This sounds so wonderful and I got excited when I saw it was in your evening which is my morning - until I realised that’s the day my partner and I are heading out to a long weekend getaway trip for his birthday.
Do you think there's a chance you'll record the talk and we can listen at a later date?
If not, my partner did say he's happy to leave later, but let me know :)
Schuyler, your discussion reminds me of Ken Wilber's simple but rather profound formulation: not only is there "waking up" (enlightenment, etc.), but there is "cleaning up" (shadow work), and "growing up" (maturing into responsible, caring, loving humans). One of the other Integral thinkers (I forget who) added "showing up" (engaging in your life for yourself and others). We see too little of all of these "ups" in the world of humans; but it's deeply important hard work for each of us in our own contexts. Thank you for being a guiding star in this work.
What I intuitively sense reading your passionate words is this: You are not at the highest level yet. The highest level is beyond gender, beyond power and beyond energies. As long you are aware of that and accept that, all is good. The highest teaching is Adveita Vendanta, it's most lucid teaching comes from Nisargadatta Maharaj. If you start teaching in your current state you will create harm and suffering to some, and help others. As long you think in terms of power you haven't trancended it. This means you will use it wisely at times and abuse it unconsciously at other times, despite your good intentions. "Spiritual wild west" is a recipe for disaster. There is a reason why the traditional spiritual "elites" waited at least 20 years after fully awakening before they even considered teaching. That's how powerful and cunning the spiritual ego is. It needs a minimum of 20 years of silence to die. Further, traditionally, most spiritual gurus are invited to teach by their masters. Trust me, you waste your time teaching already. First use your time to understand all. Good luck.
I don’t intend to teach in the traditional sense. I intend to speak to whoever feels called to come. And I intend to listen deeply and share and feel together into what’s true. Thank you. I already know those “rules” you speak of. I learned them from my teachers over the last 30 years...including an Advaita Vedanta teacher...a Swami from India--very traditional--who spoke much about no sex, no meat, no alcohol and then tried repeatedly to kiss me in private.
Power and sex, in my opinion and experience as a long-term student of Sexual Kung-Fu and also as a Certified Hakomi Therapist is foremost physical (energies), psychological and emotional in nature. The work is ego-based to heal and integrate old wounds. It sounds like you have done meaningful work and moved from a place of limited power to a place of lots of power and confidence. That always feels nice. It seems you want to empower other women. Nothing wrong with that as long you are aware enough to keep your new powerful ego in check.
Personally, I wouldn't call it it spiritual work. Ego strengethening is very important for a damaged ego, no doubt (and almost all of us experienced trauma in one way or another that injured the ego). Spiritual work, in my opinion, is related to the recognition and disidentification from our ego-structure which can happen sponataneously or gradually through practise.
I also don't like that you charge people for online gatherings and practises. You call it recommended "donations" between $10 and $20. This in itself reveals that part of your ego abuses your newly found power by manipulating vulnerable suffering and disempowered people into "paying" you for a very vaguely defined service.
On one hand, you claim spiritual healing power and the need to help and heal others to avoid the mistakes you have made. On the other hand, you want a reward for it. Who wants the reward? Your ego. True spiritual teachers never charge or ask for donations. They don't need anything, they only give (like Nisargadatta Maharaj or the Buddha or Jesus, for example). There is no desire or fear left. That is a truly spiritual attitude. Everything else is ego and power-based, mostly unconscious. The powerful ego is very cunning and will justify anything.
That doesn't mean we can't do the work we do and charge for it. If you think you provide help and a good service to other women I think it is totally appropiate to get a reward for your time and effort. I just don't like what I consider misleading marketing terms like "awakening" and "spiritual" when in reality, you provide physical, emotional and psychological services (therapies?) based on your own individual experiences.
But hey, it is the spirtual "wild west" atm and everyone can claim or do whatever they like online. The Internet provides a certain level of anonymity and removedness where the fickle ego can hide behind that facilitates these services that healers and therapists that work in the real world with real people face-to-face don't have. Real people get assessed and sorted out by clients very quickly by instinct, intuition and common sense.
You wanted feed-back. This is a honest and educated one. I hope it helps even if it might hurt a little. If it hurts, it's always the ego that hurts. Pain is a powerful healer if owned. Good luck and all the best on your path.
I’ve spent money on multiple spiritual on-line courses, live events, books, retreats, meditations, etc with spiritual guides including Pema Chodron, John Kabat Zin, Tara Brach, Reggie Ray, John Churchill and many others. The money I paid helped support their ability to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves and their families and to travel and work. We all live in the economic structure of the day. I gladly help support Schulyer in her spiritual pursuits by paying for her offerings.
The word "Donation" is good enough for me in this context. Nobody is twisting your arm to give and every one gives what they can, no more no less. Schuyler is AFAIK millions of miles away before turning, if ever, into a cult leader. Your points are valid to some extend but in my humble opinion, with this offering she's making now, she's legit. Until I am proved wrong.
Great idea! I will record.
