The Center for Human Awakening
~ The Psycho-Spiritual Teachings of Richard Harvey ~
Sharing our Mission
Establishing the Spiritual-Sacred Foundation for a New World in the 21st Century
THREE SPHERES OF ENDEAVOR
Our work is collected under three separate, yet connected, spheres of endeavor:
The Way of Sacred Attention
The Creation of a Divine Meta-Psychology
The Art of Conscious Living
These three spheres of endeavor comprise Sacred Attention Therapy, Sacred Attention Spiritual Training, Sacred Attention Psychology, the Sacred Attention Project, Human Awakening Groups, the Arhat Project and Lay Counselor Support and Training.
THE WAY OF SACRED ATTENTION
The Way of Sacred Attention consists of two principle disciplines: Sacred Attention Therapy and Sacred Attention Spiritual Training. Together they comprise a comprehensive approach to the psycho-spiritual development of the human being.
Sacred Attention Therapy is a radical, innovative therapy and healing modality for the 21st century. It is based on the three stages of awakening and other original concepts drawn from the work of Richard Harvey. Sacred Attention Therapy addresses the full spectrum of psychological growth and spiritual development of the human being. One key idea that has great significance for the individual and the modern era is that between the psychological and the spiritual dimensions of human existence is a connecting heart-stage of authenticity and compassion, which represents the natural flowering of a human life. This approach proposes that inner work is crucial for humanity’s future and that it is only through individual, personal awakening to inner wisdom, authenticity and innate compassion that the world will thrive and realize a new era of cooperation, tolerance and peace.
Sacred Attention Spiritual Training is a spiritual-sacred way for the modern era which radically revises popular assumptions about spiritual life. The preparatory period of spiritual approach (toward the end of the second stage of awakening) prepares the aspirant for authentic spiritual life, supported, explained and nurtured in the Sacred Attention Spiritual Training teachings of the third stage of awakening. The three spiritual natures of knowledge, devotion and service are identified and embraced individually by each aspirant as the basis for spiritual practice in a consistent and non-progressive practice of lifelong spiritual discipline.
Underpinning Sacred Attention Therapy and Sacred Attention Spiritual Training is the emergence of a fifth wave of human psychology, a progression and expansion of existing ways of understanding human beings, which places spirituality at the very center of human, earthly life in order to recognize its sacredness.
THE CREATION OF A DIVINE META-PSYCHOLOGY
The Creation of a Divine Meta-Psychology consists of two principle enterprises: Sacred Attention Psychology and the Sacred Attention Project. The two combine with the purpose of assembling a body of work that represents an expansive understanding of humanity with the spiritual essence of the human being at the central core. The divine meta-psychology comprises a comprehensive approach to psycho-spiritual development and supersedes existing psychologies by clearly connecting the individual with the spiritual essence, the human with the Divine.
At the heart of Sacred Attention Psychology is the relationship to the numinous, which is not achieved necessarily through religious belief, spiritual conviction or association with a spiritual organization or religion, but rather in the grounding of genuine spirituality and living a sacred life of authenticity, awareness, freedom and empathy. In order to be capable of this, Sacred Attention Psychology proposes the total release of attachments to the past and embracing the true nature of the individual.
The Sacred Attention Project is the collaboration of an international group of multi-disciplinary practitioners in order to share information, embrace different viewpoints and understanding in the spirit of partnership and cooperation. Currently the project is working to produce a collectively-authored body of work that, alongside Richard Harvey’s published works, will form the basis of a divine meta-psychology.
THE ART OF CONSCIOUS LIVING
The Art of Conscious Living consists of three initiatives: Human Awakening Groups, the Arhat Project and Lay Counselor Support and Training. The Art of Conscious Living is a response to a growing need in people to grow and awaken psychologically, and to intensify and accelerate the individual and collective processes of personal growth and spiritual development. Together they represent a comprehensive, practical approach to working with the psycho-spiritual processes of human beings, formally and informally.
Human Awakening Groups are for people who share an interest in personal growth and inner work and are in need of a community of like-minded souls for their inner development. The Art of Conscious Living offers guidance for the facilitation of group meetings along with the offer of attendance by Sacred Attention Therapy teachers and therapists to supervise the unfolding progress of the group. The inspirational function of a Human Awakening Group is to practice, grow through, and teach the three stages of awakening. The Human Awakening Group can be established in a physical location or over the internet.
The Arhat Project is a model for residential spiritual communities and an experiment in sacred living for people seeking personal authenticity through psychological development and spiritual realization. Based on the principles of Sacred Attention Therapy and Richard Harvey’s three stages of awakening, the processes of inner enquiry and personal transformation are accelerated through a sacred, engaged schedule of psycho-spiritual discipline, psychological exploration and individual awakening. The central activities of Arhat communities include communal life, therapeutic group work, psycho-spiritual discourses, study, creativity and arts, meditation, spiritual and sacred practices, and spiritual guidance.
Lay Counselor Support and Training is an initiative that extends basic principles of therapy and counseling in Sacred Attention Psychology and Sacred Attention Therapy and offers them in an accessible form to the lay counselor. The lay counselor may practice these skills in everyday interactions in his or her relationships, marriage/partnership and family, with children, at work and in talking to a friend in distress. The fundamental idea behind this initiative is that, with only a little deepening of skill sets, people who may have no calling to train as a therapist or counselor can learn to extend concern, love and kindness, and be with others more compassionately and effectively.
IN SUMMARY
Here is a summary of the endeavors and enterprises that we have discussed.
They combine in our intention to fulfill our mission:
THE CENTER FOR HUMAN AWAKENING
The Way of Sacred Attention
Sacred Attention Therapy
Sacred Attention Spiritual Training
The Creation of a Divine Meta-Psychology
Sacred Attention Psychology
The Sacred Attention Project
The Art of Conscious Living
Human Awakening Groups
The Arhat Project
Lay Counselor Support and Training
Our mission is to awaken individual consciousness, further global healing
and the collective awakening of humanity, in order to establish the
spiritual-sacred foundation for a new era of awareness, compassion and peace.
