The motivation for using these authors for an article on the larger reality I assert we live in, is that these authors meet criteria I’ve held for quite some time regarding spiritual matters. What I give credence to must: have been sustained in its form (though may evolve over time) throughout the history of thought; must have the potential for (or the actuality of) being cross-cultural; and should broadly answer most questions. As a bonus, they would be consistent across disciplines (anthropology, biology, neuroscience, cosmology, etc.). On a more personal note, of the five authors’ specific works, all are in my top ten as resources for outlining my overall theology, ontology and epistemology. Of these last two, ontology, the nature of being, and epistemology, how we know what we know, Ken Wilber has written prolifically.

I cite these five authors profusely below, and some may wonder what my personal thoughts on the subject might be or why I use others’ words so extensively. The reason is that, without exception, these authors/scholars have worked numerous years in their specific fields and have written within the criteria detailed above. Collectively their span and depth solidify, through various disciplines and samplings, my expectations for a spiritual paradigm. My personal perspective will be conveyed through what I choose to quote specifically from the authors and the arrangement and juxtaposition of these thoughts via my transitional comments. I have also included these five authors’ insights because when their writing resonates with me, I frequently experienced “ah-ha moments” during my reading, and I find their evidence and arguments quite compelling.

Validation

For this article, as well as personally, I need to establish whether the non-materialistic scientific study of reality is valid. The “nature” of being, the ontological aspect of “what is” will be determined foremost by how I/we form our understandings, our epistemology. To completely do a disservice to Ken Wilber’s work (because expanding further would take way too much space here), I will say that Wilber argues convincingly for a bigger map of the world than that given to us by materialistic science alone. Though the reality of that which is not measurable by science doesn’t come under the often easily- dismissed rubric of belief versus faith here, the historical science/faith dichotomy is not the issue. Rather, Wilber talks of exteriors and interiors of all consciousness, all reality. These interiors are a matter of fact and they have measurable validity claims. The external he has labeled as the Right-Hand way of knowing and the interior as the Left-Hand:

“There is nothing wrong with these Right-Hand and empirical and scientific paths; it’s just that they are not the whole story. Living life only according to the Right Hand is like living life perpetually under the gaze of a lab technician. It’s all empiricism, all monological gaze, all behaviorism, all shiny surfaces and monochrome objects-no interiors, no depth, no consciousness (Wilber, pp. 80-81).” “But nothing on the Left Hand can be seen in that simple fashion, because none of the Left-Hand aspects have simple location. You can point to the brain, or to a rock, or to a town, but you cannot simply point to envy, or pride, or consciousness, or value, or intention, or desire. Where is desire? Point to it. You can’t really, not the way you can point to a rock, because it’s largely an interior dimension, so it doesn’t have simple location (Wilber, p. 81).” May, addressing a portion of the Left-Hand knowing, speaks of that which is beyond faith and belief: “What sort of evidence, what kind of proof, comes through contemplative experience that can create such a deep, simple, matter-of-fact ‘knowing?’ What is it that can lead a human being beyond doubt, beyond belief, beyond faith, into just ‘knowing?’ My sense is that such knowing stems directly from the pure intuition or intueor that occurs in the contemplative state. It is a knowing that can be tested and critiqued by reason but it is not of reason. It is a knowing that cannot be clung to, but rather grows within one’s heart and directs the very substance of one’s life. There is no way that such knowing can be used defensively. It cannot be appropriated to bolster or defend self-image, because self-image becomes irrelevant in its presence. It cannot be expounded or propagandized because it can neither be put into words nor even described with accuracy. Fundamentally, it cannot even be used to justify the unconditionality of divine love, for the knowing and the divine love are one and the same thing. There is no leap of faith into this knowing. Contemplative knowing involves a leap – some would say a quantum leap – beyond faith (May, p. 135).” Yet: “Such people know that mystery is a far different thing from ignorance or confusion (May, p. 29).”

Grof, from his collective work, writes of one aspect that has both internal and external validation: “Synchronicity [can be considered] highly implausible coincidences that cannot be explained by the principle of linear causality, the principle that is the cornerstone of Western scientific thinking. By showing that the world of matter can enter into playful interaction with the human psyche, the existence of synchronicities undermines the very foundations of the Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm and of the monistic materialistic worldview. It abolishes the basic metaphysical assumptions held by the Western academic community that consciousness and matter are two separate entities, that matter is primary and consciousness its epiphenomenon, and that the events in the world are governed exclusively by chains of causes and effects (Groff, p. xix).” The existence of such extraordinary coincidences is difficult to reconcile with the understanding of the universe developed by materialistic science, which describes the world in terms of chains of causes and effects. And the probability that something like this would happen by chance is clearly so infinitesimal that it cannot be seriously considered as an explanation. It is certainly easier to imagine that these occurrences have some deeper meaning and that they are playful creations of cosmic intelligence (Groff, p. 4).” There cannot be any doubt about the existence of genuine synchronicities, where any person who has access to the facts has to admit that the coincidences involved are beyond reasonable statistical probability (Groff, p. 10).”

