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David Thomas Nicol
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Expand your ability to access higher realms and take your spiritual practice to the next level of world-shifting impact.
Explore exciting frontiers of spiritual transformation in community with other pioneers at the leading edge of meditation, prayer and collective intention.
If you’re like so many spiritual practitioners, you’ve been fascinated by the growing body of scientific and anecdotal evidence that shows we have an ability to affect things at a distance — from the power of prayer to measurable effects from global meditations to the ability of shamans, yogis and qigong masters to heal others from afar.
A new wave of research on things like the Maharishi Effect, which has demonstrated reductions in crime rates in parallel with group meditations, and experiments like the Global Consciousness Project are providing evidence that supports the power of consciousness work as a way to create positive social change.
And while all of the research is likely fascinating for your mind, you probably have an even stronger pull on your heart to explore this leading-edge work as you witness so much war, conflict and ecological devastation on the planet. Our hearts ache and even break as we see the level of unnecessary violence playing out on the world stage. Our hearts call for us to do SOMETHING to uplift humanity and address these situations.
So how you can bring together your heart and mind and integrate your spiritual practices with real social healing?
In a phrase: subtle activism.
Subtle activism is both a new discipline and a growing movement that brings together spiritual practices with emerging insights into how we can begin to shift our world in a positive direction through the power of our individual and collective consciousness.
Subtle activism both opens intriguing new horizons of transformational practice, AND serves as a way to integrate inner development with outer engagement — bonding communities together in a mission of healing and positive change. And not only is there evidence for positive impact collectively, there is also a beautiful secondary effect of increased hope and co-creative energy for the subtle activists themselves.
In the past, these domains were often considered too speculative and “far out,” but now we’re moving into an era in which we are starting to understand how transformational practices can extend the capacities of our minds, broadcast the love in our hearts, and begin to affect the “collective field” in a way that helps to heal social wounds, clear past traumas and reduce humanity’s propensity to violence and crime.
In this way, our spiritual practices can evolve beyond personal liberation alone to helping address “hot spots” in the world — areas of real suffering — or even major political processes involving millions of people.
The research is also beginning to show that advanced meditative and healing practitioners are better than novices at creating these shifts non-locally — implying it’s a skill we can each develop.
That’s part of why the field of subtle activism is gaining momentum as a legitimate area for inquiry and focused practice. Subtle activism also gives us unique insights into group and collective practices, from ceremonies to simultaneous meditations.
There are few people who have explored this area in as much depth and breadth as Dr. David Thomas Nicol, the author of the acclaimed 2015 book Subtle Activism and the host of the recent Subtle Activism Summit, as well as the co-founder of the BeThePeace annual global meditation on the International Day of Peace, which had more than 1400 participating locations worldwide in 2015.
In his first-ever online Subtle Activist Training, David will show you how you can harness the power of your spiritual practices for greater good, to affect positive change in the world — and yourself. He’ll distill more than a decade of research into a concrete set of insights and practices that can open up a whole new domain for your spiritual growth and service.
He’ll take you step-by-step through the theory and techniques that allow you to engage in effective subtle activism as both a participant and organizer, as you build a field of co-creative exploration that can help shift our world.
And the best part of this work is that the benefits not only ripple out into our society but they also flow into yourself. A great deal of experience shows that when individuals work in subtle activism, they become more energized, joyful and hopeful. The experience of entering into a “group mind” leads to a feeling of oneness. As a result, people connect more deeply, feel like they’re part of a soul family, access more life force and collaborate more actively on worldly projects.
In other words, subtle activism builds a sense of real community and larger purpose, while empowering actions in the manifest realm as well.
It thus serves as an important way to advance beyond purely solo practices, which can limit our collective growth potential. By learning to consciously step into larger fields of intention, practice and work, we release the self-serving and self-seeking impulse of the ego and experience ourselves as part of a larger whole. This work, in turn, acts as a bridge to support collective awakening and transformation through direct experiences of global oneness.
