New This Week on ISC…

Essential Spirituality for Everyday People, Part 1

Essential Spirituality for Everyday People, Part 2

Integral Spirituality, Ch. 2: Stages of Consciousness with Janet O’Keefe

Dearest ISC Members,
Memories! Last Friday, about 70 of us were spending the day at the St. Malo Retreat Center and Chapel of St. Catherine on our day's trip during the seminar we just completed, the Integral Contemplative Christianity (ICC) Seminar/Retreat. We started on 10/04 with 55 eager and beautiful participants and close to 15 seminar staff members and volunteers in Westminster, Colorado. Throughout the seminar, we were also blessed, I mean REALLY blessed, with gorgeous warm weather.

Amongst many, there are two very significantly important reasons why people come to Integral Institute seminars. One: to many people, this is their only chance to be with a like minded group of people that yearn the same things and speak the same language. When the seminar ends, we hear over and over again that what people came for most and left with was the breathtaking beauty of the Miracle of We. Two: the opportunity to learn from some of the integral world’s most cutting edge teachers. In the case of ICC, again, we watched people drenched in a Miracle of We, learning from each other as well as those whose wisdom has touched the lives of many - Father Thomas Keating, Ken Wilber, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Diane Hamilton and facilitators, Rollie Stanich, David Frenette, Barbara Alexander, John  Forman, Terry Patten and Willow Pearson. Special congratulations also go out to Rollie for having facilitated the first ever II + ISC five-day seminar. Well done, Rollie!

Our days at ICC consisted of teachings, Q&A, the Three Body Work-out (ILP), individual/private sessions of "Holy Listening" with teachers and facilitators, morning and evening prayer, centering prayer/meditation by the altar, a visit to St. Malo Retreat Center and Chapel of St. Catherine, group discussions, the Shadow Module (ILP), and a stunning ending with breaking bread, community offerings and washing of the feet. On day 1, we had 55 participants. On our final day, we had 55 heart warmed friends, embracing each others' light in countless moments of joy, laughter and tears. For many, it was ultimately a strengthening of their Faith.

As we go along, we will offer more and more reviews, letters, blogs, audio, video from this very first Integral Spiritual Center seminar/retreat. For pictures, please click here. More pictures are on the way too...And of course, especially for Rollie and I, as co-managers of ISC, this has been our greatest honor. A deep bow to each and every participant, teacher, facilitator, staff member and volunteer.

Still in recovery mode...bathing in the Great Exhaustion,

Love to you all,

Nomali

(Religious without a Religion)