Activities Statement, March 2008

Ron Lampi is available to read/perform/lecture to classes, workshops, groups, conferences, fairs, expos, special events, just about any venue.

I realize that at this time, at least, I cannot keep up with ongoing postings to a schedule of activities. It is just too much for me to do. That may change in the future.

What I am posting below is an archive of all the meetings of the Los Gatos Discussion Group, which I facilitate. We meet the second Thursday of the month, 7:30 pm, at Borders, upstairs, 50 University Ave. in the Old Town shopping center. With support from Tony Sheppard & Rhonda Hoefs.

In addition, I continue to co-facilitate with psychotherapist Erin O'Shaughnessy a much smaller, more intimate, discussion group at her home office in Felton. We usually meet the first Friday of the month, though it does change now and then.

Meetings of the Los Gatos Discussion Group 2002-2008

2002 November's topic: Confronting the Darkness, Within and Without

With the situation of the world such as it is today, it is so important that we learn how to confront the dark and violent forces within ourselves and learn how to deal with them out in the world. We will explore the possible connections between our inner darknessand the events that occur in our world.

2002 December's topic: The Return of the Light

December is the month that we anticipate the return of the Light, the Sun of the winter solstice. We will springboard from this yearly experience to a discussion about the possibilities of hope, renewal, renaissance, a new spiritual Light coming into the world that can transform the darkness of these times. We encourage a sharing of the way or ways this may happen.This can be considered a continuation of last month's discussion about our collective darkness, now with a focus on what we see as our collective culture's winter solstice.

2003 January's topic: What is the Higher Self?

We have undoubtedly all heard of the notion of the Higher Self(our Larger Self/multidimensional Self/Christ-Self/God-Self). But it still seems to always be referred to as some abstraction.(Today's Postmodernist assumes there is nothing to it, merely an abstract, airy fairy idea that New Agers like to throw around.)If it is indeed the key to what the New Age is really about, and if there ever is to be a New Age "religion" that celebrates it, then how can we get a better grasp of it? How do we contact our Higher Self? How do we experience it? How do we develop a relationship to it? What is its reality like? How would it transform us? We will see that this is quite a complex notion, raising many questions.(As a note: My manuscript "The New Age Vision" focuses a lot of attention on this key notion of our Higher Self. -RL)

2003 February's topic: What is soul? How do we experience soul?

This is very much a continuation of last month's discussionon the Higher Self. What kept coming up for us was thisnotion of "soul." So what is this soul that in our Postmodern world has become nothing more than an abstract word, justa figure of speech? If we believe it is something more than a word, then how do we experience it? Could it be that current Postmodern thought wants to deny us of our very experience? And what about the idea of the transformation of soul or the reincarnation of soul? This will certainly be a good tie-in to our previous discussions.

2003 March topic: What might be the World Soul?

Is there a World Soul, and what might that be?Is this the old notion of the Anima Mundi or a newer version called Gaia? Or is it strictly a human collective consciousness, the Spirit of the Age or Zeitgeist-or the collective unconscious? How might any of these be related? Today there is also talk of the evolving global brain/mind. Is that the World Soul evolving or an aspect of it? Does the World Soul say something about current events? There are a number of ways to explore this topic. I'm sure it'll get quite interesting.

2003 April's topic: Where is today's technology taking us?

This is a new challenge and direction for our group. We will discuss today's new technologies and what kind of world they are taking us into. The cyberworld of the Internet, nanotechnology, implantable biochips, brain-computer interfacing, consciousness-assisted technologies, surveillence systems, virtual reality, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, robots, androids, cyborgs, in fact, we already are seeing some individuals calling themselves the first "borgs." We are we going with all this? Will tomorrow's world be under the complete control of Technos? How might we integrate spirituality into our technology (what I call the integration of Technos & Psyche) to prevent the complete takeover of our lives by Technos?

2003 May's topic: Prophecies & theories about the end of the Age

The group wanted to discuss the various prophecies and theories that have been presented in recent years about the end of the Age (the Age we have been living in) and what this might mean for us. In particular, there's all the emphasis on the year 2012, which is said to be the end date of the Mayan calendar. Some talk about Earth changes and various possible disasters and wars, or the Photon Belt, Planet X, ET open contact, and others about the possibilities of a new Renaissance. Astrological theory about the ending of the Piscean Age and the beginning of the Aquarian also figures into this. This will be an opportunity to share what we have gathered from different sources about the end of the passing Age and to discuss how it might impact us all.

