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I did a “3-body workout” for the first time in months this morning. The Integral Institute released it years ago; it is now available at Integral Life and has a dedicated site.

I have in the past few months gone to a very gross state of existence, focused on logistics of the exterior such as measurable goals, x dollars in the bank, this job, run so many wiles a week, weigh so much, and mental training with professional certifications and (almost) thought experiments. 3-body workout (3bw) brings the subtle realm  back in along with a sense of connection between these three bodies. These are not the paths to kinetics or physical mastery but good cross training aka an integral anchor for my practice of life.

There are 3 versions of the 3 body workout:

• 1 minute -  got a minute to try it out?
• 10 minute – the anchor of my practice, done most mornings
• 30 minute – a weekend routine to deepen the process

Why do I like this so much? It addresses the gross, subtle and causal bodies and is instructive as to what is gross and what is subtle. The causal affirmations and dedications inspire me.

• Gross – strength training
• Subtle  – stretching and breathing
• Causal – Affirmation and dedication

It is a kata from one state to the next. The kata takes you through gross, subtle and causal realms.

Gross is the grounding and connection with the physical body. The core of the gross practice is Focused Intensity Training(FIT)

Subtle is the emotional and dream realm. It is often accessed by closing your eyes, breathing and focusing on your aura.

Causal is more abstract..  The causal state is a type of formless mysticism (where people experience cessation, or immersion in unmanifest, formless consciousness).

In ten minutes I access all three bodies and have a better differentiation between the bodies. This helps guide my day to make decisions related to which body is providing guidance and which body is screaming. It is great to have this experience to launch my day. 3bw and meditation make for a grounded and more balanced day.

I am looking forward to reading the book Integral Life Practice released in 2008. Let me know what you think of these videos, images and pages. Please also share other resources you find related to integral life practice.

Tags: 3-body workout, FIT, focus intensity training, integral, integral kata, integral workout, kata, workout

Got this email the other day and wanted to share.

Dear Friends,

As part of our ongoing effort to bring the work of Genpo Roshi to the world, we have decided to broadcast live on Big Mind TV all of the daily Big Mind sessions from this week’s Bodhidharma Big Mind Zen Retreat here in Salt Lake City.  We’re very happy to be able to offer this and hope you can join us.  These sessions are completely FREE and all you need to do is click here.

Monday through Saturday, October 12 – 17, 2009

• First Session each day

• Second Session each day

5:30 – 7:30 pm Eastern
4:30 – 6:30 pm Central Time
3:30 – 5:30 pm Mountain Time
2:30 – 4:30 pm Pacific Time
12:30 – 2:30 am GMT

Tags: big mind, genpo roshi, live, zen

Shadow Work® Seminar

May 16-18, 2008
Full Circle Seminars, Summit Point, WV

Some reasons to attend:

&amp;gt; Do carpet work in a mixed-gender setting
&amp;gt; Learn the archetypes through exercises, visualizations, and discussion
&amp;gt; Enhance a relationship via your own work, or by attending with a partner

Early registration discount date: April 18, 2008
Call for information or for a free copy of the Shadow Work® Basics CD. 304-728-9812

This
non-residential seminar offers each participant an opportunity to work
with his/her shadow and to reclaim gifts and talents that have been
unconsciously disowned. It is open to any adult interested in Shadow
Work®, and provides a good setting for learning how to:

• Increase your ability to make powerful choices; feel appreciated for who you are (Sovereign)
• Develop new solutions for old problems; understand persistent patterns (Magician)
• Deepen your capacity for intimacy; activate your creative talents (Lover)
• Improve your ability to set boundaries and deal with money (Warrior)

Comments about Shadow Work® seminars facilitated by Dave &amp; Chrissy McFarren

“Dave
and Chrissy work together with amazing balance…a special innate talent
they possess as a team, where each of their already stellar abilities
merge to become more than the sum of the parts.” D.K.

“Chrissy and Dave seem to be naturals at Shadow Work®. They
create a safe container, are passionate about this work, and do it with
love and integrity.” D.M.

“Chrissy and Dave create
a safe, effective container for people to process deep emotions and
traumas. They bring great caring, sensitive intuition and skill to the
Shadow Work® facilitation process.” B.R.

“My
Shadow Work® experiences were profound and life-changing. Dave and
Chrissy were powerful, compassionate, and highly intuitive guides who
helped me see my truth and strength.” M.P.

