Seven years ago, the Tulsa ITP groups decided to up our game by having weekend workshops designed and facilitated by the Master ITP Teachers. The journey has yielded amazing results including strength of the community in Tulsa, personal insights, deepening of integral practice, and lots of fun. It has forwarded the mission of ITP which is “to advance the adventure of Integral Transformative Practice.”
The weekend this year, called Exploring the Powers of Imagination, was led by Pam Kramer and Max Gaenslen. Those two teachers had just been at a seminar on the subject at Esalen Institute with Michael Murphy’s Center for Theory and Research. They brought new and exciting vistas regarding the possibilities embedded in imagination.
Taking advantage of the skills and insights of these teachers who are iconic practitioners and committed to the vision and mission of ITP makes possible a transformation in both personal and group experience. The ITP vision is to “awaken the world to its fullest potential through the discovery and experience of our highest potential.” Many of us came away with a new vision of what is possible for ourselves and for others through our empowered imagination and through integral practice.
The energy created in the room was palpable as might be expected from a group of twenty people committed to the path of practice and willing to look beyond the obvious. The support and trust in the air was enough to seed the field for breakthroughs.
On Friday evening, we started with an exercise that created a flow that lasted the entire weekend. Beautifully thought-out, it brought us all right into the opportunity to see how transformation has always been right there, within reach, and what environment made us ripe for transformation. The entire weekend, even our party Saturday night, was infused with this spirit of possibility.
ITP is grounded in practice, so a weekend, to be worthwhile, needs to have a lasting effect on the lives of the participants. Many striking outcomes of the weekend were reported.
One woman shared how the energy in the room allowed her to have the deepest meditation experience she had ever had. She has developed a practice of a two-minute stillness three times a day. This came out of the power of the sense of stillness in the weekend. Even weeks later, one woman is still unpacking what was there for her. She goes over her notes each week and explores opportunities to be mined.
One man has experienced a huge transformation in his dream life. He remembers his dreams every night and finds them vivid, full of new content, and dramatically increased in intensity.
In another article in this blog, Annie Ellicott tells the story of the life-changing affirmation that came to her toward the end of the weekend. Be sure to read about that.
George Leonard always touted the power of life-long learning. ITP has always been all about that and these weekends are in service to that idea! We’d love for any of you to join us.