‘Home’ and Introduction to – ‘One Summit: Many Paths’

This site is one of five inter-connected parts:
Part 1 (meta-site of niche sites ) – Part 2 (OneSummit: many paths YOU ARE HERE) – Part 3 (Course/s) – Part 4 (Concepts Dict) – Part 5 (PhD)

NB this site’s new posts are below this evolving permanent introductory article;

Welcome to ‘OneSummit: many paths’!

Do you believe that the great wisdom traditions of the world, at their heart, teach oneness and the same core spiritual truths?  Yes – then this site is for you!

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All posts are collected around two models

a) Perennial Philosophy – HERE

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b) SunWALK – a model for spiritual seekers, parents, teachers and managers – in answer to the questions a) “What is it to be fully and positively human?  b) “How in personal and professional lives can we proceed in a person-centred or holistic way?”  Intro to SunWALK and PhD HERE

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The site provides;

1) Daily readings which we call In-spirals – NB Posted in chunks of 20 to 30 until I have a system for sending them out each day!  In-spirals are now posted  HERE on my Quotations Treasury – which is my new data-base of quotations for use on all my blogs.

In-spirals are quotations but also people, practices, pictures or sayings that can help up us spiral upwards, spiritual snacks to up-raise our spirits.

They are ‘in-spire-ations’, brief posts that are;

in-breaths for out-breathings
in-tuition tools
in-sight prompters

What are In-spirals for?

to feed our spirits

to help awaken ourselves

to get back in, when we fall out of the state of being called heaven!

Not forgetting that awe, amazement and wonder – the unitive experience – is as the beloved Heschel said the ‘other wing’ to the wing of delicious concepts. We need both to fly.

“Concepts are delicious snacks with which we try to alleviate our amazement” – Man Is Not Alone p.7

2) Introductions to great teachers - for those of us that believe in unity

We provide, and celebrate, day-to-day spiritual wisdom lessons gleaned from age-old and contemporary spiritual teachers.

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2) Introductions to great teachers - for those of us that believe in unity

We provide, and celebrate, day-to-day spiritual wisdom lessons gleaned from age-old and contemporary spiritual teachers.

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Such teachers include Karen Armstrong, Ibn al-Arabi, Abdu’l-Baha, Meister Eckhart, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Socrates & Plato, Eckhart Tolle, Ken Wilber, the Hindu and Chinese sages – all of whom, of course, call upon, re-state and extend the perennial philosophy that is found at the heart of the great wisdom traditions.

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3) What are the site’s purposes?

There are two purposes for this site. The first is to honour and celebrate the spiritual teachers that have given so many, including myself, deep and lasting spiritual nourishment and inspiration.

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The second is to look more deeply into the spiritual dimension of the above mentioned models united by their concern for ‘being and becoming positively and wholly human‘ .

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4) What is ‘spiritual’ mean here?

Ans: Spiritual’ here is a ‘broad church‘ – “If it ain’t physical it’s spiritual” – Prof John Hull

The ‘spiritual’ includes contributions by the arts, especially fine art, film, photography, story and poetry, and is therefore interested in the relationship between the arts and spirituality as well as the aesthetics of ‘a theology of unity’ – within a universalist and ‘common ground’ approach.

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It seems that a new generation of people are reaching up for a universalist ‘theology’ or world-view.  This ‘reaching up’ is not just for personal development, but is also empowerment for those who can be agents of change toward establishing a more just, humane and united world.

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Go well – or Namaste!

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Roger

. Enjoy and dive deep! – May your perennial wisdom be as deep as the ocean and as high as the sky!

If you have suggested additions or constructive critiques please email me at onesummitATgmail-dot-com (replace AT with @ etc.)

Dr Roger Prentice

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‘OneSummit: many paths’ is at www.testrep.wordpress.com

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BALANCING the experiential HEART with the conceptual HEAD:

In today’s world most of us need more of the contemplative/meditative to balance the conceptual – as Heschel says ‘concepts are delicious snacks but are no substitute for experiencing mystical unity’ – why not spend a few contemplative moments here!

