Technology Outreach Ministry - A Bigger Idea for TOM

Something amazing just manifested tonight.  I have had to sit back and write about it just to begin processing it.  But before I talk about the details I would like to share some background (yes, I know, it's poor form to save the headline for later.  But indulge me).

I've been on the Internet in one form or another since around 1995.  It started with chat rooms and some site surfing back in the day when a 4,800 baud modem was the business (and I'm a relative baby - I've spoken with people on the Internet since it's inception).  In 1996 I met the woman who was to become my wife in a chat room (a story for another time).  We were friends at first but met in 1997, fell in love and got married a year after that.  Over the years I've been involved in technology in many forms.  I've been a chat-room guide, I've moderated discussion boards.  I run my own blog.  I've run on-line gaming communities (known as guilds).  My involvement with technology even extends to my professional consulting business and follows 15 years as a Business Analyst in technologically oriented organizations.

It should be no surprise then that someone with such an affinity for technology (and a self-professed geek) that is studying Science of Mind would start wondering if there was a way to bring them together.  And no, I am not talking about a web site.  The International Centres for Spiritual Living (ICSL) and United Centres for Spiritual Living already have those.  But a web site is limited: Its strength is as a tool to convey information.  It tends to be something that publishes outwards.

Some sites, such as the Centre for Spiritual Living in Saskatoon (http://www.cslsaskatoon.com/) have a blog on them.  This still publishes information, but the publishing of information is more dynamic.  In my case I've been posting these blogs on their site for over a year, sharing my journey as a Practitioner.  In addition, readers can make comments and thus communication can be two-way, between writer and reader. 

Back in January 23rd, 2009 I blogged about a vision for technology (http://consciouscalling.blogspot.com/2009/01/calling-let-us-leverage-law-of.html).  The key message went as follows:

This is a call to those intrigued or entranced by the potential of the Law of Collaboration. It is time to break the ground on building a new technological vision for spiritual living and awareness. Some of the possibilities that immediately come to mind include; the power of a Wiki being used as a Science of Mind encyclopaedia, published articles from bright minds, discussion forums loosely moderated by students, Practitioners and Ministers, video archives of Services, the blogosphere, podcasts of highlighted material, virtual classes taking our educational program to a global audience through video and audio streaming, all pulled together through a growing online community inspired by something wonderful happening here and now. I know a volunteer driven effort to translate 'The Science of Mind' into many languages through SpiritPedia would crack open this philosophy to a much wider world audience.

Back in late 2008 I also made an effort to launch this vision at the Centre for Spiritual Living, Edmonton.  I was on the Board of Trustees at the time and made the suggestion that the Technology Outreach Ministry (TOM) be formed.  I made a call within the Centre and a few volunters came on board.  However, as that experience unfolded I found that the culture was simply not ready. 

At the time I could not place cause, yet knew that staying attached to something that was resisting did not strike me as right.  And so I set down the vision...for a short while.

I began to explore what this vision meant to me.  I still felt the pull of bringing technology and Science of Mind (SOM) together.  My first move was to create this blog.  I reasoned that for as much as I had a long history with technology I was still somewhat new to Science of Mind, and I certainly did not have a very clear vision for how the two might intersect.

What this past year of blogging did do, amongst other things, was to clarify blogging in the SOM context.  As the year progressed the vision began to shift in its slumber.  It had never really gone. 

In 2008 my vision was set around building a website that would incorporate Web 2.0 tools to support a bi-directional way of sharing and building community.  The idea was that by going on to the Internet that we could reach out to parts of the world that Bricks and Mortar simply could not.  However, in hindsight I think two things were getting in the way.  Firstly, my consciousness was not ready to support this idea.  And secondly, I don't believe I had the kind of clarity of vision that one needs.  I hadn't experienced what I needed to really set the process of creation into action.  I was bringing a bit of an abstract idea to people.  If there's something I have learned, when you take technology to people who don't really understand it and try and tell them how you 'might' use it to create a spiritual community it's almost impossible for them to see.  The problem was, the vision was in my mind.  I needed a way to make it concrete, tangible, so that I could it to people and they could more easily understand it.

And so, fast forward to January 18th, 2010.  During a meditation a vision came to mind of being in a virtual reality, and surrounded by an array of technology tools.  I could sense that there was community gathered and that we were reaching across the world.  SOM courses were being delivered, and that the tools included some of the ideas around a Wiki (to translate SOM into multiple languages) and a discussion board (to support the asynchronous sharing of ideas).  But it was the virtual reality that really got me wondering.

And then it came to me - Second Life!  The irony - I had heard about Second Life but had not tried it.  With that I went into Second Life and created an avatar (a computer generated image of a person).  I started to explore and the more I saw the more excited I got.  The program was telling me that nearly 1.5 million people had entered Second Life and that over 70,000 people were currently on line!  I found Buddhist temples and retreats, churches, and spiritual communities.  I even discovered a group called New Thought.

So in a way this vision I had was hardly new.  Similar paths were already being trodden. 

