Portals of Perception

The teacher-student dynamic has been central for the unfolding story of humanity. Although universities began to emerge in Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries, the modern education system only developed during the Industrial Revolution, in part for adults to be able to go to work in factories. Modern education focused on exterior knowledge of the physical world and was shaped by scientific orien...

It’s good to remember that whatever the emotional , mental, or life pain or trauma we face — whatever the shadow or ghost — we can at any time assemble the most powerful team of advisors, healers, teachers, and friends available to help us. It can be anyone, close by or at distance; a quality, such as courage or kindness. Whatever we think we need. They all come together in what we call The Inner...

How often do we feel the people closest to us emotionally or energetically — though not related by blood or marriage — are actually our real family? We all know the saying “You can’t choose your family,” usually meant humorously when a relative does something we find embarrassing. What if we can choose our family, in all the ways that have consequence, meaning and value for our lives? We’re not re...

We might want to stop and consider if a slightly different approach could help us unlock the core question this conversation is posing: Why develop yourself? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to wonder that since we will develop, one way or another, why not choose with intention and awareness what will fill our lives and help shape our future? The human is designed to develop. We know from earlier Curr...

Building on the context offered in thePreamble , this is the first in a series of  Portals Into the Soul chapters we are publishing in a draft form. This work was seeded by the conversation  The Ghost and The Inner Conclave and, as the preamble narrates, by four decades of intense inquiry. Portals into the Soul will reflect on the core story of life from the perspective of the soul. It will: Descr...

Greetings, friend, Aviv is writing with exciting updates about  Portals Into the Soul. On Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, I finally found space to sit down with notes  Kyriaki Nikandrou of the  Portals team created out of The Ghost and the Inner Conclave conversation with Jeff Vander Clute . We recorded that conversation after a four-day  Epoch Journey event in September and it was published i...

Sometimes it takes courage to heal. It’s usually easy to see, feel, and know the pain and trauma from our own lives, our communities, and the cultural upheavals upending many parts of our world. Being able to perceive and register hurt or isolation and loneliness doesn’t necessarily make the path to healing and wholeness any more visible, or smooth. How do we find and feel the inner strength to ta...

Be honest: When we see a friend or colleague achieve  a personal breakthrough — barrier overcome; milestone reached; the best of themselves coming forward — do we fully feel the value and joy of their success? Not even a tinge of jealousy, or wish that it had been us instead? What if we embrace a very different view of each other’s accomplishments and potential? When we acknowledge and appreciate...

Where can the human Big Bang be found? It is: You become what you apply yourself to . It’s not just a different angle on the familiar phrase of becoming what we think about; it goes much deeper. Application happens when we bring intention and purpose to focus our energy, knowledge and passion to achieve what we most value in life; to turn learning into action; to transform our physical, earthly re...

We’re living in a time where increasingly we see what’s happening in the world around us and have to wonder how, or even if, we can find deep truth in the age of the “deep fake”. Artificial intelligence can distort or manipulate many forms of data and information we take in through our physical senses. Sights, sounds and “facts” on a page can all be faked. How then do we with confidence make sense...

At a time when cultural and existential crises threaten the wellbeing of our global community, shouldn’t the search for wisdom and a more enlightened path forward embrace all sources of insight and new intelligence? Twenty-first century technology, side by side with ancient and sacred traditions? The intuitive, and the scientific? There is growing awareness that  real transformation , personal and...

Many news platforms today still at times refer to the struggles of life in 2023 as residual pandemic trauma — directly influenced by the painful events beginning in 2020. Is it really fair and accurate to connect today’s behavior and attitudes to a three-year-old ‘trauma’? There’s no doubt the pandemic caused pain and suffering, and trauma, for millions of people directly affected. But as everyday...

Portals Into the Soul invites us to realize the soul wants us to be fulfilled — to live a life as closely aligned as possible to the greater connections, intelligence and qualities that are the human’s universal birthright. Through a contemplative inquiry process, we can open a living conversation with the soul and its many facets and capabilities. It’s letting the unconscious lead the way as  we...

