Welcome to OneSpirit Learning Alliance
Core Premises
While there may be rare individuals who have experienced instantaneous and lasting enlightenment, for most of us the journey is an ongoing process of development and unfolding. As the journey from birth to death unfolds for each of us, psychological and spiritual issues resurface in new and deeper ways. The notion that the journey from the ego to our True Self is a one-step process has caused a great deal of needless suffering and confusion.While many spiritual precepts, paths and practices exist, we have found the following spiritual and psychological principles to be helpful perspectives for the journey. Using them as “working premises” can accelerate our growth when we apply them to our daily lives and interactions with others. Each is a contemporary formulation of teachings from one or more of the ancient wisdom traditions, and they are a significant part of the philosophy and teaching at One Spirit.
1. We each have a personality and a True Self
We each have a personality and a True Self. The personality, in different spiritual and psychological traditions, is sometimes called the conditioned self, false self, small self, conventional sense of identity, ego, wrong mind or lower self, etc. The True Self is sometimes called the Higher Self, Higher Consciousness, True Nature, Essence, Soul, Right Mind, or Authentic Self, etc.
10. Principles and premises serve as pointers to the mystery and wonder of life
While beliefs, premises, principles and maps are helpful and practical in navigating life’s journey, they represent at best a partial and limited way to “map the territory” of human life and of the Great Mystery. It is important to remember that the map - any map, no matter how good – is not the territory!
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We each have a personality and a True Self
Practice 1: Notice, moment by moment, whether you seem to be coming from your personality or your True Self; observe when you are agitated, reactive or on automatic and when you are centered, peaceful and clear.
Practice 2: Develop a meditation, prayer or contemplative practice that cultivates nonjudgmental awareness and presence to what arises in the moment and supports dis-identification from the activity of the personality.
We are interconnected in profound ways
Practice 1: Pay attention in your personal and professional interactions with other people. Notice how they are affecting you and how you may be affecting them. Pay attention not only to the more obvious levels of words and actions, but also to the more subtle levels of attitude, energy, and state of mind.
Practice 2: Notice when you are able to assume the perspective of others and when you cling reactively to your own perspective. Inquire into what prevents you from holding both perspectives without attaching your sense of self to either one.
Practice 3: : Begin a practice of listening deeply to others. Notice when you want to impose your beliefs or desires on them. Explore the practices of non-violent communication, facilitation or dialogue for creating a safe space, developing empathy, and understanding others individually and in community.
Practice 4: Become aware of your inner state, your patterns of speech and behaviors in groups and communities. What are your challenges and areas for growth? How do you separate yourself or separate others? How can you become a channel for peace and love with integrity?
We unconsciously project our unresolved issues on outer situations
Practice 1: Notice in each interaction with another person, and even in every memory or anticipation, if you feel peaceful or anxious. Without needing to decide if it is true, imagine that whatever you feel in relation to the other person is actually a reflection of your inner reality based on past experience or association. Ask yourself, “What does this remind me of?”
Practice 2: Notice when another person evokes a strong negative judgment in you. Think about the behavior or quality that bothers you. Explore the possibility that what you are seeing in them may represent a hidden aspect of your own personality. That part of you may be in the shadow, denied, rejected, feared, or even hated. Take a deep breath, soften your belly, relax your heart and imagine that this quality is something calling out to you for acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness rather than judgment or attack. Consider the possibility that the healthy integration of that repressed quality may support your personal growth and your ability to act skillfully in the world.
Practice 3: :Think of someone you admire. Consider the qualities you see in them that may represent aspects of yourself that you have not yet claimed or developed. Reflect on whether experiences in your past may have led you to deny or discount the seeds of these qualities in yourself. Take a deep breath, soften your belly, relax your heart and imagine that you embody that quality in your life.
Failing to feel difficult emotions blocks our awareness of the True Self
Practice 1: When we breathe deeply we are less likely to be dominated by fear, anger or guilt and more able to focus our awareness in the present moment. Try to let go of your story and why you imagine you are angry, fearful or guilty. Simply feel the energy in your body. Then ask your inner wisdom: What do I need to see or understand? What would be most helpful in this situation?