2003 June's topic: Predictions, prophecies, future trends

This discussion will be a continuation of last month's. Last month, there seemed to be a focus more on previous predictions and prophecies that have been made that, as usual, never-or very rarely-actually happen. There is still more to say about what is really going on when such claims are made. We also started discussion about what this transition time between Ages means. Now this will be an opportunity to share about predictions and prophecies that we have heard about, or believe in, that are still to come. Especially regarding claims about the End Times, coming Earth changes, global depression, etc. Who has information to share about 2012? We will also open up discussion to other kinds of future trends, in particular about new directions that creativity will take, what might be this new Renaissance that some of us talk about, and the possibility of a new, universal religion in this transition time that is at the end of an Age and thebeginning of a New Age.

2003 July's topic: Our Visions & Solutions

It seemed that this topic, at the suggestion of Rhonda, grew out of our discussion of predictions and prophecies. This will be an opportunity to share with others what our Vision might be of a sustainable, progressive, evolving world. No doomsday scenarios, but rather, What might we envision of promise? This is our opportunity to be visionaries of a new Earth, to share solutions that could take us into the future. What is the great cause that can move people? What are the solutions? What is your Vision for the 21st Century?

2003 August's topic: Our Visions & Solutions (cont.)

The group decided last time that we should continue our discussion started in July. Last time we seemed to emphasize more practical, small-range, more group-oriented solutions and efforts. This time we'll try to focus more on our global world Vision. To repeat some from last month: This will be an opportunity to share with others what our Vision might be of a sustainable, progressive, evolving world. No doomsday scenarios, but rather, What might we envision of promise? This is our opportunity to be visionaries of a new Earth, to share a Vision that could take us into the future. What is your Vision for the 21st Century?

2003 September's topic: Our Visions (cont.)

It appeared that we didn't get to fully share our Visions from our previous discussion, so this discussion is a continuation once again. I, for one, do want to share my life Vision which came to me some 25 years ago. I hope to explain why I have been cautious about sharing it, and what it's full implications might be. Keep in mind that 'vision' can mean two things: One, an intellectually formulated vision or view or "I have a Dream" that brings in the Big Picture and what we see ahead for the future, the other, an actual visionary experience of a Vision, a revelation, that comes to you that most often has to be "unpacked," that is, interpreted. Either meaning of 'vision' is valid for our discussion.

2003 October's topic: The Future of Creativity

Our discussion this meeting will focus on creativity: What is creativity? When are we most creative? How are we most creative? What is the connection between creativity and spirituality? What is meant by co-creation? In what new directions might creativity take in the future? Why is the Self our supreme creative project in the New Age? I would also like to introduce my concept of super-creativity: What is it to be a Super-Creative Person? How might this be related to cultural creatives?

2003 November's topic: Do we need ET/alien help?

This will be our first discussion where the ET issue actually comes into focus. But we will come to it by considering the condition of today's world and whether we are indeed in trouble on this planet, and if so what that then might imply. Are we perfectly capable of resolving our own problems? Or has the condition of today's world reached such a crisis that it is more than we alone can handle? In other words, Do we need outside help? What are thepros and cons of this question? And if the answer isyes, how might that help come through? Do we ask for it? Would the ETs actually come to our aid? What steps might we need to take to solicit that aid? This is a fascinating issue that I believe will grow to have more importance in the coming years.

2003 December's topic: What is your life about?

This discussion will allow everyone to speak directly from his or her life. This will be more of a personal sharing of ourselves. What is your life about? In the Aquarian New Age it is important to be able to be clear about what our life is about in our community, in the bigger picture. What are we seeking? What are we attempting to do? What are we called to do? Is our life a conventional path (which most in mainstream society are) or is it the path less traveled? Is our calling obscured by our circumstances or is it easily visible for all to see? Has the purpose of our life changed through the years? This question, what our life is about, may not be as simple as it seems.

2004 January's topic: What is your life about? (cont.)

Since everyone didn't get to share the last time regarding this question, and some who did may have wanted to say more, we decided to continue with this theme. I've added here most of the previous statement from last month about it: This discussion will allow everyone to speak directly from his or her life. This will be more of a personal sharing of ourselves. What is your life about? In the Aquarian New Age it is important to be able to be clear about what our life is about in our community, in the bigger picture. What are we seeking? What are we attempting to do? What are we called to do? Is our calling obscured by our circumstances or is it easily visible for all to see? Has the purpose of our life changed through the years? This question, what our life is about, may not be as simple as it seems.