Is there a unique human or universal possibility in “we” that simply is not available to even the most finely developed “me”? When two human beings meet in purpose — really meet, not just be in close proximity — can they unlock in each other a greater growth and evolutionary potential than either one can even perceive on their own? We can see in world history the obvious survival and evolutionary...

We haven’t followed Albert Einstein’s ratio exactly here on Portals , but there is great wisdom in his insight that if given an hour to solve a problem, he’d spend 55 minutes focusing on the problem, and five minutes thinking about solutions. It’s one of the perceptions helping us uncover practical solutions to the puzzle and pain of the human predicament. In the latest addition of the series “ Cu...

What if we paraphrase a popular saying about the devil* and think “The greatest trick the modern world ever pulled was getting humanity to believe there aren’t any options”? As cultural and ecological crises deepen around the world, there are visionaries taking steps to demonstrate that, yes, we have options in how we choose to live and the future we imagine for ourselves and the planet. This emer...

What would it take for us to see the ecological and cultural crises sweeping the planet as possible harbingers of a higher transformation and metamorphosis, a second global Renaissance? Big economic and political change can be traumatic, for individuals and communities. What if the global upheavals shaking our modern way of life actually are part of a natural cycle in evolution, a necessary correc...

With so much interest in creating a new type of collective living experience, it’s reasonable to wonder why the “we” space is seen to be so important in supporting the next big leap in evolution. What can’t the individual alone — me, just being me — accomplish?  There is a deepening awareness that a new future, a transforming universal possibility, is revealing itself both through individuals and...

Imagine a process of healing that is powerful enough to restore wellbeing and transform a life, a family, a community with just a one-degree shift in perception or attention; a state of health and wholeness not defined by medicine or ecology, culture or location. In a time of cultural and environmental upheaval, the natural and regenerative paths to relief of anxiety, pain, and a sense of separati...

Just how important are relationships, really, to our health and happiness? What about to our sense of emotional and spiritual growth and fulfillment? We can trace the influence of intimacy on human development through evolution all the way back to the Big Bang. Humans are social in a way unlike anything else in the universe.  The complexity, beauty and possibility of the many forms of human relati...

Is it a big stretch to think of struggling with trauma as part of a hero’s journey? Or is it integral for the hero’s transformation? How do we metabolize feeling weak or diminished by fear, anxiety and pain from traumatic events that at times can seem beyond our ability to cope?  What if we understood that even the willingness to face a trauma will stimulate the parts of the brain responsible for...

Isn’t it curious the only species on the planet that appears concerned about or pursues the notion of “wholeness” is the human? Other highly intelligent and social animals — such as dolphins and elephants — show no evidence of feeling an inner fragmentation, separation from purpose, or impulse to connect with a source of higher intelligence.  The comparison might be a bit humorous, but it’s a uniq...

The popular concept of emotional intelligence only begins to scratch the surface of understanding the true nature and power of the human emotion.  Emotions can uplift and heal and transform a life or relationship. They can also inflict and become self-destructive; lead us to either our salvation or downfall. Some people believe the emotion plays a central role in human evolution. Why is an energy...

Many of us are getting robbed every day, whether we know it or not. We just may be robbing ourselves, too, without fully understanding the consequences of our behavior. It could be through ignorance, lack of attention, or bad decisions. Whatever the cause, we’re getting robbed of the very energy that enables good health, inspiration, and possibility of higher connection, all to the detriment of ou...

What is the power of a motivating purpose in one’s life?  What happens when our chosen purpose seems to run out? What do we do when the expected fulfillment at the high point of a career or other life quest feels empty, less thrilling, than anticipated? How do you recalibrate when the change you worked so hard to catalyze has a timeline that doesn’t match our expectations?  For example, consider w...