Who is David Spangler?

Since 1964 David Spangler has been an author and teacher of spirituality.  He began his career at nineteen as the keynote speaker at a national conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on "Youth and the New Age."  The success of that talk led to other invitations, and a year later he left college, where he was studying molecular biology, and under guidance from inner sources, moved to Los Angeles where he became a featured speaker at the Fellowship of Universal Guidance. 

     This led to further invitations from other groups, and in 1966 he moved to Redwood City on the San Francisco peninsula where he taught classes and lectured on spirituality, the Western Esoteric Tradition, and practical mysticism.

     In 1970 he visited the Findhorn Foundation community in Northern Scotland where he was invited to become its co-director and to be a teacher-in-residence.  He lived and worked in the community until 1973, becoming the founder of its educational program. 

     Along with several friends and colleagues from Findhorn, he returned to the United States in 1973, and in 1974 he joined with them to create the Lorian Association, a non-profit spiritual educational foundation, which remains to this day the organization for which he works.  In 1984, the Lorian Association moved to Issaquah, Washington where it is today.

     In the years following his return from Scotland, David has developed and taught classes at a number of institutions, including the University of Wisconsin, Seattle University, Bastyr University, and the California Institute of Integral Studies.  Also, since 1974 he has been a Fellow of the Lindisfarne Association—an association of scientists, artists, philosophers, economists, and spiritual leaders working at the cutting edge of scientific and cultural transformation.

     His current work involves developing and teaching a spiritual practice called Incarnational Spirituality.  His books include Emergence; The Call; Everyday Miracles; Parent as Mystic, Mystic as Parent; Blessing:  The Art and the Practice; The Story Tree; Manifestation: Creating the Life You Love; and The Incarnation Card Deck. 

     David is happily married to Julia Manchester whom he met at Findhorn in 1971.  They have four children ranging in age from twenty-five to fourteen.  He considers being a parent his primary spiritual practice.

David's Desk, Current Issue

#60 Book Reports

David's Desk is my opportunity to share thoughts and tools for the spiritual journey. These letters are my personal insights and opinions and do not necessarily reflect the sentiments or thoughts of any other person in Lorian or of Lorian as a whole. If you wish to share this letter with others, please feel free to do so; however the material is ©2011 by David Spangler. If you no longer wish to receive these letters please let us know at info@Lorian.org.

Previous issues of "David's Desk" are available here. You also can now buy a volume of twelve of of David's Desk essays, entitled The Flame of Incarnation.

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  With this issue of David’s Desk, we reach a mini-milestone. It was five years ago this month that I began writing these essays as an experiment. In a way, they are my equivalent to Facebook or Twitter, a way to share my thoughts and experiences with you. Why not just use Facebook or Twitter? Well, to be frank, neither really attracts me, as neither offers the context or space to deeply develop a thought; they are not geared for essays. They allow us to dance on the surface of each other’s lives, which can be wonderful in some ways, but what interests me is what happens when we take time to go under that surface.

In these essays, I’ve wanted to explore our spiritual life or offer a perspective on some current event. My goal has been to share ideas that I’ve hoped would be helpful to you in your life and to do so in an accessible way.

I didn’t imagine in 2007 that five years later I’d still be writing these essays. I didn’t think I had that many ideas to share! Also, I wasn’t at all sure there would be an audience for them or that the audience would last. So thank you for your encouragement, your interest and your support. Frankly, I’m looking forward to another five years. I hope you are, too!

This month, though, I don’t have a special idea I want to share. Instead, I want to share with you some terrific books I’ve been reading over the past month. I’ve wanted to do this for some time and have even thought from time to time of including with these essays a small book review section. But I also like that the essays stand on their own, demanding nothing more from you than an open mind and heart and some minutes of contemplation.

Still, the desire to share with you some of the books I’ve been reading continues, so this month I’m giving in to it, not really having anything else to say. So here goes.
A Country Where All Colors Are Sacred And Alive, by Geoffrey Oelsner (2012, Lorian Press). In the interest of full disclosure, this is a Lorian Press book, the only one on this short list. I include it because as you know, faithful Reader, much of my work revolves around the interaction and partnership between the physical and non-physical worlds. This is the topic of this book, a memoir of the author’s ongoing experiences over many years with the subtle worlds, particularly the spiritual side of Nature. Geoffrey is an excellent writer, and the stories he tells are much more than just tales of psychic or clairvoyant phenomena. He has the heart and mind of a contemplative scientist and artist, and he takes us as readers deeply into the sacredness and meaning of our human relationship with Earth’s “subtle half.” Furthermore, Geoffrey is himself a grounded man, very much in the world—and in service to the world. Part of the value of the book is observing how he integrates his experiences of the subtle worlds with his everyday life and work and his ongoing commitment to healing the environment. It’s an accessible and fascinating read, and I’m happy to recommend it.

