Illuman Journey of Illumination
inner work
An Ecology of Practices
Our experiences show us that the pain we do not transform we will transmit,
so we seek a life changing spirituality.
Our primary concern, is inner work that expands the
depth and breadth of love in ourselves and that makes a difference in the world.
Background
Illuman invites you to a path of deep inner work and spiritual transformation we call the Journey of Illumination (JOI). This process invites you, every moment of every day, to show up, pay attention, and overcome the weight of your automatic personality, in order to develop as a loving, generative man and human being.
The Journey of Illumination (JOI) is organized as five primary “touchstones”: Centering; Gathering; Connecting; Releasing; Serving. This provides a simple framework in which to associate regular “practices” that support your inner work and transformation. This document provides recommended initial practices in each category.
The important idea is to think of inner work as a life-long journey of regular and consistent practice. The list of possible practices is literally endless. The point is to have a clear aim, or purpose, for your practice(s). Then, select and work with a practice that supports that aim. Over time you will adopt core practices, try new ones, as well as add categories and practices to your repertoire. Below we introduce the idea, and provide explanation of, “an ecology of practices.”
This guide is organized to provide the following information:
· What is meant by “inner work”? An overview of “why” and “how” of inner work
· Introducing An Ecology of Practices
· Five Touchstones of the Journey of Illumination (JOI) – Summary explanation
· Specific Recommended Practices Aligned to Each Touchstone
Think of this as a reference guide. The material can be skimmed, referenced, or used as a source of reflection.
What is meant by inner work?
The “Why” of Inner Work
The source is within you.
And this whole world is springing up from it.
Rumi
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.
Rumi
If you bring forth what is within you, that which you bring forth will save you.
If you fail to bring forth that which is within you,
that which you fail to bring forth will destroy you.
Gospel of Thomas, Logion 70
Heaven is inside, the inner, the subtle; earth is outside, the outer, the gross. … This is the task of the few … For, though the inner can understand the outer – and understand it better than it can understand itself -- 'they that are without' can never understand the inner.
J.G. Bennett, Deeper Man, pp. 34-44
Within each of us is a divine treasure, and if we hope to discover it
we need to go deep into the heart of who we are.
The outward work can never be small
if the inward one is great, and the
outward work can never be great or good
if the inward is small or of little worth.
Meister Eckhart
To find that treasure requires that we work like a wood carver
who does not work by adding but by cutting away, removing what is rough
to reveal what shimmers from within.
Meister Eckhart
Poetry may make us … a little more aware of the deeper, unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being, to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves.
T.S. Eliot, Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1948
We get this sense that in the momentum of the day’s demands, we’re skimming over the depths of our own life. We’re suffering from depth deprivation. What’s regrettable is that God’s unexplainable oneness within us is hidden in the depths over which we’re skimming.
Adapted from James Finley, 2024 Daily Meditations Theme: Radical Resilience: Tending the Fire Within, Center for Action and Contemplation, video, 9:35.
Our culture, which emphasizes extroverted values, such as success, wealth, and productivity, would profit enormously from the residential eldering centers that I have described. In his essay “The Stages of Life,” Carl Jung laments that because our culture lacks “colleges for forty-year-olds,” people embark on the journey into the afternoon and evening of life wholly unprepared. He notes that many middle-age people fall prey to depression and emptiness when they face the realities of old age because they have devoted little or no time in developing an inner life.
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, From Age-ing to Sage-ing
The “How” of Inner Work
Growth does not come from striving to be a better person.
Growth comes from allowing your ego’s story to drop away.
The Enneagram
Teaching: Our true Self and our personality are not the same thing, and it is the quality of presence that restores the proper balance between them and allows us to embody the expansive qualities of our true nature.
Understanding the Enneagram, 15
Teaching: Once we have identified with our ego-consciousness, it is difficult for us to imagine any alternative, even though it brings no relief and causes us to behave in ways that hurt ourselves and others. Ignorance and fear, rather than evil and ill-will, are therefore at the root of much of our suffering and the suffering of mankind, as many of the great spiritual traditions have taught.
To progress in our Inner Work, we need to be willing to observe our resistance to reality, our attachment to our self-image, and our fear.
