Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Awakening the New Masculine: The book


Dear Readers and Friends,

I've been writing in this format for five years, and have always had the intention in the back of my mind that it might turn into a book one day.

Well, that day has arrived, and the book is well underway along with the working title, Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior, and is based on my workshop, The Integral Warrior." Here's the link to the introduction and the first two chapters. It is a pre-submission in draft form for your review and suggestions. It will be submitted to "The Next Top Self-Help Author" contest along with a short video (coming soon) on the 1st of February, 2010.

Right now, I need your help. Please read it and let me know what you think, do you like it, not like it, what can I do to improve it, any glaring errors you might see (don't worry about proofreading), etc. Please comment by emailing me at garystamper@yahoo.com with the subject line "Top Author."

I also want to elicit your help, as the publisher, Conari press, wants to see how much support I can gather for it, and I will be asking you to vote for it and my upcoming video in February. I'll be sure and send you the link when it's time.

I hope you enjoy it. I'm having a ball putting it together and writing it.

Love,

Gary

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Off to Cincinnati, Again....

I leave tomorrow for Cincinnati again, for the The Integral Warrior workshop for men.

This is the 5th weekend in the 6-weekend series. This weekend we re-integrate the King Archetype, after "killing off" the Shadow King the 1st weekend and spending the 3 weekends in between integrating our Warrior, Lover, and Magician archetypes. 

To anchor the cognitive work we do around the healthy King, we will also spend a day with the Shamanic Breathwork Process. You can read more about that here.

In addition, I'll also be facilitating a stand-alone men's Shamanic Breathwork on Friday, before the Integral Warrior workshop resumes on Saturday.

Nice 7-hour drive to get there, and another Sunday night to get home. Good thing I love talk radio and my Sirius satellite radio!

I have a new series of The Integral Warrior firing up at the end of January at our Retreat Center  in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Click here for more information.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Claiming and Embodying the Magician Archetype

The magician weekend in Cincinnati was the most powerful one, yet. This whole process of The Integral Warrior keeps unfolding, and all I have to do is get out of my own way and be a conduit for what wants to emerge.

After we dive deep into each archetype, we examine and own both the light and dark sides of our archetype. We  anchor the awakening with both cognitive and experiential realms, through gross, subtle and causal states of consciousness, enabling us to fully grasp and comprehend how these aspects play out in our lives.


Only now, they begin to play out consciously, giving us choices around how we respond rather than react.


These initiation statements are where the men claim their ownership and embodiment of the archetype.

I was so blown away by the initiation statements the men wrote for the Magician Archetype, the 3rd Initiation, that I asked for permission to share them anonymously. I was incredibly touched at how deep the men went in their processes and the results show in these statements. They said yes, and although I haven't received all of them, yet, here's a couple of samples....I'll add more as they come in.


"I am the Magician and the Shamanic Priest and I vow to utilize that powerful aspect of my masculine being for the betterment of my global tribe. I will continually refine those magical powers and apply them at every opportunity to increase awareness in others to better understand the magical powers they have. In doing so I will  strive to raise the level of consciousness of the collective – beyond the corporate world and the obsolete and destructive patriarchal rulers of this world. My intent will be to guide where and when I can to demonstrate that we are all one with each other and that it is only in one unified spirit we will be able to transition into a better place."
 "It is with Love, Compassion, Integrity and Honor I enter into this contract and invite the universe to present the opportunities for me to give back. I now welcome those opportunities and will not make excuses to pass them up. It is my time!"

"I claim the Magician archetype.  I claim the knowledge that the Magician has access to and the power to unlock it.  I uphold the power of the mediator and communicator of hidden knowledge, the healer, teacher, and contemplative. I keep my inner eye fixed on the Self and the "Diamond Body" we each have within us.
 
I seek the power of the shaman to obtain my full expression of the Magician archetype, as guardian of esoteric knowledge and technician of sacred power, I agree to accept the powers to solve the problems that arise before me. Like the King I will save space to have the capacity to care, like the Warrior I will have the capacity to fight and like the Lover I will have the capacity to value someone enough to fight for them.
 
When the Magician energy manifests, I will begin to quest for knowledge, growth, expansion for m self and to model myself for others as I go through life and I will claim my rightful place as an elder of the community and teacher."
I acknowledge and embody the archetype of the Magician. The seeker who fearlessly enters the dark place in search of knowledge, truth and transformation. I claim that part of myself that seeks out ever deeper levels of wisdom to transform the unknown into beliefs and ideals, and then moves forward into true knowing by experiencing.
I acknowledge that part of me that discovers my gifts, then immediately employs them for the good of mankind. That guides, and leads, ad initiates others by example and purposeful action.
I vow to more fully explore and develop this magical aspect of my self to know without question that this lifetime made a significant contribution to mankind’s evolution.
I claim the Magician archetype.  I claim the knowledge that the Magician has access to and the power to unlock it.  I uphold the power of the mediator and communicator of hidden knowledge, the healer, teacher, and contemplative. I keep my inner eye fixed on the Self and the "Diamond Body" we each have within us.
I seek the power of the shaman to obtain my full expression of the Magician archetype, as guardian of esoteric knowledge and technician of sacred power, I agree to accept the powers to solve the problems that arise before me. Like the King I will save space to have the capacity to care, like the Warrior I will have the capacity to fight and like the Lover I will have the capacity to value someone enough to fight for them.
When the Magician energy manifests, I will begin to quest for knowledge, growth, expansion for m self and to model myself for others as I go thru life and I will claim my rightful place as an elder of the community and teacher.
 
I am honored  and humbled to carry this work forward...work that is so desperately needed at this time on the planet.

Image from the Arthur Sussman Gallery

Monday, November 01, 2010

Archetypes and the Tea party Women (or, Being Female Does Not make You a Feminist)

I saw a great bumper sticker the other other day: it read, "it's the stupidity, stupid." No where does that seem more evident than the current crop of women Tea Party candidates: Uber-conservative, fanatically religious, most of them completely unqualified to hold office, and dangerous.

The conservative right is happy for 'sexy' female candidates so long as they don't demand abortion rights, maternity leave, equal pay and equal sexual pleasure.  The 2010 Republican campaign is an attempt by the old order to reinstall its rejected program. Key to this effort is the promotion of “sexy” female candidates, the “new” conservative woman, whether Tea Party or Republican. She is a showpiece, a fig leaf, covering the impotence at the heart of the Tea Party’s politics of rage.