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NB all new posts are below this introductory article.

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Karen Armstrong wants to revive the ‘Golden Rule’

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Read Chapter 1 of Eckhart Tolle’s ‘The Power of Now’ free online right HERE

You can read the first chapter of Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now online right HERE

Are you ‘Faking It’ or do you have a story that is ‘sincerely authentic’?

Our courses are not intended to go deeply into the work of individual philosophers or spiritual teachers – at least at the elementary levels.

Instead we are concerned with KEY IDEAS with which to read our world, extend relationships and integrate and focus our lives – and be of service to others.

Here are two such KEY IDEAS.  The first concerns  ’authenticity’ ;

"Is this book sub-title not a contradiction in terms?" (RP)

In his book  On Being Authentic Charles Guignon  apparently argues that ‘being authentic is to have a sincere story to tell about one’s life’. (I won’t have time to read this for a while but the idea of the book is very useful.)

Of course if we go all the time with teachers such as Eckhart Tolle the question arises; ‘Why value a story that is you?  That’s just another egoic trick to stop you realizing you are God.’

My view is that we soar on two wings – one is the unitive, with which Tolle helps as much as other greats such as Wilber but the world of duality to which we inevitably return, inbetween unitive experiences, is not God’s mistake, or our short-coming – it is the other wing of being and soaring – through which our consciousness is raised – and we come to know.

So in the world of duality, the world of time and things, what Baha’u'llah calls the contingent world and the Kingdom of Names, nesting reality through a set of stories makes sense – like Russian dolls.

'Russian memory-dolls for computer geeks!'

My story is inside my family’s story, which is inside our community’s story which is inside our ‘tribe’s’ story etc – right up to the story of humankind.  That makes sense as a way of seeing and reading the world – and of making of the parts a whole.

So according to this idea we achieve authenticity when we have a sincere story to tell about our lives.  This raises many questions, and is not sufficient for me, but we will discuss those issues on future courses.

Another way of looking at authenticity is to see what marketing gurus say.  Here is the view of Alina Wheeler, a brand marketing consultant;

Alina Wheeler's view of authenticity in brand identity

Given that the commercial world scans the spiritual world for ideas why shouldn’t we do the opposite?

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The second idea concerns ‘being in networks of relationships.’  This I will discuss in my next post.

On Being Authentic by Charles Guignon is a gripping journey into the self. Beginning

with Socrates and Augustine, Charles Guignon argues that being

authentic is to have a sincere story to tell about one’s life.

‘Anxiety is energy without a goal’ – an additional good reason for goal-setting!

I recently came across a very interesting post by J D Lejeune including a quotation attributed to Deepak Chopra;

Emotions are energy in motion. They bring us information if we are willing to experience them. Unfortunately, many of us are afraid of the energy of emotions and so we automatically resist them. And when we refuse to experience our emotions, we block them up. They become trapped and that entrapment drains our energy and brings continuing discomfort.

Don’t let emotions push you into action or reaction. Just STOP and PAY ATTENTION. Allow them to be and to speak to you. Once they are acknowledged, their energy is released.

“Instead of resisting any emotion, the best way to dispel it is to enter it fully, embrace it and see through your resistance.”

I was reminded of a similar comment from Dan Jordan in his essay, Becoming Your True Self.  About ‘anxiety’ Dr Jordan said. ‘Anxiety is energy without a goal.’

So goal-setting has an additional benefit your energy becomes achievement-focused instead of destructively free-floating!

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Interesting interview with Chopra on meditation and the use of mantras HERE

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‘Anxiety is energy without a goal’ – an additional good reason for goal-setting!

Spiritual Teacher: Bernadette Roberts

I stumbled across a contemplative woman whose life and insights shine out. Her name is Bernadette Roberts.

