister-in-training and an empathic trans man, Alex’s life’s work is about the journey home to one’s true self, both physically and spiritually. His gifts and work are rooted in the lessons he has personally learned through re-integrating parts of his own soul on his journey home to wholeness.

His work focuses on empowering others to view their internal landscape more clearly so that they can experience their divine direction with clarity.

His website is: www.alexreegan.com

Rob Spencer, MD A child of immigrants who escaped Nazi genocide, I was raised Jewish. As a teenager, I learned to practice Transcendental Meditation and began a forty-year love affair with the shared silence of mystical worship in the Quaker tradition. For over thirty years, I have learned about suffering and mortality by working with people experiencing chronic pain or reaching the end of life. Yet, in my experience, the process of becoming a healer, mystic, teacher, and student is never finished. A year ago, in my application to enroll at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, I shared the following: “I hope to widen my circle of community by connecting with and learning from people of different faiths serving diverse ministries. With the help of that community, I hope to see more deeply into my inner self. Then I would like to combine both of these endeavors by discerning new ways to share my inner gifts with the outer world.”

Having completed my first year, I can say wholeheartedly that my experience at One Spirit has exceeded

expectations. The curriculum is well conceived—combining cognitive learning with experiential activities designed to move discernment from the head to the heart.

Words of wisdom from the great spiritual traditions are explored as are their spiritual practices. Inner gifts are recognized, valued, and fostered. Most Multi-talented Rob Spencer blesses us importantly, One Spirit is a with a short story in this issue of Light beloved community. While my on Light Magazine (page 82). prior expectations have been exceeded in the first year, new dreams and aspirations are being discerned and nurtured as I enter the second.

Rob Spencer, M.D., has been involved with end-of-life care for more than 30 years as a volunteer, nursing assistant, spiritual care provider, and physician with board certifications in anesthesiology, pain management, hospice and palliative medicine. He has created and facilitates an experiential curriculum entitled, “Mindful Mortality: Lessons Learned at the End of Life Teaching us How to Live Today!” (Learn more at MindfulMortality.com) He is a writer, inventor, and glider flight instructor with a passion for helping others learn to soar! A long-term Quaker living in Concord, New Hampshire, he is currently enrolled as a student at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City.

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Light on Light Magazine Editors Karuna, Host Editor Karuna is a devoted mother, teacher, actress, radio host and magazine editor. She brings her own unique light of compassion, enthusiasm and pure joy to international yoga and as a producer of inspired heartfelt sacred events including yoga, music and dance. As Host Editor of Light on Light Magazine, and on the Host Team of The Convergence series on VoiceAmerica, her message reaches out to thousands.

Based in Boulder, CO, Karuna pioneered bringing level one, two, and three certified KRI Teacher Training programs to the region and offers daily classes at Rally Sport Health & Fitness Club in Boulder along with online classes, including individual and group sessions. Certified in Children's yoga and prenatal yoga, she teaches yoga to all ages including children, teenagers and prenatal moms. She leads retreats in Costa Rica and Yoga Festivals in Europe and has hosted many workshops with Master Teachers including GuruGanesha "Conscious Selling," Mata Mandir "Mantra," Snatam Kaur and GuruGanesha "Voice," and loves to offer the community in-depth opportunities for studying with the Masters. She has been ordained as a “Wisdom Keeper” in both Kundalini Yoga and Lakota Native American healing modalities.

True to her spiritual name, which means "compassion," Karuna likens herself to a coach, helping her students push beyond self-imposed limits. Herclasses are filled with humor, music and the spirit of transformation.

Between international events, Karuna hosts Yoga-inspired retreats near Boulder at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das.

Kurt Johnson, PhD, Contributing Editor Dr. Kurt Johnson, a co-visioner of UNITY EARTH, has worked in professional science and comparative religion over 40 years. A prominent figure on international committees, particularly at the United Nations, he is author of the influential book The Coming Interspiritual Age (2013) and two award-winning books in science: Nabokov’s Blues (2000) and Fine Lines (2015).