When, and how, did it become fashionable for women candidates to start being creepy? Women like the anti-masturbation candidate Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle (who tells Hispanic students they might be Asian and encourages Hispanics to stay home from voting), former WWE wrestling Exec Linda McMahon, to name a whacked-out few, and the self-promoting Sarah Palin who broke her vow to the Alaskan people by resigning as Governor so she could make money....lots of money. When did candidates like Meg Whitman, who is spending $140M of her own money on her California Gubernatorial bid, and Carly Fiorina, the ousted HP CEO who left with a $21M severance package suddenly become "outsiders?

What's going on here, and how do these women fit into our collective shadow?

There are a couple of archetypes at play, here. One is the Concubine to the Shadow King, with the female candidates playing the role of the concubine to the Shadow King, who is really the patriarchy. The Shadow King manipulates from the background, and the concubine plays out her role by allowing herself to be manipulated. In David Deida's model, this is the eternal first-stage woman, who models herself after the men she serves, but is only granted power through those men. She may or may not be fully aware of her role, but she has also assumed the mantle of the patriarchy. She does what she is told to hold on to what she thinks is her power. As long as she follows the rules, she can stay in "power."

The second archetype showing up here is the active and passive shadows of the Magician. The active shadow is the manipulator, or the Sorcerer's Apprentice. They have not mastered their technology (in this case, knowledge) or themselves, and their partial development is capable of wreaking havoc (example: Christine O'Donnell's claim of being a constitutionalist, but being unaware of Separation of Church and State). Although the magician archetype is neither masculine or feminine, the manipulator is the epitome of first-stage feminine.

The passive shadow is the Denying Innocent One: one who wants the power but who refuses to accept the responsibility inherent in the role of the magician. The Magician's power needs to be controlled and channeled by the other archetypes: the discipline of the Warrior, the compassion and values of the Lover, and the big-picture capacity of the King. If it isn't, then the magician becomes the charlatan.

This why I believe "men's work" is so important. First stage men, including candidates who are no better, with their hyper-masculinity, is what these women are emulating. Second-stage men, with their overly-feminized masculine are of no use, here, either. Until we have third-stage men embodying and modeling what the mature masculine looks like, in it's many emerging forms, with hearts wide open and their own fully integrated inner masculine and feminine, women will continue to model the only form of masculine they have in front of them: The patriarchy.

And ultimately, we, you and I, are to blame. We fell for this crap. We have successfully been dumbed down. That's why I started this out with the bumper sticker, "It's the stupidity, stupid."

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Men's Work Is Dead

"This past weekend 40 men’s leaders and 6 women answered the call to be a part of the Evolving Men’s Conference. The context? Some of us thought it was to “evolve masculinity.” For others, the hope was to plan a bigger conference next year. Others didn’t know what the context was."
So begins the article at the Evolving Men’s Conference blog/website. In it, the author of the article,Jayson Gaddis, declares "mens' work is dead," and goes on to say:
"The old way we have been doing and selling men’s work is toast and no longer sustainable. Some men will continue to “do men’s work” and even call it that. For me, the associations are too linked to the past of “wound worship” and drama. Men’s work has been synonymous with support, therapy, and other “wimpy” stuff most men simply don’t buy, nor are they interested in hearing about it.
Moving forward, most of the men there will be “selling” their product and services with a lot more awareness (see below). To me, this is a huge win because ultimately it will mean more men are drawn to inner work through channels and subjects that actually interest them.
Whether or not men’s work continues, remains to be seen."
I beg to differ with Jayson and am reposting my reply on the Evolving men's Conference website:
I’m sorry I missed what sounds like a great weekend and want to state my intentions to participate next year. I can’t believe I didn’t even hear about it!
About Men’s Work being dead: It’s a great attention-getting headline, but It seems to me that presumes that everyone is at the same place in their evolutionary development – an assumption that just isn’t true! Some men still need the “men’s work” that Robert Bly, John Lee, and others are doing. It feels like saying, “well, women are equal now, we can stop pushing.”
Just because men don’t want to hear about it doesn’t mean they don’t need it.
Plus, if we think we’re done with our shadow work and don’t need to go there anymore, we’d better think again. That sounds like “spiritual bypass.” It’s only by confronting, owning, and bringing (our shadows) to the light that we find our true masculine power, however that might be defined by each individual man.
Instead of shouting “men’s work” is dead, perhaps we need to put it into an evolutionary context and say “men’s work was the first step, and now we need to create the next one.”
And, I really support what Jayson and others are doing here. here's a video of Jayson inviting other men to the conference.
I can't believe I missed it!


Sunday, October 03, 2010

The Lover's Relationship to the Other Archetypes

The Lover archetype, one of the four major archetypes (the others are the Warrior, the Magician, and the King), is probably the most misunderstood of all of the archetypes. The Lover, accessed properly, gives us a sense of meaning in our lives. This sense of meaning is, I believe, the essence of Spirituality, no matter where one might fall on a developmental evolutionary scale or map.

The idealist and the dreamer are two examples of The Lover, deeply immersed and connected to the energy of the universe. The Lover is also playful, sensual, tuned into their physical environment, passionate and compassionate, joyous and creative, living in every moment.

The Lover appreciates and surrounds themselves with beauty, whether it's art, music, relationships, food, their home, and their very life, treating it all as art.

The Masculine Lover keeps the other masculine energies human, loving, and related, helping the King, Warrior, and Magician to harmonize with each other and prevents detachment in them. Each of the other archetypes needs The Lover to keep them from becoming sadistic.

The Lover needs the other archetypes, as well:
  • The King defines limits and boundaries for The Lover, bringing structure and preventing The Lover from becoming an addict, one of the The Lover's shadow sides;
  • The Warrior helps The Lover act decisively so that The Lover can detach from immobilizing sensuality and prevents fixation and obsession, an easy place for The Lover to go to, appreciating beauty as they do;
  • The Magician keeps The Lover's emotions in check, brings objective perspectives and helps The Lover see the bigger picture and the reality beneath the seeming.
Accessing the Lover:

If you want to develop your Lover archetype to its fullest possible expression, express appreciation of beauty; open your eyes and your heart to the beauty that surrounds you in everyday life; take dance lessons, do sensual practices, turn sex into art. Listen to music that moves you and move with the music. Make music and art a "practice of presence." Learn to play an instrument....sing.

Most of all, do what you love...or, do more of what you love; Learn to love what you do, or, learn to live with what you do...or, if it comes to this, Leave what you do.