Of these psychic, paranormal, synchronistic, and/or spiritual, mainly interior experiences and their location Wilber writes: “They are not images existing in the mythic worldspace, they are not philosophical concepts existing in the rational worldspace; they are meditative phenomena existing in the subtle worldspace (Wilber, p. 197).” “As the observing Self begins to transcend…the items on that list are objects that can be directly perceived in this new psychic worldspace. Those items are as real in the psychic worldspace as rocks are in the sensorimotor worldspace and concepts are in the mental worldspace.
If cognition awakens or develops to this psychic level, you simply perceive these new objects, as simply as you perceive rocks in the sensory world or images in the mental world. They are simply given to awareness, they simply present themselves, and you don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out if they’re real or not (Wilber, p. 189).” “They are direct experiential disclosures issuing directly from the subtle dimensions of reality, interpreted according to the backgrounds of those individuals, but issuing from this profound ontological reality, this subtle worldspace (Wilber, p. 197).”

Stan Grof’s research is in step with Wilber’s here: “The nature and intensity of some of the mainstream scientists’ reaction to any form of spirituality, in general, and to transpersonal psychology, in particular, seems to mirror the fanaticism of religious fundamentalists. Their attitude lacks solid scientific grounding, ignores or distorts all existing evidence, and is impervious to facts of observation and logical arguments. Closer scrutiny reveals that what they present as an image of reality that has been scientifically proven beyond a reasonable doubt is a colossus on clay feet supported by a host of a priori metaphysical assumptions (Groff, p. 324).” “For me, this was just another proof for what I have seen repeatedly in my own work: intelligent psychiatrists and psychologists with good academic credentials, who have the opportunity to experience holotropic states find the materialistic scientific worldview inadequate to explain these states, and they open up to spiritual philosophies of the East and to mystical traditions of the world as a more appropriate alternative (Groff, p. 335).” “After having observed literally hundreds of experiences of psychospiritual death and rebirth, I realized that the reliving of birth functions as a gateway to the Jungian collective unconscious and that the archetypal visions that accompany it are ontologically real and cannot be derived from our experiences of the material world. This is an issue of great theoretical relevance in view of Carl [Sagan’s] provocative statement about the nature of reality that opened Cosmos, his magnum opus: ‘The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be’ (Sagan 1983) (Groff, p. 326).” May puts science in perspective, “Though we may often forget it, science is our tool rather than our master. It has no attitudes of its own, only those that we project through it. By nature, science is nothing but willing (May, p. 28).”

Regarding the validity of interior truth claims Wilber states: “And while surfaces can be seen, depths must be interpreted. And the more adequately I can interpret my own depths, then the more transparent my life will become to me. The more clearly I can see and understand it, the less it baffles me, perplexes me, pains me in its opaqueness (Wilber, p. 84).” “But if you desire to see into your own depths and interpret them adequately, then you will have to talk to somebody who has seen those depths before and helped others interpret them more adequately (Wilber, p. 85).”

Spiritual Pursuit

Grof sets up the next phase of what needs discussing, the actual purpose of this article, spiritual maturation: “Observations from the study of holotropic states confirm the basic tenet of perennial philosophy that the quality of our life ultimately depends on what can be called ‘spiritual intelligence.’ Spiritual intelligence is the capacity to conduct our life in such a way that it reflects deep philosophical and metaphysical understanding of reality and of ourselves discovered through personal experiences during systematic spiritual pursuit. Buddhist scriptures refer to this kind of spiritual wisdom as prajñna paramita (transcendental wisdom). Unlike the dogmas of organized church, spiritual intelligence acquired in the process of experiential self-exploration has the power to override the scientistic worldview of materialistic science. At the same time, it is equally effective as a remedy against the fundamentalist misunderstanding and distortion of the spiritual message (Groff, p. 351).”

But experiences alone are not the measure or objective of spiritual work, though they facilitate recognition of the whole Reality we swim in: “And although a person can have a peak experience of a higher dimension, the person’s self still has to grow and develop and evolve in order to permanently accommodate to those higher or deeper dimensions, in order to turn an ‘altered state’ into a ‘permanent trait’ (Wilber, p. 137).” “Spiritual experiences do not allow you to simply bypass the growth and development upon which enduring spiritual realization itself depends. Evolution can be accelerated, as Aurobindo said, but not fundamentally skipped over (Wilber, p. 139).” Here Grof cautions: “I learned not to trust unconditionally the seductive power of such experiences and the enchantment and ego inflation that they engender. The ecstatic feelings associated with emergence of archetypal forces do not guarantee a positive outcome. It is essential to refrain from acting out while we are under the spell and not to make any important decisions until we have again both feet on the ground (Groff, p. 26).”

“One of the most remarkable features of experiential work using non-ordinary states of consciousness is the effect it has on our way of life and on the strategy we use in dealing with challenges and projects. The model offered in this regard in technological societies is to define the goal we want to achieve and pursue it with focused energy and unswerving determination. This includes identifying and removing the obstacles that stand in the way and fighting potential enemies. The life of an individual following this recipe resembles a wrestling or boxing match. I have worked with many people who were able to gain insight into the psychological forces underlying this strategy and to transcend it. They discovered that this approach to existence reflects the fact that we have not overcome the imprint that the trauma of our birth has left in our psyche and that we are separated and alienated from the spiritual domain. Our striving for external achievements is a projection of a deeper and much more fundamental drive to psychologically complete the birth process and to make a spiritual connection. There is no end to our hunger for external conquests because we cannot get enough of what we do not really want and need (Groff, p. 65).”

