of Gaia” that can help shape our future and the future of all life in holistic and mutually beneficial ways.The premise of Incarnational Spirituality is simple but it has profound consequences. We can each produce unique spiritual energies and qualities that can create wholeness in ourselves, in our relationships, and in the world at large. This generative capacity arises in part because of our innate spiritual nature and in part due to the process of incarnation itself which focuses and enhances this capacity. Through partnership and collaboration with the intrinsic spiritual forces of the world, as well as with each other, we can augment our generative powers, becoming even more powerful sources of blessing, healing and wholeness. Understanding this, we are called to assist in the collective incarnations of humanity and the world itself, doing a “work of Gaia” that can help shape our future and the future of all life in holistic and mutually beneficial ways.
Ultimately, Incarnational Spirituality is a practice, one that a person configures uniquely to his or her own individuality and connections to the world; it is not simply a philosophy or cosmology. Its purpose is to shape actions that can heal and bless our troubled world.
The Path of the Chalice is the central Core program in Incarnational Spirituality. Its objective is to enable people of vision and determination to gain the understanding and skills that will allow them to engage the challenge of contemporary issues as they manifest in their own lives. Its goal is to enable an individual to heal the energetic dissonance, discord and disintegration we see in the world today as well as to create opportunities for the emergence of a positive future. Each of the six segments offers value on its own but together they blend into a program of personal spiritual practice and action that we feel can bring into the world the wholeness and blessings that are urgently needed.
We call this program The Path of the Chalice since at all levels, incarnation is an art of building containers—“chalices”—which can hold varying degrees and intensity of spirit and sacredness, both individually and collectively. At the heart of this program, you are learning how to identify, create and maintain such “chalices” within yourself, in your immediate environment, with others, with the world at large, and with the subtle realms of spirit.
The Path of the Chalice may be studied in two ways. The first is through self-study, which a person may do entirely at his or her own pace as well as selecting the order in which the material is studied. The second is through the Certificate of Incarnational Study program which adds two requirements to the study: participation in three Integration seminars and a series of writing assignments.
The Path of the Chalice material is ordered into the following six segments. Each includes several books and other materials by David Spangler and others designed to assist in augmenting a participant’s spiritual understanding and practice. The primary lesson materials are shown in bold type but all of the resources support a thorough understanding and embodiment of the subject. [Note:that items in bold are required for those studying to qualify for a Certificate or for Ordination.] The sections are most effectively studied in the order presented and are designed as a one year or longer course of study.
1. An Overview of Incarnational Spirituality
• An Introduction to Incarnational Spirituality—Book
• The Incarnational Way—Self Study Module
Supplemental
• The Gathering Light—Book by Jeremy Berg
This Section provides an overall context for the practice of Incarnational Spirituality. It introduces some of the ways that we can align with and nurture the awakening of a new consciousness within ourselves and begin to experience the rich possibilities of our time. It gives an overview of the incarnational worldview and teaches practical means for accessing the spiritual resources that arise within each of us simply as a result of living our lives as incarnated humans. The study module includes specific practices in blessing, manifestation, and inner attunement. The overview positions your personal development and creativity in relationship with others, and in service to the world.2. The Generative Self – Creating the Chalice of Self
• Down to Earth: The Incarnate Self —online class offered until book publication due Spring 2012
• Call of the World—Book
Supplemental
• The Soul’s Oracle—Card Deck with ManualThis section focuses on the nature of the self as seen through the lens of Incarnational Spirituality and includes work with the incarnational card deck designed especially to help nurture a new relationship between oneself and the world. Materials speak to sovereignty, boundaries, creativity, and a new perspective on incarnation, sacredness and the generative nature of the self. Work with the card deck is a meditative process that enhances awareness, connectivity and creativity.