Kurt has served on the faculty of New York’s Interfaith Seminary for 12 years and, for 25 years was associated there with the American Museum of Natural History. In 2016 he became host for UNITY EARTH’s Convergence radio series at VoiceAmerica, a series featuring global change-makers.

Kurt has a PhD in Evolution and Ecology and is author of over 200 scientific articles and seven books, along with further articles at Kosmos Journal, The Contemplative Journal, Evolution Institute, Integral Life with Ken Wilber and peace studies with Philip Hellmich of the SHIFT Network.

Kurt, a former monastic, is a member or founder of The Evolutionary Leaders, the international Contemplative Alliance, the Gaiafield and Subtle Activism Networks, the Self Care to Earth Care network, the UN NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, the NGO Forum 21 Institute, and the UN Committee for International Yoga Day, and is President of the Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

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Rev. Shannon Winters, MS, CIC, CMPP, Managing Editor With joy and inspiration, Rev. Shannon Winters, MS, CIC, CMPP, is an ordained interfaith/interspiritual minister and honors the sacred truth of all paths and faiths. Her ministry is devoted to illuminating the infinite and eternal wisdom within us all and serving in the awakening and uplifting of humanity in this emerging Interspiritual Age. Originally from California, she has worked in the corporate sector in the NYC area for more than 13 years, leading strategy and planning of scientific publications and communications and is an author of numerous publications. She serves on the core team of UNITY EARTH and is Managing Editor of Light on Light Magazine and The Convergence Magazine. She is a certified Intrinsic Coach and Reiki Jin Kei Do practitioner.

In 2015, Rev. Shannon founded Sunnyside Gifts with her husband David. Sunnyside is filled with inspirations and fun gifts that honor the light found within, cherishes the gift of diversity and our unique journeys, and spreads joy through giving back in the community and beyond. With the confidence that anything is possible, Rev. Shannon enthusiastically dares to dream beyond boundaries, navigating with the compass within her heart. Rev Shannon resides in Central New Jersey with her family and joyful menagerie of rescued dogs and cats.

Preview of Light on Light Magazine – Issue 3 Sacred Sites and Spirituality in Nature Ancient wisdom describes a oneness of human beings with nature. Our experiences and spiritual practices can create greater harmony among our human family with the Earth and all of her creatures, or we can create conflict and dis-harmony.

We are excited to announce that the next issue of Light on Light Magazine will shine a light on our Oneness with Nature and Sacred Sites across the world featuring renowned spiritual leaders who are working to realize a harmonious, peaceful, and environmentally sustainable future based on ethical and spiritual values. We will highlight the field of spiritual ecology, feature stories and wisdom from indigenous leaders, and experiences at sacred sites.

We look forward to warmly welcoming you in our next issue on Sacred Sites and Spirituality in Nature!

• We look forward to the follow-up on UNITY EARTH’s 2017 "Crestone Convergence" event (unity.earth/crestone-con vergence) as UNITY EARTH gathers again this fall in Colorado to further vision the direction with UNITY EARTH partners, Forum 21 Institute and The Center for Earth Ethics.

• We invite you to submit a photo and short description of your private "Sacred Space"—the meditation, reverence, altar, etc. you may have established for yourself. Tell us about it!

• "Story-telling" is a big part of our reverence for humankind's millennial relationship with nature. Let us know about story-telling writers, and story-telling books that you think eloquently portray this journey—if you were creator for a day, what would a New Earth look like? What stories would humanity carry forward into our future?

The "Convergence of Fire" Sacred Site ceremony at U DAY Ethiopia, Land of Origins, 2018. Ceremonialists from across the world religions gathered at UNESCO Heritage Site Lalibela, Ethiopia, at the time of full moon and lunar eclipse.

• Indigenous Wisdom is a sacred heritage to our long journey with Mother Gaia. If you know of eloquent and serving voices in this arena, let us know!

Please send submissions to editor@lightonlight.us for consideration.