2004 February's topic: Our preparations during this transition between Ages

How should we prepare, or how are you preparing, for this shift we are undergoing, this transition between Ages? (Given that we more or less agree that this is happening.) This theme is wide open in terms of what might be suggested--from social/cultural suggestions to personal psychological/spiritual preparations, depending on whether you focus on outward cultural changes or changes happening on the inner planes. If consciousness itself is undergoing a change in our day, then it makes sense to ask how we are working with that.

2004 March's topic: What is humanity about?

This might be considered a variation on the old, universal question, What is the meaning of life? What are we, the 6 plus billion of us now on this planet, all doing here? Do we collectively have a purpose? Or is there a life purpose that applies to all of us? Or are we existentially all on our own? Various answers can be given here. The challenge is to present a view on this that includes everyone. Is that possible? Might any traditional Story still hold up? Or is a new Story about why we are all here called for? This willcertainly open up many avenues for discussion.

2004 April's Topic: Our relationship to Earth

How might we develop a conscious, sustainable, respectful relationship to our home, our planet, Earth? With global warming becoming a reality, and some ecologists saying that Earth is in serious trouble, that the oceans are dying, what new kind of ecological consciousness must we initiate in our culture? It appears that we must move beyond merely an appreciation of Nature, our Earth, Gaia, but given the crisis we are now rapidly entering into, something verging on a religion to save Earth is being called for. We will discuss the ramifications of what all this might mean.

2004 May's topic: A new ecological Vision (cont.)

2004 June's topic: An exploration of the "dominant culture"

In this discussion I would like to see us explore the notion of today's dominant culture, or we might say, mainstream culture. This is not so much a discussion about who controls/dominates our society/culture, but about this culture itself.What are its characteristics, where do we see it, how pervasive is it? Is it literally everywhere we turn? (Hints: just turn on the television or walk into any corporate business.) What is our relationship to it? To what extent do we participate in it? Do we have a choice? Are there subcultures that can exist in any way separate from it? Does the dominant culture define the haves and have nots?

2004 July's topic: The implications of alien/ET contact

Let us say that at some point alien/ET contact can no longer be denied: It may not be official disclosure by the government, but the reality of ETs visiting our planet has finally become apparent to everyone, however that might happen. What, then, ill be the impact upon human civilization? What implications would be expected to follow? What changes would come about for understanding our origins? history? religion? science? technology? culture? politics? How would it influence the young? What would be the psychological impact? How would our spirituality shift? Would this truly be the start of a New Age? The implications of openly acknowledged ET contact would be profound, so there is much to explore here.

2004 August's topic: Is there need for a new world religion?

A new world religion? What might this mean? Some might feel that that's the last thing we need. And that we should rather do away with them, being the cause of so many of our contemporary problems. Others might feel that the religions we have are plenty enough, and quite sufficient. First, is there such a need to begin with? What would be served by the emergence of such a new world-universal-religion? What might it look like? What new world issues, contemporary developments, would it have to address that our traditional religions do not or cannot? How would our traditional religions figure into it? This promises to be quite a controversial topic. Where do you stand on this? So that I am open about this from the start, I believe there is a need for such a new world religion. Keep in mind that it, like any new paradigm, may not look like what we have known in the past.

2004 September's topic: Is there need for a new world religion?

(cont.) moving into a discussion on mythmaking. We will continue our discussion from last time asking Is there need for a new world religion? What mightthis mean? Is there such a need to begin with? What would be served by the emergence of such a new world-universal-religion? What might it look like? What new world issues, contemporary developments, would it have to address that our traditional religions do not or cannot? How would our traditional religions figure into it? There is much more to be said that last month's discussion only started. This will lead into what mythmaking is, and how it is the form that any new spirituality/religion would emerge into. Why do I call mythmaking the Art of all arts?

