Introduction To Buddhist Tantra: A Vision of Wholeness & Radical Transformation A special course of study With Dr. Joel & Michelle Levey Monday evenings May 3-24, June 7-21 7 to 9:30 at our home near GreenLake At the heart of the world’s great Wisdom Traditions is an inner core of profound transformational teachings and subtle psycho-energetic- physical practices. These sacred, esoteric, transformational teachings offer guidance on how to recognize and transform our limiting and confused, distorted and ignorant views/stories of self and reality, and how to awaken more fully to a sacred identity of wholeness that is universal and divine in proportion. In particular, the Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) tradition of the Tibetan Buddhist lineages offers a unique treasury of profoundly transformational teachings for realizing our True Universal identity and highest potentials. While many of these teachings are highly esoteric, symbolic, and reserved for those with the proper initiations, it is helpful for people interested in spiritual studies, depth psychology, dramatic arts, mind science, and extraordinary human potential, to have a basic understanding, introduction, and orientation to the themes, foundations, and principles that bring these remarkable teachings to life. Utilizing Lama Thubten Yeshe’s classic guidebook, Introduction to Tantra: A Vision of Totality, as our main text, Joel & Michelle Levey will guide this exciting exploration and elucidation of these precious, highly symbolic, and profound practices. (Note: We both studied closely with Lama Yeshe). We will also use Romio Shrestha’s brilliant book, Celestial Gallery, and Alex Grey’s books Sacred Mirrors and Transfigurations as sources of inspiration for understanding the profound archetypal symbolism and omnidimensionality of these practices, which reflect the integration and wholeness of the many dimensions of our own True Nature & highest potentials. Among the themes that we will explore are: - Recognizing, questioning, and revisioning our story of self-identity - Sacred Dignity & “Divine Pride” - Transforming emotional turbulence - Weaving a sacred vision of wholeness into the heart of our lives, work, and relationships - The Bodhisattva Path of Universal Love & Compassion - The transformative power of motivation, desire, and heartfelt aspiration - Creative meditation and multidimensional consciousness - The “emptiness of self” as our wholeness & “inter-being” with all creation - The power of refuge - Awakening a “fierce determination” to be free - Intimacy with Mystery - The Balance of Feminine & Masculine Energies - The powers of reverence, devotion, & faith - The inseparability of Wisdom and Compassion Our intention is to provide a foundation of understanding for students interested in pursuing deeper studies in Buddhist Vajrayana/Tantra, and in related shamanistic and symbolic traditions that work with archetypal and symbolic energies and demonstrate our potentials for radically transforming how we constellate and construct our identity and story of self. Our hopes are that this course will shed light on many of the subtle and profound points of these teachings and lay a foundation for serious practitioners to deepen their faith, clarify their understanding and motivation, and intensify their dedication to exploring these precious sacred traditions and to realizing the sweet fruits of such practice. Registration: If this invitation calls to you we welcome you in joining us. Enrollment for this course will be limited. We would like to have at least 10 and no more than 20 participants for the Spring course. To help us with our planning, please register as soon as possible-ideally no later than Sunday April 25th. Tuition: These teachings if taken to heart and fully realized, are priceless. And… in the spirit of reciprocity, we have set the tuition for this course on a sliding scale of $108 to $420. (Yes, these are metaphysically sacred numbers!) We understand that each of us has varying resources available, and with this understanding we encourage you to be as generous as possible to help support others in participating. To register: 1- Send us an email stating your intention to participate, and a brief written statement of your aspirations and hopes for this course. 