A fascinating interview on spiritualteachers.org is HERE

DVD, published and unpublished writings are listed on Bernadette’s Friends HERE

More HERE

More links etc at WikiPedia – HERE

Kevin Locke ambassador for US first nation culture

An interesting site about Kevin Locke and US ‘first nation’ culture is HERE

Very interesting information about Kevin HERE

SEE higher quality video HERE

Eckhart Tolle – new videos on YouTube

Eckhart Tolle -  new videos on YouTube;

New Videos from EckhartTeachings

• Eckhart Tolle TV, “The Tao Te Ching”
• Eckhart Tolle TV, “To Think Or Not To Think.”
• Eckhart Tolle TV, “Spiritual Awakening in Daily Life”
• Eckhart Tolle TV Site Preview
• Eckhart Tolle, “What is my Responsibility?”
• Eckhart Tolle, “The Current Economy”

See also -  Eckhart TV channel

http://www.eckharttolletv.com

http://www.eckharttolletv.com

Dreams as an aid to self-understanding

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Book-Gestalt-red-book/dp/0951032364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1251482237&sr=1-1

One of our students asked about dreams and their ‘analysis’

The only system that I have come across that made sense and worked when I used  - for me in terms of self-understanding – was Red Book of Gestalt (The red book series) by Gaie Houston

Look up Gestalt on WikiPedia.

As I remember it the process goes like this.

1 You write down your dream in the greatest possible detail.

2. You list all of the elements – including the less obvious ones, like the walls of a room or the table you were sitting at.

3 You retell the dream as though you were each of the elements – the point being that EVERYTHING in the dream is you, and has some meaningful part in your psyche.

4 In the re-telling of the story of the dream as if you were, in turn, each of the elements, you often get insight into the significances of the dream.

NB This is not therapeutic advice but simply an account of a technique that worked for me at the level of self-understanding.

One of our students asked about dreams and their ‘analysis’

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Photo source WikiPedia.

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The only system that I have come across that made sense and worked when I used  - for me, in terms of self-understanding – was Red Book of Gestalt (The red book series) by Gaie Houston

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Look up Gestalt on WikiPedia.

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As I remember it the process goes like this.

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1 You write down your dream in the greatest possible detail.

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2. You list all of the elements – including the less obvious ones, like the walls of a room or the table you were sitting at.

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3 You retell the dream as though you were each of the elements – the point being that EVERYTHING in the dream is you, and has some meaningful part in your psyche.

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4 In the re-telling of the story of the dream as if you were, in turn, each of the elements, you often get insight into the significances of the dream and cnsequently have insights that aid in yourquest for self-understanding.

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NB This is not therapeutic advice but simply an account of a technique that worked for me at the level of self-understanding.

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The 17 Central Concerns of Holistic, Human-centred studies inc Perennial Wisdom – booklist & course outline

Updated: 26^th August 2009

The 17 Central Concerns of Holistic, Human-centred studies inc Perennial Wisdom

The 17 Central Concerns of Holistic, Human-centred or Person-centred education are suggested as the planning, managing & evaluation criteria for any model of education that calls itself  ’Holistic’, Human-centred or, Person-centred  etc.

NB this also = a BOOKLIST and a COURSE-OUTLINE that demonstrates the essential features of the SunWALK Human-centred studies model.

Any such model, I argue will have to give a satisfactory, balanced, appropriate account of :

1 what it is to be fully & positively human.

2 the nature & characteristics of Holistic, Human-centred or Person-centred education.

3 the place of story and storying.

4 the central importance of meaning, its making and subjective & objective forms

5 appropriate & challenging forms of construing (subjective forms of expression)

6 appropriate & challenging forms of and de-construction (objective forms – ‘reading’, analysing etc.)

7 Interiority – and the physical, psychological & spiritual dimensions of learning & their inter-relationships

8 the re-establishment of the central importance of wisdom.

9 engendering and managing volition.

10 active and experiential learning

11 love /affect

12 knowing, knowledge & personal transformation

13 community – including friendship groups, class, family & wider community

14 multi-level-dialogue – intrapersonal and within friendship groups, class, family & wider comm.