2004 October's topic: The Art of Mythmaking

Here we pick up from last month with our discussion on the possible emergence of a new world-universal-
religion and how mythmaking is the key to understanding that. What then is mythmaking? First of all, we need to get a better idea of what myth is, and why we may no longer feel satisfied with the myths we have been handed down and conditioned to live within, and which are possibly destroying us. Is it possible to make new myth that is able to address the current world we live in? Mythmaking is the key to my own life work, so there is much I can share here about what this art of mythmaking entails. And what are the differencesand similarities between one's personal myth (the story of one's life) and a collective, universal mythmaking that embraces the new emerging spirituality? Why do I call mythmaking the Art of all arts?

2004 November's topic: The Art of Mythmaking (cont.)

We pick up from last month our discussion on mythmaking. Last month we focused on getting an idea of what myth is, and shared many examples of contemporary myths that our society lives by, and why we may no longer feel satisfied with these myths. Is it possible to make new myth that is able to address the current world we live in? Mythmaking is the key to my own life work, so there is much I can share here about what this art of mythmaking entails. And what are the differences and similarities between one's personal myth (the story of one's life) and a collective, universal mythmaking that embraces the new emerging spirituality? Why do I call mythmaking the Art of all arts?

2004 December's topic: Moral values & the political situation

A somewhat different subject for us this time. Because moral values appeared to play such a noticeable role in our last election, we will attempt to explore then what happened here. First, what are moral values? How did certain ones come to play such a role in the political situation? How are they played by certain groups? Do they have any place in politics? How might other moral values, other ethical values, be introduced then into the dialogue? Might there be new ones that are more appropriate to today's world?

2005 January's topic: Moral values, new culture & activism

This month we will pick up from our last discussion. We discussed the theme of moral values and how they got into political dialogue. We also explored a number of new, alternative moral values and the possibility of bringing them into public discussion. Here we will explore more of this process, what kind of new culture this would entail, what kind of activism-political activism-is called for. Might these new values also be part of a larger picture unfolding?

2005 February's topic: How might we work together?

I thought that we would carry over one more month with the momentum we had going last month. We have explored this question (a year ago or so) from a slightly different angle before. This question, How might we work together? though is not as straightforward as it sounds. It has other questions within it. First, who is this "we"? Whatbody of "we" are we referring to? Perhaps "we" cannot work together: We need to consider that. On what level, in what context, might we work together? Are we talking economic? cultural? spiritual? communication exchange? And as I emphasize, What Big Picture of the Age might hint at an evolutionary working together? So come with your ideas about what this question means to you.

2005 March's topic: Religion & Spirituality

It's time that we explore these basic notions of religion and spirituality. What do we mean by them? How are they different and how are they connected? Does a new spirituality imply then a new religion in the making? Spirituality implies Spirit-then what is Spirit? And what might be the original meaning of religion? If the group feels up to the challenge, we can try to tackle the God question-who or what is God? What might a new approach to this question be?

2005 April's topic: The God Question

This could be considered an extension of last month's discussion on religion and spirituality. The central notion of most religion is of course God. And this of course generates tremendous controversy. We have not yet really addressed this question, What do we mean by this word "God"? Who or what is God? Is there a God? Is God dead? One book I would recommend, a bestseller some years back, is A History of God by ex-nun Karen Armstrong. The last sentence of her introduction is, "We have to decide whether the word "God" has any meaning for us today." That says it, right there. This is the issue we will explore, for a very focused discussion.

2005 May's topic: Symbols & the symbolic life

Symbols are basic building blocks of all mythologies & religions & are literally found everywhere in culture. What are symbols? What is the difference between symbols & signs? How do we live symbolically? What is it to live according to traditional symbols, or to borrow your symbols from other cultures, as distinct from allowing symbols to emerge out of your own life? How do we let symbols open up to us? How do we work with them on our Path? Tony suggested too we talk about memes. The idea of the meme is relatively new, as not many people have heard about the concept. Since it is a cultural concept and has some connection to symbols, it is possible we can segue into the topic of memes here, starting out with getting an idea of them, and then perhaps we can get into further discussion of them next time. I suggest that you might do a search of "meme" on the Internet to get an idea if you're not aware of what they're about.

2005 June's topic: An exploration of memes

Last discussion we just started to touch on the topic of memes. Tony had previously passed out a packet of articles about memes. I suggest looking at that. What are memes? What are examples of memes? Once you get the idea about them, everyone will certainly have some examples of them to share. The interesting question is, How does something become a meme in our culture? What are the triggers, one might say, that get it going, so that it spreads? I know that Eric has something he has written about memes that he wants to share. So look into this meme theme a little and come to explore.

