I'm reminded of the excellent paradigm for the journey which the Labyrinth. But it seems that these days especially, the Labyrinth has many trap doors and dead ends.

A place to talk about various teachers....

I'm seeing many distortions in the spiritual growth process these days. Corporate yoga --- an oxymoron -- has been leading the way in this category for years of course as its real goal is to make employees more "productive". And as a Tai Chi practitioner for 25 years or so, I'm quite troubled by being bombarded lately from some outfit selling Tai Chi as a way to improve your health in 30 days. The video exercises in these ads (which I see constantly now in Youtube) have very little to do with Tai Chi and are mostly variations of basic garden-variety calisthenics. In fact, what they're selling is the diametric opposite of the essence of Tai Chi practice whereby a common dictum is that you're only a beginner for the first ten years. What to make of all this in the larger scheme of things? Why are these distortions becoming more commonplace? These are the questions in my mind.

This first live community call turned into something much deeper than expected. What started as a simple introduction quickly evolved into a raw, honest, and wide-ranging conversation about spirituality, community, truth, and the challenges of living consciously in the real world. People joined from all over the world — from Dublin to Boston, Germany to Sweden, Vancouver to Italy. 🧐 Key Questions From the Community Ella — “How can a global community actually work when we’re all spread out?” A deep dive into: - Online vs physical connection Tom — “What is your vision for this community?” This opens one of the most important parts of the conversation: - Mapping a path to freedom - Creating a blueprint for conscious communities - Exploring what comes after the current cultural systems break down - Introducing the idea of “enlightened communication” Monica (Germany) — “This space removed my sense of isolation.” A powerful reminder of: - How rare genuine spiritual connection is - Why most people feel alone on this path - The real role of community Lara — “Why do spiritual people avoid talking about real-world issues?” This sparks a major theme: - Spiritual bypassing vs grounded awareness - The discomfort around discussing geopolitics, suffering, and reality - Why “staying positive” can sometimes become avoidance Zia (Maryland) — “How do we avoid cult dynamics in spiritual communities?” A crucial and honest challenge: - Guru dynamics and power structures - Whether frameworks like 12-step models could help - The balance between leadership and autonomy Lucia — “What suffering made you seek enlightenment so early?” - The drive to escape suffering vs understand it Another Key Question — “Can we really create our own reality?” A nuanced response covering: - Law of attraction vs real-world cycles - Intentionality vs illusion - The role of focus, timing, and listening ❤️‍🔥 Themes That Keep Coming Up Across all questions, a few core themes emerge:

Welcome! Our new community is only just unboxed and unpacked so you can still smell the fresh paint. Likely things will be a bit quiet as new people join over the next few weeks. ☕ Start by introducing yourself in the comments below 👇 It will be cool to know a bit about you and your motivations for joining. 🔥 I will be putting up a series of podcasts we made over the last few months. Find them in the Classroom These should serve as context and grounds for questions and discussions. 🔓 The platform grants you access to the Classroom after your first post or interaction. You can find yourself on the leaderboard here. 👩‍🚀 This main area of the community will always be free for members. Later I will add paid tiers for those that want to go a bit deeper with me via live group calls and discussions. These levels will be optional. Remember without your input and ideas this is just an empty space. So don't wait for any one else to go first - it's up to YOU! Love ya! Justin --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMUNITY GUIDLINES: - Please make sure you have uploaded a Bio and foto to your profile within 7days