The Gradual PathĀ Blog
The spiritual seeker sees our oneness with all and interconnectivity but it's only the true student of the mind that understands that if we're all one, we're also one with the ugly bits. Dr. Miles Neale explains in this clip from Return with Elixir.
We said that for each of the preliminary...
The Hero needs to a find a mentor but they also need to know when to leave the mentor. In this clip from Return with Elixir, using the example of Jung's departure from Freud, Dr. Miles Neale discuss what that might look like.
This class is on the Departure. This dream I raise because it is a...
In this excerpt from Return with Elixir, Dr. Miles Neale introduces Joseph Cambell's monomyth, how it can be applied in our own lives and what to expect from the course.
It became clear that another level was necessary the progression to rise above the personal and enter the transpersonal...
When we add this visualization system to the hero's roadmap that we'll unpack in the course, the two coming together is articulating the roadmap of your own development. You have to remember wherever you are right now, as an ordinary person, you and I, we both feel very stuck. To really get the...
What are the main building blocks of Buddhahood? There is both the body and the mind of the Buddha. The mind of the Buddha is the mind that realizes complete and utter interdependence or emptiness and the body of the Buddha is of a compassionate, sensitive, capable, skillful agent of change or...
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the mentor or teacher is seen as being the living embodiment of the Buddha. In this clip from Return with Elixir, Dr. Miles Neale discusses the reason behind this and when finding a guru may or may not be appropriate.
I thought that we should talk about the...
The motto of the alchemical tradition, solve et coagula, is the transformation of base metals into gold. It is also the heroic transformation of ordinary life, through trials and adversity. Dr. Miles Neale explains in this clip from Return with Elixir.
Solve et coagula is very encapsulating...
For millennia the contemplative traditions of India and Tibet have taught that the ultimate nature of reality is empty of inherent existence, and thus insists on social engagement based on love and compassion. This paradox is known as nonduality and understood correctly avoids the extremes of...
Visualization is a powerful meditation technique that many people give up on because they think it's too hard and that they can't do it. In fact, we're visualizing all the time. Dr. Miles Neale explains in this clip from Return with Elixir.
You'll get people who say 'I can't visualize' or...
Like many many spiritual traditions, the lam rim (gradual path) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism teaches how to prepare for death. This is done by three contemplations, designed to evoke a sense of the preciousness of life and a sense of urgency to make it meaningful. Dr. Miles Neale explains in...
In this excerpt from Trauma-Informed Dharma, Dr. Miles Neale talks about one of the many possible ways we can use spiritual beliefs and practices to avoid dealing with painful feelings, unresolved trauma, and developmental needs. What follows below is a lightly edited transcript of the video.
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In this excerpt from Trauma Informed Dharma, Miles talks about refuge and how that relates to the creation of sacred spaces in community, what that looks like and how they allow us to learn and grow spiritually, together. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of the video.
There are...
