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Spiritual Not Religious
by Terrence Bishop
- a rational approach to spirituality for the 21st century

The Integral Approach - the most powerful way of thinking ever developed

The mind is the bridge between the body of emotions and the realm of the Transpersonal. Confused or circular thinking can lead to emotional energy being blocked in the body leading to failed dreams, depression or even illness. Only when the mind is clear can we experience authentic feeling that is uncorrupted by the inevitable pain of childhood and the harshness of the modern world.

The Integral Approach is a roadmap of clear thinking that enables us to successfully process emotional energy as it arises, leading to an open mind that can more readily access the Heart of Spirit.

The Integral Approach is like a map of the possibilities of human existence. It incorporates the key elements from all the world's spiritual traditions, from western developmental psychology, from science and even the world of art. Like any map, it does NOT tell you where to go or what to do, but rather it tells you what is possible and implies what practices to perform if you are interested to journey there.

What Does all this Mean in Everyday Terms?

Even though you and your life are utterly unique, some of the challenges you face in your life are probably shared by millions of others in our culture. For example...
  • Amongst all the choices offered by modern life, do you struggle to pick one that satisfies the yearning of your heart, and then commit yourself to making it happen?
  • Do you struggle to communicate your truth to those around you? Do you feel alone and hardly understood by anyone?
  • Are you frustrated that  other people just don’t seem to get it, no matter how many different ways you say the same thing?
  • do you find that even though you know certain habits are bad for you, that there is a part of you that just doesn't want to surrender?
  • Do the antics of the other gender sometimes make you shake your head in disbelief?
  • Are you perplexed by the way that so many things in the world are going so horribly wrong, while at the same time so many have never had it so good?
  • Are you motivated by a sense of urgency over the future of the planet?
  • Are you deeply concerned about the fate of our grandchildren? 
If these questions are meaningful to you, that is a signal that you are potentially part of the solution to the ailments of the modern world. That some of these questions might plague you like a relentless itch in your mind is another signal that you are ready to move beyond ‘the struggle’ and step into a more creative, fulfilling phase of your life.
 
Worldview Encounter Weekends
 
The "global mind" is a new wave of consciousness emerging in response to the intense demands of the 21st century (e.g. global warming, terrorism, over-population, water, poverty, etc.). Also known as the Integral Worldview, this new consciousness is one very powerful response to the complexities of modern life. 
 
The benefits of an Integral Worldview include more creativity, a deeper sense of purpose, an improved capacity to learn and integrate information in a data-soaked world and greater effectiveness at manifesting change in the world around you. Other possible benefits include improved relationships, better health and a deeper sense of peace and wellbeing.
 
Like any emerging consciousness however, it takes practise to identify and stabilise its qualities within the infinite range of possibilities of the human mind. Worldview Encounter Weekends aim to reveal the integral consciousness already within you and to make it more accessible in everyday life.
 
Worldview Encounter Weekends are a combination of a personal development workshop with a relaxing retreat in a location oozing with beauty and peace. Our programs have been carefully crafted to offer inspiration, insight and reassurance that what you seek is already within you. We offer a range of awareness and integration tools you can use in everyday life. Importantly, we also offer time for relaxation, fun, good healthy food and an abundance of tranquillity, fresh air and expansive ocean views.
 
Worldview Encounter groups are facilitated with an intention of empowering the leadership skills and inspirational gifts of participants. We passionately avoid the workshop model where you get 'talked at' all weekend, but rather pursue a vision of co-liberation, where the combination of our teachings and your perspectives create an emergent quality that is empowering for us all. While we do run our workshops to agenda, your contribution is a key element in the success of any workshop.
 
Worldview Encounter Programs
 
The Worldview Centre offers four weekend-format programs and a 5-day intensive format and occasional gatherings for established integral practitioners. All programs are limited to 12 residents, although with some programs we will host up to 20 attendees (assuming 8 staying off-site).
 