Develop your compassion and Creativity Quotients.
"All of the spiritual traditions of the world agree that compassion is the ultimate expression of our better selves, of human morality" - The Hidden Spirituality of Men by Matthew Fox.
 And always remember: Beauty is immortal but beautiful things are not.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

What's the Matter with Men?

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from a man on the SeattleIntegral online discussion  list, a group I founded several years ago that is still going strong. Rather than explaining it all, I got his permission to repost his email here. My response can be found below his email.

Hi Gary,

I am not replying to the SI group because I currently do not have time to sustain a discussion that might result. I appreciate very much your making these points about men hurting (Men Are Hurting) in our culture. The fact of the prevailing male population of prisons is a fact of deep significance and I have made this point on several occasions. Men, while supposedly dominating the society, are also profoundly uncomfortable inhabiting it within the full truth of their being.

The thing I do not understand is why ritual and initiation are the keys to the solution. Maybe your materials shed light on this. On first glance I would say that suitable life practices that occur with some regularity would be a solution. Yoga, dance, etc? Our society seems to provide initiations - men are initiated into a sort of career business warrior while in college. It is unbalanced but so it was unbalanced in prior cultures where the warrior was the prevalent archetype - because it was the most productive way of using men for the survival of the group. So the business warrior achieving material success in the world is the dominating archetype and this causes certain men to subjugate others.

Integralism seems to make a value out of balancing the quadrants or you make a value of balancing the 4 male archetypes.  What is the basis for that? What is in your view the genuinely masculine contribution to the value of life - a contribution that women really cannot make? Answering this question would perhaps allow you to solve the problem of men.

The dominance of the mother in upbringing of boys, the fatherlessness of boys is I think a specifically American phenomenon. It is related to women having a take-charge attitude stemming from the settler frontier days of America.

Thanks for posting - i hope to get more active soon within the Seattle integral,

-Thomas

Thanks for this email, Thomas. It gives me a great opportunity to share some more about why I'm so passionate about The Integral Warrior workshop.

It's certainly true that men are profoundly uncomfortable inhabiting our culture while "supposedly dominating the society," and I'm sure there will be many women, and some men, who respond, "Give me a break."

For years, the media  have delivered the direst of prognoses: "Men are in decline." This summer, The Atlantic's Hanna Rosen went so far as to declare that "The End of Men" is upon us. Newsweek followed suit on September 27 with an article entitled "Men's Lib," which addresses the idea of why, "it's time to reimagine masculinity."

I won't go into the statistics addressed in these articles as they are there for you to read. Suffice it say that, indeed, men are hurting.

Ritual and Initiation are not the "keys to the solution:" They are part of the solution, but only a part.  There are many parts that go to making up a more complete "whole," and what initiations our culture does provide are pretty weak. Yes, there's graduation, Bar Mitzvahs, baptism, military basic training and the like, but there's also getting drunk or laid for the first time, Fraternity hell weeks, getting your driver's license, your first hunt, a gang member beaten badly in an initiation, and such, and yet, the perplexing question still remains: What does it mean to be a man?"
"Most men long for the support and nurture of other men to help in the journey toward masculinity, maturity, and a deeper experience of the Divine. Through the ages, many cultures have helped men by means of initiation rites and vision quests." - Richard Rohr, Adam's Return.

In The Integral Warrior workshop, we spend a full weekend on each of the King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover Jungian archetypes, culminating each weekend in a ritual ceremony of the men claiming and owning both the positive and  negative (light and shadow) aspects of each archetype. I call this The Four Initiations. Interestingly, and this is important, this is, as far as I know, the first time in history when men are able to initiate all four of the major archetypes into their being. This assures that all of our archetypal being, and therefore the man, is balanced.

The importance of balancing the archetypes is critical so that none dominates the other - because without balance, the Lover becomes the addict, the Warrior becomes brutal, the Magician behaves as a charlatan,   and the King becomes the tyrant.

Today, with all of the challenges facing us, including our very survival, we need enlightened and transformed Magicians, Lovers of life and beauty, and strong non-violent warriors to produce truly big-picture men - or Kings.

Add in Integral and Developmental systems and the altered-states technology of the Shaman, and the combination of all creates a new paradigm of teaching, healing, and learning.

Lastly, Thomas, to your question, "What is, in your view, the genuinely masculine contribution to the value of life - a contribution that women really cannot make?"
Let me quote what Matthew Fox says in his book, The Hidden Spirituality of Men

Soul and Spirit are not the same thing. In Latin, "spirit" (spiritus) is masculine and "soul" (anima) is feminine. An awakened soul seeks spirit, but an asleep soul may distort spirit, so that spirit is all "sky" energy with no "earth" energy."
The contribution men make is Spirit to the Soul and is "holy marriage," or hieros gamus, which includes an intimate union of opposites. And this time on the planet, in the midst of the greatest shift we've ever seen, what could possibly be more important?

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A New Integral Spirituality and Integral Religion

An Integral Religion? Heaven forbid (pun intended)! I can hear all the people wounded by religion in past lives and today saying, "no way".....Especially those at scientific rational and relativistic levels of consciousness.

But religion is not going away, and whatever claims we make around "Spiritual, not Religious," anyone else looking in is going to consider it religion. So what would the next step in the evolution of religion look like? It certainly won't be the gods of nature or tribalism. Nor will it be the wrathful power god of the old testament, the mythic god of an absolutist consciousness, a rejection of anything metaphysical  by the rational/scientific level of consciousness, or a sensitive new-age egalitarian deity that says we make everything up as we go, locked in a pre-trans fallacy of magic and myth.

I came across a very long article on the Integral World website called Integral Religion, Uniting Eros and Logos by Dan Araya, a graduate student in Toronto examining instructional technologies and values development within Education, and the Director and co-founder of The Institute of Integral Evolution, located in Toronto, Canada.

Araya's article points to where an Integral Religion must go in order to be considered integral, and in doing so sets up some parameters of that emerging religion. By definition, Integral Religion must marry east and west, Science and Religion, Eros (Ascent, Many to the One)  and Logos (Descent, One to the Many), and Eros (the masculine) and Agape (the feminine), and much, much more.

