What do our relationships with our mothers, capitalism, and the Triple Gem have in common? Without mindfulness and a robust sense of love, all may fall into an exploitative dynamic, one that’s not in our own best interest. How can we live abundantly and generously as spiritual beings in a capitalist system? We look at the sophistication of giving and receiving skills, the future of sacred economics, and how these impact our spiritual awakening.

Developments in 20th-century psychology introduced us to the concept of our personal and collective shadows. Integrating the shadow is central to our teaching, and can feel arduous and distressing at times, but brings with it infinite rewards. Liberating the shadow frees up immense amounts of energy previously spent repressing or otherwise avoiding it, and helps us become much more pleasant, effective and beneficial (loving) beings. So what does it take? What kinds of things can I do on my own and what do I need help with? How and from who?

AstroDharma allows us to use relative truth of our astrological charts to better understand the karmically shaped or conditioned self. We then use dharma and transpersonal psychological to understand how to transcend the limitations of this self. In this way it’s a powerful tool for bridging relative and absolute truths, and the right and left brain, as experienced in daily life. In this class we share some of the aspects of AstroDharma that we’ve found have the greatest transformative potential. You’ll better understand how these dynamics are at play in your own life, and how to use them for your unfoldment.

The nature of the ego is to seek security, an unassailable identity, and control. All of these are ego defenses rooted in the lower three chakras. The thing is, this quest makes for a fragile and limited life. If we feel driven to always be in control, for example, opportunities for joyful spontaneity are drastically reduced. The spiritual life supports us to cultivate flexibility and freedom, and to make choices based in loving kindness compassion and wisdom. Through this process our three lower chakras become more strengthened and healthier, plus we develop the strength and courage to choose to live from the upper four chakras. Then we get to enjoy the wonders, joys and other benefits of living well from the heart and intuition as spiritual beings. And we still get to enjoy the upsides of healthy money, sex, and power.

This Flash Retreat provides practitioners with a valuable opportunity to integrate and seal the learnings from the Crazy Wisdom online course, in a format well suited for our contemporary lives. We encourage you to attend this weekend retreat at Clear Sky, or together with you local sangha, or if those not available to you, in your home. Planet Dharma provides themes, meditations and guidelines to support Flash Retreat participants in the diamond and ruby levels.