[Springboard] Slicker's present and accounted for

[John Cock]

Dear Joe, 

What a gift: your summarizing our journey and pointing us into the future.
We take these words to be from all our ancestors in the Order of
Melchizedek: 

"[S/]He had no father or mother and family tree. [S/]He was not born nor did
[s/]he die, but, being like the [Child] of God, is a perpetual priest[ess].
. . . [W]hy does the necessity arise for another priest[ess] to make her/his
appearance after the order of Melchizedek[?]. . . . [We derive our
commission] and power of indestructible life within. . . . 'Thou art a
priest[ess] forever/ After the order of Melchizedek.'" (first part of Heb 7,
JBP). 

We stand on your shoulders, our shoulders, the shoulders of that
evolutionary reality of the Order in history, "born to forge out of the
darkest night the sign of abundant life."

Those are the best two charts Wilber has ever pulled together! Thank you.

And thank you for being an ever-present guide. You are present with us.

John C.



-----Original Message-----
From: springboard-bounces at wedgeblade.net
[mailto:springboard-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of Joseph A. Slicker
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 11:11 PM
To: Springboard Dialogue
Subject: Slicker's input SB JL 2007

Contextual Recommendations

Junaluska Conference, 2007



            You have me extremely excited about the upcoming Junaluska
conference:  the fresh visions of possibility, the hoped for results, and
the excitement and energy generated by all of you.  I wish you well in every
respect.  I cannot attend, but will follow your planning with great
anticipations.  Listed below are contextual recommendations I humbly and
respectfully submit to all of you on List Serve.



First.  Celebrate and honor yourself and all you have done and are still
doing.

            Pick out symbolically a few items to indicate the whole of your
work, such as the curriculum development that which helped fuel the
religious and cultural development of the twentieth century; the structural
renewal and development of society symbolized by Fifth City and Human
Development Projects around the world; the designing of a life together
model and rule of disciple and spiritual practices that was a practical and
symbolic cohesive of common life together across racial, sexual orientation
and religious and cultural boundaries; and the designing and implementing of
a global spirit movement across the globe.  (Maybe you could squeeze in
"Life is a Cabaret' happenings we had several times.)

            Celebrate and honor those who nurtured you and guided you
throughout, your colleagues and fellow travelers who from time to time aided
as well as discouraged you, and all those who have harmed you and those who
you have harmed you in the past, for without all of these experiences you
would not be the greatness that you are.



Second.  Now take a deep breath.  Forget it all. Drop it.  It is all vanity
of vanities. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  When we face the
incomprehensible mystery there is nothing to hang on to.  All our great
deeds, services, thoughts, creeds, beliefs, hopes and dreams are emptiness,
nothingness.......... But miracle of miracles we are free to accept
ourselves as we are, and the world as it is.  Thus we are free let go of the
forms of the past to face the future.  It is wide open, no guilt or strings
tied to it.  It is all Good.

            The heart of planning is to start at the same point.  You are
dumb-founded.  You have been struck deaf, dumb, and blind before the
incomprehensible mystery to which one can only point to as emptiness,
stillness, silence.  Our only response to such a strike, which we later
called Grace, is accepting our acceptance.

            Wonder of wonders, this nothingness, this emptiness is the
originating point of all form.  In letting go of all the past and facing the
future we see the bursting into becoming the form of the whole universe in
all its majesty, it aliveness and vibrancy. It is all good, we are free. 
!!Halleluiah!!

            Thus planning is a time of singing, dancing, enjoying ourselves
and our task.  Junaluska can be a 'lark', a time of great fun and awe.

            The 21st Century is as different from the Twentieth as it was
from the Nineteenth if not greatly more so.  If we try to pour new wine of
21st Century articulation of the gospel and radical renewal into the wine
skins of the Twentieth we are playing to the past.  The world we live in
today, the world the Incomprehensible Mystery has given us, is as it is,
like it or not.  It is here and now where we stand, live and respond with
articulation and forms that must meet the deep longings of the heart as well
of deep skepticism of anything that doesn't meet the reality of the world
that people innately know they live in.



Third:  Tools for response.  (Not beliefs, ideologies, etc. to agree with or
not, but model building tools that enable a genuine response in the 21st
Century.)