In the article he quotes Auribindo in the Ideal of Human Unity:
A spiritual religion of humanity is the hope of the future… A religion of humanity means the growing realisation that there is a secret Spirit, a divine Reality, in which we are all one, that humanity is its highest present vehicle on earth, that the human race and the human being are the means by which it will progressively reveal itself here. It implies a growing attempt to live out this knowledge and bring about a kingdom of this divine Spirit upon earth. By its growth within us oneness with our fellow-men will become the leading principle of all our life, not merely a principle of cooperation but a deeper brotherhood, a real and an inner sense of unity and equality and a common life.
-Chapter XXXV, p. 307 (July 1918)
Araya concludes by saying:
"Whether we ascend to the Apex of Consciousness through meditative practice or serve Spirit's teleological drive towards emancipation, we are participants in a single spiritual evolution. Always we must remember that in integral religion it is wholeness that we seek: the integral embrace of immanence with transcendence, of Ascent with Descent, of humanity with God, and of enlightenment with the divine kingdom come."
My sense is that Integral Religion isn't something that we can decide to do or not do, validate or invalidate, it's something we must do if we are to lay claim to the term "integral," and it's already emerging. It is time for us to grow up. As Wilber points out, an integral religion must grounded in pluralism (SES), and [an] emerging religion must transcend and include religions of the past.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Another Review for the Integral Warrior in Cincinnati

I received a great review from Larry, one of the men in my Cincinnati Integral Warrior men's group. You can read that here. Larry sent out another review to the men in his MKP (Mankind Project) i-group that he was kind enough to share with me, and so I'm sharing with you. My hope in sharing is that it will encourage other men to step into this life-changing and transformative process.


Here's his review of the second weekend of the 6-weekend process. Thank you, Larry. It is such a pleasure to have you in this group.

Gary - Laughing White Horse

Men,

I know that one or two of the men were interested in hearing about the next six Integral Warrior workshops with Gary Stamper, so I thought I would just send my account of it to everyone in our i-group. (Participation in the rest of this workshop is already closed, but I suspect that Gary may be persuaded to repeat this series again next year in Cincinnati if enough men show interest.)

This weekend the workshop was held in an idyllic setting in a home in the woods overlooking a bike trail and a small river. The weather was perfect. The Warrior weekend was the first of four initiations that the six men who have chosen this workshop will experience (Warrior, Lover, Magician, King).  Gary basically takes the MKP's approach to the four main archetypes to a much deeper level. In this workshop, we explored the passive and active shadows of the warrior and how those shadows showed up for each of us. I was able to clearly define my own weaknesses and struggles that appear whenever the warrior in me is repressed, much as we did in the MKP initiation. Going much deeper than MKP work, Gary also guided us through a study of the states and stages of masculine development in order to discover our deepest purpose and our mission. He used both Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory (the most comprehensive map of human consciousness yet devised) to guide us to our warrior gold.

Gary is one of the most powerful facilitators that I have ever met. Using Spiral Dynamics, he is able to eloquently and artfully provide the framework for tracking the historical evolution of the world's cultures, from primitive man to the present, and show how it applies as well to organizations and individuals. His explanation of Integral Theory and Practice brought simplicity and clarity to this rather cumbersome subject. And he brings his own gold -- integrity, humility, and the open-hearted gift of his mission to the weekend.

For me, the workshop was the perfect blend of the cognitive (with the stimulating discussions about how individuals and cultures move from one level of consciousness to the next) and experiential (with the Shamanic journeys that he led with an almost hypnotic intensity). A final ritual ceremony (which we designed ourselves) allowed me to declare my ownership of the warrior archetype and all of its shadows.

I am looking forward with renewed zeal to the next three archetype workshops and the final ceremony next year for my emergence as an Integral Warrior, embracing and balanced by Lover, Magician, and King.  Apparently I may also choose at this time to accept the mantle of Shamanic Priest, although personally I don't feel comfortable accepting this title -- I just don't feel the need for titles to bring my gifts to the world. This ceremony will be witnessed by family and friends, much like the priestess workshop that my wife and the other fifteen woman completed a few weeks ago with Gary's wife Anya. I'll keep you posted as to the date. Here's a link to his webpage that describes his work in more detail: http://www.garystamper.com/integralwarrior.htm.

I seem to remember that he will be facilitating a two-day Shamanic Breathwork weekend for men on October 9th and 10th. Here's a link to that:http://www.garystamper.com/breathwork.htm. I will look for some more details on that and send it along separately. I think Bob Wuest was going to help promote that one.

Larry
Bear Hug

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Developmental Lines and the Integral Psychograph

I'm introducing basic Integral Theory in The Integral Warrior workshop, and in it, we're doing an Integral Psychograph. The Integral Psychograph looks at an individual's "Lines of Development," one of the Five Aspects in the Integral Model. The others are the four quadrants, types, stages, and states. These are different kinds, or types, of intelligences. There is no one measurement of intelligence...rather, we are made up of many different kinds of "intelligences." The ones we're most concerned with for an Integral Psychograph are:
1. Cognitive: thinking clearly and rationally, reasoning capabilities, solving...able to sort things out, make plans, see multiple perspectives. The cognitive sets the stage for all of the other intelligences.
2. Interpersonal; Interaction with others. People who are highly developed here tend to be extroverts. seen in how we notice distinction among others; in particular, contrasts in their moods, temperaments motivations and intentions.
3. Psychosexual: development of the individual's sexuality as affected by biological, cultural, and emotional influences from prenatal life onward throughout life.
4. Emotional: four types of abilities: Perceiving, using, understanding, and managing. (link) describes the ability, capacity, skill to identify, assess, manage and control the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups.
5. Moral/ethical/values: the capacity to understand right from wrong; it means to have strong ethical convictions and to act on them so that one behaves in the right and honorable way
6. Kinesthetic or physical: control of one's bodily motions and capacity to handle objects skillfully; are generally good at physical activities such as sports or dance. They may enjoy acting or performing, and in general they are good at building and making things.
7. Aesthetic/artistic: may be music, art, writing, love of beauty. the ability to produce, express, communicate and appreciate in a compelling way inner, spiritual, natural and cultural realities and meanings. (This can include aspects of verbal, musical and spatial intelligences.
8. Spiritual: Sometimes called the ultimate intelligence and the guide for all the other intelligences, It is the soul's intelligence, the intelligence of the deep self. It is the intelligence with which we ask fundamental questions and with which we reframe our answers. 
9. Empathy/compassion: Those with high empathetic intelligence do well at commiserating, ‘reading’ others, making themselves ‘likable’ as well as persuading and manipulating.  The emotionally intelligent know what reactions their own actions will produce in others before they act.

