What is the IMP? Swami explains this new practice in the following video.
An Introduction to the IMP
Beloveds,
Love.
I have been spending some time considering a number of challenges the School is currently facing:
First, there is the fact that many of you have expressed to me a desire to have me provide more structure and active instruction.
This is something I had not done thus far because it is not essential to the school's function; but I am aware that its something that many (though not all) of you might be craving, and have for some time been working on something to address this.
I feel it has now crystallized into something viable; more on this later.
Second, and related, is that I know some students have been looking and working at other sources and programs, to satisfy this desire.
Many have expressed to me that they'd naturally rather I would offer something structured; and certainly, between the choice of having to mix teachings and work more directly with me it would be better to go with the latter.
Third, the ongoing financial difficulty regarding donations.
There are many people here who have given out of devotion and gratitude; but it has been expressed to me by several students that people would be more willing to give if they felt they got something more concrete in return.
I do understand this (though I wish it were not so, and that more people would get the purer understanding of what I was trying to teach in the way the financing of this school was structured until now), and the development I'm presenting in this letter is an attempt to address this in a way that will not be 'spiritual materialism' but rather something that will direct this wish in a productive way.
So, as a response to all this, I am announcing the beginning of a new program that I will be working through with those who wish it: the Intensive Mysticism Program, or IMP for short.
The purpose of the IMP will be to provide a much more structured and dedicated program of instruction in mystical teaching and practices, for those who want to work personally with me in a highly organized fashion.
In designing the IMP, I have taken the various sources of teaching from east and west, and the many practices of the same, and organized them into a format that actually makes sense as a guided process for assisting in the unfolding of awareness.
It will be, in other words, a new teaching program for the modern student in the western world.
It is not, however, a cookie-cutter formula that will be the same for everyone, instead, each phase of the IMP will be crafted to the particular student, with an emphasis on regular instruction and interaction in the guru-student relationship; the practices that one student will do at a given phase of the program will not be the same as another student's.
The primary goal of the IMP's structured teaching will be to help open and encourage awareness and enlightenment quality in those who participate in it sincerely.
What the IMP is NOT:
Mandatory. No one in the school is required to participate in the IMP, and for those who don't nothing will change in the way they are working right now with me and in the school. The IMP is a special 'intensive' program.
Something that offers some special secret that you will not otherwise have; it is a structured guided program, but not something special that is essential to Awakening
Something that will make you in any way better in the school than those who aren't in the IMP.
a collection of titles or degrees, or a ladder to climb. It is a program, and will have different phases of work, but whether or not someone grows in awareness will depend on how much work they're putting into it at each phase, not by rushing through the work to try to get to the 'next level'.
The IMP consists of a number of Phases, each containing a variety of 'branches' of sadhana (practices and study), which must be done in sequence, to work on opening awareness.
Each Phase (there will ultimately be 10 in all) will consist of a number of steps, and will require a minimum amount of time to complete the phase, though as each person will be working at their own pace, the amount of time to complete each Phase may be above the minimum (which would apply only if someone worked with a great deal of intensity and showed quick results).
The 1st Phase of the IMP would take a minimum of 1 year to complete, and will provide a great deal of study and training in a variety of practices; so as you can see the IMP is certainly NOT meant to be a 'quick fix', it is meant to be a long term program of organized spiritual exercises.
Throughout each step of each phase, I will be personally supervising the student, by e-mail and also via a 'conference' by Skype or Facebook at least once a month.
Participation in the IMP will involve a monthly fee on a sliding scale, with the minimum fee of $50 for students or financially limited participants and a recommended minimum of $100 for anyone else.
If you are able to give more than this of course you are welcome too and it is needed.
Whether or not you are 'financially limited' is based on your own judgment, honestly self-assessing your own situation.
Any student that has already been donating at this level or above can automatically enter the IMP if they so wish, without having to pay any extra dues, though of course anyone is welcome to increase their donation (and I'll remind everyone that at this time I am still working on a deficit, particularly after a few recent reductions in donation levels).
F.A.Q.
Q: Does anyone HAVE to participate in this program?
A: No. There is nothing in this program that is absolutely essential in a general sense; what it provides is a more intensive, structured, guided teacher-student practice.
Q: If I am donating right now does that mean I should be in the program?
A: Only if you want to, you can feel free to donate to the school without participating in the IMP.
Q: Is the IMP going to be personalized, based on our paths and our needs?
A: Yes.
Q: For those of us who do not get in the IMP, will anything change about how the school works?
A: I do not expect it to.
Q: Is there any requirement for the IMP besides the fee?
A: There is no other strict requirement to being participating in IMP. You can participate in Phase 1 of the IMP (which, remember, has a minimum duration of 1 year) even without being an initiate; Phases 2 and up being more directly tied to work that requires shaktipat/Baraka, it would require that you be an initiate to continue beyond Phase 1.
Aside from that, the other requirement would be an absolute sincerity of wanting to work with the structure; you could participate in IMP without this, but what would be the point?