2005 July's topic: Money

Here is something of a departure for us, but it goes right to the heart of our materialistic, consumer, capitalistic society: the topic of money. There can be many approaches to this: We can discuss theories about money, if we wish, and also the possibility of any system other than what we seem to be locked into. I would like to hear what others feel about money-that is, how significantly has money figured into your life, down to the soul level. What is your personal relationship to money, what are your feelings about it, how deeply have money issues impacted your life? This will be an opportunity to sound off about all your money issues and fantasies.

2005 August's topic: The culture of money (cont.)

It was thought that we needed to continue from last month, so we will pick up our discussion about money. Again, there are various directions to take this, but I am most interested in the impact money and the money system has had on our life, our soul relationship to money, as it were. Let us explore more about the culture of money and the power that money has. Another question is, How much money is enough? When is enough enough? What does it mean when people seem to need always more and more?

2005 September's topic: Angels & other Spirit Beings

We jump from our very worldly discussions about money the last two months to the otherworldly, ethereal reality of angels this month. We will explore what angels are, the theories about them, what is their role in our life. Why are some people so into and fascinated by angels? This will also be an opportunity to share our own experiences-if we have any-of angels. It was suggested we let Rick Dole share some about his firsthand knowing about them. So we will see what he has to share. And is there a spiritual hierarchy? What other spirit beings might there be? What are spirit guides? This is undoubtedly going to be a very different kind of discussion this time.

2005 October's topic: The Higher Self

Since we have explored this topic once before in our early days (a topic that we could return to again and again, it is endlessly fruitful), I thought simply of pasting in the statement that I had made at that time as an announcement for it; it really seemed to say it all quite succinctly. So here it is: We have undoubtedly all heard of the notion of the Higher Self (our Larger Self/multidimensional Self/Christ-Self/God-Self). But it still seems to always be referred to as some abstraction. (Today's Postmodernist assumes there is nothing to it, merely an abstract, airy fairy idea that New Agers like to throw around.)If it is indeed the key to what the New Age is really about, and if there ever is to be a New Age "religion" that celebrates it, then how can we get a better grasp of it? How do we contact our Higher Self? How do we experience it? How do we develop a relationship to it? What is its reality like? How would it transform us? We will see that this is quite a complex notion, raising many questions. (As a note: My manuscript "The New Age Vision" focuses a lot of attention on this key notion of our Higher Self. -RL)

2005 November's topic: The Higher Self (cont.)

There is so much more to explore here. If the notion of a Higher Self is accepted-and last time we basically explored reasons that would lead us to that view-, what then are the implications of a Higher Self? What follows? What are the dynamics of having a Higher Self? Is the Higher Self personal or impersonal? Is it collective? Is it strictly human or does it extend beyond what we assume is human? How can the Higher Self manifest in our lives? Does it suggest a whole new way of being? a whole new way of being an individual? Also, what have the old occult or hermetic arts said about the Higher Self? (For those who might have studied this.) There is certainly much to explore here, much more than we will have time for, that's for sure.

2005 December's topic: Exploring synchronicity

This topic was suggested by one of our new members a couple of months back. What is synchronicity? Are there different kinds of it? Why did Carl Jung call it an acasual connecting principle? So we will go into a little theory about it to get a better sense of it. We will see that this actually ties into our discussion of the Higher Self. What everyone really wants to share, I know, are our personal experiences of it. So we will make plenty of time for that too, as I'm sure all of you do have examples of it from out of your own life. And we might wonder, Are synchronicities meant to tell us something, or are they simply of the mystery of Being?

2006 January's topic: Manifesting & Manifestation

The group wanted to talk this time about manifesting. What, first, is this notion of manifestation? What is meant by it? Is it first of all a metaphysical notion? When we talk about manifesting something, what might be the inner plane dynamics of that? How do we set it in motion? Naturally the common intent is to manifest something wanted-the usual is money, material things, a house, a new relationship-but we can certainly wish to manifest other things too, other things on a larger scale that would be of benefit to many others, perhaps the whole planet. What might be all the factors involved? Timing? Fate? The interconnectedness of things? The intent itself? We can also share examples of our own of manifesting that worked.