Hi Schuyler,
This sounds so wonderful and I got excited when I saw it was in your evening which is my morning - until I realised that’s the day my partner and I are heading out to a long weekend getaway trip for his birthday.
Do you think there's a chance you'll record the talk and we can listen at a later date?
If not, my partner did say he's happy to leave later, but let me know :)
Schuyler, your discussion reminds me of Ken Wilber's simple but rather profound formulation: not only is there "waking up" (enlightenment, etc.), but there is "cleaning up" (shadow work), and "growing up" (maturing into responsible, caring, loving humans). One of the other Integral thinkers (I forget who) added "showing up" (engaging in your life for yourself and others). We see too little of all of these "ups" in the world of humans; but it's deeply important hard work for each of us in our own contexts. Thank you for being a guiding star in this work.
What I intuitively sense reading your passionate words is this: You are not at the highest level yet. The highest level is beyond gender, beyond power and beyond energies. As long you are aware of that and accept that, all is good. The highest teaching is Adveita Vendanta, it's most lucid teaching comes from Nisargadatta Maharaj. If you start teaching in your current state you will create harm and suffering to some, and help others. As long you think in terms of power you haven't trancended it. This means you will use it wisely at times and abuse it unconsciously at other times, despite your good intentions. "Spiritual wild west" is a recipe for disaster. There is a reason why the traditional spiritual "elites" waited at least 20 years after fully awakening before they even considered teaching. That's how powerful and cunning the spiritual ego is. It needs a minimum of 20 years of silence to die. Further, traditionally, most spiritual gurus are invited to teach by their masters. Trust me, you waste your time teaching already. First use your time to understand all. Good luck.
I don’t intend to teach in the traditional sense. I intend to speak to whoever feels called to come. And I intend to listen deeply and share and feel together into what’s true. Thank you. I already know those “rules” you speak of. I learned them from my teachers over the last 30 years...including an Advaita Vedanta teacher...a Swami from India--very traditional--who spoke much about no sex, no meat, no alcohol and then tried repeatedly to kiss me in private.
Power and sex, in my opinion and experience as a long-term student of Sexual Kung-Fu and also as a Certified Hakomi Therapist is foremost physical (energies), psychological and emotional in nature. The work is ego-based to heal and integrate old wounds. It sounds like you have done meaningful work and moved from a place of limited power to a place of lots of power and confidence. That always feels nice. It seems you want to empower other women. Nothing wrong with that as long you are aware enough to keep your new powerful ego in check.
Personally, I wouldn't call it it spiritual work. Ego strengethening is very important for a damaged ego, no doubt (and almost all of us experienced trauma in one way or another that injured the ego). Spiritual work, in my opinion, is related to the recognition and disidentification from our ego-structure which can happen sponataneously or gradually through practise.
I also don't like that you charge people for online gatherings and practises. You call it recommended "donations" between $10 and $20. This in itself reveals that part of your ego abuses your newly found power by manipulating vulnerable suffering and disempowered people into "paying" you for a very vaguely defined service.
On one hand, you claim spiritual healing power and the need to help and heal others to avoid the mistakes you have made. On the other hand, you want a reward for it. Who wants the reward? Your ego. True spiritual teachers never charge or ask for donations. They don't need anything, they only give (like Nisargadatta Maharaj or the Buddha or Jesus, for example). There is no desire or fear left. That is a truly spiritual attitude. Everything else is ego and power-based, mostly unconscious. The powerful ego is very cunning and will justify anything.
That doesn't mean we can't do the work we do and charge for it. If you think you provide help and a good service to other women I think it is totally appropiate to get a reward for your time and effort. I just don't like what I consider misleading marketing terms like "awakening" and "spiritual" when in reality, you provide physical, emotional and psychological services (therapies?) based on your own individual experiences.
But hey, it is the spirtual "wild west" atm and everyone can claim or do whatever they like online. The Internet provides a certain level of anonymity and removedness where the fickle ego can hide behind that facilitates these services that healers and therapists that work in the real world with real people face-to-face don't have. Real people get assessed and sorted out by clients very quickly by instinct, intuition and common sense.
You wanted feed-back. This is a honest and educated one. I hope it helps even if it might hurt a little. If it hurts, it's always the ego that hurts. Pain is a powerful healer if owned. Good luck and all the best on your path.
I’ve spent money on multiple spiritual on-line courses, live events, books, retreats, meditations, etc with spiritual guides including Pema Chodron, John Kabat Zin, Tara Brach, Reggie Ray, John Churchill and many others. The money I paid helped support their ability to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves and their families and to travel and work. We all live in the economic structure of the day. I gladly help support Schulyer in her spiritual pursuits by paying for her offerings.
The word "Donation" is good enough for me in this context. Nobody is twisting your arm to give and every one gives what they can, no more no less. Schuyler is AFAIK millions of miles away before turning, if ever, into a cult leader. Your points are valid to some extend but in my humble opinion, with this offering she's making now, she's legit. Until I am proved wrong.
In agape
André