You must actually do the reading and exercises I present to you in the program, and practice diligently, or else there will be no possibility of fruitful gain.
Aside from that, on a practical level, you'd need an internet connection and an email address.
Q: What about the time requirements?
A: There is no question that the IMP program would require, for someone to actually make progress in it, a certain commitment of time and effort.
Just how much time you can put into it may vary, and this is fine; the pace must be set to fit your scheduling needs, but being in the IMP will require time to spend doing some reading, and regular daily practices that you will want to set some time aside for.
Q: I would like to be in the IMP but I can't afford it.
A: Then this is not the time for you to be in this program right now; if you can't afford to participate at this time, don't worry! If you want to, and when the time is right, you will find a way; and when you can afford it you will be able to join then. Your time right now will clearly be better spent working on your own material stability.
Q: Do you have to do the entire program?
A: You don't 'have' to do anything. If you wish to or need to stop participating in the IMP due to time or financial constraints, or because you feel it is not useful to you at that time, you can simply stop. Later on, if you are able or wish to return to it, you will be reintegrated at the Phase and step that I feel is appropriate for you.
Q: What is the difference between the different Phases? Will all of them take a year to complete? Do you get a prize at the end?
A: The different phases will have different kinds of work, readings, and exercises meant to focus on different areas of growth in your spiritual practice.
In fact, I expect that for most people, Phase 1 would take longer than a year to complete, as it is the foundational phase to give the basis for all the work that will follow; Phase 1 is meant to help insure that the IMP student will achieve a strong and solid foundation of understanding of mysticism and a solid discipline of spiritual practice.
Other Phases may take less time to complete, or more, depending on people's schedules and pacing.
The only prize for participating in IMP is a more structured relationship of working with the Guru, and hopefully increased awareness flowering from the practice; and both of these prizes are not something you get at the end, but something that you will hopefully be getting right from the start of the IMP.
Q: What if I don't like the practices you give me?
A: It depends what you mean by 'like'. The program is not supposed to be about flashiness or fun; it is an intensive program that will involve some hard work; and the criteria about whether a practice is right for you will depend on whether the practice is having certain effects on your person and your awareness.
If the current practices are not working with you, they will be adjusted; that is the point of working closely in the teacher-student relationship.
Q: Will I have to do everything you say?
A: Again, you never 'have' to do anything. However, this being an intensive program, it will involve more taking direct instruction than the regular work within the School; so yes, in order for the program to really be fruitful for you, it will be important that you follow instructions; if you do not actually do the work I assign, do not be surprised if the program isn't working for you.
Q: Doesn't IMP sound kind of silly?
A: Yes. I hope that way people won't take it too seriously!
More details about the IMP
Beloveds,
Love.
Several of you have asked some more questions, wanting some more details about
the IMP; particularly about "what would you be doing" in it.
Because its going to be private work with each student, while the overall
structure of the program has a set of steps and goals, the individual work will
vary somewhat from one person to another.
One person might use one set of practices and study to reach the "goals" an
another might use a slightly (or considerably) different set to reach the same
goals.
So it would be difficult for me to describe what specific work will be going on,
because it will vary.
But there are some things that will be universal to everyone working in the
program, and I'll try to outline some of that here to give more information:
First, it will be a more structured program than the work that is done within
the regular Sangha.
The idea is that you will be working closely with me; and for the program to
work you have to want to work with a certain amount of dedication and
discipline, and you have to be willing to do each step with trust in doing it
the way I ask you to, and when and how I ask you to.
Second, it will be more closely monitored.
The idea is that we would be talking and working very closely together reviewing
each step of what you are doing; there would be more supervision.
At LEAST once a month, we would try to have a live "conference" on either skype
or facebook to spend time in satsang together and to go over how your sadhana is
doing.
This supervision means that I will be able to adjust the program as needed for
each person on the basis of what I see from how it is working with them.
And third, the purpose of (phase 1 of) the IMP is to leave you, upon its
completion, with a complete and thorough grounding in both the discipline of
spiritual practice (both meditation and self-inquiry) and understanding of
mysticism and symbolism.
So there will definitely be practices and teachings that you will be going
through that you would not have done before, and might not have ever known about
or considered doing by yourself.
So there will be both reading and teaching in the here and now; for some
students it will be a little more of one and for others a little more of the
other, but all students will get a serious dose of both, because both are needed
to help create a very complete experience meant to help you be a more
disciplined and accomplished practitioner.
Also, this work takes place within the (virtual) walls of the Sangha, but it is
not really a sangha work (as in, everyone working together), it is a personal
work between you and me in the context of the guru-student relationship.
The IMP is set up so that it will work, naturally, at whatever pace you can put
into it.
Obviously, if someone is so busy that they can't take even an hour or so of
their day to dedicate to spiritual/personal work, then the IMP might not be
worthwhile; but if you can, say, dedicate about an hour or so of your time in
the course of the day (not necessarily all at once, but over the course of the
day at least), then it should be enough.
Love
Swami
If you'd like to know more, or would like to join the IMP, please
click here to email
Swami directly about the IMP.