2006 February's topic: Manifesting (cont.) & more

It seemed that we had not finished with our topic from last month on manifestation and the art of manifesting. This will be an opportunity to pick up loose ends in our discussion. In particular, we brought up but didn't explore adequately the process of collective manifesting- especially today when thousands of individuals around the planet agree at a certain time to meditate upon and attempt to manifest some effect in the world. What is this process? Has it been effective-yet? Any other examples of learning the practice of manifesting? I would also like to segue into the topic of soul again, how we experience/express soul. I would like to begin to explore what I mean by experiencing soul as a Labyrinth.

2006 March's topic: Soul as our Life Journey

Instead of leaving "soul" as some abstraction, merely being something you might believe you have that tags along with you through your life, what about seeing soul as our very life journey? That is, soul is what we actually experience. The soul can develop, grow, go through phases and changes. The soul can go from being naïve and in the dark to growing wise and filled with Light. Does soul have lessons in this life? I will suggest that an excellent symbol for exploring soul in this way is the Labyrinth. For the Labyrinth has a complexity that would match the complex experiences of the soul. So I suggest we look at ome of our own life experiences and how they might be viewed inside the Labyrinth.

2006 April's topic: Mythos of Place

This is a theme that I have worked with extensively. We will explore what is meant by Mythos of place. Questions that will come up will be: What is it about a place that makes it what it is? that perhaps makes it special in some way? What then are the characteristics of a place, such as our town, city, locale, area, region? What is our sense of place? How do we relate to this place where we live? Everyone will certainly have something to contribute here, since we all do live in a place.

2006 May's topic: Mythos of Place (cont.)

Because there was a small turnout last month and the fact we got off to a late start, we will pick up this topic again, revisiting what we touched upon last month and then exploring further. I might add how this new sense of our connectedness to place, our place, where we live, can be expanded globally to include all our Earth. Again, what would be involved in a new relationship to Earth?

2006 June's topic: What will it take?

We are going to pose a question to ourselves: What will it take for our society to move in a new direction? What will it take for people to wake out of their materialistic, consumer obsessed daydreams? What will it take for anything of substance to sink into the Postmodern mind? Will it be a catastrophe? Must it be a catastrophe? What kind? On what scale would it have to be? Would it be an End Times scenario? Totally beyond politics? Might it be an energy crisis? Radical global warming weather? Might it be undeniable, open ET contact? Might it be the new spirituality of the New Age dispensation taking hold in greater numbers of persons? A New Age Vision? So give this some thought, What will it take? and we'll explore all of its implications.

2006 July's topic: A Regrouping: our intentions

All of you should have received the previous email update about our last meeting, the possibility of ending our group, and that we would meet at least this one more time to discuss whether we wish to continue and how. Do we regroup? What are our intentions at this point? How do we go forward? What issues have come up? (Which I have to share.) So this can also be seen as a brainstorming session if indeed the group wants to keep going. What are ideas then for future discussions?

2006 August's topic: Our Passions

After processing a number of issues at our meeting last month the group overwhelmingly decided to keep meeting and move forward. Those of you present last month thought that a way that we might come to better know one another was to share our passions. So come prepared to share at least one, or two or three, of your life passions. Everyone will have the opportunity to share in a firsthand, experiential way what it is that you are passionate about. Out of this meeting may very well come a number of themes that we may wish to explore at future meetings.

2006 September's topic: Keeping the Passion alive

Last month we shared what we were passionate about with one another so that everyone got some idea what our passions were. The question came up: How to keep the Passion alive? Despite all that life might throw at us, despite currents events & the condition of the world, how do we keep going with our passion? Are there tips? Are there secrets? Is it a gift? Is it connected to having a Calling? How to keep true then to your Calling? So we will explore all the suggestions and firsthand testimony about this that I hope you will all bring with you.

2006 October's topic: The singularity is coming

If you have not already heard about the idea of singularity and the movement called transhumanism, then at this meeting you will come to find out. The well-known technological writer, inventor, & futurist Ray Kurzweil has come out with a book titled The Singularity is Near. He defines it as a technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history. Basically, it is where today's technology is taking us. Transhumanism advocates that we can transform from being mere biological humans (as we have always known ourselves) into becoming transhumans through new technologies. We will come to be new beings that are posthuman. So we will discuss these themes and debate whether this is a direction we should be going in, if indeed this is the direction we are going in.