During the 7-week journey with David, you’ll see why it’s increasingly clear that engaging in subtle activism can enhance your personal evolution in addition to contributing to our collective healing.
When you join this groundbreaking training, you’ll learn:
- Cutting-edge discoveries about how subtle activism actually works — drawing from the latest science about such phenomena as morphogenetic fields and psi research
- Advanced practices and lore around subtle activism, as well as information on the skills you need to develop to become more effective
- Creative techniques you can engage with a group to activate a collective subtle body — including creating a “higher mind,” “higher heart” and “higher will” — and positively impact challenging situations in the world
- How subtle activism can supercharge your spiritual practice with purpose, and create a healthy flow between a focus on self and world
- Ways to develop subtle perception, allowing you to navigate higher levels of consciousness
- Practical skills for building group synergy that can be applied to any conscious organization
- Discover new levels of hope and purpose that illuminate the next steps on your path of personal and professional development.
- Specific practices for self-protection, safety, clearing and grounding — which are especially important for dealing with larger traumas in the collective
- How to develop real discernment and distinguish healthy skepticism from fear-based doubt.How to go beyond the polarity of doubt and belief to transrational knowing
- The ethics of engaging on subtle dimensions for the collective
- The 3 keys to building collective intelligence in groups
If you’ve been curious about going beyond solo spiritual practice and making a difference on the larger issues of our time, as well as exploring the frontiers of consciousness, this is the course for you.
What You’ll Discover in These 7 Weeks
Course sessions are on Tuesdays at 5:00pm Pacific.
During the 7-Module Subtle Activist Training, David will introduce you to the fundamental ideas and skill sets needed to engage effectively in the practice of subtle activism. You’ll discover how linking your personal spiritual practice to collective transformation can be a crucial step that enhances your spiritual life with purpose and helps you let go of the obsession with self. You’ll learn about the science and theories underlying subtle activism and the critical role this emerging force can play at a pivotal moment in the evolution of consciousness on our planet. You’ll get connected to the fast-growing global subtle activism movement and be able to find your way to plug into this emerging planetary force.
Most of all, you’ll participate in co-creating a potent field of group synergy that will serve as the primary vehicle for our subtle activism work. In each session, you will take part in a short guided meditation to help build the subtle body of our group field. You will also engage with a profound group subtle activism practice (known as Gaiafield Attunement) that will target a number of real-world situations calling for our attention.
Between sessions, you’ll be invited to continue to help build our group field through a simple daily resonance-building practice, supported by text and/or email reminders with links to audio/visual meditative supports. Each session will build upon the last, so that you will become more and more deeply embedded in a resonant group field of dynamic presence.
Module 1: Subtle Activism: What’s It
All About? (October 6)
Subtle activism is really an ancient approach, adapted to the structures of contemporary society. From shamanic traditions to esoteric and mystical orders within the major world religions, practitioners have long dedicated their spiritual work to the well-being of all life. However, in our modern, hyper-individualized Western culture spirituality has become largely focused on personal liberation, often to the exclusion of sociopolitical and environmental concerns. Subtle activism is part of an emerging turn in the consciousness movement beyond personal development toward concern for the world as a whole.
During this session, you’ll discover:
- What subtle activism is, and how it’s being practiced today
- Fascinating historical examples of subtle activism
- How subtle activism differs from spiritual activism or engaged spirituality
- The historical reasons why spirituality became marginalized to the private realm and why it’s time for that to change
- How subtle activism can supercharge your spiritual practice with purpose and create a healthy energetic flow between inner and outer, self and the world
You will also participate in a guided meditation practice to help build our group heart and in a Gaiafield Attunement practice to come into deep resonance with each other and the Earth.
Module 2: Subtle Activism & Science: Addressing the Rational Mind (October 13)
If you received a modern Western education, chances are that ideas about non-physical dimensions or nonlocal causality — which underlie the concept of subtle activism — will tend to provoke your inner skeptic. Is this real or is it just my imagination? In fact, there is a large body of scientific evidence that supports the existence of nonlocal connections between human minds and between mind and matter.