3. The Engaging Self—Creating the Chalice of Blessing
• Crafting Home—Textbook
• Crafting Relationships—Textbook
• Blessing: The Art and the Practice—Book
Supplemental
• Crafting Home—Self Study Module
• Parent as Mystic-Mystic as Parent—Book
This section builds on the idea of the Generative Self and looks outward into the realm of relationship and the creation of “Grail Space,” a specific and powerful co-created “chalice” for holding sacredness in the environment. The incarnating self extends itself into the world through connection and engagement, and how it does so greatly determines how it may discover and release its spiritual potentials. The material in this area expands into many areas of relationships with others, including subtle activism on behalf of humanity in general and the art and practice of blessing. This work focuses on practices of engagement with others and the world that
enhance and expand wholeness in our daily lives and work. Materials offer perspectives and practices in shaping energetic relationships that are healthy, clear, and life-giving.
4. The Subtle Self—Creating the Chalice of Subtle Energy
• Subtle Worlds: An Explorer’s Field Notes—Book
• Subtle Awareness—Self Study Module
• Manifestation: Creating the Life You Love—Card Deck with Manual
• Energy Hygiene—Self Study Module
This section expands the level of engagement and connection into the realms of subtle energy that from an invisible but interactive part of our physical environments. It explores the nature of the subtle realms of spirit that form the Earth’s “other half,” but focuses on those manifestations of those realms that are closest to our physical life. If the subtle worlds are a vast ocean, then the subtle environment is like the beach where that sea meets and intermingles with the land. Practical tools, particularly in what might be called “subtle energy hygiene,” are offered on how to “walk the beach” and work with the subtle energies that surround us.
5. Crafting Alliances—Creating the Chalice of Spirit
• Crafting Inner Alliances—Textbook
• Subtle Worlds—Self Study Module
Supplemental
• Crafting Spiritual Alliances—Self Study Module
• Card Deck of the Sidhe—Card Deck and Manual
• Memoirs of an Ordinary Mystic—and other books by Dorothy Maclean
• The Occult Diaries of R. Ogilvie Crombie—book by Gordon Lindsay
This section expands upon the previous section in developing an understanding of the inner landscape of Earth’s invisible “other half.” The emphasis here is on how a practitioner of Incarnational Spirituality might safely engage with helpful Beings from the subtle realms and form co-creative alliances. It includes the stories of several “practical” mystics and the lessons they can offer for building a solid appreciation for the diversity of non-physical life that contributes to the vitality and beauty of our world.
6. The Work of Gaia—Creating the Chalice of Service
• World Work—Textbook
• Subtle Activism—Self Study Module
Supplemental
• The Call—Book
• Listening to the Earth—Book by Katherine Murray
This section focuses on bringing the study of the first five sections into practical acts of service and blessing for the world. Exercises help to develop the tools of imagination, attunement and inner resources of love, compassion and blessing. Suggested subtle activism focuses provide a framework to help one direct individual acts of blessing become an invitation so that connectedness, balance and wholeness be restored in that person or in that situation. The emphasis is on translating the ideas of Incarnational Spirituality into an incarnational practice.
The Path of the Chalice study sections are self-directed and can take as long as the participant needs to master the material. Each section includes materials central to the theme and other supplemental materials to support further learning and practice. There is no registration required to study these materials independently.
However, if you wish to gain a Certificate of Incarnational Study as a prerequisite for applying for the Ordination program, then there are specific requirements to be met while studying the Path of the Chalice materials.
Integrative Seminars
Regularly throughout the year, members of the Lorian faculty will offer six-week online seminars devoted to the practice and application of Incarnational Spirituality in three content areas. The first of these Integrative Seminars assumes a familiarity with the first 3 sections listed above. The second of these Integrative Seminars assumes a familiarity with sections 4 and 5 listed above. And the third Integrative Seminar assumes a familiarity with all six of the sections listed above. The emphasis is not on teaching or explaining elements of Incarnational Spirituality but on sharing and improving the understanding, practice and application of the content of the six sections.
These Seminars are open to anyone studying the corresponding material. The cost is $195 per Seminar. Please check the Lorian Newsletter or the Calendar for scheduling information.