This strong willing, as opposed to willingness, outlined in May’s work will be expanded later, but for now I quote: “The voice of our basic sanity keeps us feeling that there must be more to life than learning how to live efficiently. Many of us expect science to provide us with the whys and what-fors; with some sense of meaning or belonging. But a science that is at the service of willfulness can do little more than acknowledge that something is indeed missing. It can lead one up to the ultimate questions, but it cannot answer them. It can give names to certain attributes of the mystery underlying life, but there it stops. This incompleteness is not a fault of the scientific method but of how we use it. As long as science is a servant of willfulness it can lead only to the gateway of meaning. To move through this gateway, willfulness must give way to willingness and surrender. Mastery must yield to mystery (May, p. 8).”

Moss writes: “There is also within each of us what we might call an evolutionary or transformational impulse, a kind of dissatisfaction that is the soul’s innate yearning to know itself more completely. This yearning is our intuition that greater wholeness is possible, prodding us along on our journey of awakening (Moss, p. 88).” Grof is specific regarding the benefits of spiritual work: “Episodes of psychospiritual death and rebirth and experiential connection with positive postnatal or prenatal memories tend to reduce irrational drives and ambitions. They lead to significant decrease of aggression, to inner peace, self-acceptance, and tolerance of others. This is typically associated with a shift of focus from the past and future to the present moment and with increased zest for life – the ability to enjoy and draw satisfaction from simple aspects of life, such as everyday activities, food, lovemaking, nature, and music. Another important result of this process is emergence of spirituality of a universal and mystical nature that is nondenominational and all-encompassing (Groff, pp. 351-352).” We may heed this beckoning or we can stay with the herd mentality: “Normal people are so thoroughly embedded in their dreams, so thoroughly defended by survival structures founded upon their lack of self-reflection, that any information that might challenge their internalized presumptions is automatically dismissed, and a true exchange of ideas is virtually impossible (Moss, p. 135).” Moss: “Eventually, to a greater or lesser degree, each of us loses contact with our spontaneous essence and begins to live more or less off-center. This is a period in life – for all of us – in which soul awareness is dormant and we become identified with a false sense of self (Moss, p. 8).” “The false self-at what ever level-might simply remain in charge for a lifetime, as the individual limps through a life of internal insincerity. More often than not, however, the false self will at some point collapse under its own suffocating weight-there is a ‘break – down’-and the individual is then faced with several choices: rest and recover and then resume the same false-self trajectory; drug the dilemma out of awareness; behaviorally reinforce actions that avoid the problem; or take up and investigation into the life of the lie, usually with a therapist who will help you interpret your interior intentions more truthfully (Wilber, p. 156).”

Otherwise we will learn that: “… fusion is imprisonment; you are dominated by all that you have not transcended. But of course that transcendental growth is difficult and perilous and painful. The manifest world is a brutal place, and as humans become aware of this, they suffer. The manifest world, the world of samsara, is an alienated and alienating place (Wilber, p. 151).” Yet the journey into the transpersonal is also full of fear: “There is no way to avoid fear, great fear, in the course of spiritual growth. The only saving quality is that in an atmosphere of willingness the experiences of love and fear come together. Where terror is encountered, the sense of divine love is always available. If it were not for this, our spiritual journeys would invariably be short-lived and abortive. Countless numbers of people are in this situation. They are susceptible to tears when something stimulates their spiritual longing, but they are also convinced that they want no part of an intentional spiritual journey. They have been burned by their own willfulness or that of others, perhaps at a very early age, and they are simply unwilling to risk the fires of union again (May, p. 137).” Grof testifies: “Over the years we had come to the conclusion that many of the conditions that are currently diagnosed as psychotic and indiscriminately treated by suppressive medication are actually difficult stages of a radical personality transformation and of spiritual opening (Groff, p. 302).”

All of these are dire predictions, yet Washburn points to the extremely personal care and concern that is availed on the path: “In its role as counselor and guardian, transforming Spirit is a powerful inner presence that the ego cannot ignore. When the ego is lost, transforming Spirit sharpens the ego’s vision; when the ego is weary, transforming Spirit rekindles the ego’s strength and desire for spiritual growth; when the ego is resistant, transforming Spirit impels the ego to act; when the ego is defensive, transforming Spirit forcibly opens the ego; and when the ego is arrogant, transforming Spirit humbles the ego. In these and other ways transforming Spirit is a motivating power internal to the ego system, a power that both inspires and disciplines the ego. Transforming Spirit both illuminates the path on which the ego is traveling and insists that the ego keep moving forward on this path (Washburn, p. 120).”

The path is best conceived and embraced as non-linear: “The idea that human development follows a spiral course gives expression to a group of insights found in folk wisdom, mythology, and religion around the world. For example, it gives expression to the fundamental spiritual intuition that life as we normally experience it is missing something essential, something with which we were intimately familiar at an earlier time and must rediscover if we are to be spiritually fulfilled. It gives expression as well to the mythological notion that a treasure is buried deep beneath the ground or deep within us and must be unearthed if we are to enjoy the riches of life. The spiral idea gives expression, too, to the nearly universal insight that young children, despite and perhaps because of their undeveloped state, are special in being uninhibitedly open to instinctual, spiritual, and other dimensions of life from which we feel estranged. Additionally, the spiral idea gives expression to what Mircea Eliade called the ‘nostalgia for paradise,’ the longing for a kind of happiness and wholeness that we sense we have tasted before. Finally, and perhaps most profoundly, the spiral idea gives expression to the spiritual theme that life is a path, way, or journey that leads us back ultimately to our original home, now gloriously transformed (Washburn, p. 2).”

