World Spirituality Retreat: Day 1 – Waking Up

Be the Unique Poem that You Are

by Leyna Roget

There’s this tingle of excitement fizzing around inside me as I start to realize that evolving, not just for oneself, but also for the entire global neighborhood, is a powerful message to consider. “These words are going to hold and comfort hundreds of thousands of people”, says Marc Gafni about his explanation of the first integral principle to a world spirituality: waking up.

Gafni points out that teachings on enlightenment are not more present in mainstream conversation because if we are to assert ‘awakening’ through popular esoteric guides, our expression of uniqueness is distorted and even discouraged, in lieu of a single ‘oneness’.

In “waking up” we must acknowledge that there is something to awaken to, where we have otherwise been sleeping. Being asleep in this life means not being aware of the inner and outer workings in your day-to-day life.  Many people are already familiar with this concept.  When we wake up, we perceive our true nature of reality. The Sufi’s call your true nature the supreme identity, or the oneness of all; an identification that is no longer a separate ‘me’ experience, but a ‘we’ interpretation of life; a non-egoic identification with actions and purpose.  What Gafni stresses is that there are two stages of awakening: the internal impulse and the external or evolutionary impulse.

The internal is the interpersonal or the “I” way of seeing my life connected to a universal stillness; a collective presence, a depth and beauty of relating to everyone because we are all made of a human essence.  This is often achieved through meditative practices and shifting the perception of yourself in relation to the whole of existence.

The external awakening therefore involves a reflection on the process and how you’re evolving in a process that is itself evolutionary. Basically, we are very intelligent beings, and we both participate and affect how we become ‘enlightened’.  We are aware of our ability to reframe that which is an evolving model of enlightenment.

Sometimes I feel like I’m throwing a wrench in my own process by being so open to its impermanence, like I can’t get a grasp of it.  Maybe Gafni sensed this in me (and some of the others) because I received subtle reassurance in hearing that “our life attains infinite significance in all that is in every moment”.

Upon leaving our first (half day) in mixed contemplation and confusion for how I am to honor my unique self throughout this dual awakening, I playfully note that we are housed in the Lotus Room, a flower which undergoes its own waking up “from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.”

Leyna Roget networks with community organizations and businesses to introduce the inspiring stories of Planet Progress and the developing works of iNDIGO PROjECT MEDIA. She captures on and off camera images for Blog posts, Twitter updates, and various other engaging platforms to bring the viewer into the company’s interconnected sphere. Leyna creates new outlets and sustainable community events that invite the public to interact with iPM.