These are but a few of the "lines of development," one of the 5 aspects of the integral model. So why are these important in our development? I believe that to be fully evolving, we need not only to feel and have state, or temporary experiences, but that knowing how we evolve aids us in our rapid transition to later stages (permanent structures) of consciousness, and that knowing this allows us to consciously participate in our own evolution. To do this fully, we must consider all five of the aspects of the Integral model.


So we do the cognitive work which prepares us for a deeper understanding of the experiential elements (like meditation, journeying or Shamanic Breathwork) which, together, help us shift by allowing us to interpret these altered-state experiences from the highest perspective possible.


Click on the image to enlarge

Monday, June 28, 2010

The Global Political Awakening and the New World Order

Sobering article on the tipping point we find ourselves at by Andrew Gavin Marshall on the Global Research, Centre for Globalization website.



The Technological Revolution and the Future of Freedom, Part 1
By Andrew Gavin Marshall



Conclusion: So, the Technological Revolution has led to a diametrically opposed, antagonistic, and conflicting geopolitical reality: never before has humanity been so awakened to issues of power, exploitation, imperialism and domination; and simultaneously, never before have elites been so transnational and global in orientation, and with the ability to impose such a truly global system of scientific despotism and political oppression. These are the two major geopolitical realities of the world today. Reflect on that. Never in all of human history has mankind been so capable of achieving a true global political psycho-social awakening; nor has humanity ever been in such danger of being subjected to a truly global scientific totalitarianism, potentially more oppressive than any system known before, and without a doubt more technologically capable of imposing a permanent despotism upon humanity. So we are filled with hope, but driven by urgency. In all of human history, never has the potential nor the repercussions of human actions and ideas ever been so monumental.

Suddenly, global elites are faced with the reality of seeking to dominate populations that are increasingly becoming self-aware and are developing a global consciousness. Thus, a population being subjected to domination in Africa has the ability to become aware of a population being subjected to the same forms of domination in the Middle East, South America or Asia; and they can recognize that they are all being dominated by the same global power structures. That is a key point: not only is the awakening global in its reach, but in its nature; it creates within the individual, an awareness of the global condition. So it is a ‘global awakening’ both in the external environment, and in the internal psychology.

This new reality in the world, coupled with the fact that the world’s population has never been so vast, presents a challenge to elites seeking to dominate people all over the world who are aware and awakened to the realities of social inequality, war, poverty, exploitation, disrespect, imperialism and domination. This directly implies that these populations will be significantly more challenging to control: economically, politically, socially, psychologically and spiritually. Thus, from the point of view of the global oligarchy, the only method of imposing order and control – on this unique and historical human condition – is through the organized chaos of economic crises, war, and the rapid expansion and institutionalization n of a global scientific dictatorship. Our hope is their fear; and our greatest fear is their only hope.

As Charles Dickens once wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That has never been so true as it is today.


To read the entire article, click here

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Just Your Everyday, Run-of-the-Mill Apocalyptic Shamanic Breathwork Journey, Part Two...

In my previous entry, "Just Your Everyday, Run-of-the-Mill Apocalyptic Shamanic Breathwork Journey, Part One...", I laid out a little background on this entry. In one way, I've been a little fearful about writing this down and speaking publicly into my breathwork vision experience. As I said, it's a dilly...

I don't personally know anyone who isn't shocked and dismayed about what's happening in the Gulf and the very real sense that it is a tipping point of some sort. If it isn't at least a tipping point in waking people up to what we are doing to ourselves, then there seems very little hope that anything will wake us up.

As I prepared for my breathwork journey, the news around the spill grew worse. It turns out there are three leaks from the well, not one, and two of them are from casing failure and damaged strata far below the ocean floor: Scientists are now saying the amount of oil leaking in the gulf could be 3-4 times more than admitted by BP or the US Government; Tremendous amounts of methane gas is being released along with the oil, which has the very real possibility of creating huge "dead zones" in the gulf, and spreading who knows where. Last,  because of the "doomsday scenario," they can't shut the well down because of pressure buildup and the danger of underground blowouts in the rock formation. There are more disasters waiting.

What does it all mean? We don't know. Uncharted territory.

In an earlier breathwork vision several years ago, I was shown planets all over the universe who were not able to move in into higher awareness that had literally killed themselves off, and was told by "Spirit" that we had very little time to shift. If we didn't, our fate would resemble the other planets who had committed species suicide.

In this new breathwork, which happened just last week, I was "shown" that we have exceeded the tipping point where we had an opportunity to save ourselves: that we have passed the last opportunity to salvage our existence on the planet. At first, I was overcome with grief around our stupidity, then I tried to get out of the vision, looking for some way to escape, some way out of the vision that was being presented to me.

I couldn't.

Then, finally, surrender. I just let go. I still carried the numbness from the vision, but rested in surrender until the music finally took me out of the process. I then created a mandala (the illustration at the top of this entry) of what the planet might look like should the "doomsday scenario" take place. For the rest of the day and early evening, I was literally in shock.

It wasn't until later that evening that I was able to find some resolution around the vision: I had to "shift my perspective," stand in another place and view it from a different angle. What I found was this:

What if the shift so many of us have been working and preparing for doesn't look anything like we've imagined it? Existing stages of consciousness never really know what the newly emerging stage is going to look like. What would the effect be on the universe if 6.8 billion souls were pretty much dumped into the sixth "Bardo" at the same time? Sometimes referred to as the "store-house" consciousness, or the aggregate of consciousness which administers and yields rebirth, what impact might that have on consciousness itself? What impact might that have on the shamanic consciousness of death and rebirth?

From this point of view it is because the store-house consciousness, while being originally immaculate in itself, contains a "mysterious mixture of purity and defilement, good and evil" that the transformation of consciousness can take place and enlightenment can be experienced. In this analysis, mental and physical manifestations are nothing but discriminations of Mind and all aspects of the first seven physically enumerated consciousnesses are just the reflections of the store consciousness.

Maybe this is the shift, and maybe we are the ones we've been waiting for. Maybe it won't look anything like what we thought it would look like. Maybe we need to move out of this "little picture" consciousness, walk over here a few paces and look at it from a new perspective....

Hey, I don't know. What I do know is what we're doing isn't working on so many levels.

Partial image of mandala image by Gary Stamper

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Just Your Everyday-Run-of-the-Mill Apocalyptic Shamanic Breathwork Vision, Part One....

Shamans have always been able to "walk between the worlds," access the unseen, and experience visions in altered-state consciousness. In fact, the shaman is the master of subtle states of consciousness. The Shamanic Priest is the highest expression of the Magician Archetype, and I am a Shamanic Priest

I do not claim to be a shaman, although, like all of us, I do believe there is a "shaman within" each of us, and I do use shamanic techniques to access these altered states of consciousness for my self and others. As of yesterday, I am officially a Certified Breathwork Facilitator.