15 the (chosen) sources of higher-order values & beliefs,

16 inspiration – the nature & implications of those higher-order values and beliefs – inc. the Whole, the nature of reality & the inevitable context of mystery (world-view)

17 finding & utilizing best available, appropriate, content for each element

NB suggested readings on next page below

Suggested Readings for the 17 concerns of Human-centred/Holistic studies – for managers, teachers, health workers, social workers, parents etc.

Course Key Question, to which all other questions relate = “What is it to be fully & positively human?”

1 Being Human – Heschel – Who is Man

2 A) What is Human-centred studies?  – RPs answer = the balancing antidote to de-humanization in any of the professions.  How? – by re-focusing on, “What does it mean to be fully and positively human – for me in my profession, and in my care of those for whom I’m responsible?”

B) What is Holistic Ed? – Jack Miller then Ron Miller Somewhat critical review of the Holistic Curriculum – but it shows a lot about the reviewer!

3 Story & Storying –  Peter Abbs –  Narratology – Narrative Studies (Applied) auto-ethnography

4 Meaning and its making – Heschel – Who is Man

5 Creativity – the subjective voice

A) Teaching of Fine Art/Performing arts etc. – find the best practice in whatever is the appropriate field for you.                                                     B) Arts in education i) – All Our Futures NAC Report for DfEE  -  ii) – Peter Abbs

6 Criticality – the objective voice.

A) PFC (Philosophy for Children) e.g. Bob Fisher Teaching Thinking: Philosophical Enquiry in the Classroom B) Best practice – in e.g Maths teaching, Sciences teaching, Technology and IT teaching etc (Choose from whatever is your field)

7 Interiority – Ken Wilber + Heschel’s Who is Man

8 Wisdom - HERE – NB Start with chapter by Gisela Labouvie-Vief         Prof Labouvie-Vief publications HERE

9 Volition  - Rollo May (Love and Will) –  then Assagioli and other humanistic and transpersonal psychologists

10 Active & Experiential Learning

11 Love/Affect – `Abdu’l-Bahá –  Affect (psychology)

12 Knowing – knowledge – & personal transformation – Wilber - Heschel – ‘Who is Man’

13 Community  - Bruner - Matthew Lipman

14 Multi-level dialogue – Nicholas C Burbules (his book on dialogue = the best) and Matthew Lipman - `Abdu’l-Bahá

15 Inspiration – the (chosen) sources of higher-order values & beliefs – Perennial Philosophy , Universalism – ~& then the great wisdom traditions

16 The ultimate context in which we all operate – (mystery and the unknown and unknowable) – the nature and implications of those (chosen) higher-order values and beliefs including the mystical – e.g.  Wilber -  Tolle - Karen Armstrong

17 Content – derive from best thinkers in each subject discipline.  Being driven by balancing the 4Cs – not so much by academic classifications

ADDITIONAL READINGS

1 True religion and what has gone wrong with religions – a) Karen Armstrong The Case for God.  b) Terry Eagleton in ‘Reason, Faith & Revolution – Reflections on the God Debate’.

2 The spiritual journey – Earthdream by Hamilton + Parker Palmer.

3 Psychology Prof synopses, Bill Huitt.   (on-line)

4 Fundamentalism – Terry Eagleton After Theory Chapters 7 & 8

7 For information on PCP Personal-Construct Psychology – George Kelly – start HERE

8 On Epiphany, insight via autobiography and ‘autoethnography applied’ see HERE

Novel recommendation in context of Perennial Wisdom & Philosophy

Laura  says she has been reading ‘The Voyage Out’  - Virginia Woolf’s first novel and “I thought I would suggest it to the group as a book that seems to be dealing with a lot of the stuff that we were talking about. For anyone who is put off by Virginia Woolf the stream of consciousness which can make for a stressful read in some of her later novels isn’t developed yet so it’s a very approachable text and really asks a lot of the questions that we dealt with, so I thought it would be interesting for people.”