Mark Twain on...
Living in or From Questions
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.
It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." |
Introduction to "The Seven Levels of Certainty and Uncertainty"
by Liza Braude-Glidden
An important deep structure in Marc Gafni’s teachings is his use of polarities such as Personal and Impersonal or Certainty and Uncertainty. These clarify central quandaries in the evolution of consciousness and spirituality. I might call this approach to polarities “The Art of Holy Erotic Argument.” It draws from the esoteric teachings of Marc’s Kabbala lineage...
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 "The Seven Levels of Certainty and Uncertainty"
by Dr. Marc Gafni
The Seven Levels of certainty and uncertainty tells the story of how the great religious traditions came into being and how they were challenged first by science, and then by modern and post-modern mindsets. This is a rough sketch of a map of certainty and uncertainty. We have forgotten what we know. Indeed we do not know whether we know or not at all...
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 "A Bouquet of Truth Tests:
Poetic Reflections on World Spirituality’s Invitation To the Dance of Certainty and Uncertainty"
by Liza Braude-Glidden, January 2012
To engage in the growing community of World Spirituality is to accept an invitation to the dance of Certainty and Uncertainty. The relationship between certainty and uncertainty is one of the key teachings of World Spirituality in the writings of Dr. Marc Gafni, The Center for World Spirituality’s teacher in residence...
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"First, only by holding uncertainty can I attain higher certainty.
The embrace of false certainty always prevents me from reaching the higher clarity and vision that is mine."
-Dr. Gafni
"If we begin with certainties, we shall end in doubts; but if we begin with doubts, and are patient in them, we shall end in certainties."
- Francis Bacon
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"The Israel Moment:
Reclaiming Uncertainty as a Spiritual Value,"
by Dr. Marc Gafni
edited, prepared, and with introduction by Dr. Heather Fester
Uncertainty is ethically and spiritually essential, Marc Gafni writes here, because it allows us to reach higher certainty, avoid the seduction of false certainty, and reach spiritual authenticity. In this excerpt from Chapter One of his volume Uncertainty, Marc introduces the core “Ullai Stories” or “Maybe Stories” of the Old Testament, explaining the role of Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel, as a major character in these stories...
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"We have all of us faced situations where ... we have to decide whether to take a leap in the dark..." - Dr. Marc |
"Negative Capability," by John Keats
Romantic poet John Keats coined the term Negative Capability in a personal letter dated 21 Dec. 1817. For your enjoyment, the original missive below:
"My dear brothers...I had not a dispute but a disquisition, with Dilke on various subjects; several things dove-tailed in my mind, and at once it struck me what quality went to form a Man of Achievement, especially in Literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously - I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason." The complete letter...
And the Wikipedia entry for further enjoyment:
"Negative capability is the state of creative opposition that allows one to transcend any intellectual or social constraint, and to perceive and to think more than any presupposition of human nature allows. It describes the capacity of human beings to reject the constraints of a closed system or context, and to both experience phenomenon free from any epistemological bounds, as well as to assert their own will and individuality upon their activity."
Introducing Our New Blog!
The entire board and leadership of CWS is delighted and honored to welcome Joe Perez to CWS. Joe is coming on board as Executive Editor of Spirit's Next Move, Director of Communications, and Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for World Spirituality. He has eight years of blogging experience and has seen two of his blogs published as books, including Soulfully Gay, a pioneering Integral Spirituality memoir. He will be working closely with Dr. Marc Gafni, our visionary founding director, scholar in residence and Editor and Chief of Spirit's Next Move.
Interview with Joe Perez, Executive Editor of SNM:
Q: Why is the Center for World Spirituality starting a new blog?
A: The new blog is part of our long-term vision (which has been taking shape over the past few months) of putting CWS at the forefront of the movement towards an integral, evolutionary, worldcentric spirituality. The leadership of CWS has been discussing the possibility of launching a new blog devoted to commentary on current affairs for about a year, and now with me stepping into my new role the time was finally ripe.
Q: How will Spirit’s Next Move (SNM) be different from other blogs?
A: There is really a huge gap, we feel, in the scene of spiritual blogs. There are blogs from individuals within a particular tradition, New Age spirituality blogs, and some blogs which apply Integral Theory to one or more domains. A couple of big media outlets have blogs devoted to religious belief. But nobody is really out there looking at the world from the lens of a spirituality based on integral principles, day in and day out, helping people to look at the world through a World Spirituality framework by modeling it in practice. That’s what we hope to do with SNM.
Q: How does SNM relate to the current Center for World Spirituality blog/site?
A: We're still working out the details, but rest assured that there will be distinct missions and audiences for each publication. I see the blog as something of a popular magazine-like publication that can attract a wide audience. It is a daily blog. This will link together with our soon to be launched Unique Self/.com website. Our cor the CWS blog will be more concentrated on think tank writings, essays and articles that require a deeper level of engagement and concentration.