2- Mail a $50 deposit (non-refundable) to: Joel & Michelle Levey 5536 Woodlawn Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98103 3-The balance of your tuition is due by the first class. No refunds will be given after the course begins. Ordering Books: Once you have registered, we suggest that you get a copy of our main text for this course ~~Lama Thubten Yeshe’s book Introduction to Tantra (Wisdom Publications). If you can also find a copy of Romio Shrestha’s exquisite book Celestial Gallery, it is a real treasure of inspiration, but it is not “required” reading. (Note: It retailed for $125, but was available at Costco over Christmas for $30! If you can obtain an affordable copy – Costco on line…. Froogle….Amazon…- we encourage you to get one.) We also highly recommend Alex Grey’s two incredible books Sacred Mirrors and Transfigurations. These are optional but highly recommended and we will use these in class for inspiration. We encourage you to order these directly from Alexgrey.com (Note: This is a fascinating site to explore.) Let Alex and Allyson know you are taking a class from us and request a signed copy if you like. For more information, please contact us at: Phone: (206) 632-3551 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.wisdomatwork.com Invite Your Friends Who May Be Interested: We invite and encourage you to share this invitation with friends, colleagues, and kindred souls with whom you would enjoy sharing this exploration in consciousness. If they are unfamiliar with us you may wish to include the following biographical sketch. Biographical Sketch: An Integrative Approach Joel & Michelle Levey have devoted their lives to the exploration and integration of the modern and ancient mind sciences and wisdom traditions. Their pioneering work spans many disciplines including: mindbody medicine; noetic sciences; cyberphysiology, neurofeedback & clinical biofeedback training; peak performance training; leadership development, and developing healthy high performing organizational teams and culture. They are co-founders of: WisdomatWork.com; InnerWork Technologies, Inc.; SportsMind, Inc.; The International Center for Corporate Culture & Organizational Health; and the International Center for Contemplative Inquiry. The Leveys have been fortunate to study with many of the great contemplative masters & consciousness researchers of our times including: The Dalai Lama; Krishnamurti; Brother David Steindl-Rast; Reb Schlomo Carlbach; Reb Zalman Schacter Shalomi; Thich Nhat Hahn; Ram Dass; Kalu Rinpoche; Karmapa; DipaMa; S.N. Goenka; Jack Kornfield; Rina Sircar; Sharon Salzberg; Robert Thurman; Dan Goleman; Jon Kabat-Zinn; Larry Dossey; Jean Houston; Andrew Weil; and William Tiller. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has blessed and encouraged Joel & Michelle’s work and teachings, and once wrote in a letter to them: “You are presently engaged in work that has great prospects for bringing the Dharma (the inner sciences and technologies of human development and transformation) to a very wide section of people who may not under ordinary circumstances come into contact with the Dharma.” Many of their other teachers have also blessed and encouraged them to pass their teachings along to others. Joel and Michelle have been fortunate to devote a number of years of their lives to intensive silent contemplative retreat, including a one-year silent meditation retreat in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. They have also been intensively involved with psychophysiological research on meditation, consciousness, and extraordinary human performance and were identified by the Institute of Noetic Sciences--for whom they have participated in numerous research colloquiums--as leading contemporary "teachers of transformation." Their work in the world has lead them to work with leaders and teams in over 200 leading organizations around the globe including: NASA, World Bank, Intel, Intuit, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Washington Mutual Bank, Group Health, Swedish Medical Center, Weyerhaueser, Menninger Foundation, Boeing, The Seattle Center, and with many professional organizations. They have directed clinical programs for Group Health and Children’s Medical Center in Seattle, lectured at dozens of Universities and medical schools, served as faculty at Antioch & Bastyr Universities, and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad India, and as core faculty for International Center for Organization Design and the World Business Academy. They have coached a number of Olympic and World Class champions and designed & directed biocybernautic training for the US Army Green Berets’ acclaimed “Jedi Warrior Program” which was described by West Point leaders as, “The most exquisite orchestration of human technology that we have ever seen.” Joel & Michelle Levey live in Seattle, where they have guided weekly meditation sittings & ongoing programs in Dharma study together for the past twenty-two years. Over the past 30 years they have been actively involved in beginning many of Seattle’s most established meditation groups. They also steward The Sanctuary at Kohala Potala, a learning center, gathering place, and organic permaculture farm in North Kohala on the Island of Hawaii (http://www.wisdomatwork.com/sanctuary). Their published works have been translated