During this session, you’ll learn about:
- The fascinating research by scientists associated with the Transcendental Meditation organization into the Maharishi Effect, and their findings about how meditation groups can affect social harmony
- The Global Consciousness Project, which measures the effect of collective consciousness on a global network of random number generators
- Intriguing results from psi and distant healing research
- How to distinguish healthy skepticism from fear-based doubt
- Ways to go beyond the polarity of doubt and belief to transrational knowing
You will also take part in a guided meditation to help build our group higher mind and in a Gaiafield Attunement practice to elicit personal and collective wisdom on the phenomenon of doubt itself.
Module 3: Theories of Subtle Activism: Collective Fields of Consciousness (October 20)
How might subtle activism work? How could our spiritual work possibly influence modern societies, with their vast size and complexity? The idea of subtle activism runs counter to our regular perception of the world as a collection of seemingly separate material objects and to the materialistic assumptions of orthodox science. But science itself has come to recognize not only the profound interrelatedness of all things at more basic levels of reality, but also the complex connection between consciousness and world. This week we’ll consider various leading-edge theories that have been developed to explain the nonlocal nature of consciousness.
During this session, you’ll discover:
- The significance of biochemist Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of morphogenetic fields and Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious
- The fascinating psychedelic research of Christopher Bache, including his theory of how individuals in non-ordinary states can bring healing to the human species mind
- The theory behind the Maharishi Effect research
- Dion Fortune’s esoteric theory of magical activism
You will also participate in a guided meditation to help build our group will center and in a Gaiafield Attunement practice to connect with the essential quality of Basic Trust.
Module 4: Principles of Subtle Activism: How to Engage in Collective Transformation Safely & with Integrity (October 27)
Subtle activism is an extension of our spiritual practice into the collective realm. Opening to these broader social fields can raise new questions about how to engage ethically and safely. How should we best approach our subtle activism practice? What is the right orientation to take? How can our engagement on collective levels be integrated seamlessly into the rest of our spiritual lives?
In this session, you will learn:
- The ethics of engaging on subtle dimensions for the collective
- How to participate safely in the practice of subtle activism
- The principle of non-attachment to outcome
- The principle of humility: owning the dark places inside ourselves
- The importance of engaging from wholeness
You will also participate in a guided meditation to connect our group heart, mind and will centers and in a Seeds of Peace Attunement focused on the Middle East.
Module 5: Subtle Activism & the Evolution of Consciousness (November 3)
We have reached an extraordinary threshold in the human and planetary story. Alongside the threat of the global ecological crisis and the potential collapse of current socio-economic systems, there are seeds all around us of an emerging planetary wisdom civilization. What can we do to nurture this nascent planetary awareness? How might the practice of subtle activism help catalyze the process of planetization?
In this session, you will learn about:
- The Noosphere: Teilhard de Chardin’s extraordinary vision
- The Integral Earth Community: David Berry’s notion of our transition to the Ecozoic Era
- The Reenchantment of the Cosmos: Could humanity be poised to re-awaken to the spiritual intelligence of the universe?
- How the practice of global meditation can serve as a collective initiation into planetary consciousness
- Why chaos theory suggests that a profound collective shift could happen far more quickly than we think
You will also participate in a guided meditation to purify our group will and in a Water Attunement to open to deep guidance about a pressing issue on the world stage (we will select the particular issue based on world events at the time).
Module 6: Working with Group Fields (November 10)
Although we can practice subtle activism as individuals, our impact is radically amplified when we practice together as a highly coherent group field. The art of pooling our consciousness together to discover higher forms of collective wisdom in relation to the challenges facing our species is the leading-edge of subtle activism practice today. The group field can be developed and refined in such a way that it becomes a new entity in its own right, and an extraordinarily potent vehicle for personal and collective transformation. As Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh famously said, “The next Buddha may be the sangha.”