Live Free Tele-Seminar with Marc Gafni and Arjuna Ardagh
Monday, May 14 at 5pm PST
Marc has invited his good friend and colleague, Arjuna Ardagh, to be his guest on a free tele-seminar about his work, Living Awakening. Click this link here, and Marc will be there ready to greet you: http://livingawakening.com/gafni/
We are delighted to have Arjuna with us!
Call-in Info:
Dial access number: (712) 432-1630
Access Code: 1074670#
 Why are some people today thriving beyond their wildest dreams, even in times of challenge and rapid change? What is the secret formula that dissolves stress, revitalizes sex and intimate relationship, and allows you to make a real difference in the world? Do you ever wonder if you have a unique gift to give, and if you are giving it as fully as possible?
Arjuna Ardagh, founder of Living Awakening, has spent the last many years investigating these questions, and has discovered that there are two vitally important elements which are always present together in anyone who is thriving unconditionally in this way. He has made this into an in-depth course which you can take at home. It’s called Living Awakening. It guides you, in a systematic way, in how to discover unconditional fulfillment for yourself, and how to give it as a gift to the world.
In this tele-seminar with Marc, Arjuna will give you the highly concentrated distillation of his extensive research, including tools and insights which allow you to start living in this way, starting today.
Arjuna is also making available a 10-day free mini-course which will prepare you for the tele-seminar. A sneak preview of Living Awakening, the mini-course is a 10-day sequence of videos and postcards, with the option to buy the full course on any of the days. Arjuna will tell us more about the mini-course on the call, including a significant discount which he's generously offering to CWS friends and associates. (Use coupon code "grateful").
Video:
Dr Marc Gafni talks with
Arjuna Ardagh about the Center for World Spirituality
Watch here>>>
We hope to have you on the call.
Given all four quadrants of reality and where world spirituality needs and wants to go in contributing to the evolution of Consciousness, the following is the vision that has emerged for the next year and the following years.
Dr. Marc is trying to scale back on public teaching in order to create space to write a new body of work. In the coming 18 to 24 months, CWS, together with leading publishing partners, hopes to release six to seven volumes of Dr. Gafni's work.
Volumes by Marc Gafni
1. Two academic volumes on Radical Kabbalah and Non Dual Humanism -- April 2012
2. Towards Integral Religion: Dance of Tears -- Summer 2012
3. Your Unique Self: The Evolutionary Imperative and The Democratization of Enlightenment -- 2012
4. Between Certainty and Uncertainty: The Future of Faith -- 2012
5. Soul Prints: Living Your Story - updated, edited, and re-issued with footnotes -- 2013
6. Eros, updated and re-issued, with footnotes -- 2013
7. Three Faces of God -- possible Academic Journal on World Spirituality
Note: #'s 3 and 5 were written years back and need updating; #'s 1 and 2 are Marc’s writings from Oxford and are pretty much ready; and #4 is the new book that so needs to come out.
Four, possibly five, other volumes are being spearheaded by others, each needing one year to completion.
1. The Enlightenment of Fullness: A Collection of Essays, Edited by Dr. Heather Fester
2. Unique Self / World Spirituality Practice, by Tom Ronen Goddard and Marc Gafni
3. The Rise of World Spirituality, in which many of our board members will be interviewed by Joe Perez
4. Teachings from the Holy of Holies, edited by Elizabeth Helen
5. Letter to an Exeter Student, (rooted in Unique World Spirituality teaching), by Kathleen J. Brownback
6. "The Life and Teachings of Marc Gafni," an essay by Sally Kempton
Long Term:
New Volumes/Projects Currently in vision or preparation in various forms of Collaboration
1. World Spirituality based on Integral Principles, by Ken Wilber and Marc Gafni
2. User's Guide to Life, Eben Pagan
3. Unique Self Therapy and Addiction: Book and Trainings in conjunction with leading Treatment Center, by Lori Galperin
4. The Three Faces of God
5. Wounds of Love
6. World Spirituality and Shadow Practice, by Sally Kempton
7. The Evolution of Love: Evolutionary We Space
8. Relationships as Spiritual Practice
9. Beyond Venus and Mars, by Warren Farrell
10. World Spirituality and Integral Christianity, Sam Alexander
11. Unique Self in the Classroom, Training Manual for Teachers, Kathy Brownback
12. Unique Self Trainings and Writings, by Mauk Pieper and Leon Gras
13. Sam Alexander and Marc and Ken and larger group, Universal Cathechism
14. Coaching and Unique Self: Training Manual and DVD, Barbara Alexander
15. Possible re-issue of his “Wisdom” chapter into a book, by Terry Nelson
16. Essays on Truth Tests, the Feminine, Evolutionary We Space, by Liza Braude
17. Unique Self and Business, Training Module, by Wyatt Woodsmall
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