Understanding the Enneagram, 361
Teaching: As our insights deepen, we come to accept the hard truth that our personality is largely a collection of internal defenses and reactions, deeply ingrained beliefs and habits about the self and the world that have come from the past, particularly from our childhood.
Understanding the Enneagram 12
Teaching: By helping us see how trapped we are in our trances and how estranged we are from our Essential nature, the Enneagram invites us to look deeply into the mystery of our true identity. It is meant to initiate a process of inquiry that can lead us to a more profound truth about ourselves and our place in the world.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 17
Universal Inner Work insight: Once we understand the nature of our personality’s mechanisms, we begin to have a choice about identifying with them or not. If we are not aware of them, clearly no choice is possible.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 38
Be aware of the transformational process, no matter what type you are. Personality is constantly in some kind of reaction to the present moment. When we are functioning in Essence, we are grounded, present, and receptive to the moment.
Understanding the Enneagram, 364
Teaching: There are three stages to this work. First, we need to learn self-observation, so that we can see our behavior as objectively as possible. Second, we need to increase our self-understanding so that we can know the true motives for our behavior. And third, we need to cultivate awareness or presence, which facilitates and deepen the process of transformation. Self-observation and self-understanding alone will merely provide us with insight to get us to the threshold of transformation, but it is only through presence and awareness that transformation actually occurs.
Understanding the Enneagram, 7
Awareness is vitally important in the work of transformation because the habits of our personality let go most completely when we see them in the moment as they are occurring.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 37
Inner Work Insight: Once we understand “not doing,” we see that the real struggle is to relax into greater awareness so that we can see the manifestations of our personality. By neither acting on our automatic impulses nor suppressing them, we begin to understand what is causing them to arise.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 346
Teaching: The three Centers of Intelligence described by the Enneagram are important for transformational work because they specify where our chief imbalance lies. They represent the three main clusters of issues and defenses of the ego self, and they reveal the principal ways in which we contract our awareness and limit ourselves.
Enneagram
One way to work on yourself is by being present in the body. Another way is by expanding the heart. A third way is by quieting the mind. The wise person finds a way to work on all three at the same time.
Understanding the Enneagram, 327
The inward man must be renewed day by day.
St. Paul
Inner Work Insight: The important thing is to set aside some time each day to re-establish a deeper connection with our True Nature. Regular practice serves to remind us over and over again that we are hypnotized by our personality.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 347
Teaching: Along with our regular daily practice, life presents us with many opportunities to see our personality in action and to allow our essential nature to come forth and transform our personality. But it is not enough merely to think about transformation or talk about it or read about it. Procrastination is a great defense of the ego. The only time to use the tools of transformation is now.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 367
Encountering our ego defenses, rage, anxiety, underlying hurt, shame, and grief is never easy. Seeing ourselves as we really are takes courage. Are you willing to look at yourself courageously?
Understanding the Enneagram, 331
In your Inner Work Journal, explore what this question means to you. What is your personal "minimum daily requirement" for being authentic about your spiritual work? What do you sincerely require of yourself? To what are you actually committing yourself when you are "walking the walk": of transformation and liberation?
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 348
An Ecology of Practices
Specific Inner and Outer Practices
Engaged as Spiritual Work
That Support the JOI
What is An Ecology of Practices?
An "ecology of practices," as explained by John Vervaeke on my (Tim Ferris’s) show, refers to a set of activities or habits that a group of people commit to doing together. These practices are not just about sharing beliefs, but about actively participating in shared experiences that foster personal and collective growth. They involve a commitment to learning, transforming, failing, and learning from mistakes. They're akin to a complex, dynamic system, much like a friendship, requiring time, effort, and a willingness to transform. The goal is to create a space where individuals can support each other's transformations, cultivating a deeper sense of connection and meaning. It's about not just communicating, but communing together through shared participation.
Tim Ferriss, https://dexa.ai/tim?q=What+is+an+ecology+of+practices%3F&type=example
Why an Ecology of Practices?
Tim Ferriss re Advice for Ecology of Practices – 4 minutes
Illuman Journey of Illumination
Five Touchstones and Practices
Touchstone One -- Centering
We are men grounded in the power of the here and now…
Inner work and all spiritual practices take place in the present moment. It is the only moment that “is.” Yet we are seldom in the present. Until we are present, no real practice, learning or development can occur.