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Directory Congregations & Spiritual Communities

https://www.facebook.com/groups/353870708386961 Community In Spirit is a spiritual center without walls. We are focused on healing through love, forgiveness, gratitude and belonging to community. The members of Community In Spirit are spiritual but not necessarily religious. We are inclusive, supportive, interactive and committed to being happier, more loving and more peaceful people on this planet. For more information email garrett@garrettfosterwriter.com, call 561-307-0699 or find us on FB (Community in Spirit)

Community Engagement

compassiongames.org Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest is a community engagement experience that invites people around the world to inspire one another to reveal and promote acts of compassion that better our lives, our communities, and all life on Earth. Over the past six years, the Compassion Games have been played in over 40 countries by more than 1,000,000 volunteer players who have served over 18 million people.

The Dzogchen Center and Foundation www.dzogchen.org The Dzogchen Center and Foundation, directed by Lama Surya Das, is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing and teaching the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Dzogchen (Natural Great Perfection), and making this advanced meditation practice accessible and practicable to all through meditation retreats, teaching and spiritual guidance, local grass-roots sitting groups, and various publications. Visit the Dzogchen Center website to find local practice groups.

We, The World and the WE Campaign http://WE.net We, The World provides platforms that annually connect and promote thousands of socially conscious organizations to amplify their efforts and generate public awareness and action for peace, justice, sustainability and transformation.

When you post on our free public international Global Unity Calendar your group's events automatically post on other calendar websites as well!

Community & Inner Life Development www.gardenoflight.org The Garden of Light is an online platform for the emerging global spirituality. It provides a virtual home for a new community rooted in shared spirituality that transcends differences of culture so that it can become visible as a powerful force in uplifting the human spirit.

This community practices a wide variety of religious and spiritual expression, yet we share a growing understanding that embraces all paths guided by love as we build together a culture of peace. www.contemplativelife.org

www.unitedpalace.org New York City, New York As an inclusive spiritual community, the United Palace seeks to cultivate compassion, wisdom, and peace through spiritual practices born of the great wisdom traditions, sacred service, and joyous connection to spirit through music, arts, and entertainment.

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Contemplative Life is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect people and communities with transformative practices. It serves as a digital hub to bring the myriads of different practices under one umbrella to help people easily find practices of interest and connect with others of like mind. For more information please visit our resources on Navigating Contemplative Life.

Education Interfaith Seminary & Interspiritual Counseling programs & Courses

The Pachakuti Mesa Tradition: Cross-Cultural Shamanic Arts for Personal and Planetary Renewal www.heartofthehealer.org One Spirit Learning Alliance www.onespiritinterfaith.org One Spirit Learning Alliance, has been a leader in Interfaith/ Interspiritual education for over 15 years. We are committed to providing excellent, rigorous and heart-centered programs to help develop spiritual leaders for the 21st century. Our core curriculum is offered through our Interfaith Seminary and Interspiritual Counseling programs as well as through courses offered to the general public.

Developed by don Oscar Miro-Quesada and Presented by The Heart of the Healer, this five-part series aligns the traditional teachings of Peru and the wisdom of its heritage with the needs of the present day. Providing a comprehensive foundation and profound initiation through ceremony and prayer into the living heart and soul of the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, participants will cultivate a deeper relationship with nature and the unseen world, and receive multiple opportunities for self-exploration, empowerment and profound personal growth. Contact: programs@heartofthehealer.org.

Workshops & Yoga Workshops & Retreats

The Contemplative Society http://www.contemplative.org The Contemplative Society is a charity that encourages contemplative prayer based in the Christian Wisdom tradition while also welcoming and being supportive of other meditation traditions. They also support teacher Cynthia Bourgeault by sponsoring retreats and workshops led by Cynthia and other distinguished contemplative teachers, and by selling audio teachings.

Oneness Center & Embodiment Yoga at Oneness Center New York City, NY www.onenesscenternyc.org Exploring infinite possibilities through meditation, movement, creative energies and the study of consciousness! Oneness Center is where people come to study self-empowerment through physical, psychological and spiritual transformative practices. Spiritual teacher and creator of Embodiment Yoga℠ Ronit Singer teaches classes, leads workshops and holds monthly open meditations. retreats and holds monthly open meditations. Our mission statement, “Evolution of humanity’s consciousness” happens through teaching and inspiring people to tap into their unique beings.