Visions are not new territory for me as I've had several over the past few years, mostly while doing Shamanic Breathwork, some in dreams, and one in broad daylight. A couple have actually come true, and most have not.....yet.....So, I've had visions and I've helped others access visions, as well.

So I approach these experiences with an open mind and a touch of skepticism, wondering how much of these altered-state visions are really visions and how much are actually constructs, created by my ego? Now, Shamanic Breathwork is supposed to get our ego out of the way so that our soul can talk to us. When I'm able to fully access my soul's purpose, or source, I consider that I have also accessed the sacred. I honestly believe that it does happen....I also believe there are times when I'm unable to get my ego out the way and that I "make stuff up."

Jung's Active Imagination process is an example of this, and is still used today. The point is, what is "made up" and what actually comes from source? And, is there a difference? Where does creativity come from, anyway, if not the Divine? Many, including me, agree that it stems from the causal state of consciousness. I believe, for example, I can tell what is and is not made up by the intensity of my breathwork experience and whether I have to "think things through" or not. In other words, am I in control of the vision, or is it in control of me?

One vision I had a couple years ago involved the collapse of the financial system. Because of that vision, I moved to North Carolina three months earlier than originally planned so Anyaa and I could get our new house financed. We got our construction loan closed two weeks before the collapse. We would not have acquired that loan after the collapse.

I've had a new vision and it's a dilly.....

This whole blog article is to set up my telling of this "dilly" of a breathwork journey, and subsequent vision during that breathwork, of a few days ago. I've created a mandala around it, and processed and integrated it with my teachers and fellow participants. I am convinced, if it isn't a true vision of something to come, it's at least a dire warning of what's to come if we don't get our act together on this planet very, very soon....if it's not already too late.

Next: Just Your Everyday-Run-of-the-Mill Apocalyptic Shamanic Breathwork Vision, Part Two....

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

A Review for the Integral Warrior in Cincinnati

Several of the men who attended the Integral Warrior Introductory weekend in Cincinnati are initiated men. That means they have gone through the Mankind Project New Warrior Training Adventure. One of them, Larry Brown, wrote this review of the weekend for other MKP men in Cincinnati, encouraging them to attend the Integral Warrior workshop.


I am honored an humbled by this review and give credit to opening my heart and my crown chakra and allowing Spirit to move through me. I reproduce it here with Larry's permission


Gary

Men,

I promised to deliver a description of Gary Stamper's weekend workshop that I attended up in the Miami Forest area in Oregonia (forty minutes north of Cinci).
This is a weekend that I would urge any initiated man to attend. It is especially useful to MKP men because we have already been trained in some of this material and are better equipped to make best use of it than men who have not done MKP work. Gary is an intitiated MKP warrior and speaks from both the head and the heart.  The location was positively idyllic and the sessions were worth every penny of the $260.00 fee.
Gary is repeating this introductory weekend on July 17th and 18th at the same location. Even if you don't do the follow up workshops, it is one of the best introductions to modern men's work that I have had the privilege to attend.
One caveat--most of the work was cognitive rather than experiential, that is, except for the Shamanic journey, it involved lengthy discussions and dialogue instead of processes. I usually fall asleep at lectures, but Gary's speaking skills are so sharply honed that I was fully engaged most of the time. This was a big surprise for me with my A.D.D.!
Basically, the weekend consisted of two very long days that looked closely at the Jungian Archetypes. An in-depth examination of the Lover, Warrior, Magician and King, including discussions of both the active and the passive shadows. This went far beyond the MKP's discussion of the archetypes and helped me to look much more closely at the shadows of each in my own life. Gary also led us on a Shamanic Journey to banish the  King shadows, and this turned out to be a surprisingly powerful experience for me. He describes this as: DEATH OF THE OLD KING How is the Patriarchy affecting Your life? What are you willing to let die?
Some other topics that he covered included two of the most talked-about works in the men's movement today:
1) States and Stages in history and how we evolve. This was based on Dr. Clare Graves' pragmatic history of consciousness. Starts with a brief analysis of the last ten thousand years of human history. It describes how waves of consciousness emerged and flowed through individuals and groups throughout different periods of history. It was a sort of mini-course in Spiral Dynamics and encouraged me to research it a bit more on the net.
2) Introduction to Integral theory and the Integral Warrior.
The Integral Warrior process is both fascinating and useful. Here's Gary's description from the brochure: "It combines Jungian and emerging archetypes, cutting edge Integral and developmental systems theory, ancient Shamanic wisdom traditions of altered-state consciousness like Shamanic Breathwork and Journeying, meditation, guided imagery, Shamanic death and rebirth,  ritual and deeply thought-out initiations. The result of the process is stretching the boundaries of what is possible, holding space for the feminine, nature, body, spirit, integrity, authenticity, wisdom and heart."
One last thing: I have always been wary of what I call "woo-woo" new age mysticism and I was a little apprehensive about attending this workshop, but it turned out to be a concise, informative, and, more importantly for me, an engaging look at some of the men's work that can improve the quality of my life. Simply put, I feel it will accelerate my growth in the i-group and all the MKP projects. I strongly recommend making room for this weekend on July 17th and 18th in your busy schedule!

Thank you, Larry.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Men Are Hurting

It was my distinct honor this weekend to emerge a group of men from the Integral Warrior Men's Process. I was asked by the men and by their friends and family to furnish them a copy of the welcome speech I gave before the men self-initiated men themselves as Integral Warriors and Shamanic Priests.


Here is the text of my presentation.

There is no renewal in the universe without a preceding loss. Even the sun is dying every moment. If anyone tells you that you can be reborn, saved, go to heaven, or be born again,  and does not first speak to you very honestly about dying, do not believe them. You cannot be reborn to the new if you aren’t willing to die to the old first. There is no such thing as a “prosperity gospel.” Death and life are an eternal embrace, two sides of the same coin. It is the one common theme in every initiatory process, in every initiation rite. Any initiation process that does not teach this mystery is not an initiation at all.

There's an old blues song by William Bell called, “You don’t miss your water until your well runs dry”…Unless a man has been involved in the human struggle, he probably won't know what is missing in his life, because we can only miss what we have experienced. Not only is classic mens' initiation sadly missing from modern and postmodern life, but postmodernism has completely deconstructed the initiation process.