Practice -- Presence
Practices begin with an intention. Holding the intention to attend to the present is a main part of this practice. Supporting elements include:
· Attention to your breathing – whenever you notice lack of attention, whenever “something” occurs, return immediately to your breath
· Attention to your body – awareness occurs in your body more effectively that in your mind. Cynthia Bourgeault offers a simple mnemonic – “where are your feet”
· Appreciation for the importance of constantly returning to your practice – any spiritual practice – as a core element to inner work. Distractions will constantly occur. This is why a commitment to the Practice of the Present is a foundational practice.
Practice – Contemplative Practice (Centering Prayer, Meditation)
Practice – Life As Practice – everyone person, interaction, experience is an opportunity to practice.
Teaching: Learning to be present is an art and takes practice — in fact, that’s what spiritual practices are about. They help us cultivate awareness so that we can become more present to our lives and the miracles that are unfolding around us at every moment.
Understanding the Enneagram, 363
Touchstone Two -- Gathering
We are men who listen deeply to each other’s stories…
All transformation is relational. Human beings are evolutionary and genetically designed to be communal. The African expression Ubuntu is a helpful mnemonic: “I am because you are, you are because we are.” We gather to fulfill this core need, as well as to support others.
Practice – Relationship First
This also means that valuing relationship as a first priority that supersedes ALL others, is a foundational practice. This is an example of an “outer practice” that works with and extends an inner practice.
Practice – The Way of Council – regular gathering with like-hearted men who are committed to a journey of inner work that includes the principles and methods of the Illuman Council Practice.
Speaking from the heart and listening from the heart are the two most important prerequisites in practicing the Way of Council. Being aware of how we communicate is also crucial. It helps to remember that 55% of what we convey in talking to another is determined by body language (posture, gesture, and eye contact), 38% by tone of voice, and only 7% by the actual content of what we say. We therefore need to listen for more than the words. That means paying careful attention to the other person, not trying to think of how we’ll respond. We have to avoid “rehearsing” while the other person is still speaking.
Touchstone Three -- Connecting
We are men who choose another to walk with – shoulder to shoulder…
Truly connecting should be one of our highest goals. As such, we need to know what is meant by connecting. There are many nuances to connecting, but the purest sense of connecting is the joining. To be really connected is almost as if two separate entities become one, with a trusted partner.
Practice – Regular Check-ins with an inner work partner – connecting and sharing inner and outer work experiences, challenges, questions, minimally once per week, ideally 2-3 times (listening only, not problem solving)
Touchstone Four -- Releasing
We are men who let go of the ways that no longer serve us…
We are men who can let go of the thoughts and behaviors that no longer serve us. To release ourselves from our enslavement to past events or addictive patterns of thoughts or feelings is an ongoing, necessary transformative work in the task of maturity. The word “release” has its root in the Latin word relaxare which means “to stretch out again, to slacken.” This is the opposite of “to resist.” Many of us live with a resistance-based approach to life. “Spiritual research indicates that all suffering and emotional pain result from resistance. Its cure is through surrender and acceptance.” (David Hawkins)
Practice – Enneagram Work on Personality — automatic behaviors and ego defenses conditioned in childhood.
Practice – Self-observation and releasing of unsupportive “attachments” (habits, thinking, behaviors) Become more aware of the part of you that sees — that is the source of your awareness. It is called the inner observer or the witness. Start by becoming aware of your blockages to being present.
Touchstone Five -- Serving
We are men who honor the earth and serve the whole human community…
Our concern that inner work makes a difference in the world suggests that we cannot be satisfied with simply being good men—we must do good, because our inner and outer transformation are vitally intertwined. If our inner work has any meaning, we will leave a healthy footprint wherever we go that brings with it healing, reconciliation, forgiveness, peacemaking, generosity, kindness and generativity. We do this in every small act done with great love: a smile, making room for another, extending a helping hand, sharing resources, bringing our personal presence, feeding, clothing, giving water, as well as promoting systems of justice for all those who are hurting and oppressed.
Practice – The Task Within the Task – focus on a deeper purpose than “outcomes”; maintain focus on who you are “being” when you’re doing what you’re doing; focus on being a “human being” more than a “human doing”
Practice – Discerning “What is mine to do” – for others and in service to the future
Practice – Regular support for and service to specific individuals and groups