Workshops & Online Courses Young Leader Programs

Spiritual Paths Foundation www.spiritualpaths.net The mission of the Spiritual Paths Foundation is to help people of all ages and backgrounds to create a personal spiritual path and a compassionate wisdom for serving themselves, their communities, the Earth and all living beings.

We offer retreats, workshops, books and online courses on InterSpiritual Meditation, the InterSpiritual Mandala Process and InterSpiritual Mentoring. We help people to harness their spiritual learning styles and questions to create a personal spiritual path and contemplative practice from authentic resources within the world’s great spiritual and secular traditions.

Institute For Emerging Visionaries www.emergingvisionaries.org The Institute for Emerging Visionaries serves as an incubator for young leaders who are committed to actualizing their visions in service to humanity. Through facilitation training, self-inquiry, trauma healing and heart-centered leadership training; The Institute for Emerging Visionaries is dedicated to helping provide the tools and resources necessary for youth from around the globe to create experiences in which diverse groups of people can gather with the intention to heal, connect, serve and discover the unique gifts they have to share with the world.

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Directory Retreat Centers

Online Resources & Networks Interspirituality

Davi Nikent Center for Human Flourishing Carbondale, CO davinikent.com Our mission is promote health and well-being for individuals, families and community by offering experiential workshops, seminars, retreats and topical films by pioneers in integral health and human flourishing. Our name “Davi Nikent” is Ute Language meaning “always light.”

The Interspiritual Multiplex multiplex.isdna.org Built in 2005, a vast free web resource including hundreds of spiritual teachers and interfaith/ interspiritual organizations.

It supports educational work of InterSpiritual Dialogue in Action (ISDnA), the network built around the work of Bro. Wayne Teasdale, Interspiritual pioneer and coiner of the term “interspirituality.”

Paz y Luz Hotel and Healing Center Pisac, Peru www.pazyluzperu.com Paz y Luz means Peace and Light, a beautiful guest and conference center where people gather for workshops, to experience sacred healing sessions or simply to relax, while visiting the Pisac archeological site and famous market. We provide a haven for travelers and seekers from around the world to rest in the refined energy of the Sacred Valley surrounded by powerful mountains and to offer opportunities for healing, balance, restoration and transformation.

Interspiritual Dialogue in Action www.isdna.org Founded as Interspiritual Dialogue with Br. Wayne Teasdale in 2002, it has expanded to include the much larger entities THE INTERSPIRITUAL MULTIPLEX and The Coming Interspiritual Age. Their purposes are to promulgate the message in Bro. Wayne’s classic book “The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions.”

It became ISDnA.

Eco-Spirituality

sunriseranch.org Sunrise Ranch Retreat and Conference Center is many things.

It’s a place where people come to enjoy the peaceful surround of a beautiful valley in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It’s a conference center that hosts gifted spiritual leaders and teachers and their students. It’s a working farm and ranch of 350 acres, with cattle, chickens, sheep and llamas, plus five greenhouses and large garden plots of beyond-organic fruits and vegetables. It’s one of the longest-running spiritual intentional communities in the United States. And it’s home to the annual ARISE Festival, which brings 10,000 people to our grounds for three days of music, wisdom, crafts, cultural solutions and fun and amazement. For more information, visit our website or call us at (970) 679-4200.

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Self Care to Earth Care www.selfcaretoearthcare.com Self Care to Earth Care is the Eco-Spirituality wing and organization of The Interspiritual Network. It sponsors annual events regarding spirituality’s relation to environmental protection and health. The Ken Wilber video from its 2015 Denver Conference has 100,000 hits at YouTube, click here to watch.