And so the loving dance of becoming: “One begins to realize that it is not possible to belong to the universe, to participate in its vital flow, if one is either being controlled by it or trying to control it. There is no hope of realizing unity in an atmosphere of either submission or mastery.” “It is impossible to be truly, intimately close to anything or anyone when one is either controlling or being controlled (May, p. 13).”

Willingness

The following “recipe” for spiritual work will focus on May’s prescribed tenet of willingness as opted over willfulness. This will dovetail with Washburn’s stages of ego development. When appropriate or informative, the other three authors’ comments will be interjected:

“Willingness and willfulness become possibilities every time we truly engage life. There is only one other option – to avoid the engagement entirely. We can force an apathetic attitude upon ourselves by retreating into a dulled state of awareness. Then we exist in a cloud of semiconsciousness, responding reflexively and automatically, barely even noticing that we are alive. We all do this at times. We do it when there is nothing special going on and we are bored or when something a bit too special is going on and we would rather avoid getting involved with it. And sometimes we dull ourselves just to ‘relax’ from the work of carrying our destinies around on our shoulders. But it is impossible to remain constantly dulled and apathetic. Even with the aid of chemicals it is really not possible. There are times each day when we are forced to wake up to the fact of being alive; times when conscious choices must be made about what to do or how to be. At these points of awareness we are compelled to engage life, however briefly or reluctantly. And at these points, our fundamental attitude toward the deepest levels of being can be either willing or willful (May, p. 5).” “All of us at some level feel a call, a yearning toward something more. To be called to greater awareness is innate to the soul. We are designed to ceaselessly evolve in our consciousness. Yet while many are called, only a few choose to even inquire, ‘Who am I really?’ (Moss, p. 37).” “Soul, for me, is our capacity for self-awareness. It is the ability to ask ‘Who am I?’ in a way that silences the thinking mind and opens us to immediacy. The soul imbues all that we are and, at the same time, can lead us beyond where we are, even to oneness with the source of our beings. For the soul, each moment is a new starting point from which it can take the next step to greater awareness (Moss, p. xx).” “What is needed now, what evolution itself is demanding, is that we experience the self-transcending power of the soul. We do not have to change the world. We need only reclaim the fullness of our beings that is ever present and always seeking to awaken in us. In so doing, we become transmitters of a profound faith in life, and the world begins to change (Moss, p. xxi).” “The contrast with psychotherapy is especially striking here. In growing psychologically, one moves toward increasing autonomy and independence. In growing spiritually, one increasingly realizes how utterly dependent one is, on God and on the grace of God that comes through other people (May, p. 260).” “So change of state is not the point with the Nondual traditions. Recognition is the point. Recognition of what is always already the case. Change of state is useless, a distraction (Wilber, p. 214).”

Almost all teachings of perennial philosophies admonish the reduction of influence that the ego has in one’s life. Washburn delineates the origin and need for ego development in the first place. Substantial ego development can potentially become the birthing chamber for further growth of the transpersonal, or I use the term “trans-egoic,” work of spiritual discovery.* Washburn believes that we are born into life with insufficient ego boundaries and as a result are overtaken with the potency of the full Reality that is life. In order to navigate we need to temporarily close off the full potentials available to us (but through later stages of spiritual work, access again.) “These losses acknowledged, the fact remains that in early childhood the positive consequences of primal closing outweigh the negative (Washburn, p. 19).” Yet this closing off from the Dynamic Ground for the purpose of ego development becomes the bulwark behind which we believe we remain protected. We must willingly allow grace to incrementally vanquish this bulwark through the spiral path of our life’s work.

This ego development ironically is a severing of intimacy from the source: “As a result of these circumstances, an environment of angst is unconsciously born within us, and, at the same time, we begin a lifetime of ambivalence about intimacy with others. This ambivalence is an internalized insecurity that can leave us forever dreading both the loss of intimacy that we fear would surely occur if we somehow dared to be authentic, and the suffocating sense of being dispossessed of our innate character and natural self-expression if we were to allow intimacy (Moss, p. 15).” “Many contemplative theologies maintain that self-image is the proper instrument of divine will. It is God’s workhorse, needing not to be eradicated but only to find its proper perspective (May, p. 124).” “If only self-image knew how in the end spirituality would actually affirm it and infuse it with meaning rather than eradicate it, it would not be so defensive (May, p. 125).”

But the power of this Divine Ground of existence is volcanic. Through a lifetime of believing our egos are the end-all, we nearly always deaden our sensitivity to this fact: “The quieting of the power of the Ground in its plenipotency is reflected in the body as a loss of ecstatic potential (Washburn, p. 21).” This along with a crisis of meaning and purpose, brought on by other variables throughout one’s life, brings about the need for an alternative: “People nearing the crossroads are unable to rekindle interest in life and, consequently, begin to withdraw from the arena of action. For many this withdrawal is a psychological depression that is eventually worked through. These people are able to reconstruct the goals of the identity project in a way that rekindles their motivation for engagement in the world. For others, however, the withdrawal cuts sufficiently deep that the identity project is undermined at its foundations. For these people, psychological depression deepens into spiritual despair (Washburn, p. 26).” (Here Washburn is addressing those well past the younger adult years and the identity project this stage entails.)