2006 November's topic: Social implications of psychic evolution

Consider the possibility that in the future more & more people will be developing their latent psychic abilities. The ability to psychically tune into other's minds. The development of telepathic communication. What might this mean for society? What might this mean for interpersonal relations? What are the privacy issues? What new responsibilities are involved? What new ethics would be entailed? How would we psychologically prepare ourselves for this? What new directions might society take? There will be a lot to speculate about here, an opportunity to gaze into the future.

2006 December's topic: Being & our Being-in-the-world

This will undoubtedly be one of our most philosophical discussions as this is a most-the most-philosophical topic. We will explore what it means to be in the world in relation to the mystery of Being. Is it Illusion (Maya), but, then, what manner of Illusion? What are the different ways of looking at Being? What other names is it known by? What is meant by "Is"? I want to introduce the idea of the "emerging"-how emerging new properties, say, seem to appear out of Being-there is always more to Being than we realize. That Being is the reservoir of Infinite Potential. Also,this notion of the Web of Being.

2007 January's topic: Our forecasts for 2007

We had quite a good turnout last month, and for such a philosophical topic! The discussion went quite well. It was left unclear, however, what we would discuss this next meeting, so I thought it appropriate that we explore our forecasts for this new year of 2007. How do you see this new year? The range of topics on this is wide open: The Iraq war, new political directions, global warming and climate trends, breakthroughs on the technological horizon, the whole sustainability theme, social, cultural trends. This is an opportunity for everyone to share some theme or themes that you see as relevant for 2007.

2007 February's topic: Technos & Psyche

This is a topic that I have done much with. In fact, a work of mine is titled Technos & Psyche. It is the story of Technos, the new Superpower of the world, and Psyche, Divinity of soul-how are they to work together? This, to me, is the archetypal theme of the 21st Century. Another way of putting it is, How are we to integrate technology and spirituality? That is what we will be exploring here. We will see that it is quite a challenge. If Psyche is not brought into our ever-expanding technologies, those technologies, as Technos, are on a course to take total control of the planet. Think of the coming developments of artificial intelligence and androids as only a hint. Might the New Age be about this integration where our spirituality still plays a most vital role?

2007 March's topic: Exploring the occult arts

This discussion is a chance for those who have studied any of the occult arts to share something of what you have learned from them. This includes astrology, tarot, Kabbalah, numerology, geomancy, divination of some kind, or true magic (which we should come to define). We might look at how all of these might be connected. They all go back to the real, deeper meaning of symbols and archetypes and the theory of correspondences (As above, so below is one statement of this.) The occult philosophy behind all this is hermeticism, which we should also consider.

2007 April's topic: Are we evolving?

This discussion we will explore the whole notion of the evolution of humanity: Are we evolving still to this day? It is not so much biological evolution that I am referring to but to our psychospiritual evolution. What is meant by this? This, in fact, is a given in New Age spirituality. But looking at today's world situation, is what we see a picture of humanity evolving? What religious traditions recognize that we can evolve? By what criteria do we judge that humanity is indeed evolving? Or might some think that we do not really evolve at all, but remain, in essence, the same as we always have been? Might some think that humanity is, on the contrary, devolving? Devolving, then, from what previous high point? Is technology essential to our evolution, or is it only creating the illusion today that since it is advancing, therefore human beings must also be evolving?

2007 May's topic: Are we evolving? (cont.)

It seemed that because we got off to a late start last time that there was so much else to discuss around this question of our evolution. Have we evolved and are we evolving still to this day? In particular, what of psychospiritual evolution? We didn't even get to bring in the whole issue of new technology as a factor in our future evolution. If it seems we still have time, the topic I thought we would lead into next would be creativity in the New Age. What is the future of creativity?

2007 June's topic: The Feeling

This topic, I admit, is something of a curve ball I'm throwing your way. The Feeling? What feeling? What is he talking about? First of all, this topic will be more on the experiential side, an opportunity for all of you to share what you might be feeling as I share something of what I've been experiencing I now call The Feeling. We can compare notes, discuss whether this is indeed leading to something in the future. It is a strange, uncanny, mildly unsettling state-of-mind that so often comes over me in the recent couple years or so. Some other hints: time speeding up, time distortion, slipping into dream-like states, inner sounds, seemingly being cut free but without anxiety, this sense that life itself is in a shift, and that something is coming our way. Share what you might be experiencing in terms of a strange feeling or condition like this or a premonition of something coming.