Books

The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru

By Philip Goldberg Phil’s latest book, a definitive biography of Paramahansa Yogananda, will be published April 24 and can be pre-ordered now. Click here for details about The Life of Yogananda and the pre-order gift. He will be doing lectures and other book-related events in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Boston, New York, Chicago, and other locations this spring. Click here for the schedule.

Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life

By Joyce Rupp www.avemariapress.com/product/1-932057-14-5/BoundlessCompassion

Music

Master teacher Joyce Rupp will inspire you to develop compassion as never before. You will discover compassion from science, medicine, theology, spirituality, sociology, and psychology. You will be encouraged to explore personal and professional expressions of compassion, and to re-energize your ability to offer loving kindness to those around you. lightwarriors.bandcamp.com

Dead Set on Living: Making the Difficult but Beautiful Journey from F##cking Up to Waking Up

By Chris Grosso and Alice Peck www.indiespiritualist.com

Light Warriors is an independent critically acclaimed, multi-genre musical project in the pursuit of source connection and experience.

With depth of lyrics having compared to Bob Dylan for “skewering corruption and warfare at home and abroad in search of peace and understanding” and musical diversity covering rock, funk, soul, reggae, electronic and free improvisation, the latest album, Raise The Frequency, is a spiritual download channeling ancient to future vibrations and energies to be experienced.

Shopping & Gifts

Unabashedly honest and inspiring, Dead Set on Living

by Chris Grosso and Alice Peck is essential reading for anyone seeking a path towards triumph over adversity, understanding the human condition, and rebuilding relationships after promises have been broken.

sunnysidegiftcompany.com Inspirations and fun gifts across the entire sunny side of life—from inspirational and encouraging books to meditation and spiritual gifts to home décor gifts and jewelry—gifts of all kinds, honoring the gifts that shine brightly from within, gifts we give ourselves, and gifts for all occasions given to others to show how special they are in our lives.

Travel The Coming Interspiritual Age

By Kurt Johnson and David Robert Ord www.thecominginterspiritualage.com Website of the influential book The Coming Interspiritual Age

by Kurt Johnson and David Robert Ord (Namaste, 2013). TCIA is a comprehensive update to the vision of “interspirituality” and world change from many angles—spirituality, science, consciousness and brain/mind studies, developmental history (integral and spiral dynamics) and the challenges of globalization and multiculturalism.

World Weavers is an Ethical Community Based Tourism provider focused on supporting local communities. We offer educational travel, cultural exchange, personal and spiritual development. Our programs are designed to unite and inspire people while promoting tolerance and cultural understanding. https://worldweavers.com

To find out how you can be included in the Resources Directory in future issues of Light on Light Magazine, please email: editor@lightonlight.us. Light on Light is published quarterly.

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Mindfulness Training Course Hosted by ContemplativeLife.org

Wednesday’s 7:30 – 8:30 • September 5th – October 24th

Are you interested in learning practices and skills that can cultivate your inner life and enable you to have a deeper connection with family, friends and co-workers? I invite you to join us for an eight-week online journey into mindfulness that includes an exploration into the science, benefits, and practices of mindfulness.

Resources & Tools: • Workbooks – Weekly session 1-8

• Q&A & group collaboration

• Video Presentation - Weekly session 1-8

• Weekly practice techniques & exercises

• Zoom conference calls, recorded weekly for later listening or in person at Soma Vida Austin

• Access to additional research, resources and writings

• 24/7 access to Contemplative Life’s private social network

Contemplative Life For Information or Registration CLICK HERE

Integral Church A Handbook for New Spiritual Communities “A pioneering document ...

“Joran Oppelt pursues questions so many (alive and caring) church leaders are asking:

... should be a manual for all of us.”

Where is the younger generation?

And what are the spiritual paths they are traveling with — or more likely without — the church?”

- Barbara Marx Hubbard

- Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox

Author of Emergence and Conscious Evolution

Author of Creation Spirituality and Original Blessing

Features Prayers, Meditations and Ceremonies

by Joran Slane Oppelt Available on Amazon and Wherever Books Are Sold

integralchurch.org joranslane.com

© 2018 Light on Light Magazine