“Chrissy
and Dave are a pleasure to work with! They brought a wonderful balance
of male and female energy to the circle and held a loving container for
our group’s work together” N.O.

“I
have never before experienced such a unique balance of safety,
gentleness, and power that Chrissy and Dave McFarren create in their
Shadow Work® retreats. They offer an inspiring balance of male and
female energy, working exceptionally well together in co-leadership.” P.S.

During the weekend, all participants will experience a series of
processes carefully designed to help with accessing the full range of
emotions. Some participants may choose to work individually in the
center of the group. Centerwork provides the opportunity to explore a
life issue with the help of facilitators and the support of the group.
For those who choose to do Centerwork, your intention guides the
process. Using Shadow Work® tools, the facilitators help you
symbolically reconstruct your issue so the shadow can be viewed
objectively. They suggest perspectives and offer powerful techniques
for reclaiming the energy in the shadow. You will have a choice at
each step of the process. There will be time for 6-8 participants to
do a Centerwork process. You can also be a part of the Shadow Work®
experience without the pressure of working your own issue individually
in the center of the group. As you watch and support Centerwork done
by others, you can share in the transformation of wounds similar to
your own.

THE FACILITATORS

Dave McFarren
is a Certified Shadow Work® Group Facilitator. He did the New Warrior
Training Adventure (NWTA) weekend in March, 1999 and has been
interested in facilitating personal work ever since, staffing many
NWTA weekends and taking several follow-on/leadership trainings. He
and his I-Group brother Rhett Bigler teach the Basic Carpet
Facilitation for I-Groups training, which is based on Shadow Work®
methodology. Dave is active in his New Warrior I-Group, where he often
practices his Shadow Work® skills. When not doing personal work he
works as a Database Applications Developer, and helps Chrissy with
raising their three children and the up-keep of their 15 acre farm in
Jefferson County, WV (about 70 miles west of Washington, DC).

Chrissy McFarren
is a Certified Shadow Work® Group Facilitator. In June 2003, she did
the Women In Power weekend which was when she was first exposed to
Shadow Work® and became interested in becoming a facilitator. She
stays involved with the Women In Power community through staffing and
co-facilitating. Chrissy recently started offering coaching sessions
where she uses Shadow Work® and other skills to help women and men in a
one-on-one environment. She also teaches horse-back riding lessons.
She is an accomplished artist who creates her artwork when she’s not
raising her and Dave’s three children, making their home more
beautiful, and tending to their many animals on their 15 acre farm.

Schedule:
Friday May 16 6:00pm – 10:00pm
Saturday May 17 9:00am - 6:30pm
Sunday May 18 9:00am – 3:00pm

Cost: $295 (if deposit paid by 4/18/08); $345 (if deposit paid after 4/18/08). Advance registration required.
Snacks and lunch on Saturday and Sunday are included in the price. All other meals are your responsibility.
The seminar is not residential, but limited shared lodging is available
through Full Circle Seminars for $15/night (bring your own bedding –
sheets/blankets or sleeping bag and pillow), and a list of nearby
hotels can be provided.

Information: Dave McFarren – (H) 304-728-9812, (C) 304-261-1372 or dave@full-circle-seminars.com. Upon receipt of your registration, we will send you an information packet.

Send registration with either $100 deposit or the full fee made out to Full Circle Seminars, LLC to:

Full Circle Seminars
164 Boyer Lane
Summit Point, WV 25446

Lesson 1 – Your Beliefs about Sexuality

One man says, “I try to get rid of my fantasy about being rough during sex, but no matter what I do, it keeps coming back.” A woman tells of having had fantasies about making love to other women all her life, then admits “I keep hoping they’ll go away – but they never do.”

Another has fantasies about being forced to have sex, that deeply disturb her. She doesn’t know how to handle that she knows being forced to have sex is a horrible thing she never wants to experience, but that, at the same time, the fantasy of it turns her on.

Another man fantasizes about tying up his girlfriend during sex, and feels terrible about it. “I want her to feel free and supported by me,” he bemoans. “Yet nothing would turn me on more than seeing her in ropes and handcuffs. How could I want to do this?” Yet he does want to, and the fantasy isn’t going away.