In working through this stage of development, a subtle arrogance can slip in, even if the spiritual despair shifts into some “deep” spiritual practices, such as the pursuit of enlightenment, or accumulating altered states of consciousness. We simply have an “enlightened” ego identity! Or when even this spiritual activity is looked upon in retrospect as just more uninspiring agenda, another charade: “Moreover, in seeing itself in this way, the ego sees others in a similar fashion, with this difference; the ego sees others as actors who do not know they are acting. From the perspective of the alienated ego, other people are actors who believe that they are real agents in a real world. Only the alienated ego knows – or, rather, (falsely) believes – that ‘agency is only acting’ and that ‘no one is to be taken seriously’ (Washburn, p. 26).” If one has come to these stages of development, they will need to realize the following proverbial teaching at yet a more subtle level: “Will continually tries to do the impossible, to make spirit its own possession, and it is there that our confusion begins. Somehow, will must come to sacrifice its claim to mastery and accept its rightful place as a dynamic, loving manifestation of spirit (May, pp. vi-vii).”

What response to seeing people and life itself as vapid might be allowable to the now somewhat humble ego? Withdrawal, for the energy it takes to interface with the now-no-longer-engaging world seems to take so much energy: “Introversion, however, divests the world even of psychic energy and, therefore, leaves the world completely dead and flat, utterly devoid of psychological peaks and valleys, challenges and disappointments, positive and negative values (Washburn, p. 27).” But there is a salvational resurrection waiting: “Introverted psychic energy, accumulating in the Dynamic Ground, sometimes builds in charge to a degree sufficient to awaken the power of Ground in its plenipotency. When this happens, the power of the Ground begins being released from the deep core of the psyche in powerful emanations. The ego, in experiencing these emanations, becomes aware of an immense and irresistible force: the numinous. According to Rudolf Otto (1917), the numinous is a mysterium tremendum et fascinans, a force that is ‘wholly other’ (transcendent, not-self), unfamiliar (mysterious, ineffable), eclipsing (tremendous, prodigious), compelling (fascinating, captivating), and bivalent (light-dark) (Washburn, p. 27).”**

Grof has witnessed and experienced much of this: “The activated Kundalini, called shakti, rises through the nadis, channels or conduits in the subtle body. As it ascends, it clears old traumatic imprints and opens the centers of psychic and spiritual energy, called chakras. Awakening of Kundalini is thus conducive to healing, spiritual opening, and positive personality transformation. This process, although highly valued and considered beneficial in the yogic tradition, is not without dangers and requires expert guidance by a guru whose Kundalini is fully awakened and stabilized. The most dramatic signs of Kundalini awakening are physical and psychological manifestations called kriyas. The kriyas involve intense sensations of energy and heat streaming up the spine, which can be associated with violent shaking spasm and twisting movements. Powerful waves of seemingly unmotivated emotions, such as anxiety, anger, sadness, or joy and ecstatic rapture, can surface and temporarily dominate the psyche. This can be accompanied by visions of brilliant light or various archetypal beings and a variety of internally perceived sounds. Many people involved in this process also often have powerful experiences of what seem to be memories from past lives. Involuntary and often uncontrollable behaviors complete the picture: speaking in tongues, chanting unknown songs or sacred invocations (mantras), assuming yogic postures (asanas) and gestures (mudras), and making a variety of animal sounds and movements (Groff, p. 28).”

“It may even be that the origin of what we call human spiritual longing is not within the individual at all, but in the very essence of that human being’s existence in the universe. Narcissism will inevitably complicate the spiritual search and will unavoidably carry the individual down numerous blind alleys, so it can be said to play a very important part in the search. But to see it as the origin of the search is to ignore the facts (May, p. 83).” May realistically consoles and reminds us of a constant throughout the spiritual development process: “Human spiritual longing is, finally, the humility of realizing that we have forgotten who we are, and accepting that, and searching. There can be times in the process of seeking that we are reassured that however much we are searching, we are at some level even more devoutly being searched for. There may even be times when we are reassured that the frenzy of searching is not really needed, that in fact we have already been found. But the longing will persist, and so will the seeking, and unless we are unusually fortunate we shall search in a multitude of blind alleys (May, p. 89).”

May cautions the sojourner here: “Because we think we should be able to control and manipulate our psyches, we are becoming increasingly unwilling to feel sad or afraid or to experience any other uncomfortable feeling. We ought to be able, we assume, to manage ourselves into efficient, self-actualizing, and almost constant happiness. If I feel bad, then, it means I have failed at managing myself. I must then try to get back on top of my feelings, back in control. As a result of such attitudes, the human mind has become objectified as a thing to be fixed, altered, streamlined. Bad feelings are to be eradicated with the utmost efficiency. Good feelings are to be maintained and amplified. All of this of course leads us to feel less and less natural and increasingly contrived. We come to feel as if we are our own creations; we are ‘man-made,’ and therefore fundamentally and essentially different from the rest of creation. This is liable to increase our alienation and existential discomfort, which in turn makes us work even harder to alter ourselves. There is still a slight hint within us that something natural and basic might be truly good, but even here we often feel that the only way toward naturalness is to construct it, to make it happen (May, pp. 7-8).” Then: “Slowly, if one is willing to accept some humility, the situation becomes clear. It is not for us to use the power of mystery, but for us to be used by it. We do not embrace it in our arms, it embraces us. We do not capture it but are captured by it (May, p. 35).”

