Gaia: The Integral Pod - Noosphere Nougat

Re: 2012....Again

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:51:53 GMT

Somehow I missed seeing your reply, Daniel. Yeah, it's almost always true that any popular "stories" are pretty far from whatever might be real or true to those who can see more clearly and discern more precisely and think more critically.

I myself can't imagine in my Orange mind how a galactic alignment could be of significant impact on us, and in the realm of subtle energy awareness, I wouldn't have a clue what it might BE, so we just gotta wait and see.

And do what we can about what we feel drawn to do, to improve the world.

Thass my approach.

Blessings, OM

Feedback to AQAL 2.0 guy

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:45:07 GMT

Got this from London Integral Circle yahoo group. A fellow named Oleg is asking for feedback on his 34-page paper.

It looks at least reasonable from reading a couple of pages, and he has a calm demeanor so far, which is encouraging!!

I can't track all the technical stuff, but I bet some here can.

http://www.integralportal.ru/files/AQAL_2.0_eng.pdf
email him at aqal.integral@gmail.com

Love, OM Bastet

Re: 2012....Again

http://drs1958.gaia.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:17:05 GMT

Namaste OM Baset

Great insight and comments. I'm with you, something is building. Are subtle energies somehow connected to at larger cosmic forces? Why not? Magnetic fields are invisible, so are most of the wavelengths of electromagnetic energy.

However, I refuse to swallow whole New Age post-modern scientific facts/discoveries mixed with ancient records and myths to create a sort of post-modern/New Age hybrid crystal ball revelation about the future.

Are the dominos in place and already falling? The last domino will fall in 2012 when the galactic alignment occurs?

Quoting Hamlet:

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

I think that is true! And because of that we have no idea what will happen in 2012. Take a look at the new ring of Saturn just discovered for example. There is still so much we do not know about the universe, how come so many are so cinfident that this galactic alignment will have some impact on us? As in the newly discovered ring of Saturn, there are many forces still unaccounted for!

I am reading "The Lord of The Rings" again and its just like the quest to destroy the ring of power. Its a very urgent mission to balance the world of its negative forces and 2012 may be one of the hallmark milestones.

I support the concepts of 2012 because of where we are going in the world and 3 years from now may very well be a climax (or one of several milestones and climaxes both positive and negative)

I don't buy into the mythic beliefs about 2012 based on ancient Mayan myths throwing in post modern astronomical knowledge to somehow validate it.

PHOTO:
In this photo taken Oct. 3, 2009, Guatemalan Mayan Indian elder Apolinario Chile Pixtun poses for a portrait at the Iximche ceremonial site in Tecpan, Guatemala. Archaeologists, astronomers and modern-day Mayas shrug off the popular frenzy over the date of 2012, predicting it will bring nothing more than a meteor shower of new-age 'consciousness,' pseudo-science and alarmist television specials.

Re: 2012....Again

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:16:57 GMT

The most admirably balanced and inclusive analysis I've seen from within the worldview of Orange and Green, to whom subtle energies are not "real." I myself tend to agree with those who say there will be no big upheavals in the gross sensory realm, but my reasons are probably different from theirs. And I am not at all certain. Anyway, the article really brought in a lot of differing perspectives, and I'm glad it called attention to the Western interjections, and the panic people are already in. So sad.

In the subtle energy realms, I do expect, without certainty though, rather massive shifts in experiences of many people manifested in their thoughts and feelings. For example re "the end of time" I go with those who interpret this as the end of being tied to linear clock time. Already many people who are in the overwhelm-busy lifestyle are moving away from being bound by clock time into a more organically nature-centered "surrendered to the Flow" attitude, because their only alternative is a nervous breakdown !!!!! By 2012, this could be quite widespread.

Certainly by then also such phenomena as The Translucent Revolution could have done their exponential-growth thingy, and the human (and other aspects of the) world might look more different from now than we can even imagine at this point.

This is definitely a sharable article. Thanks sooooo much for posting it!

Blessings, OM Bastet

2012....Again

http://drs1958.gaia.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:44:03 GMT

“…most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes “predictions” from Nostradamus and the Mayas…”

2012 isn't the end of the world, Mayans insist

By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Sun Oct 11, 3:58 am ET

MEXICO CITY – Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly “running out” on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it's not the end of the world.