A Fuller View, by L. Steven Sieden (2012, Divine Arts [divineartsmedia.com]). Buckminster Fuller or “Bucky” was a phenomenon, a modern renaissance man and a man of the future. He and his work have been an inspiration to so many who are working to bring a more humane and holistic culture into being in our world. I never met him directly, but he and I appeared in at least one conference together as speakers, and I have always had immense admiration for him. This book is a tribute to him but an unusual one. Bucky was famous for his quotes, like “God is a Verb,” or the idea that we all live on “Spaceship Earth.” In this book, Steven has assembled a list of such quotes and invited a diversity of well-known authors, activists, scientists, economists, artists, spiritual teachers, and so forth to pick their favorite quote and write a short essay about it. Thus, what we have here is not only a book of insights into Bucky’s life and thought but just as impressively, a look at the impact he had on the lives of many others who themselves are serving the world. The result is a very readable feast of ideas and perspectives which resonate with and extend in a variety of ways Bucky’s vision of a potential world of “Hope and Abundance for All.”

Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth, by John Michael Greer (2012, Weiser Books). Many books have been written over the years outlining and explaining the esoteric teachings and foundations of the Western Mystery (and Magical) Tradition and some of them have been excellent. But none of them, in my estimation, come up to the level of insight, simplicity, and modern relevance that this book offers. This is a book I would unhesitatingly recommend to anyone in my classes who wanted to know just what the “mystery teachings” are. John Michael Greer has done an extraordinary job here of distilling away all the occult accretions of mystification, jargon, and antiquated ideas and putting us in touch with the living essence—the ecological essence—of these fundamental spiritual teachings. If you have any interest at all in the foundation of Western esoteric teachings, you cannot do better than to read this book.

Apocalypse NOT: Everything You Know about 2012, Nostradamus and the Rapture is Wrong by John Michael Greer (2012, Viva Editions). This is another book by John Michael Greer, a most prolific author. I came upon this entirely by accident while looking up information about the previous book, Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth. I was delighted to find it. It’s a rich history of the “apocalypse meme,” the idea that some great world-ending event is going to occur, destroying the wicked and saving the elect and the worthy. I’ve written extensively on this myself in various essays and books. It’s an idea that goes back nearly 4000 years and has embedded itself deeply in Western civilization, showing up yet again most recently in the predictions surrounding December 21, 2012. To my mind it’s a pernicious idea, doing more harm than good, but it’s also a seductive notion. In this very readable but extensively researched book, John Michael traces the whole history of this meme and its effect upon the Western mind. As we move through this “apocalyptic” year, I wish this book could be read by everyone and anyone who believes doom will soon be upon us or has to deal with those who feel that way—or who would just like to understand some of the history of ideas that have shaped our culture.

Well, that’s my list. If you like getting book recommendations, I’ll do it again. But before I end this month’s David’s Desk, there are still a couple of things I’d like to say.

The first is thank you to all of you who wrote me with expressions of support and healing after last month’s essay. Fortunately, my trip to the emergency room was a one-time event, but I’m still dealing with what is shaping up as a longer-term issue of repairing my kidney and bladder. So I still have hospital visits ahead of me and the potential of more surgery later this spring. But this, too, will pass, and I fully intend to greet the morning of December 22 this year feeling hale and hearty, back to normal and embracing a future filled with potential and promise.

Finally, also to celebrate this five-year milestone, I’d like to pass on a simple exercise which you may find useful. I call it “Guy Wires.”

GUY WIRES
When you put up a tent and don’t want it to blow over or away in the wind, you anchor it down with guy wires. You sink these wires deep into the earth or tie them to strong elements like rocks or roots that won’t blow away themselves.
When you feel under pressure in the moment, take a deep breath and look around you. What in your environment looks stable to you or conveys a sense of calm or at least of not participating in what is causing you stress? Is the floor beneath your feet stressed? Is that nearby chair stressed? Are those flowers stressed? There will undoubtedly be something. You may be feeling sensitive to and impacted by something that’s happening around you but not everything in your environment is blasting at you in this way. It might be a stone or a tree if you’re outside, or if you’re inside, it might be a table or a picture on a wall…or the wall itself.

