ICN Integral Christian Network

Hello there ICN practitioners and newcomers!

As we enter the New Year we welcome you to enjoy sitting with our beloved teacher, Rev. Paul Smith, as he explains and expounds on states of consciousness.

This particular conversation is lively, meaningful, and invites every listener to keep moving more deeply into Spirit-consciousness.

The audio quality was rough to edit and there are some discrepancies through different microphones - stay with it! This podcast is worth every beautiful minute.

Enjoy and we'll see you online!!

We invite you into a very meaning set of conversations with the leaders of WeOneing!

Several subjects raised are: 

the vitality of safety, individuation, and unity. 

Divine heart and personal presencing, 

Practicing the inner work of “let it begin with me,” 

Being in touch with ‘the yearning’ (for community, friendship and the human & divine),

Working through relational challenges while One-ing, 

The indispensability of self and community, the awareness of one’s own value as showing up,

growing personal presence with collective presence,

Defining inter-permeability,

Integrating and ‘clearing the lens’ of the masculine and femine within self and others…

The conversation ends with generative appreciations between the conversationalists and on behalf of the communities represented.

How does an integral spiritual community practice kindness, openness, vulnerability and healing when it comes to shadow issues - indidvidually and collectively? 

How does the “field of love” provide and atmosphere of safety and connection when our ‘golden shadow’ rears its head? 

Attending to the process of unfolding spiritual community is not easy but is certainly rewarding when done with enveloping, committed and liberating love. 

We share several personal stories, helpful resources and various frameworks for the ways in which we can evolve in our own personal growth and in collective connection.  

Hello ICN community!

This week Luke and David dive into the prolific and unfolding subject of practicing sacred community and holistic trust.

Several subjects addressed are: openness, vulnerability, healing, personal and group boundaries, and how integral communities can continue to evolve over time by practicing these relational truths.

We offer personal stories and group stories as concrete example of how we might allow our I/We/ALL practices to adapt and evolve over time.

Join Luke (ICN Co-Founder) and David (ICN board member and ICN podcast producer) as they do a deep dive on the meaning and practice of joining and participating in mystical spiritual community!

Subjects explored include:

A theological framework for mystical community (on the Jesus Path/The Way)

Individualism and collectivism (through the lens of WBMA)

Idealism and how it can distort the practice mystical community

Shadow-work within community

and much more!

The conversation is live, zesty and pushes at the edges of ICN's attempts at "presence-ing" itself as individuals and as a collective of practitioners!

Our resident elder and mystic, Rev. Paul Smith, lights up the theological room with his prolific teachings on Holy Spirit.

His transmission on this particular subject will leave you illuminated and inspired to keep moving deeper into the Mystery of the First Person experience of God.

Hello friends of ICN! We are back and ready to explore mystical spirituality in the lineage of Jesus.

In this episode, Luke and David jump into the deep end as they talk about spiritual community at the mystic-practicing levels. This is the first in many important conversations...so please give a listen and offer any reflections that come up for you. We love hearing from ICN practitioners!

Thank you for going on this season 2 journey with us! 

In this episode Paul, Luke and David reflect on the wisdom and experiences of ICN's growing community as well as the growing edges of our (ICN's) future...Spirit is flowing through our growing network of friendships and practice, in this conversation we seek to bear witness and celebrate this phenomena. 

See you online! 

Maruška Vizek's Bio:

Maruška Vizek is a mystic, a lover and writer of sacred poetry, a practitioner of fully embodied spirituality and a life-long spiritual seeker. In her day-to-day life she is a successful social scientist (economist), business consultant, manager, advisor for high level government officials and opinion maker with a high-profile public career. She lives in Zagreb, Croatia.

Having been born as a contemplative with the capacity for deep non-dual experiences, and at the same time thriving as a successful manifestor in dual material life, her quest is to live, express and relate to others from the places of our most intimate deepest depths and to find meaningful ways of bridging the gap between different spiritual traditions, and between material and spiritual realms into one holistic experience encompassing all facets of who we are as human beings. The goal of embodying Oneness in all aspects and dimensions of life for her includes finding common ground and combining practices and symbols from different spiritual traditions and knowledge systems, with the emphasis on fully embodied experience-based transformative integration of practices and symbols, and on empowering herself and others to un/enfold into/from Wholeness we always already are.

