Distinctions

The developmental impulse I’m pointing to is the one we were born with. As infants we respond to sensation, unimpeded by concept. The socialization process is, at bottom, the embodiment of concepts our caregivers / culture consider essential for our physical / emotional / relational survival. Initially they help, later they hinder.

Nonetheless, sensing is always available to us, although it takes some practice to cultivate as an adult. We immediately enter the stream of development as soon as we do so. That’s because sensing experientially connects us to life as it streams around us, through us, as us. This connection does the developing, not us as individuals.

The blissful states of saints, sages and other adepts we may have read about (or experienced ourselves) is what the connection feels like. Suffering ceases. Anxiety crumbles. We are at home.

All well and good—perhaps, though, you see the trap we so easily fall into: we begin to want, to desire the blissful state, which puts us right back into trying to learn something so we can control it. Spiritual paths can become this, practices can reify into it.

When our control attempts fail we usually redouble them or start looking for better methods. Here’s where complex concepts and models come in, blocking our way. There is an alternative approach.

Paying attention, being present with what’s here undergirds our ability to sense. That’s why our programs always include them and why other developmental modalities—spiritual, psychological, somatic, ontological—are based on them.

Sensing puts us in touch with the life force and, from there, the world is quite a different place. Sharp edges, looming threats, unformed worries fade from our obsessive, scanning awareness. Life force recognizes itself in others, so their goodness radiates.

And that’s where powerful coaching starts.

The book, practice, and poems of the quarter can all assist you in deepening your inquiry on this topic.

Take care of yourself.

Sending love,

*Knowledge itself becomes stagnant. It gets calcified into concepts, habits, models and schema, all of which take us away from the process of life. Relying on knowledge can blind us to the uniqueness of just now. It has its place, of course, as long as we remember to not fully rely on it, but to pay attention to the particulars of the moment as well.

• Take three deep breaths, extending the exhalation (or another practice that quickly settles you).
• Put your hands on the center of your chest and feel your heart beat and your lungs move as you breathe.
• Allow the great sensitivity of your hands to fully sense the activity in your heart and lungs, and allow that sense to move from your hands through your arms, torso, abdomen, legs, and feet.
• Then notice the same life force occurring outside of you. In how many places do you notice it?

The Fourth Sign Of The Zodiac (Part 3)

Mary Oliver

I know, you never intended to be in this world.
But you’re in it all the same.

so why not get started immediately.

I mean, belonging to it.
There is so much to admire, to weep over.

And to write music or poems about.

Bless the feet that take you to and fro.
Bless the eyes and the listening ears.
Bless the tongue, the marvel of taste.
Bless touching.

You could live a hundred years, it’s happened.
Or not.
I am speaking from the fortunate platform
of many years,
none of which, I think, I ever wasted.
Do you need a prod?
Do you need a little darkness to get you going?
Let me be urgent as a knife, then,
and remind you of Keats,
so single of purpose and thinking, for a while,
he had a lifetime.

Letter from the Graduate Department

Dear graduates,

As illustrated in this issue, life force is essential for connection, which in turn is vital to the health of our souls and our ability to serve. We’ve been moved over the last few years to see how our ever-growing graduate community has been able to stay in touch and support each other in the Alumni Facebook group. If you haven’t been there in awhile (or haven’t joined yet), we encourage you to pop in, check out the kinds of conversations people are having, and partake of the resources being shared.

This spring, grads will be gathering in person and virtually in Masterful Conversations, Case Supervision, Thwarting the Inner Critic, and the Year Launch Teleclass. Each of these offerings brings a deeper and more nuanced view of the method, and a chance to dive straight into inquiry and discovery the way we Integral Coaches do. There’s still time to join any of these programs—we hope you will.

And apart from these virtual and course-related connections, we trust you’ve been staying in touch with each other—please send photos and reports of your gatherings! We’d love to know and share what you’re up to.

With love,

Sahar Azarabadi and Adam Klein, Graduate Directors

Want to Offer Free Coaching at Wisdom 2.0?

This year’s conference will take place on March 1-3 at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco. We’ll be offering free 30-minute coaching sessions to attendees… if you are a graduate and would like to participate, please sign up here. You do not have be a conference attendee to do free coaching (though you do need to come to the venue). Do let us know if you do plan to attend, though, so we can send you info on how to connect with others from the NVW community.

Reunion in San Francisco