            Ours is a time of radical revolution of consciousness.  You can
see it everywhere in every discipline and all walks of life.  Never in
history has such acceleration taken place.  Many have picked upon this and
have used tools of the great traditions to announce that an apex in this
revolution will take place in year 2012.  Of course perversions also occur
such as the rapture of the second coming.  Such perversions are seen in many
publications such as "Left Behind" etc.  I am not referring to any of these,
but want to point to the revolution of transcendent spirit in each of us and
the awareness of such an accelerating taking place.  What the response of
the world's activities will be is exciting, however, and I look forward to
watching the proposed culmination in the next six years.

            Now back to the revolution of the transcendent spirit.  All of
us are familiar with this when we experienced the Christ happening grounded
in accepting our acceptance.  It catalyzed us out of the old being into the
new.  This is a once and for all happening, but takes place over and over
again.  In other words, transcendence takes place again and again.  As this
accelerates we began to be aware that every moment is a new transcendence, a
new beginning.  (This sometimes was called the Second Coming.  In other
words the second coming is always taking place again and again in very
moment. We saw a new expressions of this in the early 20th century
theologians who named the second coming as "realized eschatology").

            Traditionally this awareness of the progression of transcendence
was named 'body, mind and spirit', and sometimes expressed as body, mind,
soul and spirit.  Each of these has subdivisions.  Expanding it to body,
mind, subtle, casual, spirit makes it is easier to see the arising of the
tool of awareness or witnessing consciousness at the Subtle level as well as
giving us tools for understanding the Casual and Extra Casual level.  Most
of us are at the subtle level if not beyond.  We began to be aware of our
awareness, conscious of our consciousness.  We began to see reality as inner
and outer, subjective and objective.  Worldview wise we are pluralistic and
globally oriented.

            Please note the two attached 'PDF' depicting the stages of this
awareness.  The first is "Figure 14. Some Major Development Lines" in the
book by Ken Wilber entitled, The Integral Vision.  Kindly note the far right
division of Tiers.  The second to note is the upper left quadrant on inside
of the back page titled "The Four Quadrant in Human Beings" from a booklet
"Introducing The AQAL Framework" A guide to integral Theory and Practice" by
Ken Wilber.  I would say most of us already are at the jumping off point
from the 'First Tier' to the 'Second Tier' in our awareness or have already
taken the leap.  Or again, we are at a point where continued transcendence
of awareness can take place each moment, as our consciousness expands unto
uncharted territory of evolutionary wholeness.  Another way of articulating
it is that we have moved toward being the Christ happening constantly.

            As mentioned, we are in a time of radical revolution of
consciousness. The following are three organizations who are or at the edge
of articulating this revolution.  There are, of course, many more that are
worthy to be included.  Each of these three offer weekly online presentation
of edge materials, and offer additional publications of various varieties
for a starter of $10.00 per month.

1.  Integral Institute, 11701 East 53rd Ave., Denver, CO 80239; Telep. 
866-663-9456; email,  www.integralinstitute.org.  Highlight: Monday morning
½ hour dialogue with Ken Wilber or staff and some cutting edge figure. 
Publications, online teleseminars and CD's are available.

2.  EnlightmentNext and its premier quarterly publication "What Is
Enlightenment?" (WIE), PO Box 9010 Maple Shade, NJ 08052-9710; Telep. 
800-376-3210; email, www.wie.org.  This publication takes some major issue
and comes at it from many different perspectives.  Also, there are many
weekly email specialties.

3.  Institute of Noetic Sciences, 101 San Antonio Rd., Petaluma, CA 9952;
Telep. 877-769-4667, and its 'Shift in Action', www.shiftinaction.com.  An
annual report summarizing major 'shifts' in evolutionary thought and action;
weekly emails offering online teleseminars and complementary gifts of books
and CDs.