Practice 2: When strong negative feelings arise, don’t resist or try to repress them. Instead investigate, experience, and explore the energy and sensations in your body. Notice any texture, color, flavor, or quality underneath the energy/feelings/sensations. If thoughts or a story arise let them go and return your attention to the experience in your body. Explore what happens to the energy if you simply stay with it, rather than feeding it with thoughts or a story line.
Practice 3: Become aware of more subtle emotions such as anxiety or irritation. Notice how you avoid feeling them through busyness, distraction, “numbing out,” or other automatic behaviors.
Inner spaciousness is the natural state of the True Self
Practice 1: Relax the muscles in your body from your head to your toes. Imagine that there is a space within your body that holds or contains your reactions to life. Some people imagine this space in their belly, others in their midsection or heart. Intuit or feel what is right for you. The smaller that space the more likely it is that an event will upset you. Now imagine that inner space expanding and getting larger; and imagine that whatever is upsetting you is getting smaller and floating in that space. Breathe deeply into your body as you become more spacious. (Do these practices as often as you can; over time it has a real impact. You may find that the space of your inner container can even expand beyond the boundaries of your body.
Practice 2: Notice your feeling tone (positive, negative, neutral) in each of your interactions with others. Try to bring a sense of curiosity and non judgment to whatever you become aware of. Notice any thoughts, judgments, or agendas running through your mind and ask to let them go so that you can be more fully present. If there is holding, tightness, or tension in your belly, breathe and see if you can soften there. With your belly soft, practice opening your mind and heart as you listen fully to what is being said.
Practice 3: Consciously practice awareness of what drives you to speak and whether you are speaking from your personality or Higher Self. Practice speaking only when necessary and helpful. Live with the awareness that not everything need be said, and at the same time, much that is kept hidden would benefit by being brought out of the shadow.
Opening the heart to love is central to spiritual life
Practice 1: For a period of time, notice when your heart is open and when your heart is closed. Pay attention to which state of being feels more authentic.
Practice 2: Notice, without judgment, when you are being unkind in any way. Ask yourself, “Why am I being unkind?”
Practice 3: Hold yourself tenderly in your heart, as if you were your only child. Practice forgiveness for yourself and gratitude for all of your blessings.
Practice 4: Think of life as a classroom, and look at every joy and every sorrow as a new lesson. Consider that each moment of resistance to the hand life is dealing you in this moment multiples your suffering tenfold and makes it more difficult for you to learn the lesson being offered. Take a few deep breaths, feel into your body, feel your weight supported by the earth, and say to yourself: Let me be open to learning the lesson being offered to me now, so I do not have to repeat this suffering in the future.
Practice 5: Inquire into the role of play and humor in your life. Find a way to balance work with curiosity, lightness, play and humor in your daily life.
The body is a container for the True Self
Practice 1: Drop your attention to the hara, a place in your belly at the center of the body a few inches below the navel. Use your breath to stabilize your attention there by gently breathing in and out. Notice what takes your attention away and gently bring it back to the hara without judgment.
Practice 2: Bring awareness to the sensations in your arms and legs. Practice sensing your arms and legs as you go about your daily tasks. When you notice you stop sensing, gently bring your attention back to your arms and legs without judgment.
Practice 3: Explore a body-based exercise or movement practice such as yoga, tai chi, qi kong, aikido, dance, 5-Rhythms practice, core energetics, etc. that supports your spiritual development.
Practice 4: Become aware of the eating, sleep, sexual and self-care habits that are nourishing to your body, heart, mind and spirit and incorporate them in your daily life.
Transitions are part of the Cycle of Life
Practice 1: Bring attention to the transitions and changes in your life, from the significant to the subtle. Become aware of how you respond to change and the extent to which you are able to stay present and open, or resist or lose awareness in the process. Ask yourself: What is my capacity for holding anxiety, ambiguity, uncertainty and paradox, especially in the face of change.
Practice 2: Reflect on times of loss or change that have occurred in your life. Has there been growth or rebirth that has emerged from these times?
Practice 3: Inquire into your experiences around illness and death. What are your associations with illness and death? What challenges you? What is calling to be healed?
Practice 4: Make a list of all of your major attachments in this life. Include loved ones and family members, friends, material things, and intangibles such as love, potentiality, or vision. Now imagine letting go of each one. Which are the most difficult to surrender? How will it be to let go of each of these people or things on your deathbed?