With that though I started to investigate the groups.  New Thought had been created in 2007 but the owner hadn't logged on in a couple of years.  The Unity Church has a group called SL Unity Church, but only 7 members.  Buddhists were very active scheduling silent meditation events throughout the day.  But nowhere could I see SOM.

And so I created a group called, Community for Spiritual Living.  At that point the vision I'd been thinking about over the past couple of years started to come to life in my mind.  Education was critical.  One of the defining elements of the Edmonton's Centre's growth over the past 5 years has been education.  What if one could bring education into Second Life?  But then I realized that it is not as simple as copy and pasting workbook material.  I knew that time and intelligent thinking would be required. 

I then found an island called the Mystic Academy.  Now for those of you who have not been into Second Life you have to understand that you can literally build buildings and landscapes.  It is a complete world.  The Mystic Academy had the slogan, Many Paths - One Light.  Well, hello, I said.  That sounds remarkably like the SOM principles to me!  But they also had classrooms, meditation areas, a library with literature from many spiritual paths and religions.  And in a moment of pure synchronicity I was able to meet the Academy Director and ask him if he'd be agreeable to my working with the Academy.  He very readily agreed.

The effortlessness of this struck me as sign.  Now, not only did I have a vision that was beginning to get clarity, but I had an established virtual environment with facilities perfectly suited to my clarifying this vision. 

But I knew the fundamental question of how to build on education was critical.  I've got a few ideas yet, but I started with the one that most resonated.  I began scheduling an event each evening for meditation.  I meditate for an hour each morning and evening already.  I simply started logging into Second Life and posting notices around like-minded groups.  And sure enough people started to come.  However, I made the critical decision to start with 15 minutes of a brief outline (to set some context and provide a little education to those new to the practice) with 30 minutes of practice.  After that I invite participants to share through discussion.

Participants started to show up.  Within a couple of weeks the Community had 20 members.  During discussions newcomers, and those relatively inexperienced at meditation, were making comments such as: loosing a sense of time; was that 30 minutes; I felt like I was vibrating.  It struck me that what I was seeing was the beginning of something that had some serious promise.

And now fast forward to February 3rd, 2010 (just 3 weeks later).  Reverend Patrick and I had a lunch booked (for the first time in many, many months).  As we were eating, and talking about the wonderful things happening at the Centre, he asked me if I would be interested in picking up the technology ministry I'd started back in 2008. 

With a smile on my face, and the sound of 'click' in my heart, I promptly told him that not only would I be happy to, but I'd not been idle.  I pointed out the two learnings I'd ascertained (my consciousness and clarity of vision) and explained what I'd just started on Second Life.  And then I had idea (it came like a flash).  What if the idea back in 2008 was not big enough?  What if what this really needed was to be globally launched?  What if we approached the ICSL and UCSL Boards of Education with an idea to seek Practitioners who were also heavily immersed in technology?  This would bring consciousness and experience together.  Patrick loved the idea and promised to take it away.  And just to emphasize the point I went ahead and emailed the Edmonton Practitioner community with the story of how my blog had evolved and a map of the world showing the global reach I'd already had in the first year.

And so finally, fast forward to February 8th (tonight).  I'd scheduled a meditation and 3 people showed up.  After the practice one of them commented that he had studied Religious Science for years.  It turns out that he lives in Arizona but that his Centre had recently dissolved.  He'd done SOM 100, 200, 300 in the past and had been a Professional Practitioner.

With that I shared my vision with him and he got really excited.  It occurred to me that here was exactly what I had been talking about needing with Patrick.  Someone who was already immersed in Second Life who was also a Practitioner was expressing a keen affinity with this vision I'd been stewing over for the past few years. 

But that's not all.  Another one of those gathered hung around to listen.  It turns out he was from Poland.  He'd never heard of SOM but was very knowledgeable about NLP, and from the way he spoke it was clear that he could relate to the SOM principles.  He also had a chance to hear me talking about wanting to explore refining the SOM educational curriculum to bring it online.  His excitement rose and at one point he started to describe a vision where he would love to learn about it in SL and then start a study group in Poland!

Well, at that point the fireworks went off in my mind.  Both elements of this Technology Outreach Ministry were manifesting before my very eyes:

1. A Practitioner already immersed in technology excited by this vision
2. Someone from a country that had never heard of SOM getting really excited about not only hearing this message but self-professing that a vision of taking this to others was in their mind

And these two elements perfectly capture what this vision is about.  There is more to be done, much more.  But it's clear to me that something has already started.  The 'what' is getting clearer, and the Universe is providing.  This was my vision for Technology Outreach Ministry taking its first fledgling steps like a bird just out of the egg right before my very eyes.

As I sign off on this blog I've got this feeling that something very exciting has just begun.  A global vision through technology is being born for this philosophy.  I have never been so charged or excited about anything in my life.  I feel so alive right now, and so on fire, that I feel compelled to state that I know I have just hit upon what may be the beginning of a life's work.  And given the enormity of his vision I would ask that you take this vision into your treatment work.  Hold consciousness for the right and perfect expansion of this vision, that the right and perfect Practitioner consciousness comes together to shape the foundation, and that it unfolds to create a true global Community for Spiritual Living through the Internet.

Know the Flow as you go, brothers and sisters.