            I think the following two books can give much needed contextual
orientation for planning.  The first is "Big Mind - Big Heart:  Finding your
Way" by Zen Master Denis Genpo Merzel.  Genpo Roshi had an awakening 1971
within the Zen tradition.  He went on to become a Zen Master.  He could see
that Zen was a way to access this awareness.  The traditional training just
seemed to take forever, and yet Zen is known as the 'Sudden School' of
Buddhism.  He said that there had to be a direct and sudden way to awaken
this Big Mind which is to finally realize who we truly are.  Then around the
turn of the century he had a series of breakthroughs that achieved the goals
of his long journey.  This book is the culmination of that journey.

            I greatly sympathize with him.  I began meditation in 1979. 
Although it was a hit & miss type of journey I stayed with it off and on,
but it was not until the last 10 years that I have been able to accomplish 
what he has laid out.   Today such a journey is available right now.  This 
is clearly laid out the CD accompanying the book in his taking a person who
has not had formal training by going through the process in a sort length of
time to arrive at Big Mind.

            Go through the book with first priority of experientially going
through the process.  Intellectual awareness will accompany this.  If you
just sit down to read it without the former then you are in danger of what
is derogatorily regarded as the cit chat of intellectual enlightenment. 
Going through this process my be supplemented by the getting the DVD or
going to a three day seminar.

            This leaves almost every one without excuse to dwell behind in
the evolution in consciousness today.  If a person is already at the Big
Mind level, however he got there, that is fine.  No need to be the elder
brother.  Be glad for a fellow traveler.

            The second book is "Integral Vision" by Ken Wilber.  This small
book is packed with integral wisdom.  Don't let its thoroughness overwhelm
you.  Go at it slowly and get the big picture as you would any book.  Read
it over and over.  Wilber's thesis is inclusiveness for all data and its
evolution.  He continually says 'transcend and include'.  Everything has a
role or place.  Notice the relation of religion to spiritual.  You will find
it exciting.

            Ours is a time of a postmodern world, a self-conscious global
world, and an information revolution that results in ambiguity even in the
smallest of contextual decisions.  In what way do we observe, judge,
weigh-up and decide today?  This is an almost overwhelming task.  This book
can be a great help in seeing what to consider in charting new roadmaps and
plans for uncharted fields.



            The last tool for planning is deciding on where and how to make
stands, draw a line in the sand, or throw down the gauntlet so to speak. 
Here is a beginning attempt:

            a.  Honor all people where they are and who they are.  This is
true no matter how despicable their actions may seem.  This would include
the worst of enemies, terrorists or political figures.  In other words,
honor the person not necessarily their actions.  Love your enemies.

            b.  Honor all forms of creation and the interrelatedness of all
life.

            c.  Honor all races, sexes, cultural and political forms of
social life.

            d.  Stand with and support the harmed, disadvantaged, poor,
lonely, uneducated, etc.

            e.  Oppose all forms of injustice and oppression.

            f.  Oppose all forms of fundamentalism: biblical, cultural,
intellectual .any type of -ism.

            g.  Oppose biblical literalism.  Scriptures are not about
historical facts, but how to respond to the mysteries and ambiguities of
life.  Treat them as art forms.

            h.  Oppose anything that demeans life no matter how small. 
(Illustration. One time in the Order days I was taking to woman colleague
about her work.  She interrupted me and said, "Don't speak to me in that
tone of voice."  I was bowled over. I didn't even realize what I was doing.)
Say 'No!' to 'put downs' whether verbal, facial expressions or other body
language.  When you cuss people out for what they are doing, watch that you
don't demean them as a person.  (You may for other purposes not say anything
if you are attacked or left out.)



            Lastly keep your eye on the goal.  You are moving from the first
to second tier and into the third tier in your continuous transformation of 
consciousness.   This is an explosion into new awareness of love that the 
incomprehensible mystery has for all its creation.  (The genius of Genpo
Roshi's book is his movement from the Big Mind to the Big Heart.  Many older
expressions end at the point of the Big Mind.) You see Love now continuously
in everything that is happening.  Transformation is not dry theology or
attempts of articulating or acting, but awareness of being loved in every
aspect of life and death that creation gives to you.  This is the 'New
Heaven'.  Your response in being that awareness is the building of the 'New 
Earth'.        (There is a fine 1 min. Video in Shift where Marianne 
Williamson articulates that only 11% of society is needed for such change to
take effect.)