Practice 5: Write your own obituary. Make a detailed description of when and how death came and how you led your life. What would you like to be remembered for? Reflect on any regrets or unfinished business you may have that you would like to have resolved by the time of your death.
Practice 6: Visualize your death as graphically as you are able. See yourself letting go of bodily functions, breath and life. Notice any fear or emotions that arise. How might this imagery inform or transform how you are presently living your life?
Service to others is the expression of universal love
Practice 1: Explore and be aware of your motives for service in every situation. Try not to resist seeing any motives that may be less noble than you would like.
Practice 2: Realize that in every encounter you are being of service for good or for ill, even when you don’t realize it. Use this awareness as an opportunity to learn from every situation you find yourself in.
Principles and premises serve as pointers to the mystery and wonder of life
Practice 1: : Observe and inquire: Into What or Whom do you place your trust?
Practice 2: Inquire into the beliefs and practices that you hold as the “truth.” What are your “sacred cows?” How do your attachments to these manifest themselves? How can you open to holding them with more spaciousness?
We each have a personality and a True Self
- The formation of the personality as a healthy, stable ego is a necessary developmental step for healthy functioning in the world. The problem arises when the personality obstructs awareness of our deeper spiritual identity and we take the personality to be all that we are, or our True Self.
- The personality is an imitation of our True Self based on a faulty belief system about ourselves, others and the nature of what is real. The personality is conditioned by personal, cultural, racial, economic, social and religious experiences and obscures/hides the True Self. As we grow, the personality can become more transparent to the True Self - i.e., can be used in the service of expressing the True Self.
- At any given moment, we are primarily identified with either the personality or the True Self. When we are agitated, reactive, defensive, or responding in automatic or conditioned ways we are coming from the personality. When we are clear, aware, open-hearted, centered and at peace, we are more likely to be coming from the True Self.
- The more we cultivate the ability to step back and witness our personality, the more access we have to experiencing and expressing our True Self.
We are interconnected in profound ways
- Being human means being in relationship with ourselves and others. Our actions, words, thoughts, attitudes, emotions, energy and overall state of being affect ourselves and others directly and indirectly.
- Relationships of all kinds are a profound crucible for spiritual growth. The challenge to love one another is among the most difficult of our human tasks.
- When we put ourselves into the position of others, we are not necessarily agreeing with their position, but have the ability to expand our awareness to hold paradox and differing perspectives.
- For most of us there is a tension between our desire for autonomy and our desire for connection which impacts our reactions to and interactions with others.
- Our work on ourselves and our growth in consciousness is a gift to others as well as ourselves. As we become more whole, our state of being helps others and our communities to become more whole.
- When we open to the healing of our wounds and grievances, we open the possibility of becoming clear channels for love and healing in our relationships and our communities.
- Whenever we experience that we are not separate, we experience our essence as love and the hold of the personality begins to dissolve.
We unconsciously project our unresolved issues on outer situations
- We unconsciously project our emotions, beliefs and unresolved issues on outer situations and other people.
- Our past experiences, relationships and self-identities, as well as our desires and fears for the future, color our perception and experience of the present situation.
- Whenever we get emotionally “triggered” by other people or circumstances, we are dealing with a projection from our own psyche. It is helpful to see these experiences as opportunities for growth and healing.
- Our life journey is a journey toward wholeness. An important aspect of this process involves reclaiming and making room for both positive and negative “shadow” aspects of ourselves including qualities, traits, and emotions that we have rejected, repressed, hated or feared.
- As disowned aspects of our “self” are brought out of the shadow and consciously reintegrated within us in a healthy way, we become increasingly whole.
- As we befriend and reintegrate these shadow aspects of ourselves, we become more compassionate and understanding and our relationships with others are transformed.
- The more awake and self-aware we are, the faster we can come back to center. When our inner state is centered, we are more peaceful inside and more skillful outside.
Failing to feel difficult emotions blocks our awareness of the True Self
- The personality/ego is a rigid structure of beliefs, attachments and identities that is built on fear and blocks our awareness of the True Self.
- The inner critic is a part of the personality/ego that judges and controls the expression of our emotions and behaviors in an attempt to maintain an ideal self or ego that is acceptable to oneself, others, and society.
- The personality/ego attempts to control our inner state, other people and the environment in order to preserve itself and its sense of separateness.