In this session, you’ll discover:
- The 3 keys to building collective intelligence in groups
- The evolutionary significance of moving beyond individualism to conscious collectivism
- Why practicing in group fields allows easier access to humanity’s collective unconscious and to higher dimensional energies
- An exciting and magical process that has emerged in David’s work to develop the subtle body of a group and to apply its spiritual capacities for collective healing
You will also participate in a guided meditation to purify our group heart and in a Gaiafield Attunement intended to consecrate the venue of the December Paris Climate Change Conference.
Module 7: How to Create Your Own Subtle Activism Circle & Be Part of the Movement (November 17)
As Club Budapest President Ervin Laszlo recently said, “Subtle activism is an idea whose time has come.” Although the term subtle activism is still new, a movement is emerging worldwide to harness the power of our collective consciousness in service of a global shift. The movement is very young, fresh and open to creative ways of engaging with it. Are you feeling the call? If so, how might you take the next steps on your path as a subtle activist?
In our final session, you will:
- Learn how to create your own subtle activism circle
- Hear about exciting subtle activism initiatives from a number of leaders in the field
- Discover how you can become an anchor for subtle activism practice in your city or local area
- Learn how you can tap in on a regular basis to ongoing forms of subtle activism practice
You will also participate in a guided meditation to purify our group mind and in a Radiant Joy Attunement to bring light to the world’s capital buildings.
The Subtle Activist Training Bonus Collection
In addition to David’s transformative 7-week virtual program, you’ll also receive these powerful training sessions with the world’s leading visionaries and teachers. These bonus sessions are being offered to further complement what you’ll learn in the course — and take your understanding and practice to an even deeper level.
Sacred & Subtle Activism
Audio Dialogue with Andrew Harvey
How do you marry your deep inner joy to pragmatic action to transform our existing economic, social, and political institutions? What is the relationship between spiritual practice and inspired worldly action? Where is the meeting point between subtle and sacred activism? Join mystical scholar and activist Andrew Harvey in lively dialogue with David Nicol on these and other questions on the intersection of spirituality and activism.
Andrew Harvey is an author, speaker and founder/director of the Institute of Sacred Activism, an international organization focused on inviting concerned people to take up the challenge of our contemporary global crises by becoming inspired, effective and practical agents of institutional and systemic change, in order to create peace and sustainability. He has written and edited over 30 books and received many awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award and the Mind Body Spirit Award.
Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project
Audio Dialogue with Cynthia Jurs
For the past 25 years, Cynthia Jurs has been on an incredible odyssey, knitting together a global mandala of communities via the “Earth Treasure Vase Practice,” a sacred Tibetan Buddhist method of communal healing. The practice involves filling a consecrated clay vessel with prayers and sacred offerings, and then burying them in key places in the Earth. Cynthia has brought this practice to 30 sites worldwide since 1990. In this one-hour dialogue with David T. Nicol, Cynthia shares her remarkable story, and discusses the implications of this practice for the field of subtle activism.
Cynthia Jurs is a Buddhist teacher who received Dharmacharya transmission to teach from Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994. Also a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, she has studied with many great masters and has spent much time in retreat practicing in both the Vajrayana and Zen Buddhist traditions for the last 30 years. She directs the Open Way Sangha, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, teaching retreats and leading groups in meditation, “engaged buddhism” and spiritual activism. In 1990, Cynthia undertook a pilgrimage to meet a 106 year-old Tibetan lama living in a cave high in the Himalayas that transformed her life. She asked the old man in the cave, Charok Rinpoche, “What can we do to bring healing and protection to the Earth?” He instructed her in the practice of the Earth Treasure Vases; a practice dedicated to bringing healing and protection to the Earth by filling consecrated clay vessels with prayers and offerings and burying them in places of need around the world. She was given 30 of these consecrated clay vessels and told to fill them with sacred offerings and prayers, take them to places in need of healing and bury them according to the tradition.
