January 2021 | A Journey of Mastery |
|
January, and the start of the new year, marks a symbolic "new beginning" on our path toward transformation. It's often around this time, however, that many of our best laid intentions have started to falter as the weeks progress. Fortunately, ITP co-founder George Leonard offers us the wisdom that mastery is not about reaching perfection, but staying on the course through the peaks and plateaus.
In The Life We Are Given, it reads that "The way to begin a practice is simply to begin." We don't have to wait for a new year, a new cycle of intentions, or even a Monday morning. In each moment you have the chance to "turn the pages of your life to a new chapter." Whether you find yourself gaining momentum in your affirmations for 2021, or have been struggling to consistently stay the course, we hope this month's newsletter can act as a supportive cheerleader in your transformative journey.
Thank you for your support and wholehearted participation in our ITP community. As this new year unfolds, we wish you all a practice that gifts you a life that is balanced, vital and healthy. Empowering us to joyfully embrace this journey of long-term practice are the inspiring words of George and Michael:
“We believe that every human individual is unique, one of a kind, and that each of us is born with a genius that will manifest itself in wonderfully unique ways. There are geniuses of love and of service to others, geniuses of spiritual radiance and understanding, geniuses of extraordinary and as yet undefined abilities that will light the way to the next step in our evolution. But none of these capacities can be realized without practice.”
Wishing you blessings of good health and peace!
|
|
“To begin any strong practice is to turn the pages of your life to a new chapter.”
- George Leonard and Michael Murphy
The Life We Are Given
|
|
|
|
|
The Science of Transformation Through Long-Term Practice |
Cassandra Vieten, PhD, discusses scientific methods and research that support the capacity people have to transform their lives through long-term practice. Hear about inspiring results from IONS studies on consciousness and transformative practices and learn about the challenges faced by scientists whose research falls outside contemporary scientific milieu. |
|
|
|
|
The Master and the Fool; An excerpt from George Leonard’s book “Mastery.” |
“Tell me. How can I be a learner?” My mind went absolutely blank, and I heard myself saying, “It’s simple. To be a learner, you’ve got to be willing to be a fool.”
Read ITP co-founder, George Leonard’s personal insight on the relationship between learning and the willingness to be foolish, a state that allows new things to come into being.
|
|
|
|
|
The 5 Keys to Mastery: The Full Movie |
In The 5 Keys to Mastery, author George Leonard explores the personality traits and mental attitudes that help people in different fields of expertise reach the top, and how one can train oneself to succeed. Leonard is joined by a handful of successful people who offer their own perspectives, including Carlos Santana, B.B. King, Linus Torvalds, Julius Axelrod, Wendy Rieger, and more. |
|
|
The Inevitable Human Resistance to Change - And How To Handle It |
Somewhere down the road, possibly three to four months from the time you begin, you might feel an inexplicable urge to stop practicing. This generally occurs just when your practice is going very well, just when you’re beginning to change in a noticeably positive way.
Don’t be alarmed. Every one of us resists significant change, no matter whether it's for the worse or for the better. This condition of equilibrium, this resistance to change, is called homeostasis. It characterizes all self-regulating systems, from a bacterium to a frog to a human individual to a family to an organization to a whole culture. And it applies to psychological states and behavior as well as to physical functioning.
Homeostasis doesn’t distinguish between what you would call change for the better and change for the worse. It resists all change. This isn’t meant to condemn homeostasis. We want our minds and bodies and organizations to hold together. We want our pay check to arrive on schedule. In order to survive, we need stability.
Still, change does occur.
To help you embark on this path of practice take time to meditate and reflect on these key questions:
How do you deal with homeostasis?
How do you make change for the better a bit easier?
How do you make it last?
|
|
|
Need your input - Stanford University ITP study |
|
|
ITP has been the subject of a study with Stanford Department of Anthropology. The research focuses on how people come to have spiritual experiences.
If you haven't had a chance to complete the survey, the time is now! All you need is a quiet place, a pair of headphones and 40 minutes or so. Once completed, hit submit and your data will be collected by the Stanford team. Instructions are found in the survey.
Thank you for helping us continue to learn about the power of this transformative practice. We plan to close the survey by February 15, so please participate soon!
|
|
|
Our aim is to awaken the world to its fullest potential through the discovery and experience of our highest potential and extraordinary capacities of body, mind, heart and soul.
ITP International
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