Or is it?

Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. “I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff.”

It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's “2012” opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.

At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the “Curious? Ask an Astronomer” Web site, says people are scared.

“It's too bad that we're getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they're too young to die,” Martin said. “We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn't live to see them grow up.”

Chile Pixtun, a Guatemalan, says the doomsday theories spring from Western, not Mayan ideas.

A significant time period for the Mayas does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.

But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes “predictions” from Nostradamus and the Mayas and asks: “Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?”

It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades — the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or ”Planet X.” But this one has some grains of archaeological basis.

One of them is Monument Six.

Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted.

It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However — shades of Indiana Jones — erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible.

Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, “He will descend from the sky.”
Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.
And anyway, Mayas in the drought-stricken Yucatan peninsula have bigger worries than 2012.

“If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea,” said Jose Huchim, a Yucatan Mayan archaeologist. “That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain.”

The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy

Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012.

“It's a special anniversary of creation,” said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. “The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six.”

Bernal suggests that apocalypse is “a very Western, Christian” concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are “exhausted.”
If it were all mythology, perhaps it could be written off.

But some say the Maya knew another secret: the Earth's axis wobbles, slightly changing the alignment of the stars every year. Once every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon.

That will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, when the sun appears to rise in the same spot where the bright center of galaxy sets.

Another spooky coincidence?

“The question I would ask these guys is, so what?” says Phil Plait, an astronomer who runs the ”Bad Astronomy” blog. He says the alignment doesn't fall precisely in 2012, and distant stars exert no force that could harm Earth.

“They're really super-duper trying to find anything astronomical they can to fit that date of 2012,” Plait said.

But author John Major Jenkins says his two-decade study of Mayan ruins indicate the Maya were aware of the alignment and attached great importance to it.

“If we want to honor and respect how the Maya think about this, then we would say that the Maya viewed 2012, as all cycle endings, as a time of transformation and renewal,” said Jenkins.

As the Internet gained popularity in the 1990s, so did word of the “fateful” date, and some began worrying about 2012 disasters the Mayas never dreamed of.
Author Lawrence Joseph says a peak in explosive storms on the surface of the sun could knock out North America's power grid for years, triggering food shortages, water scarcity — a collapse of civilization. Solar peaks occur about every 11 years, but Joseph says there's evidence the 2012 peak could be “a lulu.”
While pressing governments to install protection for power grids, Joseph counsels readers not to “use 2012 as an excuse to not live in a healthy, responsible fashion. I mean, don't let the credit cards go up.”

Another History Channel program titled ”Decoding the Past: Doomsday 2012: End of Days” says a galactic alignment or magnetic disturbances could somehow trigger a ”pole shift.”

“The entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, perhaps hours, changing the position of the north and south poles, causing worldwide disaster,” a narrator proclaims. “Earthquakes would rock every continent, massive tsunamis would inundate coastal cities. It would be the ultimate planetary catastrophe.”
The idea apparently originates with a 19th century Frenchman, Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, a priest-turned-archaeologist who got it from his study of ancient Mayan and Aztec texts.

Scientists say that, at best, the poles might change location by one degree over a million years, with no sign that it would start in 2012.

While long discredited, Brasseur de Bourbourg proves one thing: Westerners have been trying for more than a century to pin doomsday scenarios on the Maya. And while fascinated by ancient lore, advocates seldom examine more recent experiences with apocalypse predictions.

“No one who's writing in now seems to remember that the last time we thought the world was going to end, it didn't,” says Martin, the astronomy webmaster. “There doesn't seem to be a lot of memory that things were fine the last time around.”

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091011/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_apocalypse2012

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://maryw.gaia.com — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:55:56 GMT

Truthseeker --
Your words "I must confess [lol] that I am one of those SBNR types" -- makes me wonder if I cast too much aspersion on SBNRs (as I was the first to coin that acronym in my mini-rant above) ....