Once when I was on a radio show talking about sex, and an upset woman called in about her lover’s fantasies. She said “How can I be there for him if he wants me to pretend to be someone else? I want him to make love to me!” She believed that by pretending to be someone else, she would be decreasing the intimacy of their lovemaking.

I asked her, “Well, how many parts of yourself are you willing to get into through your lovemaking? Look, you can’t be someone else. No matter what you pretend, you are always yourself. But through role playing, you can be other parts of you that perhaps you normally don’t show, even to yourself.”

I asked her to reflect on the question, “Which is more intimate? Being the way you always are, or pretending to be someone else in a way that no one else could imitate?

Our pretending comes out of our imagination. When you role play, you show her another part of who you are. It’s an opportunity to create intimacy, by showing her more parts of yourself and seeing the normally hidden parts of her.” Her sexual paradigm, her way of thinking about sex, made her less flexible than she possibly could be.

Like the caller, most of us don’t chose our own sexual paradigms; we go with the ones we are taught. Most of the ways of thinking about sex that people learn don’t give them the flexibility to make their sex lives a fun, unlimited exploration of themselves and their partner.

Incompatible sexual paradigms, like the couple in the phone conversation, causes stress and sexual shame, where compatible sexual paradigms do not.

It’s become commonly accepted that people don’t choose their sexuality in any conventional sense. People don’t “choose” to
be straight or “choose” to be gay, or turned on by cross-dressing, or a certain kind of body, or whatever. Sexuality is more
discovered than chosen.

We also usually do not choose what we believe about sex. Whether we think sex is good or bad, intimate or solely for reproduction, a place to play or serious work depends upon what beliefs we pick up along the way growing up.

However, unlike our desires, which we don’t choose, we can, choose our beliefs about sex.

This mini-course is about finding out more about your sexuality, and the choices you can make about your sexual beliefs. it’s about your desires, your sexuality, your sexual shadow, the consequences of repressing sexual shadows, creating ritual spaces in your life and in your sexuality. . . and even treating your sexual shadows like dogs!

In the next lesson via email I’ll share with you what the shadow is, the types of shadows, why sexual desires go into shadow. . . and more!

====
This course is brought to you by Dmitri Bilgere, author of “Beyond the Blame Game: Creating Compassion and Ending the Sex War in Your Life (The Ultimate Beginner Series : Basic)“.

Until next time,
Dmitri Bilgere

Mastery Technologies, Inc., PO Box 55094, Madison, WI 53705, USA

For more check out Dmitri’s Sexual Shadow mini-course
http://dbweb.org/shadow_mini/index.html

Who are
you? Where are you going? Who are you going with?

What do
you serve? Where do you put your energy?

Mission
Clarity Assessment Process

This is a three person,
five step process, with each step looking the same. Each step starts
with a question, in order, and then has the execution, the feedback
and then a consolidation phase.

Setup

The responder and
questioner sit across, close to each other, chair or floor. Each
person looks directly into the left eye of the other person, and
focuses their energy there. Third person is the recorder of what the responder says.

Execution

The questioner asks the
question, “[Name] who are you?” – Keep focused on the person,
you are providing a solid wall for them to bounce their ideas off of
someone.
The responder is to
keep eyes open, and answer the question until he “runs out”.
Let the questioner know when he feels done.

Then the questioner
asks the question again, same way, same focus.

The recorder is a clear and faithful scribe of the keywords words spoken by the
responder. Write legibly. It is more important to capture few, but
relevant words that the responder can read later than everything but
he cannot read it.

This (question-run
down-restate the question) cycle continues until the person is really
complete and cannot restart.

Feedback

Then the consolidation
and feedback phase starts where the responder first gives their summary
of what they heard themselves say, recorder writing this all down. Then
the questioner and recorded give their feedback, if the person wants the
feedback, and the recorder writes that down too, for the person’s
reflection later.

The Questions

1. “Who are you?”

2. “Where are you going?”
3. “Who are you going with?”
4. “What do you serve?”
5. “Where do you put your energy?”

When one person is
finished (should be about 10 min per phase and 50 min per person) the
roles rotate, and another person is responder, etc.

Continue, rotate roles
so all three men have a chance to process.

