2012 School Telecourse Outline
In addition to three weekend intensives and 12 individual spiritual counseling sessions, the School for Awakening eight-month program is divided into four four-week telecourses, each one focusing on a particular theme. These themes are loosely based on the sections of my book Wake Up Now.
Of course, the truth can't be divided into segments or categories, and every class will include direct pointers to our undivided spiritual nature, as well as meditations that invite a glimpse of the truth beyond the conceptual mind. There will also be ample time to explore the questions and issues that are most relevant to participants in their own unfolding, whether or not they relate to the general theme of the class.
For the purpose of creating some lightly held structure and giving prospective participants a feeling for the content, here are the titles and brief descriptions of the four different courses. (Back to the School page)
Course 1: Awakening to the Timeless
In this class we'll explore answers to the core questions, What is awakening? and what do we awaken to? We'll look at the various ways that awakening may unfold and how it differs from other spiritual experiences; describe the multifaceted and mysterious nature of the truth that reveals itself; and take a close look at the profound impact spiritual awakening inevitably has on our lives. We'll also address the paradox of seeking: even though there's nothing we need to do to become who we already are, until we recognize the truth without a shadow of a doubt, we haven't entered the gateless gate of Self-realization.
Course 2: Presence and Inquiry
While continuing to point directly to the truth that can't be known by the mind, we'll focus in this class on the skillful means that make us more "prone" to the sacred "accident" of spiritual awakening and help support the unfolding and embodiment of this awakening once it has occurred. By being present for what is just the way it is, we allow ourselves to fall into, and abide as, the unconditional awareness that we fundamentally are. And by following our natural curiosity and devotion to truth, we can inquire wholeheartedly into the nature of reality and into the beliefs that obscure it, helping open us to the truth that previously seemed hidden, the open secret.
Course 3: In the Wake of Awakening
The moment of awakening can be like downloading a compressed file on your computer, one that can take years to unpack. Though the fundamental nature of the awakening never changes, over time more and more of the wisdom it contains reveals itself to the mind. We'll explore the different "stages" through which awakening unfolds, as well as the various ways the mind, the great trickster, attempts to coopt or obscure awakening and regain control. These include spiritual superego, spiritual inflation, and spiritual bypassing, among others. Here again, as in every class, there will be plenty of time to identify and deconstruct your own mind's particular strategies for avoiding the truth.
Course 4: Embodying the Light
Once we know who we are, we embark on the lifelong journey of living this truth in every moment of our lives. Awakening to the light seems to ignite an even deeper devotion to shining the light into every forgotten nook and cranny of our being. We'll explore the journey of embodying the light in the heart, through the radiance of unconditional love, and down through the lower chakras, where it may meet the stiffest resistance of all. This class will focus on working intimately, gently, and deeply with the core stories and stuck places that keep us from fully actualizing the love and wisdom of our essential, undivided true nature.
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