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.
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David's Desk, Current Issue
#33 – Haiti
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 ©2010 by 
David Spangler. If you no longer wish to receive these letters please let us know at info@Lorian.org.
Recent 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.
Since my last David’s Desk, Haiti has been struck with a devastating earthquake, killing over a hundred thousand people, injuring a great many others, destroying the infrastructure of that country, and leading to a world-wide outpouring of compassion and help. During this past month, I’ve had numerous emails asking me for my insights or thoughts on this event. What does it mean? Why did it happen? How can we help with subtle activism?
I did not set out to make Haiti the subject of this David’s Desk. I had another topic in mind. But as I’ve tried to write it, the words simply wouldn’t come in the way I wanted; that other topic simply didn’t fall into place. Instead, I found my mind returning again and again to the earthquake and its repercussions. Although I’m not sure I have anything of import to add to what many wise and caring people have already written and spoken in the past three weeks concerning this tragedy, I know when I’m being prodded to add my two cents worth.
On the night of January 10th, two days before the earthquake hit Haiti, I had a vivid dream, the kind I associate with travel and working in the non-physical worlds. I was with others, and we walked through a devastated city with bodies lying in the streets, buildings burning, wreckage all around. I had conversations with people who asked me if they would be safe or not or if they were going to die. In some cases, I said they would not be safe if they stayed where they were and in one case I told a woman that yes, her time had come and her body would be killed in whatever the disaster was going to be (I didn’t know in the dream that it would be an earthquake). Some people had gone into a large government building that I knew was the capital of the country; when I went inside, they asked me if they would be safe as long as they stayed in the building. I could see that its walls were thin and fragile and would collapse, and I told them no, they would not be safe. The building would collapse, I said. Then I woke up.
At the time I had no sense of what the dream meant, though I felt it had precognitive overtones. I knew that when large catastrophes are about to strike an area, preparations are made on the inner to receive the influx of souls whose bodies would be killed, but I had never participated in such preparations before—or if I have, I’ve never remembered it afterward. I had no clue from the dream itself where this city was or when the disaster would happen.
When I saw the news reports of the earthquake in Haiti, I realized that this was what my dream had been about.
When a tragedy of this nature occurs somewhere in the world, I use subtle activism to send whatever blessings and help I am able to offer in the form of subtle energies. I rarely ask why something occurred. I don’t have to understand the meaning of an event—assuming it has one in the larger scheme of things—in order to respond with compassion. But in this instance, because of my dream, I felt I wanted to examine this event more closely. Why had I dreamt of it? I had had no such precognitive dream when Katrina struck New Orleans, nor do I normally dream of disasters and tragedies somewhere in the world.
What struck me about the dream was that it suggested there was the prior knowledge of this event within the subtle worlds. The souls of individuals were being prepared for it. There was the sense that whatever was going to happen was not a random occurrence. The “Powers that Be” on the inner could see it coming and were doing what they could at their end to prepare for it. What I wondered about was the source of this knowledge. Did it arise from the earth as knowledge of an impending earth shift? Did it arise from the collective soul of the Haitian people, and if so, what purpose was being served by so much death and destruction? It certainly was not “God’s punishment” as the evangelist Pat Robertson declared, but was it part of some larger purpose nonetheless?
I certainly don’t have all the answers. But here are my hypotheses based on what I have been able to discern.
Humanity’s challenge at this moment in history is to learn to think and act in a planetary way, a way that honors all life. The divisiveness between the different nations, religions, and races needs to be overcome, as well as the separation between modern industrial humanity and the natural world. The love and compassion of which we are all capable seeks to be drawn out and exercised, the way one would exercise a muscle.
Events like the Haitian earthquake provide an opportunity for this to happen. This is not why they occur; Haiti doesn’t suffer so that the rest of us can learn compassion. But given that Haiti is suffering, it is a chance for the rest of humanity to flex its muscles of caring and empathetic response. It is an opportunity to begin thinking and acting as a single, planetary humanity, recognizing that the suffering of one part of our human family becomes the suffering of all of us.
