Subtle Energy, the Soul & Life Purpose
Recorded 1.22.2015
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Welcome to our first Integral Living Room community call of 2015. Recorded this past Thursday, January 22nd, it was our largest live gathering yet! (Register for the calls to receive a reminders).
One the call we (Terry, Diane, and Jeff) described the theme of this year’s Living Room: “A Trans-Rational Soul Initiation”, an integral exploration of the realms of subtle energy, the soul & life purpose. We played a fascinating excerpt of a conversation we had with Ken Wilber, where he shares his personal story of awakening to his own calling (excerpt below).
Excerpt: Ken Wilber Awakens to His Life Purpose
During the first three Integral Living Room events, we began to pay close attention to what was happening with the field of subtle energy among us in the room. Often, we realized, that field became charged with a special quality of attention, intention, and energy. We’ve watched with wonder as the Integral Living Room has begun to cross over into ceremonial time and ritual space.
Well, at this next gathering we decided to add an extra day to go deeper and really honor and serve that process. We will explore an integral relationship to the energetic field and to ritual. We will invite second-tier subtle shamanic processes to unfold. And we’ve decided to give ourselves a full year of preparation, because there’s a deep organic pace to the unfolding of the subtle “soul”. So the next Integral Living Room will be October 29 – November 2, 2015.
As Terry pointed out, just because an Integral view transcends superficial fascination with subtle energies and information, it doesn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. In fact, it can liberate a whole new level of subtle energy work, grounded in ever-present awareness, and yet shining with initiatory aliveness and power — and free of the pre-trans fallacy. The subtle dimension has a valid and necessary place in the integral map of our experience.
We heard a twenty minute clip of Ken telling the story of how, as a young man, he first began to discern his life purpose. It grew out of him asking a significant question about how the insights of various kinds of Western psychology and Eastern wisdom could simultaneously be true, and yet disagree with each other. In what kind of Kosmos is that possible? It was the call of this profound, overarching question that drew him to the life work that has affected so many thousands of people.
Afterwards, many listeners joined in the discussion and a wide-ranging conversation about this juicy topic ensued, with Diane, Jeff, Terry and several community members sharing personal experiences and questions.
Together we sharpened a shared inquiry into how integral theory can simultaneously demystify the world — and re-enchant it.
Don’t miss the recorded conversation. And take a moment now to look at your calendar so you can plan to join in as the conversation deepens, in 2nd-tier ritual space at the Integral Living Room in Boulder this October 29th – November 2nd.
And even if you can’t make it to the gathering, you can join us on the community calls leading up to it. Register here for reminders.
Aristotle thought that the soul is the Form of the body.
Furthermore, Aristotle says that a soul is related to its body as form to matter.
So delighted to learn that Integral , through you guys anyway, is resolving to pay attention to subtle energy. It is long overdue in my view. I have felt very out on a limb in believing that experiences of subtle energy ( including not just chi or life force but importantly kundalini energy) is an essential ingredient of awakening.
How can we possibly “embody the Transcendent” which is surely the aim of spiritual practices (defined as such by the Dalai Lama ) if we do not awaken, consciously or unconsciously, subtle structures of consciousness ( especially the sushmna central channel and the chakras) . in order to be able to hold those energies in a stable way.
The awakening of those structures is surely the next stage in our evolution if we are ever to convert higher states of consciousness into the next stages of our cultural evolution .
Such a delight to ,listen to you all and loved Jeff’s anecdote about his dog and his conversation with trees. It has given me a whole new level of respect for him!
Thank you for this talk and for posting this valuable excerpt of Ken’s speaking about his awakening to his own Unique Self.