SUFFERING
A Prompt Towards Presence
OVERVIEW
This two-week class provides the theory and also the experience that our various forms of pain and suffering, as well as those of others we see around us, can be a path to our deepening involvement with the earth.
Suffering is a fact. Buddhism, for example, sees our very existence as permeated with suffering. Yet instead of identifying with ourselves as “sufferers,” we can take suffering itself as a call to intensify our love for this place. Suffering can be part of an “accelerated Path” to the experience of Presence and our sacredness, if we make it so.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Pain, frustration with goals, loss, and change seem to be unavoidable. They present as suffering to the degree that we lose our hold on our sovereignty, generativity, sacred presence, and community. When we put these basic Incarnational Spiritualty (IS) principles into practice, suffering gets right-sized. More than that, suffering becomes itself the prompt to unfolding our Presence, a challenge that we can answer with our compassion, creativity, humor, wider relatedness, and fresh intuition.
Given the changes happening in our world, from political upheaval to climate catastrophes, suffering is on the rise. What can we do to meet and transform this suffering into wholeness?
Drawing on our own personal experiences as well as those of spiritual teachers, psychotherapy patients, and other histories, the course will consider some of the vast varieties of suffering and also our possible responses.
Rebecca Solnit, in her Paradise Built in Hell, and Viktor Frankl, in his Man’s Search for Meaning, show us some of the way. Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama in The Book of Joy also offer principles and examples for us. David will present his esoteric insights into why suffering is part of the Gaian experience and how it can be turned into a tool instead of an obstacle.
David is currently working creatively with cancer in his body. Michael lost his eldest son to cancer and worked with children with AIDS for many years in Harlem Hospital. Together, they bring immediate experience and practices that have stood up to dire realities.
In addition to theory and examples, the course will offer adaptations of IS exercises for participants to apply to their own suffering. These exercises will be offered in the class webinars and also given as homework for online discussion.
COURSE FORMAT
Suffering will be held on our online education site, Lorianeducation.com. You will have access to the online discussion and materials 24/7 through your ongoing Learning Library.
This two-week class has no prerequisites and is open to the public.
Online written discussion and participation are expected.
Class Webinars:
Two pre-recorded webinars
One live Zoom meeting - Tuesday, May 27, 12:00 pm Pacific
Register - $150.00
Scholarships are available. If interested, please contact Susan at susans@lorian.org.
Lorian Covenant of Confidentiality
Please Note: Your registration in a Lorian class confirms your commitment to uphold Agreements of Confidentiality and mutual respect which govern the spirit, the intent, and the practice of our education experience together.
Facilitator - David Spangler
DAVID is a spiritual explorer, teacher, and writer. He was a co-director of the Findhorn Foundation community in Northern Scotland from 1970 to 1973, and in 1974, he became a founder of the Lorian Association. He has written over 30 books, including four anthologies of short stories.
Facilitator - Michael Lipson
Michael Lipson, PhD, is a clinical psychologist working in Great Barrington, MA. He worked briefly in Mother Theresa’s Home for Dying Destitutes in Calcutta, and for ten years with dying children in Harlem Hospital’s Pediatric AIDS service.
Michael’s books include: The Stairway of Surprise, Group Meditation, and BE: An Alphabet of Astonishment (from Lorian Press). You can sign up for his weekly email and online meditation group at michaellipson.org.
Visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for more information on our online classes for information on late registration, refunds and privacy.