Look about and identify two or three such points of calmness or stability and imagine a line of energy radiating out from your body to those things, just as if you were stringing a guy wire from you to it and anchoring yourself down. While you’re aware of what’s causing you distress, also be aware of these supportive lines of energy, your inner guy wires. They can help shift and expand your attention so that you do feel support in the midst of the turmoil.

I have often had occasion to spin out such energetic guy wires to help me feel anchored and secure in difficult situations. I find it a helpful exercise; I hope it is helpful for you, too.

And with that, thank you again for your support over the past five years. I’ll see you next month with a new essay.
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The Views From the Borderland subscription year begins June 1st. If you are interested in engaging more of David's current work and thinking, please consider subscribing. A subscription includes four print journals, one mailed each quarter and two week-long online forums with David.

Use this link to access more about the 2012-2013 program. Views from the Borderland, This Quarterly journal shares David's ongoing research into subtle realms. The first issue of the subscription year is mailed in mid June. Cost $100.

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" Views from the Borderlands"

Beginning each June, Lorian offers an annual subscription program for the quarterly, Views from the Borderlands.

Views from the Borderlands quarterly includes the following benefits:

• Views from the Borderlands, a printed journal sharing David Spangler's perceptions of the subtle worlds, mailed four times a year at the equinoxes and solstices.
• Two online forums a year, one in the spring, one in the fall, where David Spangler will be available to discuss material from the quarterly journals and answer questions.

Click here for further information from David Spangler about the Views from the Borderlands along with samples of the kind of material it contains.

The cost for the subscription is $100.00 annually. 

Click the Subscribe button on the left to sign up for the quarterly.

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A Lecture on The Christ

This presentation of The Christ by David Spangler, was recorded via Skype in December, 2011 by David to an audience at Findhorm in Scotland. In it he describes his understanding of the Christ, as it has evolved over the years. David first wrote about the Christ in his book, Reflections on the Christ, in 1977. Although the essential concepts around David's understandings as described in the book have not changed, there have been refinements and deepening into that body of work.

 

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David's Other Articles

A Mystic Looks at Inner Citizenship

Part 1,The Soul of America

The United States of America is like a wondrous play. What we see of it on stage is compelling, dramatic, inspiring, and powerful: its vast landscapes, its abundant farmlands, its towering cities, its network of roads and town and villages, and its millions of people. This is the outer America, the visible America. But there is a part we don’t ordinarily see as well, an invisible part behind the scenes. If it were a play, this would be all that takes place back stage, including the writing, the directing, the financing, the organization, and the stagecraft that makes the play possible. This is the inner America.
Click here to download the rest of the article.

A Mystic Looks at Inner Citizenship,

Part 2, Inner Citizenship

We usually associate citizenship with the civic and political part of our lives. It may consist for most of us of such activities as voting, paying our taxes, fulfilling civic duties that may come our way such as serving on a jury, and obeying the laws of the land. With a bit more effort, it can include running for public office and serving as a public servant. It may for some of us include protesting what we see as injustice and faulty laws, campaigning for those who have been disenfranchised in some manner, fighting for causes, and championing issues in a public forum.
Click here to download the rest of the article.

A Mystic Looks at Inner Citizenship,

Part 3, An Anatomy of the Soul of America

Outer citizenship is usually conceived as operating primarily within our civic and political life. Inner citizenship is not so restricted to any particular domain. Whatever enhances the quality of life (both inner and outer) in our country is an act of inner citizenship. Being a nourishing and empowering father or mother is inner citizenship at work. Creating a garden that brings beauty to your neighborhood and good energies to the invisible lives that are part of the land and part of the inner realm of plants is inner citizenship at work. In a holistic spiritual vision, the land and the creatures who live upon it are also citizens with us, all contributing to the greater holism that is America.
Click here to download the rest of the article

A Mystic Looks at Inner Citizenship,

Part 4, Working with the Soul of America

In this final part of this series, I want to explore one way out of many that we might work with the Soul of America as described in Part 3.

     It begins with a question: Can I embody the Soul of America in myself?

     A second, related question is, can I be a means, an ally, through which the spirit and energy of the Soul of America enters the psyche, the personality, and the active life of the United States without distortion?