Just wanted to say that I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with being SBNR (spiritual but not religious.) Probably most people in this pod / group see themselves this way. And though I'm active in church, I have my own pet peeves about organized religion, and often find that I feel most "at home" with my SBNR friends, agnostics (like my husband), and interfaith / interspiritual explorers.

Yeah, if it weren't for the weather, I wouldn't mind moving to Canada .... however, Bruce Sanguin's congregation is not the only church that is waxing integral. It's starting to happen in many places. :-)

I haven't read any of Sanguin's books, but one book that really touched me years ago was The Mystic Heart by Brother Wayne Teasdale. Brother Wayne was a Catholic monk who also joined an order of Hindu renunciates; he was one of the integral teachers featured at the Integral Spiritual Center (one of Integral Institute's hubs) as well. He died a few years ago, but left behind some engaging and readable writing about the inner wisdom and spiritual treasures of the world's diverse traditions --proffering insights that include yet also transcend organized religion.

Cheers,
Mary

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://RLtruthseeker-artist.gaia.com — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:31:14 GMT

I really liked this sermon and am encouraged by what he has to say. I must confess that I am one of those SBNR types, and I'm not fond of organized religion, but this really helps me. This makes me want to go to this guy's church. Anyone want to move to Canada with me?

Notice this guys use of language and blending though. Blending is the communication technique that lets the other person know you are on their side. He blends in with the church because he is their pastor but he also because of his language (we). From the beginning of his sermon he focuses on the group he is addressing ("a certain age and a member of the church for decades") and even manages to call them "a bit of a lightweight," even though he shows that it's the SBNR people. He actually then uses scripture to justify critical thinking and Integral thought! Usually another scripture is used to justify thinking along the lines of the church.

More than that though he challenges us to enter into a new relationship with God (Spirit), though. I really loved his example. I think we can learn from this guy's communication skills. I'm really interested in this guys book now (anyone who's read it?)

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://julieaerwin.gaia.com — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:14:11 GMT

Thanks Bruce - finally got to it.
I particularly like the acknowledgement that each of the three faces is/can be a portal into the other two.

Julie

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:23:51 GMT

thanks, good stuff, Bruce!

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://maryw.gaia.com — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:45:48 GMT

This is great stuff! Thanks, Bruce.

I greatly appreciate the folks who are taking the time to bring these multiple perspectives into the congregations, using everyday language and examples to explain some fairly complex ideas.

I also appreciate how this sermon delves into the conflict between the “SBNR” (spiritual but not religious) people, the churchgoers, and the eco-peeps / nature mystics. For a time I was involved with the Network of Spiritual Progressives, a group founded by Rabbi Michael Lerner (editor of the magazine Tikkun). One of the NSP's goals is to bring together SBNR people and religious liberals from the various world traditions to work on political, economic, and environmental issues of common concern. A lofty goal made somewhat more difficult, I think, by not (at least initially) addressing a situation in which people presume that “those others” are immature, or narcissitic, or woo-woo, etc. This sermon looks at the various perspectives / faces of God, delving into the strengths of each as well as the potential pitfalls when one perspective is heavily emphasized and the others are ignored.

I still find myself angry or frustrated when I'm interacting with some SBNRs who assume that intelligent or courageous people could not possibly be churchgoers. I hear them say the most condescending and patronizing things about church in general (often presuming that “church” equals “fundamentalism”) …. and watch helplessly as an invisible wall arises when I mention that I am a member of a church. Granted, I know that many people have been turned off or even wounded by experiences with institutional religion in their childhood. But to find yourself simply, and sneeringly, written off ….

Certainly I should understand; I used to write people off too – at least interiorly – in my younger “anti-religious” days. It still doesn't make the conflict any easier today …

Okay: mini-rant over. I enjoyed this sermon, and I am heartened by a myriad of other things I see happening in some churches these days that show that deeper, broader perspectives are taking root.

Yay,
Mary

Five Things Religion-Haters Should Know - Stuart Davis

http://jayne.gaia.com — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:47:56 GMT

Book Review & commentary on god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens.

1. There are levels of religion. 2. There are healthy & pathological versions of every level. 3. The more people evolve, the less religious (fundamentalist) they are. 4. At its higher levels, Religion resonates with science and rationality. 5. Everybody starts at the bottom.

