Always a dicey proposition…
Few can predict what might unfold…
My wife and I were conversing about the recent deaths of well-known teachers, started with Ram Dass (2019), then went to the psychedelic leaders and teachers, most recently Ralph Metzner (2019).
We then discussed the advanced age of many teachers we have read, or sat with in meditation retreats, or learned from in psychedelic meetings…
Then she asked an interesting question, “who will be the next leaders?”
We have sat with younger meditation teachers, and there are young people entering the psychedelic research and teaching communities.
What came up for me was, could there be other possible unfoldings for teaching and learning on the path to higher evolution.
In searching about John Welwood’s death, I came across his wife, Jennifer Welwood’s, outline for a retreat in 2022:
“In this retreat we will engage the two interweaving pathways that comprise any authentic journey of transformation: the ascending pathway of realizing our awake nature, and the descending pathway of integrating that nature into our down-on-the-ground human embodiment and human life.”
First, fun to see because it will be held at the Mount Madonna Center, Watsonville, California, that is where my wife and I first met, at a retreat on teaching meditation!
Second, that part of her outline so beautifully states the path of travel to higher evolution…
In musing of what could unfold next, I wondered about the recent intersection of meditation and entheogen or psychedelic medicines, both can be pathways to growth and evolution, along with psychotherapeutic work...
Could there be a system of lay people, not professional gurus, or teachers, instead, peers leading peers…
We already have local groups who gather to meditate together…
Could there be fewer famous teachers in the future…
Can we teach each other…
Can these teachings filter into the school systems, there are places that already incorporate meditation into grade school teaching…
Some great ideas here:
https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-education/
We would need to be careful with the use of entheogens or psychedelics, they still need more studies…
I would like to see someone study the use of these medicines in small groups led by lay people…
This would be a much more affordable method for integrating these medicines into personal evolution…
We shall see what unfolds… Depending on how long we live…
Namaste
