In their September newsletter Shalom Stories CIW Partner and Teaching Center Shalom Mountain Retreat Center has been featuring the Shalom and CIW Wisdom School with a series of articles, testimonials, a musical creation with soundbytes from the recent Wisdom School in March as well as the announcement of the upcoming 11th Wisdom School. Enjoy!
Contents
Loving your Way to Enlightenment: The Path of the Evolutionary Lover
Wisdom School October 9-12, 2014
*For this special event, Tuition Assistance may be available to those who qualify,
as well as use of accrued Retreat Credit.
Loving your Way to Enlightenment: The Path of the Evolutionary LoverReclaiming Your Own Awakening As the Primary Desire in Your Life:The Ten Tenets and Ten Practices of the New Enlightenment by Marc Gafni The principles of evolutionary awakening will forever change the way you live, love, be, become and make choices in life, ranging from your relationships, employment, spiritual practice, sexuality and just about everything else. If you are ready for a bold leap into the future of God and the future invitation of your life, join us at this extravaganza of mind, body and spirit. This is the old understanding of enlightenment which invited you to move beyond the busy world of becoming into the world of being. It is this old enlightenment that writers like Ecckart Tolle and Byron Katie address in their teaching. The only problem with the teaching is that it is not true. Or better yet it is a partial truth masquerading as a whole. Enlightenment means to understand not only the joy of your being but also the ecstasy of your becoming. In this retreat, we will unpack the ten tenets and ten practices of the New Enlightenment. The next stage in the evolution of God, in the evolution of all that is, is directly connected to your understanding your specific and clear role in the evolutionary context. What this might mean is one teaching in a cluster of teachings which we call the Evolutionary Unique Self Enlightenment. This is not a spiritual aphorism but a core principle of evolutionary awakening, the next great edge of spirit’s revelation, both in your life and the life of the planet. In the teachings and practices of Biblical Mystic Luria, to the realized Hindu teacher Aurobindo, to the Idealist thinkers Fichte Schelling and Hegel, to Teillard de Chardin, Gerard Heard, and Abraham Kuk, we find the greatest breakthrough of spirit and enlightenment in our time. This is the path of Evolutionary Unique Self Enlightenment. This is the largest game there is. Awakening as an Evolutionary Lover and participating in the Evolution of Love. |
We are used to thinking about enlightenment as the precise opposite of evolution. Enlightenment is thought to reveal the permanent, eternal, unchanging nature of being while evolution addresses the shifting, unfolding world of change and becoming. Not so!!
Why I Go To Wisdom Schoolby Shawn Ramer
Equally, the chance for the teachings to emerge in the context of the community, to be shaped and nurtured by the participation of those present, takes the experience far beyond my imagination.  The interweaving of the divine, the community, and the unique participation of each person, leads to a richness to which I keep returning.  This richness shows up in my life in so many ways – how I interact with my family, approach my work, and see myself.  Increasingly, however, it has provided important perspective for interpreting the complex global context in which we all live.  I vividly remember the specific Wisdom School where Marc suggested that “the only response to outrageous pain is outrageous love”, a profound observation that has deeply affected how I engage with the world, and which seems particularly relevant in our age. I find that the Wisdom School at Shalom beautifully weaves the context of Shalom with the evolving edge of spirituality and personal growth.  I arrive at each gathering with anticipation, and I leave every time rewarded.  Most importantly, I leave each time knowing that I have been part of evolving what is so important for the global world we live in and deeply grateful for this to be part of my Shalom experience.
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I have had the honor and privilege of being able to attend every Wisdom School weekend at Shalom Mountain. And yet I look forward to each new one with anticipation and excitement. At the core, Marc Gafni’s generous sharing of his unique knowledge, wisdom, and perspective, has made each wisdom school delightful and fulfilling in unique and often unexpected ways.
We often hear how unique our fingerprints are; how they can narrow billions of people down to just one. Less often do we hear about the other aspects of us that hold this same sacred individuality. Attending Shalom’s Awakening as Your Unique Self retreat taught me two very important aspects of what makes me and all others truly unique: the ability to see need and respond to need. Whether it’s our ability to see and respond to the need in our children, our partner, a co-worker or an entire community, we each approach the world with a unique lens. By looking within and exploring our unique selves and our unique gifts, we advance the collective journey of the human race. We learn how to love and serve ourselves and others. I’m finding that the Unique Self teachings are still unfolding for me, even months after the retreat. They have helped me find a soft balance of self-confidence and healthy ego in tricky situations that have previously thrown me off balance. Thank you Shelly, Jeff, Adael and Tom for bringing this rich teaching to Shalom.
Shalom Mountain’s Wisdom School hosts weekends during which we practice the holy trinity of Buddha, Sangha and Dharma. Buddha is our first person experience of God, Holiness, Tao, Atman, Ayin, Spirit or whatever name you want to give it. Sangha is the sacred, pleasurable incarnation of spirit invoked by the gathering of like minded men and women in a community of purpose and joy. Dharma transmission is a teaching or teacher that creates and “transmits” a space of open heart and in-sight from deep within a spiritual lineage, that holds, guides and illuminates the way of the authentic seeker.
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Shalom Stories - A Publication of Shalom Mountain Retreat Center
664 Cattail Road, Livingston Manor, NY 12758 Â Â 845-482-5421
Editor:Â Adael Bullock
Design: Â Rosemary Tarcza*
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 *In order to make the layout fit the blog-format, we had to adjust it a little.
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