“The numinous is an overawing bivalent power toward which the ego is strongly ambivalent. Bereft of worldly identity, the ego stands naked before an immense, incomprehensible force, and it experiences ‘fear and trembling.’ The emergence of the numinous – or, as it will be called in this book, numinous Spirit – marks the beginning of spiritual awakening. The ego that has just begun to experience numinous Spirit stands on the threshold of the beyond. It is a liminal ego, an ego that has died to the world and to its former identity in the world and is now drawn toward an extraordinary unknown realm. The person undergoing awakening encounters numinous Spirit not only directly, as an awesome dynamic presence, but also indirectly, through people, or at least through a few special people, namely, those in whom the power of the Ground is active in its plenipotency. The person undergoing awakening, these people stand out as bivalent – as fascinating but frightening – emissaries from a supernatural realm: psychopomps, seers, hierophants, sages, gurus. The person undergoing awakening is drawn to these numinously charged people, who are at once irresistible and incomprehensible. They have a compelling, captivating effect (Washburn, p. 27).” We are located in that in-between play labeled consciousness: “Existentially oriented thinkers consistently related consciousness to being and to being-in-the-world. Karl Jaspers said that consciousness was the ‘manifestation of being.’ Sartre saw it as a constant openness toward the world that he felt implied an immediate relationship with others and with being itself. Rollo May calls consciousness ‘the intervening variable between nature and being.’ Heidegger preferred the term dasein (‘being there’ or ‘human being’) as a substitute for consciousness (May, p. 43).” **

Reality has presented itself as not only what we were familiar with, but also that other; the other that we have returned to with only a faint homecoming comprehension: “To be successful, any attempt to deal with the unity/duality dichotomy must preserve the paradox, for this is the only way in which realization of the existence of ultimate mystery can be protected. Any other attempt ‘solves’ it. We must nurture a ‘both/and’ rather than an ‘either/or’ attitude. In valuing and being affected by both realities, one remains ambivalent in the very best sense of the word. To side with unity against duality will destroy one’s capacity to function effectively in the world, and sooner or later it will trip upon its own duality. To side with duality and disavow unity is to strip life of meaning and to rip all creatures from their ultimate groundedness in creation (May, p. 262).” “To be more specific and precise, one might say that we are all ready ‘at one’ all the time, but we stop pretending we are separate by defining ourselves in a multitude of ways (May, p. 59).”

In line with non-dual reality teachings, this is not just a spirit verses body journey though both are affected:  “Spiritual awakening is also evident at the bodily level, for the awakening of the power of the Ground in its plenipotency triggers a release of high-intensity energy within the body. This energy, in its initial manifestation, can express itself in a variety of ways, for example, in tingling sensations, twitches, perspiration, shivers, horripilation, heightened sensitivity in erotogenic tissues, and general surplus energy states. Because the power of the Ground that is here awakening is still organized instinctually as libido, some of the initial somatic expressions of its awakening can have a strong erotic coloring. At the outset of the awakening process, the body is primed for a transformation that has not yet fully gotten under way. The body is on the verge of a dramatic ‘resurrection.’ Finally, the awakening of the power of the ground is evident in the ego’s experience of the world (Washburn, p. 28).”

“This moves us in the direction of what Taoist spiritual teachers call wu wei, or ‘creative quietude,’ which is not action involving ambitious determined effort, but doing by being. This is also sometimes referred to as the Watercourse Way, because it imitates the ways water operates in nature. Instead of focusing on a predetermined fixed goal, we try to sense which way things are moving and how we best fit into them. This is the strategy used in martial arts and in surfing. It involves focus on the process, rather than the goal or the outcome. When we are able to approach life in this way, we ultimately achieve more and with less effort. In addition, our activities are not egocentric, exclusive, and competitive, as they are during pursuit of personal goals, but inclusive and synergistic. The outcome not only brings satisfaction to us, but serves also a larger purpose of the community. I have also repeatedly observed and experienced that when we operate in this Taoistic framework, extraordinary beneficial coincidences and synchronicities tend to occur, which support our project and help us in our work. We come ‘accidentally’ across the information we need, the right people appear at the right time, and the necessary funds unexpectedly become available (Groff, p. 66).” Furthermore: “The world, which has been derealized, is now ready to erupt with numinous energy, energy that here manifests itself not only in direct epiphanies and through extraordinary people but also through objects, events, and places of special significance. Such objects (e.g. precious gems and metals, scriptures, relics), events (e.g., ritual actions, unusual natural occurrences), and places (e.g., hallowed or haunted grounds, sacred or eerie openings or enclosures) pulsate with an ineffable, spellbinding power. In face of such manifestations of numinous Spirit, the ego experiences tremors and ‘goose flesh’ and feels as though it is being called forth to a profound but obscure destiny. The ego may entertain the belief that it is on the threshold of sudden enlightenment or salvation. Such a belief, however, would be false, for the ego has only just begun a long journey (Washburn, p. 28).” “The ego here realizes that it is not the sovereign power of the soul but instead a mere subject, a subject subservient to sovereign Spirit (Washburn, p. 113).” “The spiritual wayfarer is not yet home, but the wayfarer is no longer lost in the darkness and now on familiar, sacred ground (Washburn, p. 34).” “The mending of the ego system in the ways just indicated makes possible a restoration of many of the features of the old ‘worldly’ self, that is, the self-representation of the identity project. Many of these features, deanimated during the ego’s withdrawal from the world, are here reanimated and become once again authentic features of self. There is this difference, however: these features are no longer core or primary features of the ego’s sense of self, as they were when the ego was pursuing the identity project, and now have a secondary status as outer or worldly features of an inner spiritual self (Washburn, p. 32).” “What does become more differentiated in us is the ego. The ego is the vehicle of our personal awareness, and it is not destroyed or transcended in order to attain Self-realization, as is so often suggested. This is a common misunderstanding. If the ego were destroyed, we would lose the vehicle for expressing ourselves personally. And if it were transcended, we probably would have skipped past the crucial work of dealing with our survival personalities and their shadows. Rather, as we grow in awareness, our egos become ever more differentiated, accessing our higher functions without grandiosity or inflation, and descending into our shadow areas and slowly elevating these to where they are no longer functioning destructively in our lives (Moss, p. 75-76).” “Spirit, then, in leading us to union, leads us to a transcendence in which we temporarily let go all differences so that, having savored oneness, we can increase our appreciation of diversity once we return from union to individuated awareness (Washburn, p. 89).”