Even our animal brothers make it clear that juniors need elders ….Humans and animals are imitative and mimetic. Several Years ago National geographic did a special on elephants, focusing on at a pack where all the elder bull elephants had been killed. The younger bulls, who had not developed tusks, began acting out, crushing cars, knocking down fences and huts, damaging crops, and more. The solution? Older bull elephants were helicoptered in to the herd, and because they would charge the younger elephants, trumpeting and bluffing, the younger bulls stopped acting out.

In the human realm, using archetypal terminology, if there are no kings, warriors become brutal, magicians behave as charlatans, and lovers are soon addicts.

Young men do not become responsible men without boundaries and identity.

We are not a healthy culture for boys or men. Not the only reason, but surely one reason, is that we no longer have a culture of elders who know how to pass on wisdom, identities and boundaries to the next generation. Most men are under-fathered and over-mothered – now even more in an age of single parents. We are a society without fathers.

We’ve created boys who never grow up and want to marry mothers instead of wives, and girls who want securing and affirming daddies instead of risk-taking partners.

The current older generation of men in the United States has, to a great extent, not been mentored by their own fathers. They were usually given necessary messages either in quick male style or translated through the experience of women. Women have been training boys to be their version of men, or men who have not been mentored have been modeling at a teenage level of development. Neither is what we need.

Men can only pass on what they themselves know. They can only lead their sons and daughters as far as they have gone. Men who lost their fathers at an early age may do fine with their own sons up to that age, and then often lose self-confidence in their parenting abilities.

The patterns of failure in young men are staggering and frightening: Level of depression, suicides, drug abuse, alcoholism, and violence are all exponentially rising. 94% of all inmates are male. Men live an average of 7 years less than women, suffer far more from ulcers and stress-related disease than women, and are more likely than women to die from the 15 leading causes of death.

Over 80% of all suicides are men. In the 20-24 age bracket, males commit suicide six times as often as females, and over the age of 85, men are fourteen times as likely to commit suicide as women.

Men are hurting.

For the past twenty years we’ve been told our education system favors and is based on success of boys, but the results appear to be exactly opposite. Women are surpassing men in leadership positions, valedictorian addresses, graduation rates, jobs after graduation, and now, even saleries.

In his book, “The Biology of Transcendence: A Blueprint of the Human Spirit” – Joseph Chilton Pearce say we have 5 brains altogether and that they build on one another at years 1, 4, 7, 11, and 14-17. at each of these milestones, there occur brain surges where all past experiences are stored and secured, or myelinated. He reasons we transcend each brain stage by being around models of higher brain functions, and if there is no modeling, neural pruning occurs and millions of brain cells die off. This is what’s happening to boys of all stages who don't have the next developmental stage modeled for them.

Despite postmodernism's search for unisex everything, feminist denials, anger at maleness in the past few decades, and even men’s doubts about themselves, the grand nature of the male soul is self evident. We like it, hate it, we fear it, we disseminate it, we push against it, we take it for granted.

So many people are so angry at Patriarchy, or false male power, and rightly so, that it makes them afraid to recognize the good power and the good passion of men. We have all found love at the male banquet. Maleness is half of the mystery, and if we do not enjoy it, we are missing half of who we are, whether we are a man or a woman.

Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette have found that the characters in male myth, legend, and story – the universal images that attract men – invariably circle around four constellating images, which some call archetypes or ruling images. Images of a king, a warrior, a lover, and a magician or wise man, seems to be four parts of every man, our primary fascinations, the major quadrants of our souls…..they challenge us, they fascinate us, threaten us, and yet we are unable to totally ignore them. When we do, or when we over identify with one or the other, they invariably take on dark and compulsive sides. But the mature man honors and integrates all parts of his soul. They seem to naturally balance and regulate one another, and they make a man whole and Holy. It has been called the very shape of masculine holiness.

Each of the men that have gone through the Integral Warrior Mens' Process have completed the four initiations, called in and claimed their king, their warrior, their lover, and their magician, so that none of them dominates the others, but rather, balance each other in perfect masculine harmony.

This is a remarkable achievement in that, historically, most cultures only affirmed one or two parts of a man - usually the Warrior or the Magician. Our job today, as Integral Warriors and Shamanic Priests, is much more difficult because we must affirm, educate, and validate all four archetypes, letting them simmer and grow together to create a full man. Now we need enlightened and transformed magicians, lovers of life and beauty, and strong non-violent warriors to produce truly big-picture men - or kings.

In the Emergence weekend, men who complete the Integral Warrior Men's Process, will self-initiate one more time, proclaiming their gift, as men in service, to the world: they will emerge from the process in front of their family and their friends, as Integral Warriors and Shamanic Priests, and claim the big-picture masculine that is every man’s birthright who is willing to die to the old and be reborn to the new as these men will have done.

Note: Much of the information, and even some phrases were taken directly from Richard Rohr's book, Adam's Return: The Five promises of Male Initiation. Get a copy. It's excellent!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Developing the Postmodern Shaman in the Male Psyche

The task of the post-modern Shaman/Magician initiation is more challenging than ever before in human history – and more important for the human future: our very survival as a species depends on it.

From Robert Moore and Douglas Gillettes' book, The Magician Within,  here are seven ways men can develop the shaman, better known as The Magician in the realm of the four primary masculine archetypes:

1. Schedule into your life times of retreat and reflection on a regular basis. Consider it life-maintenance to keep your energy and development on track. The magician/shaman must have time to re-energize.

2. Begin to work toward finding and ritualizing your own Sacred Places and times for inner work. Do you have an altar in your home? Special retreats away from home?

3. Work toward a disciplined utilization of dream interpretaion and active imagination (see Robert Johnson’s excellent book Inner Work). I use The Inner Guide meditation to develop and ongoing relationship with my wise man within.

4. Begin to keep a personal Journey as an ongoing container for your work. Don’t like to journal? Consider starting a blog.

5. Find an ongoing men’s group that is seeking to develop masculine potentials in its members and that is not afraid to experiment with creative ritualization. The Mankind Project is an excellent place to start. For keeping one grounded, there's no better place than a mens' group.

6. Defy those that would shame your intellectual abilities or who would seek to limit the scope and/or depth of your studies. Claim the two-million-year-old mind that is your birthright!

7. Keep your “bullshit detector” in good working order. In the coming years, you will need it like never before.

Mature shamans in the future must seek the wisdom and vision to be EarthShamans. Anything less will be a betrayal of our species.

