Insights and reflections on the spiritual journey.
The first in a series of posts about self-remembering and self-recognition. The work of George Gurdjieff, A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali) and Faisal Muqaddam, among others, will be explored. This post contains a poem by Derek Walcott that speaks beautifully to the subject.
A wonderful video for inspiration, meditation and reflection. Jennifer Berezan and her friends demonstrate collaborative spirituality by weaving their voices together in a spirit of lovingkindness for all.
A post about the tension between technique and presence during deep moments of resolution in trauma healing, spirituality and mediation. True mastery is not “doing” but wu wei, the ability to act while holding this tension. Draws on Peter Levine’s trauma work, (Somatic Experiencing®), the work of Daniel Stern, the Theory of Holes (A. H. Almaas and Faisal Muqaddam), and the work of J.G. Bennett, as well as Elizabeth Bader’s writings on the IDR cycle.
In “Beyond Technique: Trauma Healing, Mediation and Spirituality,” Elizabeth Bader uses several terms from Daniel Stern repeatedly. However, Stern uses these key terms in ways that do not necessarily conform to their obvious meaning or normal usage. For that reason, this post provides those definitions. All definitions are from Daniel Stern’s book, The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life (W. W. Norton & Company, 2004).
Yeh-Lu Ch’u Tsai saved millions of lives through his work with difficult people, including Genghis Khan. Using his life as a model, this post discusses how to work with difficult people, and how respect and spiritual integrity, combined with hard-headed realism and objectivity, form the basis for service to others.
In this touching video, Nelson Mandela teaches us to make peace with the world and with ourselves through music and dance.
When mediators work on resolving conflicts, they often face challenges to their own egos. Discusses the “professional ego ideal,” mindfulness and more.
The “Theory of Holes” developed by Hameed Ali (pen name, A. H. Almaas) and Faisal Muqaddam with Karen Johnson provides a map for the process of recovering essence on the spiritual journey. Limitations in cases of trauma are noted.
The Theory of Holes articulated by Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) and Faisal Muqaddam explains how essence can be recovered during the spiritual journey. Freud articulated many elements of the theory nearly a century ago.
In order to move to a place of compassion we each must dissolve the internal psychological structure known as the inner critic or superego. This post, the first in a series, discusses this core work on the path of integrating psychology, spirituality and conflict resolution. We begin with the first step in this process: learning to recognize the inner critic inside.