2007 July's topic: The Nature of Human Reality

This, again, will be more of a philosophical discussion. There are a lot of angles from which to approach it. It will have some similarity to our discussion last December about being-in-the-world. In a Postmodern context we are told that all we can know is human reality. What does that mean? Is human reality constructed as to be what we call a consensus reality? Who are the consensus enforcers? But human reality must have some kind of boundary. What happens at that fuzzy boundary of human reality? All that is considered paranormal. So there is something more than what Postmodernism has been telling us. What might be the multi-dimensional nature of human reality? There is a good reason why we should get a better grasp of human reality now since it could in the near future be changing.

2007 August's topic: The varieties of the paranormal

This, in a sense, will be a continuation from last month's discussion. In the announcement from last month I did mention the paranormal. At the fuzzy boundary of human reality are these experiences that today we call the paranormal. We can explore exactly what this means and what are the different kinds of experiences that we characterize as paranormal: from out-of-body, near-death, shamanic, psychedelic, psi phenomena, UFO/ET encounters, crop circles, to dream states and Visions and others, we can share our ideas or knowledge about them and perhaps share any of our own experiences that we would claim happened at the fuzzy boundary of human reality.

2007 September's topic: the NDE & life after death

Eric suggested this topic a couple of months back, so now we get to it. We will explore what we might have learned about the near-death experience (the NDE) and what it appears to imply about the Other Side. What are the varieties of this experience? What might be this "life after death," this other condition of being outside of human reality? This naturally leads into a discussion of soul as that which is said to live on in other-dimensional realms. Reincarnation is another aspect to all of this which we can explore. Again, what are the varieties of ideas about it?

2007 October's topic: To be on a Path

We are going to explore at this meeting the notion of being on a Path and what it means to be on a Path. More specifically, to be consciously on a Path, which, taken in the broadest sense, is your life Path. This means significantly more than it being just a figure of speech. We find that most people do not see their life as a Path because they don't see their life consciously as a Path with all that that implies. This notion of a Path I see is broader than someone who follows a particular traditional spiritual Path, and so that is how we will approach our discussion. It is a whole new perspective once you begin to see your life as a Path. How, then, does that Path appear? What are the markers? How do you narrate it? Where are you going?

2007 November's topic: To be on your Path, continued

It occurred to me after last month's meeting that there was still more to discuss regarding the Path that is your Path, the Path that is your life. How do you know that you have found your Path? What makes your Path conscious and concrete rather than being a mere figure of speech? What are the markers along the way? Where is your Path leading you? What destiny are you part of? How to persist on your Path despite hardship and obstacles? This will be an opportunity for those of you who missed last month to contribute to this topic this month.

2007 December's topic: Global warming

This meeting we will discuss the theme of global warming. We can share the information that we've gathered about the subject, the signs of global warming that we already see happening around the globe, our own local observations, what the scenarios of coming climatic changes are projected to look like. Is it irreversible at this point? What solutions to ameliorate the situation are being offered?

2008 January's topic: The outlook for 2008

Since it is the beginning of the new year 2008 we decided last time to discuss what the outlook is for this year. This is an opportunity to share predictions or forecasts made by others or your own, share trends you see or read about, discuss astrological transits for the year, etc. What are going to be the major themes for 2008? How does 2008 feel to you? Are we in the countdown years to 2012?

2008 February's topic: Fear & denial of soul

Why do people in our society fear soul? Why is there denial of soul, which is a mode of our very being? What is commonly denied is soul as a metaphysical "something" which goes on to an Afterlife. We can explore this notion of soul first, but keep in mind that what I am emphasizing for our discussion is not soul as a metaphysical abstraction, but soul as actually lived in this life, in the here and now, soul as embodied, a mode of our existence. To me, soul is not an abstract word. So my question for our discussion is, Why does this society fear what is actually a mode of our very existence? Why is soul never mentioned in the public arena? Why are people afraid to explore soul? I will share examples of this from everyday life. Please bring examples of what you have encountered in your own life.

2008 March's topic: Your place in society

At this discussion let us explore this question of what your place in society might be. Do you have an acknowledged place or role in our society? Or do you find yourself without a place? What would your place, your role be? For example, it is generally recognized that poets have no role in today's society (as I know so well, being a poet myself). If we have no role, no place, how then do we conduct our lives? Are we misfits, alienated, feeling that we don't belong? If you do have a recognized place, what makes it feel right and fulfilling?