There is nothing new about this. Nations have been making humanitarian responses to disasters for decades now. But there is a need to go further, and perhaps an event like the Haitian earthquake can inspire us to do so. Haiti, like the devastation of New Orleans by Katrina in 2005, is an event, and the consequences are visible to all on the nightly news. But there are other kinds of catastrophes going on that also call for a compassionate planetary response. Consider the devastation in individual lives caused by the current global economic meltdown. It’s not as dramatic as Haiti or New Orleans and often not as visible, but for the people affected who have lost their livelihoods, it can be catastrophic in its own way. Or consider the devastation occurring within nature at the moment; we are living in one of the greatest extinction events the world has seen. Where is humanity’s compassion for the natural world?
Even this is not the whole story. For much of the world, people live in what might be seen as an “invisible Haiti,” struggling for clean water, food, safety, medical care. We take survival for granted in the industrialized world, but in many developing countries, it’s not something one can count on. My mentor John used to say, “Why prophesy and wait for the Apocalypse when there are apocalypses all around you in the world?”
At some point our compassion and love needs to awaken sufficiently to deal with the injustices and imbalances in the world that drag down the creative energies of humanity and make us far less than we could be. But it may be that events like the Haitian earthquake will sensitize us to the suffering that is always with us so that we can move more fully in that direction.
When I asked John once about his perception of a possible planetary apocalypse such as many were prophesying back in the Sixties (and are prophesying again now), he said, “There will not be a single, all-encompassing disaster, but rather rolling disasters occurring here and there throughout the world, requiring humanity to change its behavior.” He said that forty years ago, and more than ever, I feel it is true. I fear that what we see with Haiti and saw with New Orleans will become more commonplace, and not just limited to the underdeveloped or developing nations. If so, then it becomes increasingly important that we begin to think and act from a consciousness not only of compassion but of shared community. If the planet is changing, we are all in this together.
None of this answers the question of why the earthquake struck Haiti, only that a disaster like this may be part of a developing pattern that will require humanity to pull together in common cause in ways we never have before. With respect to Haiti itself, as I said, this was no act of punishment or karma befalling an evil people. But I do think that what happened is in response to two things, Haiti’s history and its potential.
Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin America and the first black-led republic in the world. As such it held tremendous promise, and that promise lives, I believe, in the collective soul of the Haitian people. But this country has suffered more than most, overlaying it with subtle energies arising from that suffering and acting as a weight upon its collective potential. Whether this was a cause of this event or not, I do not know, but I can see that there is now an opening energetically for something new to be built and for the creative and spiritual potential of the Haitian people to have a chance to express itself anew.
There are no guarantees, of course, though this is where subtle activism can play a role by using subtle forces to hold open the doorways for these deeper, healthier potentials to manifest. For instance, I can hold the intention in my inner work and prayer that vital energies reach all the rescue workers, heightening their own physical energy and their awareness so they can do their work more effectively. Or the power of compassion and love flooding the subtle energy fields around the disaster can enhance the probability that hidden people will be found and injured people will survive. There is no guarantee that humanity will break through to its own greater planetary potential either. Disasters don’t ensure transformation.
But at the moment, Haiti does represent not only tragedy and loss but a most worthy outpouring of love, compassion, aid, finances, and a planetary will to help a people who for a long time now have been less helped than oppressed. This is a bright flame in humanity’s candle right now. Perhaps it will let us all see a little more clearly the challenges before us and the Light that is within us to meet those challenges as we reach to become the planetary humanity I believe we can be.
From J.M. about David's Desk: "David, I always look forward to your monthly pieces, and always feel a lifting in my heart/soul on those days when I see the subject line in my email box. I have enjoyed all of them, often pondering on them for days or weeks or more afterwards."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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
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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
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