Wilbur and Moss both reiterate what May has been pointing directly toward, willfulness is by nature not accepting what is here in the Now, a self which can realize the Self, its origin: “Of course, we have often lied to ourselves about this, we have often been untruthful about this, the universe of One Taste, the primordial sound of one hand clapping, our own Original Face. And the nondual traditions aim, not to bring about this state, because that is impossible, but simply to point it out to you so that you no longer ignore it, no longer lie to yourself about who you really are (Wilber, p. 209).” Following the path of willingness, we come to truly “know” what we are experiencing: “In other words, this observing Self eventually discloses its own source, which is Spirit itself, Emptiness itself (Wilber, p. 180).” “In daily spiritual practice, however, instead of seeking God or some form of Self-realization – which is the way much of spiritual practice is contextualized – we should focus on turning toward our immediate being in the Now (Moss, p. 125).” “When we apply our will to arrive at wholeness instead of beginning from wholeness, we once again succumb to a distrust of our experience instead of experiencing a relationship to our experience (Moss, p. 47).” “When we directly perceive and experience whatever is present in our larger fields of awareness, it is possible to have a relationship with it without becoming lost in it or defined by it (Moss, p. 41).”

Entering the Spirit animated world

“The return to full embodiment is also a return to full-undefended, radical-intimacy with others. The ego, in returning to the body, relinquishes its prior stance of inwardness and the defensive distance and sense of hiddenness that went with it. The ego steps out from behind the veil of privacy and places itself in unshielded view and immediate, unprotected contact with others. In initial phases of reincarnation, this undefended openness may make the ego feel as if it were naked and vulnerable. As the ego begins to feel more at home in the body,… (Washburn, p. 167).” (“From the perspective of integration, the body is the dwelling place of both the ego and Spirit (Washburn, p. 168).”) “…however, it also begins to feel more comfortable living without defenses. It begins to feel more comfortable ‘being seen’ and ‘being touched.’ As feelings of nakedness and vulnerability subside, undefended openness to others increasingly becomes uninhibited intimacy with others. Feelings of nakedness become feelings of transparency, and feelings of vulnerability become feelings of healing reconnection. People undergoing regeneration in Spirit, no longer held back in a stance of inwardness, experience intimacy with others without needing to reach out across a psychic distance. This distanceless intimacy is similar in many ways to the radical intimacy of true joining with others rather than a prepersonal intimacy of not yet being fully differentiated from others. It is a radical intimacy without sacrifice of independence. The reincarnation of the ego, then, in thus reestablishing radical intimacy, leads to a higher form of embodied relationship (Washburn, p. 167).” Equally understanding that the world is hurting, in need of our channeling of healing, May writes: “But the fact remains: private happiness can exist as a permanent condition in the midst of public suffering only if based on delusion (May, p. 15).” Nor is everything answered: “Similarly, a contemplative psychology will not ‘answer’ the basic questions of meaning, identity, and belonging in the way one might expect from a traditional scientific approach. But it will respond to these questions in a way that will keep them nourished, alive, and increasingly friendly. What we must deal with here is a process of appreciation rather than comprehension (May, p. 28).” “I do not know whether my essence is the same as God’s essence, but I do know that both are mystery and that the first is a creation of the second. It is this, perhaps, that makes unitive experience seem so much like a homecoming. Whatever its precise nature may be, it is not the true self, not the soul, that is threatened by spiritual experiences. It is only one’s image of oneself that can be thus distressed (May, p. 123).” This is true of our own egoic images and our God images: “Just as we have created our own images of God, we can destroy those images. And as long as we fail to recognize that these are images, the mysterious reality of God-behind-the-image is never even briefly addressed (May, p. 141).” (In keeping with maintaining brevity, I won’t enter the theological implications of understanding this approach to theology.) May cautions to observe these signposts through however many stages of spiritual work we may have experienced: “As soon as one becomes aware of some spiritual growth, one also becomes vulnerable to spiritual narcissism (May, p. 114).” “The gentlest form of spiritual narcissism is the idea that one can accomplish one’s own spiritual growth (May, p. 115).” “…spiritual narcissism almost inevitably occurs as a result of one’s having pushed oneself too hard along whatever spiritual path one has chosen. In other words, spiritual narcissism is a consequence of willfulness; of being impatient; of not being willing to accept spiritual realization as a gift; of trying to make things move along more quickly. And it can always be reduced to the individual’s conscious or unconscious attempt to master the course of spiritual growth (May, p. 119).” Here are some litmus tests: “In an erotic ‘high’, the world disappears in love. In the spiritual ‘high’, the world appears in love (May, p. 155).” “For the religious person, God excites the mind; for the mystic, god stops it (Moss, p.62).”