Integral Relationships Encounter Weekend ~ With the advent of feminism and now an emerging men's movement, what it means to be a woman or a man has undergone radical change within the last two generations. What it means to be in relationship has similarly evolved, making the old-fashioned role models of the breadwinner husband and stay-at-home wife utterly obsolete. Meanwhile our brave new experiment with new roles is not going so well, with more relationships failing or struggling than ever before. Even the nature of the masculine and feminine principles is now clouded in confusion. The Integral Model offers some profound insights into what is really going on. One of it's advocates, David Deida, has built on integral insights to offer an inspiring vision of what the challenges are and what we can do to move out of relationship turmoil into a new kind of intimacy that moves beyond mediocrity. During the weekend, we will:
  • find clarity on the nature of the masculine and feminine principles within us all.
  • explore how these principles effect the perceptions, values and life strategies of ourselves and our partner.
  • explore the three stages that relationships go through.
  • untangle the meaning of affection, romance and love.
  • explore communication models that aid in navigating through misunderstanding and conflict.
  • click here for dates, pricing and special offers.
An Integral Approach to Wellbeing ~ Wellbeing is a state of being not corrupted by stress or anxiety. Stress and anxiety are symptoms of the gap between the demands of everyday life and our capacity to meet them effectively. Modern life places enormous demands upon us that far outstrip the skills taught to most of us by our parents or teachers. As our own consciousness evolves, we rise to meet ever greater challenges in life until we eventually crash headlong into the limits of our competence. The self-help section of the local library is so vast and confusing that it offers little clarity, even if we had the time to read such things. And yet without understanding of the forces at work upon us, we have little chance of finding mastery and the peace that follows.
 
It is usually the case that there is a persistent tension between the way things are in our life and our world and the way we think it should be. We regard this tension as not only healthy, but as profoundly useful in the journey to bring the two more into alignment. This gnawing tension is often the calling of our higher selves to the recognition of a deeper truth about who we really are and our true purpose in this life. By getting in touch with this calling, we can more readily identify the beliefs we hold that block us from achieving the life we want. During the weekend, we will:
  • Use the integral model to 'unpack' the complexity of modern life.
  • Develop empathy and compassion for ourselves and those around us who may be similarly yearning for an end to the relentless struggle.
  • From a position of understanding, assess new options on how to respond to key stress generators.
  • Use the integral map to plan how to better balance our lives.
  • Learn techniques to enhance creativity when faced with stressful situations.
  • Click here for dates, pricing and special offers.
Integral Spirituality Encounter Weekend ~ Nietzsche declared "God is dead", and in one sense he was right. The traditional way of relating to God has been dying in a way that has seen tens of millions around the globe abandon the churches of old. In it's place, a new way of understanding ourselves and our relationship to the 'Universal Consciousness' is emerging. At the leading edge of this new emergence is an approach called Evolutionary Spirituality that is based on a combination of felt experience and modern rational enquiry. It reinterprets the sacred texts as parables and metaphors as it seeks an evolutionary roadmap of how we get from our ego-based consciousness into identity with the creative impulse that animates the Divine Play. During the weekend, we will:
  • explore the evolutionary model that maps the path from babies to Buddhahood.
  • experiment with different states of consciousness and how to access them.
  • untangle various 'new-age' approaches to spirituality to assess their strengths and weaknesses.
  • consider masculine and feminine preferences to spiritual development.
  • explore an Integral Life Practise that helps to accelerate our progress on the spiritual path.
  • click here for more information.
  • click here for dates, pricing and special offers.
An Integral Approach to Social Change ~ We are all aware (sometimes to painful degrees) of the need for urgent change in the way our society hangs together. Aside from the usual suspects of climate change, the biodiversity crisis, war and terrorism, there are a wide array of other indicators suggesting our culture is in serious trouble... rising rates of depression, obesity, addiction, rampant materialism and a widespread crisis of meaning. Meanwhile the education system is barely adequate, the health system is bulging at the seams, and our politicians seem to be busily arranging the deck-chairs on the Titanic. The Integral Approach is perhaps the most powerful tool in existence to find new perspectives on the emerging global and local calamities. Using Integral, we can make immediate sense of what we see on the nightly news. With understanding, creativity explodes, revealing an abundance of options on how to begin to approach the truly big questions of our age. During the weekend, we will:
  • Use the integral model to gain understanding of the broader task we all face as a species.
  • Examine the three major worldviews that dominate cultural affairs in western democracies with a view of developing 'skillful means' as we engage these worldviews in change strategies.
  • Work with case studies from participants to collectively explore creative strategies.
  • Click here for dates, pricing and special offers.
Integral Encounter - 5-day intensive program
 
Only available to those who have completed at least one of the weekend programs, this intensive program is designed for those who wish to dive into the deeper end of the integral ocean. Program elements include shadow work, states work (including a breathwork session), meditation instruction (from an ordained Buddhist nun), and time to explore case studies and engage in group feedback. More information will be published soon on this site. Click here for dates and pricing. 
 