This is a marvelous interview and we trust that you'll be inspired and encouraged in your own mysticism as you listen to her story! Maruška models so beautifully how to integrate the practical nature of human life and the esoteric nature of deep spirituality.

This conversation was recorded remotely and not in a studio. As a result, the quality of audio is not up to normal standards (though we've done the best we could!).  Yet we trust that this will not inhibit you from enjoying her wisdom.

Devotion! To what, to whom, how? ICN recently released a series of Saturday emails on the subject. So Paul, Luke and David decided to engage in a lively discussion on it!

We hope you enjoy this conversation on what we believe and how we experience devotion and worship from a deconstructive and post-deconstructive point of view...while this podcast does not cover the full gamut (how could it?!), we do cover some fascinating territory. 

https://www.integralchristiannetwork.org/writings/2022/2/19/new-acts-of-devotion 

Donnie Wilson has been blessed with a vibrant curiosity that has led her through several spiritual traditions, each one a building block for the next.  And underneath all her wanderings, coming to find that there is one ultimate truth:  we are not separate from each other or from all that is seen or unseen.

Her journey through life has been loving and laughing, letting go of her stories, experiencing the joy of deep relationships, opening to spaciousness and moments of mystic wonder, and learning that each of us (no matter the appearance) is a divine expression of ineffable and all-encompassing love. Her involvement in Integral Christianity has added a broader and deeper spiritual understanding to her continuing journey.

We trust you will experience the transmission of wisdom, kindness and spiritual curiosity in this interview! 

Welcome as we explore the very nature of the expanding cosmos through our conversation on the Divine/human attribute of Eros. 

Join us as our beloved Paul Smith offers his 4-fold teaching on the spiritual power of love-as-erotic energy. There is a lot to glean from here so we encourage you to listen with your whole being (and then come back to this recording again when you're ready!)!

This conversation was recorded online so there are little glitches and pops but this shouldn't stop you from getting all you can out it!

See you online: www.integralchristiannetwork.org

What is Integral Devotion? How does an integrally informed devotional life form in us after we've moved beyond previous experiences of divine devotion? How do the 4 centers of spiritual knowing form our devotion? 

Join us as we explore this vital conversation to our own development!

(This conversation was recorded over the internet with all this mild glitches and pops. So we've worked as much digital mojo as we can to help get it up to the standards that we desire. But ultimately we hope you enjoy the conversation!)

See you online!

www.integralchristiannetwork.org

A very profound and meaningful discussion on the nature of mysticism, its influential history, practices and implications. Enjoy! 

Greg's personal bio:

I consider myself a mystic. By sheer grace and natural process, I had an experience of "ascent of the soul" at age 33. It happened to me. It was not my doing. Various practices have helped me to integrate this extraordinary experience into daily life. These practices include Centering Prayer, yoga, study of Christian spiritual classics. I’m currently participating in a Wespace Group. I’m childless, married, and living simply. My wife and I are caring for six chickens.

See you online! 

This conversation is an absolute delight! We hope you enjoy the wit and wisdom of Francis. 

Francis Thien is originally from Malaysia, went to high school in Australia and now lives in Melbourne with his wife Natania and 3 children aged from 12 to 21. His journey in contemplative prayer and meditation started in his late teens, with the writings of Thomas Merton and Anthony De Mello, opening up for him the rich Christian and inter-spiritual mystical traditions.  His current favourite teachers are James Finley and Rupert Spira, and his contemplative practice is to discover the extraordinariness of ordinary everyday life. He works as a respiratory physician in a university hospital in Melbourne, and enjoys being with his family, cooking, cycling and dancing.

There's more to come - stay tuned!!

See you online at www.integralchristiannetwork.org

Marcia is a retired Baptist pastor and school counselor. She has a BA from DePaul University, M.Ed from Missouri University and an M.Div from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Here is her story:

My journey toward finding God started early as I was attending church and wondering what Christianity was all about when I had Miss Eva Saunders as my 5th grade Vacation Bible school teacher. She talked about God as if she knew God. That was a revelation to me. In college I released my life to Jesus and began a personal, experiential relationship with God.