Inspired by her travels with this practice, in 2008, she founded Alliance for the Earth, to support the emergence of a global community committed to the healing and renewal of the Earth. As director of the Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project, Cynthia has facilitated collaborations with young activists and indigenous elders in communities all around the world in this unique ritual that strengthens community, invites prayers from everyone and catalyzes unpredictable solutions.
City of Light
Digital Art by Dario Fidanza
This digital art piece provides a stunning visual referent of a cityscape subtly infused with the light of consciousness. Use it as a desktop or screensaver for ongoing inspiration. It was specially commissioned in August 2015 for the theme of subtle activism.
Dario Fidanza is a bold, visionary design artist with over 12 years experience in the fields of graphic design and visual communication.
What People Are Saying About David Nicol...
David’s subtle activism meditation was truly the best guided meditation I have ever participated in. I am usually averse to guided meditation because I often feel the guide doesn’t fully open the field. Only once else have I experienced this profound layering and depth.
– Anne Stadler, Call of Compassion Northwest / Honoring Beloved Community
David T. Nicol radiates joy and clear presence grounded in deep spiritual practice, and he brings these gifts with great skillfulness to the challenging work of personal and planetary transformation. Studying with David has deepened my activism and helped me — and many others — to awaken some pretty awesome capacities to “be the peace” and heal human relationships, especially with Mother Earth. May these inner technologies illuminate each and every heart!
– Jeff Vander Clute, Sourcing the Way, Evolutionary Leaders
David Nicol, PhD, Director of the Gaiafield Project, brings forth his great gifts and gentle guidance in service to the power of Subtle Activism. I have worked with David for the past two years and have experienced his clear and comprehensive teaching style first-hand. He is highly intuitive and engages participants to experience the deep and beneficial work this meditation practice can bring to serve the work we are doing in these tumultuous times.
– Gretchen M. Krampf, MSOD, Director, NewStories Thriving Salish Sea Project
David Nicol has that rare combination of understanding the science of applying subtle activism techniques while also creating a safe and welcoming container to hold each person within the framework of the group field being created. His willingness to allow spirit and the group energy to take the lead ensures that each process unfolds organically. I’m so happy that David’s work is finding a larger audience because Subtle Activism is an important tool in the next stage of humanity’s creating positive change on a global scale, and the more people who participate the quicker the upliftment of our planet. I look forward to participating in this adventure in transformation with David as our loving and capable guide!
– Elizabeth Tobin, Certified Resonance Repatterning Practitioner
Join the Global Community
The Subtle Activist Training not only offers some of the most advanced online teachings currently available, it also offers a thriving global community of support.
Join your fellow students and practitioners from across the world in the live interactive conference calls or in our online community to support and learn from each other while you learn to harness your spiritual capacities to affect change in the world and evolve beyond individual practice to collective.
This international community is also at the leading edge of a global movement of people who are committed to manifesting a better world for all beings. This emerging planetary movement is rooted in an open heart and stands for the principles of mutual support, cooperation, harmony and reverence for all of life.
Here’s What You’ll Receive
Seven 90-Minute Class Sessions with
David Nicol
Experience a rare opportunity to be mentored and learn with pioneering global activist David Nicol — from the comfort of your own home. Each class session helps you create the specific skills and abilities to turn on your sense of purpose and experience yourself as part of a global awakening and movement.
Seven Audio Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the audio will be available for you to download in high quality MP3 format. This way, you’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can listen anytime and anywhere — on your iPod, in your car and at your convenience.
Seven PDF Transcripts of Class Sessions
In addition to the high quality MP3 audios, you’ll also receive the entire class transcription in PDF format after each session is completed. This way you can review, print and highlight the most important insights and practices that you’ll learn.
Seven 30-Minute Interactive Group Practice Sessions
Following each class session there will be a live 30-minute interactive practice session where you will be placed in an intimate group with several other participants on the conference call to interact, share and do additional practices to help further integrate the weekly lessons.
Interactive Exercises and Questions for
Each Lesson
After each lesson, you will then have the option to do related exercises, practice new tools and answer questions in order to accelerate your learning and integrate each week’s lesson.
