Atwood +
Spiritual Growth and Development
"My personal purpose in life is to explore, map, and guide people to the Kin-dom of God."
If you find this page to be full of self-indulgence, then please forgive me. It is that I found myself obligated in some way to be clear and honest about a small handful of the places, people, and ideas that have comforted me, and changed me. 99% of them have been left out, yet that which remains here is, as far as I am concerned, priceless. My faith has evolved and grown deeper and deeper. I continue to explore, and I continue to map. Here is something of my journey within, and toward, the Kin-dom of God, where we all live in a relationship, and with Reverence for Life.
If you find this page to be full of self-indulgence, then please forgive me. It is that I found myself obligated in some way to be clear and honest about a small handful of the places, people, and ideas that have comforted me, and changed me. 99% of them have been left out, yet that which remains here is, as far as I am concerned, priceless. My faith has evolved and grown deeper and deeper. I continue to explore, and I continue to map. Here is something of my journey within, and toward, the Kin-dom of God, where we all live in a relationship, and with Reverence for Life.
My Journey from Place to Place to Place...
Onward and Upward.
Eight pictures, each of a sacred place on my journey. If you wish, click on the audio button below to hear a 2 minute story about my travels.
Bill and Nancy Martin - Beloved Friends for Decades, Taoist Scholars and Teachers, Compassionate Caregivers, Authors, Retreat Directors, and Our Dear Companions for Life
Among all the people in our lives, Jan and I count Bill and Nancy among the most precious. We met decades ago, have spent our lives living away from each other, but in so many ways, we have been so close. We have been apart, and a part, at the same time. Every few years, we spend time together, and it is joyous.
Bill has written five wonderful books; each is a translation of the Tao Te Ching for a specific audience. Bill and Nancy have written The Caregivers Tao Te Ching together, which especially reflects Nancy's work with Compassionate Care. Bill and Nancy live in Chico, CA.
I have copies of each book in my office if you are interested, or you can go to your favorite bookstore, or visit Amazon.com.
Bill has written five wonderful books; each is a translation of the Tao Te Ching for a specific audience. Bill and Nancy have written The Caregivers Tao Te Ching together, which especially reflects Nancy's work with Compassionate Care. Bill and Nancy live in Chico, CA.
I have copies of each book in my office if you are interested, or you can go to your favorite bookstore, or visit Amazon.com.
Sam Keen - The Passionate Life
I've been to three workshops with Sam Keen, and each was critically important.
It was at the first workshop that I picked up a copy of The Passionate Life: Stages of Loving. If you have worked with me, you might well have been introduced to Keen's model - Child, Rebel, Adult, Outlaw, and Lover.
Keen comes from my Reformed tradition. He has been a bold philosopher, a provocative and insightful writer, and a helpful workshop facilitator. I have shared precious moments with Sam Keen.
The intuitive thinker within me resonates deeply with this book, and the journey described. It is my story. I am grateful to Sam Keen for giving me the language to describe the inexplicable.
It was at the first workshop that I picked up a copy of The Passionate Life: Stages of Loving. If you have worked with me, you might well have been introduced to Keen's model - Child, Rebel, Adult, Outlaw, and Lover.
Keen comes from my Reformed tradition. He has been a bold philosopher, a provocative and insightful writer, and a helpful workshop facilitator. I have shared precious moments with Sam Keen.
The intuitive thinker within me resonates deeply with this book, and the journey described. It is my story. I am grateful to Sam Keen for giving me the language to describe the inexplicable.
Don Beck - Spiral Dynamics
Here is a wonderfully clear explanation of the evolution of individual and group consciousness. This is the field of Memetics; this is the study of how ideas within a culture are spread around, and how they evolve from generation to generation. Memes reproduce themselves, just like genes do.
You can learn much more by going to Spiral Dynamics Integral. Just click on the title above. Or, if you want a really great paper on Spiral Dynamics, you can find it at EnlightenNext Magazine.
The YouTube video below is titled "Beautiful Noise: An Introduction to Spiral Dynamics." If you get lost in other videos, you can return by retyping the title.
You can learn much more by going to Spiral Dynamics Integral. Just click on the title above. Or, if you want a really great paper on Spiral Dynamics, you can find it at EnlightenNext Magazine.
The YouTube video below is titled "Beautiful Noise: An Introduction to Spiral Dynamics." If you get lost in other videos, you can return by retyping the title.
Andrew Cohen - EnlightenNext Magazine
The title is an active link, and if you click it, you will go to the magazine homepage. Andrew Cohen has been writing and teaching for some years now. He first published his magazine in a simple format, and I had all copies from day one, but alas, they were lost when our home flooded in 2004. The magazine is published quarterly, and when it shows up, I devour it.
Cohen has helped me to appreciate my place in the evolutionary process, and that has been wonderfully comforting, and challenging.
His website is full of provocative food for the mind and soul. The title of the YouTube video is "What is the Purpose of Life? Andrew Cohen." If you get lost in other YouTube videos, you can find your way back with that title.
Cohen has helped me to appreciate my place in the evolutionary process, and that has been wonderfully comforting, and challenging.
His website is full of provocative food for the mind and soul. The title of the YouTube video is "What is the Purpose of Life? Andrew Cohen." If you get lost in other YouTube videos, you can find your way back with that title.