Part of the process is
not to just hear who I am, and where I am going (my mission), and who
I am going with (my company) or who I serve, it is to also hear the
connection or disconnections between all four. If there is a
disconnect between who I think I am and my mission, then things won’t
be working to get my mission done. If I am not traveling with people
who can help me do what my mission is about, or who are involved in
some way with me doing my mission, then I have a disconnect and maybe
I need to find such a company.

I original experienced this process at Warrior Monk and this version of the process was provided to me by John Tittle who added the Who do I server and Where do I put my energy?

Voice Dialogue basic queue card

Guidelines for facilitator:

• Hold everything you hear in confidence
• Make sure that participant
  moves in space/body position as they change parts.
• Refer to the participant in the third person while speaking with each part.
• Be respectful and validate
  what the parts say.
• Be inquisitive — you want to
  get to know these parts.

1. “Do you have any concerns about me or this space we are in?”

2. “Tell me about what is going on with you.” Listen for parts or perspectives.
3. “What part do you
   want to explore today?”
4. Ask for Permission from the protector and/or risk manager:
5. “Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, in and out. Now move your body to
   a place of protector. That part of you which protects all parts of you
   and keeps you safe.” (Allow the participant to physically move.)

6. Pause

7. “Who am I speaking to?”
8. “I
   understand that you are the one that manages risks and protects NAME
   from all manner of things. I want to make sure we understand each
   other. I want you to do your job. So if there are risks or things you
   need to protect NAME from please return to this position and speak to
   me about these concerns.”
9. “NAME has expressed an interest in speaking with PART.”

10. “Would it be ok with you if I spoke with PART? ”

11. Dialogue with a part

12. “Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, in and out. Now move your
    body to a place of protector. That part of you which protects all parts
    of you and keeps you safe.” (Allow the participant to physically move.)

13. Pause

14. “Who am I talking to?”

15. “Thank you for coming to talk to me today.”

16. “What do you do for NAME ?” Ask questions and get to know this PART as a new friend.

17. “How long have you been around?”

18. “Who did you learn to do that from?”
19. “If you could create one with for NAME what would it be?”

20. “What do you want for NAME?”

21. “Does NAME acknowledge or appreciate your efforts?”

22. “What happens when NAME doesn’t listen to you?”

23. “What do you want the participant to know around this issue?”

24. Allow
    space for the part to express itself.  Trust that the part knows what to
    do and say.  Be inquisitive and respectful.  “Is
    there more?” is a helpful question to determine when the part is complete.
25. “What do you know (or see) now?” “What else is true?” “Check out and see if…………….(the participant’s
    part) has anything else to say.”

26. Finish with this part by honoring and acknowledging it.

27. “Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, in and out. Now move your back body to a place of center.

28. Return to the Center of Awareness.

29. Anchoring and Integrating the part
30. “As you reflect on your time with PART, is there an image or
    feeling associated with it?”
31. Feel the weight of this part. How heavy or light is it?
32. What color is PART?
33. Does it have a shape? 
34. How much does this part live in you now? Bring it up. Bring it down.
35. Notice your ability to bring in as much as you need.
36. Give the participant a brief summary of what you heard and noticed. 
37. Ask the participant to share their experience.
38. Thank them and complete

“Those who understand compound interest are destined to collect it.
Those who don’t are doomed to pay it.”

– Albert Einstein

Do you want to be stress free around money? Do you want to have mastery over money?

You are in the right place!

How much money do you have in your checking account? How much money would it take to feel a mastery over money?

Does answering those questions stress you? Would you like to either know or not care?

Imagine a time when you know you have enough money for your needs and wants. When you choose
to invest the rest in gifts for loved ones, save for a large purchase or for your financially free future.

I developed this simple budget to visualize my cash flow as money came and went out of my checking account. This simple spreadsheet has 32 rows and 7 columns.

Rows are for the days of the month 1-31

Columns:

1. Income description
2. Income amount
3. Expense description
4. Expense amount
5. Method of payment
6. Balance
7. Comments on expense

How it works:

On the first row, the sheet subtracts column 4(expenses) from 2(income) and puts that in column 6(balance). From row 3, the 2nd of the month on the sheet will take the value of the balance from the day before add and incomes (2) and subtract and expenses (4). It is much simpler then all those words

Make a copy of the spreadsheet, either print it out or make a copy of it at Google Spreadsheet or on your own computer and then fill in a few numbers that you may know.