Online Community
Our exclusive Facebook online community is the perfect place to continue your learning after each class. Here, you can ask additional questions, interact with your fellow students and get access to additional resources to take your learning experience to an even deeper level.
The Subtle Activist Training Bonus Collection
- Sacred & Subtle Activism
Audio Dialogue with Andrew Harvey
- Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project
Audio Dialogue with Cynthia Jurs
- City of Light
Digital Art by Dario Fidanza
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join The Subtle Activist Virtual Training
We at The Shift Network feel deeply honored that David Nicol has chosen to partner with us on this exclusive, LIVE online training. As you may know, this is a rare opportunity to learn directly from a groundbreaking global activist whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and awaken ourselves and our world.
Through this powerful online format, you’ll not only save time and money on workshop costs (plus travel, accommodations and meals — which would cost thousands of dollars), you’ll be able to benefit from David’s incredible teachings and exercises from the comfort of your home — at your own pace!
If you are serious about engaging in the group field which brings personal healing and at the same time helps heal the world, then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and our world to take this one-of-a-kind training.
If you’re ready to take the next step in evolving yourself, click the register button below to reserve your space now.
About David Nicol. . .
David Thomas Nicol, PhD, is director and co-founder of the Gaiafield Project, an action research center founded at the California Institute of Integral Studies that advances the study and practice of subtle activism. His forthcoming book Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation is the first comprehensive treatment of the topic. He is also co-founder of BeThePeace, one of the world’s largest global meditation events that occurs annually on the International Day of Peace (September 21). He teaches on subtle activism in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness program at the California Institute of Integral Studies and at The Shift Network. A former environmental lawyer from Australia, he now lives in Berkeley with his wife Kate and dogs Jackson and Peaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a virtual course?
"I have never participated before in an online course. The packaging, presentation, inclusion and Facebook postings created a wonderful, safe cocoon to participate. I haven’t seen a course so well put together ever — not in all the years of taking college classes — and I had my doubts about doing an online course. The wealth of organization and ease of learning materials and support made this fun as well.”
– Claudia F., Medford
Please note that dialing MaestroConference from your phone is a regular toll call to California, and your telephone service provider will charge you according to your existing long-distance calling plan. You can also use Skype credit/subscription or Google Voice to dial in to MaestroConference, and you’ll need to use your virtual keypad to enter your PIN and to indicate that you want to ask a question. Other options include calling cards and discount long-distance carriers, and we also have a webcast which is free to use from anywhere in the world.
Q: Can I get benefit from the course if I miss the live classes?
A: Absolutely! You can download the recordings and transcripts of all course sessions from our online media archive, so you never need to worry about missing live calls. You can also engage the full community and leaders on our private community website.
Q: Can you tell me about the Private Course Group?
A: We will have a private community group for all course participants on Facebook that will support you in making connections with others, sharing insights, engaging in discussions, completing homework assignments and exchanging information about events and other activities that can supplement your transformational journey. You’ll have the ability to share your experiences, projects, and growth throughout the Course.
Q: Are there scholarships available for this Training?
A: Yes, we always make a certain percentage of spaces available for partial scholarships, giving preference to those in developing countries or doing important but underpaid work to which they can apply the training material immediately. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please review our guidelines, which include a link to our online application form.
Q: What is your refund policy?
A: Your satisfaction with The Shift Network and this course is our highest priority! We offer a satisfaction guarantee so that you can sample the course risk-free. The deadline to receive a full refund is October 20, 2015. To request a refund, please click on this refund request form and submit your request. Your refund will be processed within five business days and we'll send you an email confirming your refund. However, we'd love to have a chance to address and resolve your concerns first. If there is something we can assist you with, please email us at support@theshiftnetwork.com, and we'll be happy to help! (No refund requests accepted after the above date or with scholarship awards.)
Q: How can I reach Customer Support?
A: Please visit our Customer Support Center, where you should be able to find the answer to your question or the solution to a problem. And if you can’t, you can submit an online request form and we’ll get right back to you.