Photo by DrugArt
 


Saturday, April 24, 2010

The Integral Warrior Facebook Page

I've just created The Integral Warrior facebook page.

Join me and committed men and women everywhere as we learn how  to embody The New Masculine, the Divine Masculine, Eros, integrate and call in all perspectives into BE-ing with fierce awareness, stretching the boundaries of what is possible, bravely holding space for the feminine, nature, body, spirit, integrity, authenticity, wisdom and heart. Using new Integral and Developmental Systems Theory, breathwork, and traditional archetypes, initiations, and ritual, you’ll learn how to align your true purpose and the full embodiment of presence for the highest good of all beings.

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Change is the Only Constant in the Universe

I first heard the title of this post in the 1980's when I was recruited into a network marketing business. I jumped into it passionately and was making pretty good money when the company folded unexpectedly, leaving me and about 200 of my down line hanging out there. Change.....

This blog is undergoing another change. I first started writing here several years ago with the blog title "Integtral in Seattle." I was, at the time, the founder and leader of what has grown into one of the largest integral salons and communities in the world. When I moved to North Carolina a couple of years ago, I changed the name of the blog to " Beyond Integral," a reference to what felt as,  and still does, a shift from the cognitive aspects of Ken Wilber's Integral Framework, into a broader, more expansive view of the the Integral Model.

I'm changing the title of the blog again. For those of you who have followed my writing for the past few years, you can see it represents another shift: in what I'm doing and and how I'm writing about it. The title, "The Spiraling Universe," represents how I see human consciousness, and the universe, unfolding.

For instance, much of my writing has been about integral philosophy and how it has impacted my life. Now I'm moving into bringing more of my work into the world, work that I believe is necessary. That work, of course, will always be informed by the integral model and Spiral Dynamics Integral, but is no longer the focus of my workshops and writing, but rather, an integral part of the larger picture which is all about how and why people shift in ever-increasing expanding circles of evolutionary consciousness and complexity.

The main focus of my work is with mens consciousness because the vast majority of men in this country at stuck at David Deida's first stage masculine, with about 20-25% at second stage, and maybe 1-2% of men are emerging into third stage masculine (read about the model here). Until we can reach the tipping point of approximately 10% of the population at third stage, the patriarchy will continue to dominate the planet. I do this work by combining and integrating the ancient wisdom of the Shaman, death and rebirth cycles, altered states, and new sciences of integral and developmental systems, creating a new paradigm of teaching and learning.

But the reason men should do this work that prepares them to transform into third stage masculine is because it empowers us. Not in a patriarchal sense, but from the perspective of our own freedom.

Welcome to "The Spiraling Universe."

Saturday, February 20, 2010

What IS the Integral Warrior/Shamanic Priest Process?

We have the ability and tools we need to improve our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and the planet. The big question is, “Do we have the will?”

The Integral Warrior is a six weekend men’s process that takes place over several months time. The process combines Jungian and emerging archetypes, cutting edge Integral and developmental systems theory, ancient Shamanic wisdom traditions of altered-state consciousness like Shamanic Breathwork and Journeying, meditation, guided imagery, Shamanic death and rebirth, and ritual and deeply thought-out initiations.

This combination of new and old, available to humanity for the first time in its fullness, creates a new paradigm of learning and healing that creates new awareness of who we are, why we do what we do, and where we’re headed. The process helps men move toward new structures of consciousness. By building a stronger existing foundation, we create the platform that allows the New Masculine to begin emerging in just a few months, a process that generally takes years to unfold, if it is to happen at all.

We have what we need to be the models for this emerging consciousness. As the sayings go, “If not now, when…if not you, who,” and “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

Here’s a brief overview of the six segments:

Integral Warrior Weekend Segments

Introductory Weekend: Weekend One is a special introductory weekend designed to allow men to experience the Priest archetype within and the Shamanic Priest Process before committing to the entire journey. It consists of introductions to the major Jungian archetypes, King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. What is the Divine Masculine and why is it so important? Introduction to Integral Theory (the most comprehensive map of human consciousness yet) and the Spiral Dynamics developmental model. Learn about how the masculine grows, and why. A guided Shamanic Journey into our psyches. A beginning exploration into the King archetype, what is initiation and why are they so critical, and an overview of the remaining process and weekends.

At the end of the introductory weekend, men will have an opportunity to decide whether or not they want to experience the full process consisting of an additional six weekends.

Weekend Two: The first of the Four Initiations, The Warrior Archetype, and Initiation and emergence of the Spiritual Warrior; Finding your purpose, integrity, authenticity, standing firm for what you believe is right. Deeper into Integral Theory, Lines, States and Stages, and Spiral Dynamics. Guided imagery on Warrior past lives and the shadow of the warrior. Discovering your deepest purpose and your mission. Nine steps to becoming the Spiritual Warrior. Claiming the Spiritual Warrior archetype through ritual and Initiation.

Weekend Three: The Lover Archetype, finding your Inner Beloved, balancing masculine and feminine energies. Learning how to embody the Lover. Developing empathy and compassion through Open Heart practices. The Shadow of the Lover. Still deeper into Integral Theory. Big Mind, Big Heart: Shifting awareness of your inner landscape, experiential awareness of non-dual realization. Claiming the Lover archetype through ritual and the Second Initiation.

Weekend Four: The Magician archetype, and why the Shamanic Priest is the fullest expression of the Magician. Balancing the seen and unseen dimensions, Priesting to the world. Accepting the Mantle of Spiritual Leadership, Creating and holding sacred space. The Magician’s relationship to the King and the Lover. Discovering what you need and what’s needed on the planet at this time. Claiming the Magician archetype through ritual and the Third Initiation.

Weekend Five: Using Shamanic Breathwork, Sacred Art, and Initiation, travel between the seen and unseen to clear the blockages that prevent your King from emerging in his fullest manifestation, balancing and integrating the other archetypes so that each is fully accessible as is needed. Death of the Old King ritual, and the Fourth Initiation of the New King. Shamanic Breathwork Process is a powerful healing process using the breath to create an altered state of consciousness that inspires individuals to remember and reconnect with their own inner healer.

Weekend Six: Preparation for a self-proclaiming ceremony for the Emergence of the Shamanic Priest and Integral Warrior. Emergence Ceremony of the Integral Warrior/Shamanic Priest witnessed by friends and family.

In addition, each of the weekends is rich with our own personal stories, life experiences and histories of our relationships with the archetypes of the King Warrior, Lover, and Magician.