Integral Practitioners Gathering

This gathering is reserved for those who are already using integral principles in their career or social work.

One of the recurring themes in the integral community is the yearning for connection with those who embody and practise an integral worldview. This is not for the sake of ego gratification or some form of elitism, but rather is an unavoidable consequence of having spent more years than most dedicated to the inner journey of evolving your own consciousness. In Buddhism, they call it Sangha, which is a term that denotes the community of Buddhist practitioners. This event is a gathering for the Integral Sangha.

The Integral Practitioners Gathering might be better described as an Integral Expedition (using an AQAL map) for modern day explorers who want to travel to the edges of the known worlds. Along the way we will search for new perspectives and activities that are effective in explaining and/or experientially demonstrating the AQAL model, and in doing so, empower ourselves and our clients to live and work from a more integral worldview.

Click here for more information.

   
More About the Worldview Experience
 
Imagine living in a big city and never owning a street directory. Imagine living in the maze of modern life without a reliable map that helps you navigate the terrain of human possibilities. All of us have a map (called a worldview), but very few of those maps can deal with the incredible complexity and the blistering rate of change of modern life.
 
A worldview is simply the framework of beliefs and values we use to assign meaning to life and the world... it is the map we use to navigate daily life and includes beliefs about myself, my world and my relationships. If those beliefs are incongruent or the debris from a dysfunctional childhood, we may find ourselves making choices that do not serve our wellbeing or the wellbeing of those we love and care about. With a flawed or partial map, we may lack resilience and find ourselves all-too-frequently bogged in the mud of too much complexity.

All maps are valid in their own right, and some maps are more accurate than others, and some maps describe a larger territory. Some maps are full of dead-ends, leading us to repeat ourselves over and over as we try and navigate towards a better life or to explore the terrain at higher altitudes. Dead-ends are OK, they're just not very useful if you're trying to go somewhere. We know almost instantly when a map is useful because it shows us where we have already been and confirms our intuition about where we are going.
 
We have discovered such a map. To learn how to read it, we've been studying integral theory for the last 10 years. The good news for you is that we can summarise the main features of this map in just one weekend. Our master mapmaker is Ken Wilber, and his map is in the form of the Integral Model. Our Worldview Encounter workshops are an introduction to the terrain of the possibilities of your own life. The 5 day Level2 Encounter is for those who have a basic grasp of the possibilities but want to go deeper into how to use the map within the unique context of your life.
 
We believe that the ultimate freedom in life is the freedom to choose your perspective in every moment. Our lives unfold as they do as a consequence of the choices we have made up to now. Our problems persist because we keep on seeing things the same way, which limits our creativity and prevents us from seeing other ways we can respond or engage with life situations that we experience as painful. Armed with a new perspective however, we become empowered to respond in new and creative ways and therefore change the way our lives unfold.
Worldview Encounter Weekends are a mosaic of information sessions, experiential exercises, free time to browse our extensive library or just take in the mystery and beauty of nature, delicious food and an abundance of connection with other good souls. We use music, videos, symbols, art pads and group dynamics to create plenty of opportunity for fun and inspiration. Our experiential approach ensures that you also have a chance to try out newly-discovered ways of seeing and being with your small group of fellow travellers.
 
In addition to being an integral practitioner, Terry is a qualified Expressive Therapist, and has decades of experience living and working in different cultures around the world. Terry teams with other skilled groupworkers to ensure a balance of perspectives during our programs. We do not offer advice or make judgements or treat severe psychological conditions, but rather we create a safe energetic space that enables you to explore for yourself the answers to the questions most pressing in your own life. In a nutshell, we create an environment conducive to the emergence of new perspectives, which in turn creates opportunities for you to begin to remake your life to be more aligned with the life of your highest aspirations and dreams.

For more information about your facilitators, click here.