Marcus Borg - Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time
It was back in 1995 or so, and thanks to the kindness of what was then Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, MI, I was blessed with the opportunity to hang out with Marcus Borg, and about 15 other committed thinkers over a long weekend. The group of us were gathered together at Barrothy Lodge on the Pierre Marquette River for a chance to think theologically. Marcus was brought in to add some spice to our already hot discussions. Late into the night, we talked about who Jesus really was, and how we might follow the way.
Borg has a number of wonderful books. He is an excellent teacher, and a very clear writer. The YouTube video is titled "Marcus Borg - Christianity as a Spiritual Path."
Borg has a number of wonderful books. He is an excellent teacher, and a very clear writer. The YouTube video is titled "Marcus Borg - Christianity as a Spiritual Path."
Richard Rohr - Franciscan Monk, Author, and Speaker.
From Publisher's Weekly: "Franciscan priest and spirituality author Rohr (Everything Belongs) again brings his energy to the reclamation of the Christian mystical tradition. He has a lot of scripture on his side, with many citations from the gospels and epistles. He also offers a distinctive definition of prayer as a nondualistic way of seeing the moment. To see as a mystic sees is to pray continually, as scripture enjoins. Some of his criticisms of institutional forms of religiosity as a barrier to seeing with insight are familiar. Yet his understanding of prayer as a tool for contemplation and transformation is forcefully argued. The somewhat theoretical re-reading of Catholic Christian tradition is brought down to earth by a series of appendixes that contain practices for those who want to know what to do; attaining insight is not self-evident nor is it easy. Rohr is enriched by other world religious traditions, but clearly knows his own. Those interested in contemplative Christianity, and particularly Catholics interested in their own tradition, will benefit from this book." (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Larry Terlouw, a fellow member of a small fellowship group that's I've be a part of for way more than 17 years, gifted all of us members with this book at Christmas, 2010. What a wonderful gift from Rohr, and from Larry. The contemplative tradition, with which I so strongly identify, is edified in The Naked Now.
The YouTube video is titled "What Did Jesus Really Teach."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Larry Terlouw, a fellow member of a small fellowship group that's I've be a part of for way more than 17 years, gifted all of us members with this book at Christmas, 2010. What a wonderful gift from Rohr, and from Larry. The contemplative tradition, with which I so strongly identify, is edified in The Naked Now.
The YouTube video is titled "What Did Jesus Really Teach."
Ken Wilber and "Integral Theory and Practice" - He is the one from whom I have learned so much more.
So very much more than I once knew.
I'm dedicated to Ken Wilber for giving me a map of everything. In fact, if you click on his name above, you will be taken to his website, where you will find his four quadrant model represented in a "+" sign. Atwood +
I spent seven years in graduate school, learning much about the ideas crafted by many gifted people. Those ideas have given great form to the culture that birthed me, and nurtured me.
In 1980, I heard a call to move on, and I did. In 1995, I was introduced to Ken Wilber by a Roman Catholic Priest. I read everything Wilber had written, and I have followed him with some faithfulness. No one has stimulated my mind and heart more than Ken Wilber. His Integral Theory and Practice has had an enormous impact on my understanding, and my behavior, in the world.
The video below, "Ken Wilber - I am Big Mind," will provide you with a wonderful peek into who Wilber is, how he teaches, and something of the essence of his passion. He is my age, lives in Denver, and has a huge internet presence. Click on the link above, "Ken Wilber," and begin your search. If you ever want to talk about Integral Theory and Practice, contact me. I would cherish the opportunity.
I'm dedicated to Ken Wilber for giving me a map of everything. In fact, if you click on his name above, you will be taken to his website, where you will find his four quadrant model represented in a "+" sign. Atwood +
I spent seven years in graduate school, learning much about the ideas crafted by many gifted people. Those ideas have given great form to the culture that birthed me, and nurtured me.
In 1980, I heard a call to move on, and I did. In 1995, I was introduced to Ken Wilber by a Roman Catholic Priest. I read everything Wilber had written, and I have followed him with some faithfulness. No one has stimulated my mind and heart more than Ken Wilber. His Integral Theory and Practice has had an enormous impact on my understanding, and my behavior, in the world.
The video below, "Ken Wilber - I am Big Mind," will provide you with a wonderful peek into who Wilber is, how he teaches, and something of the essence of his passion. He is my age, lives in Denver, and has a huge internet presence. Click on the link above, "Ken Wilber," and begin your search. If you ever want to talk about Integral Theory and Practice, contact me. I would cherish the opportunity.
The best and shortest summary of Wilber's Integral Vision
This is the smallest and shortest of Wilber's many books. It is a colorful introduction to his huge Integral Vision. You can start here, or, go to Amazon.com and look at all of his books.
The first book I read was his "big book," Sex, Ecology, Spirituality. It is a massive tome with about 200 pages of footnotes. Then, I went to A Brief History of Everything, which is a much more readable version of SES.
You either love Wilber, or you don't get him. If you want to borrow a copy of Integral Vision, just let me know. I've got extra copies.
To get a sense of Wilber, go to his website at www.kenwilber.com.
The first book I read was his "big book," Sex, Ecology, Spirituality. It is a massive tome with about 200 pages of footnotes. Then, I went to A Brief History of Everything, which is a much more readable version of SES.
You either love Wilber, or you don't get him. If you want to borrow a copy of Integral Vision, just let me know. I've got extra copies.
To get a sense of Wilber, go to his website at www.kenwilber.com.