The whole spiritual journey, the complete human condition, is framed so simply, yet is so radical in its implication: “Attachment, then, can be seen as a major determining factor in social injustice as well as in private psychological suffering. The more attachment, the more the turmoil, and the more we are attached to the attachment, the more vicious that turmoil can become. But still we cling (May, p. 228).” “It is not a fault that our awareness of mystery and its Source comes and goes and may not stay strongly with us at any given time. That is our nature. But whether the immediate awareness is available to us or not at any specific moment, we can always remember. Remembering is not quite the same thing as believing. Believing can be contrived, but solid memory cannot (May, p. 313).” Foreshadowing the unitive experiences that await the seeker May states: “Yet there is no action or reaction that would in any way separate the observer from the observed (May, p. 44).” The fact is that: “Wholeness is where our hearts want to go and where our souls are leading us (Moss, p. xxii).”

Summary

Moss provides a wonderful summary of moving from a false self to an empowered integrated Self: “In this sheltered but simultaneously limited state of mind, we become spectators – and too often even critics – who believe that we are, and that the world is, what we think (Moss, p. xviii).” This too is May’s view. “A truly ordered mind can be purchased only at the expense of a considerable sacrifice of reality (May, p. 226).” ”When we are unconsciously in this Self-avoiding mode, thinking about ourselves, others, and the world at large is our favorite pastime because we do not know what it is to feel our own depths in the present moment and taste life directly. Eventually, our minds become addicted to states of ever-greater distancing from the ‘now-ness’ of our beings. This is the fundamental reason we experience so much dissatisfaction with ourselves, and why we often lack empathy for others (Moss, p. xviii).” “In my years as a teacher, I have seen that what inevitably halts our spiritual maturity and compromises our capacity to love is believing that we must protect ourselves from difficult feelings, such as abandonment and despair. But the only reason we cannot face them is that we have not developed the energy to stay present with them as they arise. However, until we stop fleeing whatever feelings we believe can annihilate us, we cannot mature fully or love without restraint. Sooner or later we must embrace these dark parts of life. We must trust the soul’s profound capacity to meet and be in relationship with whatever we experience, without having to defend ourselves or even react.” “In contrast, the soul does not see a feeling as an extension of itself or a threat to itself. The soul appreciates any feeling for what it is, and in this nonreactive, nonstrategic relationship we learn to make room for our feelings instead of closing down or fleeing from them. The way the soul meets each moment transforms our sense of self (Moss, p. xix).”

“Since our individual consciousness determines everything we do, it becomes absolutely essential to rest our sense of self on something that is real, not on something we have identified our consciousness with and have identified ourselves with (Moss, p. 35).” Again May is in agreement: “We may discover more of who we really are by failing in our attempts to be someone else (May, p. 268).” “The ineffable I-Am that is our true selves is the being in ‘human being.’ It is the organizing field of intelligence at that center of our extraordinary capacity for awareness. It makes possible a ceaseless relationship to all and anything that we can ever know or name, yet we can never actually locate it in space or time. It does not exist in the domain of things or categories of experience. It is so obvious, yet so ineffable, that most of us spend our whole lives in ‘default’ mode, presuming our self-existence through identification with our bodies, our thinking, and our feelings instead of realizing our true authority. Yet that authority is undeniable. There is a dimension of each of us that is always prior to, and that transcends, whatsoever we are aware of. This is what makes it possible for us to consciously turn our attention toward any aspect of our experience in a fresh way at any given moment and in so doing, be capable of constantly renewing ourselves (Moss, pp. 35-36).”
Here is our evolutionary target, to go from: “’I don’t know Who – or what – put the question. I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone – or Something – and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal. Dag Hammarskjold’ (May, p. 1).” And move into: “…eventually, as we’ll see, you might even become transparent to the Divine, liberated in your own infinite depth. But in any event, none of this, at any level, will open to you if you insist on hugging only the surfaces (Wilber, p. 85).”

*Those that are studied in the field know that Washburn differs from Wilber on a detail which for both is quite sizable, it is on the subject of the pre-personal. Washburn holds that there are nonegoic potentials that are spiraled back to in the transpersonal realm of spiritual questing: “They are sources that, having been experienced as pre, can be revisited as trans as part of a spiraling, rather than merely regressive, return to origins (Washburn, p. 6).”I additionally note this quote from Washburn on the subject for it will also lend voice to what May will point us toward: “To modify an expression coined by psychoanalyst Ernst Kris, this return to origins is a regression in the service of transcendence (Washburn, p. 6).”

**Further: “Consciousness seems vast and spacious, with dimensions and limits that are unfathomable if they exist at all. It seems powerful and dynamic, as if it represents a kind of energy (hence ‘spirit’) but it is an energy that is beyond understanding. At the same time that consciousness seems very much alive and active, it appears to reflect a supreme constancy, an abiding solidity that is totally uninfluenced by any of its contents. As such, it can feel like a bedrock, a ground upon which all of life’s experiences and activities are founded. And yet, even so, it seems to have no true substance (May, pp. 45-46).”

Grof, S. (2006). When the impossible happens: Adventures in non-ordinary realities. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, Inc.

May, G. (1982). Will and spirit: A contemplative psychology. New York, NY: HarperCollins

Moss, R. (2007). The Mandala of being: Discovering the power of awareness. Novato, CA: New World Library

Washburn, M. (2003). Embodied spirituality in a sacred world. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press

Wilber, K. (2000). A brief history of everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Joel Jacobs, 2008, All Rights Reserved