Enter your pay checks, weekly or whenever. Then large expenses like:

• Housing rent or mortgage
• Food
• Utilities, electric, gas, water, etc
• Car loan, debt
• Travel costs, gas, bus, etc.

Do this off the top of your head and then later with the aid of your bank statement. Now print a copy of it
and keep it with you anywhere else you can find it and refer to it when you think of a new expense or income.

As you bring this into your life it will become more and more clear how much money you have
committed to necessary items like housing travel and food. Services are a great place to focus on reduction because you get that savings every month for things like electric, phone, cable, internet, gas, water, etc.

• Get your bank statement for a recent month, use it to fill in the expenses and incomes
• Add quarterly expenses and then yearly things like maybe a holiday fund or vacation fund.
• Create the future budget you will have when you are money master.
• Identify which items on your current budget will need to change to get you too your future budget

Please let me know how this worked for you so I can incorporate your experience into future versions.

What I hear I forget
What I see I remember
What I do I understand
If I live it I know it.

    –  Confucius

Do you want to be heard and understood? Do you want to have an impact in the world? I want to share what I know with you in the most effective way I can. I have been learning and applying what I have learned in my writing on learning and teaching styles. One theme that repeats is a cycle of learning. I have seen this style of teaching and instructing used very effectively.  And I have seen people pay lots of money to learn things with this method whether they knew it or not. 

 
The Learning Cycle:

1. Engage, answers Why?
2. Share, answers What?
3. Practice, answers How?
4. Perform, answers What If? 

After I had learned this and was talking with Nicole it became much easier for us to communicate when we discovered that I tended to be focused on Sharing (the What? phase of the learning cycle) while Nicole was more focused on Engaging (or the Why? phase of the cycle). She would want to know WHY she should care about something while I was telling her about WHAT it was. She would listen politely and all the time waiting for the WHY?  Now I know I need to answer the Why before I get to the What and then I have her with me. It is also good practice for me to understand the why of what I am speaking about.

Each of us may be more interested in one part of the cycle of learning than others.  (As I mentioned, Nicole is most interested in Why?  Myself, I tend to be most interested in What?)  Using the Learning Cycle sequence helps to answer the questions of different learners and improves the effective reach of your communication.  Making sure to cover each phase in the cycle helps everyone connect in a meaningful way to the learning.  If you are speaking or writing to a very targeted audience (such as when I speak to Nicole) and you know their learning style preferences, you can adjust your communication to most effectively connect with them.  (For example, I know to lead with the Why? when speaking to Nicole, and she knows to lead with the What? when speaking to me.)

One of the easiest ways to follow the cycle of learning is to write the answers to the questions for each phase in the cycle.
The following overview highlights some of the questions that apply to each phase in the Learning Cycle.  
Engage

The questions:

• Why do I want to learn this?
• Why is this important? To my work?
• Why should I pay attention?
• Why is it of value? What’s in it for me?
• Why do I want to learn this?

Share

The questions:

• What exactly am I learning?
• What do the experts think about this?
• What does the information show?
• What information is available to me?
• What are the identifiable patterns or trends?
• What data exists that supports this theory?

Practice

The questions:

• How will I use this in my life?
• How does this work?
• How can I use this in my job?
• How will incorporating this into my life help me?

Perform

The questions:

• What new possibilities will this learning create?
• What if this is really true?
• What if I used this differently?
• If I did this, what might happen?
• What if there are even more possibilities?

As you can see, I am using the sequence here in this post and have ENGAGED the question WHY? (In my introduction explaining my desire to be heard and understood.)  And then I SHARED with you the WHAT? of this sequence.  (In the outline of each step in the cycle and the questions they address.)

Check out this slide show of the learning cycle

And now, I will offer you the opportunity to PRACTICE and explore the question HOW?  Please write a comment explaining your opinion on this learning cycle using the four sections: Engage, share, practice, and perform.  In this case you are the expert; you know what your opinion is on this learning cycle.  How might YOU use this approach?

And the next phase is for you to PERFORM and experience the WHAT IF as you experiment with using this sequence.  You can take this approach into your life and see how it works for a few days.

   1. Write a blog about something you want to teach or share about.
   2. Figure out if you and a friend are a why, what, how or what if kind of person
   3. Do you have something to add to the cycle or about learning that you want to try out?

I’d love to hear how it goes for you!

Learn more
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