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://brucealderman.gaia.com — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:08:40 GMT

Hi, OM, it had a problem when I first posted it, but I replaced it with another link almost immediately afterwards, and it worked for me. I just checked it again and it still is working. But if it still gives you trouble, here is the url as well:

http://www.canadianmemorial.org/sermons_2/2009_07_12.html

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://seagull.gaia.com — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:50:11 GMT

Bruce,

Thanks for the link to the sermon. Oh it is so good to see and hear this being preached in christian churches. I have forwarded it to a couple of my Jesuit friends who are also Wilber fans.

And emailed Bruce Sanguin to thank him. He has responded as follows "Our purpose at CMUC is to teach an evolutionary Christian spirituality – the core leaders are using an integral map. Thank God for Ken Wilber".

Blessings

C

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:33:05 GMT

Would you double-check that link to the transcript, Bruce? It doesn't seem to work. I find reading a whole lot faster than listening, during which I get impatient and inclined to start multi-tasking!

Blessings, OM Bastet

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://DouglasRWallack.gaia.com — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:40:31 GMT

Hey Bruce,
Not..."Or not!"...{;-)

Which is to say, I really appreciate your posting this. I did watch these late yesterday. This kind of movement into churches of all kinds is very much a key passion for me. It may seem like a small step, but so was the one from Apollo to the surface of the moon.

I truly feel that these kinds of expressions in the public sphere are immensely important.

Thanks also for the transcript link, Bruce.

Cheers

Re: "Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://brucealderman.gaia.com — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:44:52 GMT

Or not!

Here is a link to the transcript, if you prefer reading.

"Three Faces of God" Sermon

http://brucealderman.gaia.com — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:15:03 GMT

I thought this might be of interest...

The following sermon was delivered by Rev. Bruce Sanguin in the Canadian Memorial United Church. In it, he introduces Wilber's notion of the Three Faces of God and evolutionary spirituality, and discusses these things in relation to the tension that often exists between mainline churches, the "spiritual but not religious" people, and the "eco-crowd"...

The LASERS MANIFESTO. We are not Losers.

http://visionofspirit.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:45:35 GMT

A great video spreading around the Internet as it is by Lupe Fiasco, and was also listed on popular historian Howard Zinn's website.

Watch at website http://www.wearenotlosers.com
Watch on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZtAQQh-yYA

THE L.A.S.E.R.S. MANIFESTO

To Every Man, Woman & Child...

1. We Want An End To The Glamorization Of Negativity In The Media.

2. We Want An End To Status Symbols Dictating Our Worth As Individuals.

3. We Want A Meaningful And Universal Education System.

4. We Want Substance In The Place Of Popularity.

5. We Will Not Compromise Who We Are To Be Accepted By The Crowd.

6. We Want The Invisible Walls That Separate By Wealth, Race & Class To Be Torn Down.

7. We Want To Think Our Own Thoughts.

8. We Will Be Responsible For Our Environment.

9. We Want Clarity & Truth From Our Elected Officials Or They Should Move Aside.

10. We Want Love Not Lies.

11. We Want An End To All Wars. Foreign & Domestic (Violence).

12. We Want An End To The Processed Culture Of Exploitation, Over-Consumption & Waste.

13. We Want Knowledge, Understanding & Peace.

14. WE WILL NOT LOSE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOSERS, WE ARE LASERS!!!

Lasers are the opposite of losers. Lasers are shining beams of light that burn through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Losers stand by and let things happen. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for peace. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary.
Lasers Are The Future.

We're Not Losers...We Are L.A.S.E.R.S.!!!

Love Always Shines Every-time Remember 2 Smile!

-LF

Re: This Is It

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:27:20 GMT

Ooops, correction: I don't listen to popular music that was created since it stopped sounding like real voices. Very very little anyway....

:)
OM

Re: This Is It

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:13:31 GMT

I'm sure you're right, Nicole. I might have heard something in the mall Muzak, but I don't listen to popular music on the radio and I haven't owned a TV set in 40 years. Perhaps it would be more precise to state that I have never heard any MJ singing that I am aware of as being him.

:))
OM