     It is followed by another question: Can I hold to my sovereignty, think for myself (and think holistically), and choose a mindful course of action in the midst of collective pressure to do otherwise?
Click here to download the rest of the article.

Now and Then

The Problem of the Eternal Now

I have always found the teaching or technique of the eternal Now problematic. Like many such ideas, I find it can have unintended consequences. It sounds so sensible and intuitive, the "spiritual" thing to do. Yet, when I practice this state, drawing my attention away form anything having to do with yesterday or tomorrow and being fully focused upon what is happening in the present, I find a diminishing of my creative and spiritual powers. I feel narrowed, not expanded. My soul seems further away to me, less rather than more accessible. The "Eternal Now" disempowers me.
Click here to download the rest of the article.

The Pilgrimage Dimension

What is a pilgrimage? Usually it is thought of as a journey involving time and distance to a holy place or a place of some special significance. Such a journey may require an effort that can be transformative, making the pilgrimage life-changing. This gives a pilgrimage a dimension that makes it more than simply a tourist excursion or a sightseeing trip
Click here to download the rest of the article.

Colleagues

These are a few of the individuals with whom I’ve worked over the years and whose teachings or writings I recommend. Some have also collaborated with Lorian as a whole, but others primarily have a relationship with me. For other recommended and important colleagues, please see Friends of Lorian under Boundaries.

John Michael Greer: John is the Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA). He has been active in the alternative spirituality movement for more than 25 years, and is the author of some eighteen books, including The Druidry Handbook (Weiser, 2006) and The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age (New Society, 2008). He is a scholar of the Western Hermetic Tradition. His blog, The Archdruid Report, offers “Druid perspectives on nature, culture, and the future of industrial civilization. I highly recommend it.  http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/.

Dr. Brugh Joy: Brugh is an old friend and one of the finest spiritual teachers around, a unique individual who offers classes and training unlike any other I’ve seen. He and I co-sponsored a New Year’s Conference for twenty years at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. His book Joy’s Way is a classic. You can find his website at http://www.brughjoy.com/.

Catherine MacCoun: Catherine is one of the clearest thinkers and finest writers I know in the area of inner growth, alchemy, and the hermetic tradition. With a background in both Tibetan Buddhist training and Christian Hermeticism, in addition to her own inner contacts and training in the arts of Focusing, she brings a unique sensibility and awareness to spiritual work of all kinds and particularly that of healing.
Her website is at http://www.catherinemaccoun.com/hermeticist/index.html.

Robert Moss: Robert Moss is one of the world’s leading authorities on dreams and dream work. His books are classics in the field. Dreams are one of the ways we access the Second Ecology of the non-physical worlds, and I know no better guide to this process than Robert. We have been friends for a number of years. For further information, see his website at http://www.mossdreams.com/.

Janet Piedilato: Janet is a transpersonal psychologist with an eclectic background that is grounded with a doctorate in biology, tempered with a doctorate in transpersonal psychology, and empowered by years of study as a student of shamanism, herbal therapy, and ancient dream ritual. I have known Janet for years, and she literally straddles the fence between the scientific and the intuitive, the waking and the dream realities. She has her own private practice, facilitates workshops and pilgrimages to sacred sites, is the founder and CEO of Immaginal, and founder/director of Temenos, a sacred teaching space. Her business website is http://www.immaginal.com/.

Arthur Zajonc: Arthur is professor of physics at Amherst College, where he has taught since 1978. He has been visiting professor and research scientist at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, and a Fulbright professor at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. He is an optical quantum physicist whose research has included studies in parity violation in atoms, the experimental foundations of quantum physics, and the relationship between sciences, the humanities and meditation. He is also a scholar of the Western Hermetic Tradition, a former President of the American Anthroposophical Society, head of its International Esoteric School, President of the Lindisfarne Fellowship, and a participant and scientific coordinator for the Mind and Life dialogue with H.H. the Dalai Lama. His most recent book is Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing Becomes Love.  Arthur’s website is http://www.arthurzajonc.org/.

Susan Stanton Rotman: Susan is a gifted intuitive and teacher who guides others in discovering and applying their inner resources.  Her background is that of an attorney and mediator, and she brings outstanding skills and integrity to her work with inner contacts.  I have always been impressed with her work. As she says in her website, she offers "heart-centered guidance toward self-discovery and transformation for engaged, creative and joyful living." For anyone seeking vision and strategic direction, Susan has a great deal to offer. Her website is at http://www.susanrotman.com