This is a wonderful conversation! Please note that this recording is a digital phone call so there are jumps and quirks but the essence of the dialogue is not compromised. Enjoy and see you online! 

https://www.integralchristiannetwork.org/ 

Welcome to ICN's series on Everyday Mystics! On this podcast Luke interviews Annie Spade. This is a lively conversation that drops quite a few gems of wisdom - enjoy! 

Annie Spade's bio:

Annie Spade is Founder-Director of Montessori School of the Epiphany in Austin, Texas. Over her four decades with young children, Annie has been specially-focused on nurturing the child’s spiritual capacities - guided by her early training in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. As an active Catholic over several decades, she participated in a wide variety of ministries and initiatives. Today, her Christian faith undergirds work with Gender Equity and Reconciliation, as an admin for the 10K member Teilhard de Chardin Group on Facebook, and partnering with a network of organizations to honor the diversity of the human family and foster healing of the Earth with all her inhabitants.

(Reminder: these are remote recordings, usually over ZOOM and not in a studio. As a result, audio quality can contain skips and glitches. Thankfully the content is not compromised!)

Friends of ICN,

Welcome to a (new) series in which we explore everyday mysticism from everyday mystics! Some may think that a mystic is someone who lives in a cave or in the clouds—but most of us know that being a mystic is not something that takes us out of living in the world, but more deeply into and through the regular circumstances of “everyday” life.

These are stories of those who are living an embodied mysticism, integrated into life as usual, but far from ordinary!

(And, don't worry...Luke, Paul and David will continue to interview and explore important themes and practices through the ICN lens - stay tuned!!)

On this week's podcast, ICN interviews Elias Kruger! Transhumanism is already a fascinating subject and Elias is here to not only provide an excellent definition for it but also provide a theological (and practical) framework in our emerging relationship with it!

Elias' Bio: Blessed stardust, husband, father, writer, data scientist and amateur composter, Elias lives and breathes in the intersection of spirituality, technology, and humanity. When he is not doing AI theology, he enjoys spending afternoons with friends and evenings with family including a weekly date with his wife.

Please take time to rate us wherever you get your podcast! (It really helps us get the word out!!)

See you online!

www.integralchristiannetwork.org 

We thoroughly enjoyed this interview with Rollie! His transmission of love, compassion and wisdom is evident throughout the whole hour...we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

This lively conversation on Stages of Development was an absolute blast to record and we hope you enjoy it as well!! 

We move through the stages from Warrior to Integral and provide several examples of how it might look - socially, religiously, personally, etc. We rabbit-trail on a few occasions but they were great looking rabbits! One of us even starts preaching at the end, so tread wisely! 

* Please pardon my (David's) sincere gushing over Paul's book and it's influence on me :-) I couldn't help it! 

We hope you enjoy the discussion. See you online!

https://www.integralchristiannetwork.org 

If you are familiar with the Harry Potter universe you'll remember the phrase, "I open at the close." Well, here we are at the end putting out a helpful starter course for Gebser!

In this episode, we explore basic Gebser-language and Gebserian thought as it applies to ICN practices. We talk about the various Worldviews and give lived examples of them (Magic, Mythic, Rationalistic, etc) from our own lives. And while this conversation is for the beginner it is also a good refresher for those who work with Gebserian philosophy and process. We hope you find it helpful and stimulating!

See you online!

https://www.integralchristiannetwork.org

ICN is very excited to bring this interview with mystic, author, and Episcopal priest Cynthia Bourgeault!

This conversation between Paul Smith, Luke Healy and Cynthia centers on Jean Gebser's seminal work. This discussion weaves in and out many themes and threads of thought(s) and response, covering important territory. 

(An important note: while it helps to be aware of Gebser and his work to listen to this podcast it is not absolutely necessary...no doubt you will fully appreciate the transmission of wisdom and the enjoyment of lively conversation!)

12:57 - Finding Gebser ("You don’t find books, they find you.”)

25 - Embodying wisdom in tumultuous times

34:37 - Cynthia's thoughts on Gebser and G.I.Gurdjieff 

40:17 - Paul discusses other embodiment practices and Whole Body Mystical Awakening

46:11 - Features of Western non-duality 

52:30 - Moving Integral to the personal (2nd-person spirituality and spirit guides/presences, co-inherence!, I/it? Or I/thou.)  