- By reducing the control and impact of the inner critic, we retrieve and free up lost energy and allow for the fullness of life and Spirit to emerge. Anger is often a cover for or defense against a deeper experience of hurt, vulnerability, guilt, shame or fear. Exploring what is underneath our anger presents an important opportunity for growth.
- When we disown, repress or act out our anger, we lose access to a natural source of life energy. This often manifests as depression.
- Guilt, shame, and depression often arise in response to judgments we make about ourselves and others, and they frequently undermine the natural flow of our inner life.
- The exploration, befriending and experiencing of difficult emotions and defenses without acting them out opens awareness to our True Self.
Inner spaciousness is the natural state of the True Self
- Inner spaciousness provides the room for us to grow into whatever is seeking to emerge in our development and healing. When we create a safe space for ourselves and others, we have the opportunity to explore emotions, thoughts, and unresolved issues that prevent us from experiencing True Nature.
- Serenity, peace and joy reside in and arise from our inner spaciousness.
- Inner and outer judgment leads to contraction. Openness, curiosity, the process of allowing without reaction, nonjudgmental listening and inquiry create a safe space that allows our consciousness to expand.
- As we become more spacious, we can transform emotional tension into creative tension and increase our effectiveness in the world.
- Listening in a deep way, inside to ourselves and outside to others, supports the emergence of the True Self.
- When we listen deeply to another, we create a space where the other can come to know the truth of who they are.
- Every situation has an emotional flavor that sets the tone for the entire interaction. Without awareness, our emotional state or hidden agenda can hinder our ability to listen.
Opening the heart to love is central to spiritual life
- When we experience full acceptance, kindness and compassion flow naturally.
- When we experience compassion and kindness we feel more authentically ourselves.
- We can learn to discern true compassion which empowers and heals, from false compassion which enables people to maintain unhealthy patterns.
- "Resist nothing” is a powerful practice for befriending and being befriended by life. Every experience in life; every difficulty, every joy, every moment of boredom is an opportunity to learn and grow. Every loss, every letting go, and every surrender prepares us for our final destination in this life.
- It is more hurtful to hold the heart closed than to allow it to be broken open. Surrendering and befriending our brokenness opens the door for all forms of love to enter. The heart has no limits to the multiple experiences and expressions of love.
- Forgiveness is the process of releasing the pain of the past, opening to new perceptions that open the way to inner peace, letting go of rigid definitions of self and other, and surrendering to Grace.
- Practicing forgiveness and gratitude develops an open heart and acceptance of what is, and offers a life of peace.
The body is a container for the True Self
- The body, like the personality, holds beliefs, memories, emotions, wounds and other obscurations to the flow of essential energy. These can be thinned and released through awareness, presence, and various forms of inner work.
- As our capacity to be present to our direct experience in the body increases, our ability to experience and express the True Self can grow accordingly.
Transitions are part of the Cycle of Life
- Death is the personality’s ultimate fear.
- Though the personality fears illness, change and death, all of these offer the opportunity to experience our True Identity.
- The nature of life is change, and our human challenge is to embrace rather than resist it.
- Change and life transitions are mini-deaths and offer practice for completing unfinished business, saying goodbye, surrendering, and letting go.
- Real transformation and the potential for rebirth shatter our existing beliefs and challenge the stories we tell ourselves to make meaning in our lives
- When we open our hearts and minds and are present to illness, transition, loss and death, we can experience profound peace and serenity
Service to others is the expression of universal love
- Inner work relaxes our attachment to our separate sense of self, allowing our being and our actions to manifest as loving service.
- Service to others offers the opportunity for authentic meaning in our lives and, paradoxically, for ongoing shattering of that meaning through humility and new awareness.
- Service is the expression of universal love for self, others and the world.
- When we set an intention to be a vehicle of service for the greater good, we focus our energy and allow our presence to be a healing force in the world.
- Giving and receiving, like the in breath and out breath, are part of the natural flow of life.
Principles and premises serve as pointers to the mystery and wonder of life
- The willingness not to know – to adopt what has been called “beginner’s mind” – opens us to wonder, ongoing discovery and creative participation in the miraculous unfolding of life and the universe.
- When we rest in basic trust of the wisdom and goodness of the Infinite Mystery, we rest in a profound peace that is our inherent nature.
- Our openness and willingness to live in this spirit encourages others to open to this same possibility, simply through the force and example of our being.