Spiritual cross-training

A few years ago, through the gifts of desperation and drug addiction, I had the luxury of unplugging from the rat race and immersing myself into a recovery community in South Florida. Not only did I devote myself to the principles and practice recovery, but I was also drawn, intuitively, to a variety of complimentary practices and exercises that I felt would help in my recovery.

I started walking daily and playing tennis three times a week. I prayed twice a day and joined a weekly group meditation circle. I participated in a NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) class where the group practiced visualization techniques. And I was lucky enough to meet a man named Tony Allen, who had co-founded the Adult Children of Alcoholics recovery program, and who became my spiritual teacher and mentor.

During this time I felt better, more alive, and spiritually centered than ever. I even felt I had access to wisdom and truth that I had never previously been aware of. Soon thereafter I came across the work of the integral philosopher-psychologist Ken Wilber, who helped me to understand the incredible transformation occurring in my life.

Ken identifies four quadrants of reality. The upper left quadrant is interior mind-consciousness in the individual. The upper right quadrant is the individual viewed in an objective, empirical, scientific fashion. The lower left quadrant deals with interior of the “collective”—the shared values, culture and worldview of a society; and the lower right quadrant is the exterior of the collective – such as systems theories, economics, ecological/biological systems, etc.

Through identification of these four separate and distinct quadrants of reality, Ken then developed a means for individuals to consciously evolve – by exercising or incorporating practices in one’s life that corresponds to each of the four quadrants. Roughly speaking, Ken identifies these four practice areas as spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional. Ken’s theory is that if we are is engaged in active practice in each of these four distinct areas, we’ll not only feel terrific, but also have the opportunity to transcend to higher levels of conscious awareness.

In the spiritual realm, consider practicing such things as meditation or contemplative prayer. In the physical realm, consider participating in sports, weight lifting, or yoga. In the mental domain, practices such as visualization and affirmations are constructive. And in the emotional sphere, consider engaging in counseling, psychotherapy, or even in such practices as Qi Gong.

From personal experience, I can attest that the results were phenomenal. And I can always tell when I get off track; because I begin to lose my sense of joy, connectedness and optimism. If you’d like to read more about how a dedication to Integral Life Practice can lead to a transcendent experience, or learn more about the teachings of ACoA co-founder Tony Allen, check out my spiritual memoir Breakdown: Diamonds, Death, and Second Chances.

Comments

[DSH]

For an excellent review of "Breakdown," see: Grady's at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0595342922/sr=8-1/qid=1143032127/ref=sr_1_1/103-2978009-2253400?%5Fencoding=UTF8
My only reservation, based on reader's comments, is that "hitting rock bottom" seems to be entailed before one comes to his senses. Perhaps that's true for some people, but hardly true for everyone. Maybe I'm misreading the comments. If one has some critical-thinking skills, asks a lot of questions, especially in challenging assumptions, and is fundamentally "open" to new answers, life's ordinary tensions will foster "growth" or added "perspective." E.g., Why is "this" valuable? What do I "mean?" How did "this" happen? Why is it significant? What is important? Etc.

Wilbur's four categories, while sensible, continue the quadripartite tradition of Jung's and Myers-Brigg Four Personality Types, Aristotle's Four Be-Causes, Hippocrates's Four Humors, Aquinas's Four Hermeneutic Senses, Empedocles's Four Elements, Shankara's Four Qualifications for Success in Liberation, Hugues de Saint-Victor's Four Classifications of Knowledge, Bacon's Four False Ideas That Handicap Man, Kant's Four Antimonies of Reason, Wittgenstein's Four Methods for Overcoming Puzzlement, Laplace's Four Principles of Scientific Method, etc. In other words, we seem drawn to categorization, or mental constructs to order our sense of the world. Such constructs are frequently useful. But given more than epistemological consideration, they can also be destructive.

But let's be clear about these epistemological constructs: They all boil down to ideas in the head. None has ontological existence, save perhaps Empedocles's Four Elements -- in a tangental sort of way. And, what do these quadripartite categorizations do for us other than ordering our knowlege of the world, including ourselves? Not much.

If we don't take such things too seriously, they offer a perspective on the world. But some of us seem to take them as essential, even deontological/prescriptive, as if they are imperatives of life itself. That's when they morph from epistemological constructs to moral or intellectual commands and distort our sense of being in the world, commanding us to live within our metaphysical idealizations. In the vernacular, they cause us to pigeon-hole life.

Take Wilbur's thesis: An integrated life must balance the four categories of existence, the spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional. It is an appealing thesis, if only for us to both broaden our sense of self and use our complemtary systems to attain a kind of homeostasis or balance in the world. They also suggest a kind of tension; "don't let one feature get lost for the others" and "don't ignore this aspect of being at the expense of the others." But, why take that stance? Why impose an imperative with epistemological categories? Why not: Just be?

The older I get, the more existential I become. Essentialism was originally an epistemological category (Plato/Aristotle) that's been transfigured into some kind of metaphysical reality over the centuries. Last century saw the deconstruction of essentialism, its gradual fall into disrepute, and finally its "death" philosophically. I think that's great.But it creates a problem for some, particularly with Wilbur's category of spirituality. What does it mean to be "spiritual?" Disembodied? Ghostly? In la-la land? And why is spirituality important (which presupposes its reality)? What's "there?"

Asking these questions can cause discomfort, because these words are in our lexicon and batterd around, but I'm not sure we know to what they refer or what we mean when we use them (an epistemological AND linguistic question). Coming to terms with such questions requires a critical stance, if only to be honest with ourselves. Yet too many of us use words we don't even understand. We assume they have meaning, but do they? Does one have a "soul?" Where? How? What is a "spirit?" Many of us think these words are inherently incoherent. Are we wrong, and why?

[DSH]

I omitted comments on NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). Fortunately, a website that raises my issues with it is already extant. So, readers interested in this New Age phenomenon are encouraged to read comments at: http://skepdic.com/neurolin.html
Bottom Line: Incoherent, category mistakes, linguistic abuse, and all-around fuzzy.

[Ken Stofft]

I'm seeking men of kindred spirit to launch a "weekend experience" for gay and bisexual men. Here is some info.

A Weekend Experience for Gay and Bisexual Men

This “experience” is to explore the power of our sexual energies and how we desire to manifest our own masculinity as queer men.
Friday evening (7 pm) to Sunday afternoon (3:00 pm)
in the Washington, DC area.

We will explore such issues as:

Coming Out and Issues of Shame and Courage
Maleness within a Patriarchal System
Being Comfortable in My Own Skin
Integrating Masculinity/Femininity and Intimacy in Eroticism
Choosing My Own Path of Self-Expression

through conversation,
ritual exercises,
creating a personal statement of belief,
somatic work.

This is a free experience. Donations to cover expenses are welcome.

Site and dates to be determined.

Contact: Ken at kgs1947@yahoo.com
or
703-351-7494

[klaus]

OCdmbI h1! oxyumelno!

[pennyjane]

if you do, klaus, you know you will have to clean it up too.