1:02:41 - Gebser and the Christ-mystery, Christ-teachers and the unfolding of human history

1:12:28 - Healing work from Cynthia's and Paul's perspectives

1:25:42 - Final thoughts 

(Please note that this recorded remotely over ZOOM so there are some digital quirks and jumps. But we hope the content will make up for any inadequacies in the quality of audio.)

Thanks again for listening! Please look for us online and join the conversation at integralchristiannetwork.org 

Evolution, progress, unfolding, change...it's what Life is all about. Spirituality is included in all this as well! And...what about Church? What about Christianity as a spiritual system AND a structure? Is there room for the structure? Is the "structure" able to evolve as well?  

Join us in this episode as we converse on the edges of this unfolding, changing and process of spirituality and the Church!

Listen in as we discuss multiple topics on Integral pioneer and poet Jean Gebser!!! This is a dense interview that covers a lot of ground. Much of the verbiage used during this interview is Gebser-centric and it may take a moment to acclimate but the outcome is well-worth the listen! Jeremy is very articulate and makes Gebser's immense work accessible. Enjoy!!

Themes:

A brief summarization/introduction to Gebser's integral framework - 7:00

Space-timelessness according to Gebser - 11:50

Distinguishing between Timeless Now and Integral's Freedom from Time - 15:00

Gebser on mysticism - 18:00

Distinctions in the Integral framework according to Wilber and Gebser! (This is fascinating!) - 22:10

Critiques of Gebser's work - 39:30

"Diaphanous" spirituality - 49:55

Describing Gebser's Christian-leaning spirituality - 55:05

Jeremy's "Mutations" community - 1:12:40

Final Thoughts - 1:18:34

This is the third entry in our 3-part exploration of the Three Face of God prayer practices: Infinite, Intimate and Incarnate. Each orientation helps inform and undo the other. This trinitarian spirituality helps the practitioner expand their experience and embodiment of Spirit. 

In this podcast we discuss and explore: transcendent and immanent spirituality, worship as resonance, rooting ourselves to Material Reality in prayer, unfolding and enfolding spirituality, spiritual discernment, Empty Mind/Cosmos Mind practices and experiences, and so on!! 

Jam-packed discussions!

Join us as we discuss and explore the Intimate Face of God in various prayer experiences and practices.

Also discussed: Dark Night experiences, life during and after deconstruction, transcendent and immanent spirituality, children-as-Zen Masters, Spirit Guides, and more!! 

Welcome to our 3-part series on experiencing the 3 Faces of God in prayer.

Incarnate Prayer: 

Incarnation means embodiment, enfleshment. What does it mean to pray with the body? How do we pray from our enfleshed experience? Prayer is often taught as a sequence of words or as a one-sided "conversation". How do we go beyond words when we move into a sacred prayer space? The body is a tremendous support for experiencing Spirit!

This form of prayer invites us to experience prayer as God-Being-Us. After all, we are children of God...we the Incarnate Face of God! 

Let us know your thoughts and experiences!!

This is ICN's first interview with author, minister, spiritual pioneer and mystic mentor Paul Smith!! This recording goes longer than our average podcast because it is filled with wisdom, wit and insight. 

We'd love to hear your feedback!

https://www.integralchristiannetwork.org 

Join us as hosts (David and Luke) discuss spiritual practices and presence, shoulder-to-shoulder spirituality, and the values of ICN WeSpace groups!

Further exploration:

http://integralchristiannetwork.org/ 

Join us as we further discuss spiritual experiences and awakenings (that aided us in the journey towards an integrated Christian spirituality). We also explore Dark Nights and the 4 centers of spiritual awakening!

Further talking points:

David talks about the 3 centers (head, heart, gut) of the Enneagram and Luke shares details on why ICN has 4 centers - this is really helpful!

Technique vs. flow in spiritual practice 

http://integralchristiannetwork.org/ 

Welcome to Integral Christian Network podcasts!

In our first podcast we are introduced to the hosts (David and Luke), their stories and how they came to the Integral framework. They also further discuss the nature and purpose of Integral Christianity.

Let's get this started!

For further information go to:

https://www.integralchristiannetwork.org