Spiritual Proprioception

I first heard of Spiritual Proprioception from Thomas Joseph Brown my white wizard friend. You know, the guy with the biggest brain I know. I had no idea what he meant, but I do now, even if I cannot say the damn word : )

It's basically the ability to know where you are on your own inner journey, so you can move forward with more clarity instead of just guessing.

It's a compelling idea because it suggests that spiritual growth isn't just about having profound experiences, it's about developing an increasingly accurate inner sense of where you are so you know how to move forward.

In a way I think I kind of do this…perhaps..

I ask questions like

• “Where am I getting stuck?”

• “What framework explains what’s happening?”

• “Am I seeing this through Bentov, Steiner, Ingo Swann, or Bohm?”

• “What does this experience mean in the larger map?”

and THINK they might qualify because my questions are about trying to locate mysel within a larger frameworks like Bentov’s, Steiner’s, Swann’s, or Bohm.

I think that is why I love them and teach them actually! It is because they give me a framework to understand what is going on, what my orientation is, and where I am on the map. Other people too, for example I just told Shonagh Home her current experience results from having both a high quantity and quality of consciousness, a very “Bentovian” thing to say…and yadda yadda the ramifications of that but suffice to say it helps me understand intellectually what is going on with her.

I talk about it more here …

Most people navigate life intellectually. They think their way through reality. But Thomas is on a whole different level : )

Thomas argues that the adept navigates reality through cultivated perception rather than abstract thought. He suggests that consciousness has a spatial architecture centered on a living principle.

It is a different kind of framework.

As part of his framework, Thomas introduces the mandala as a way of representing that architecture of consciousness, but even more crucially, as something to inhabit. Every point within consciousness is understood through its relationship to the center, and the practitioner stands within this ordered field rather than merely observing it.

Thomas seems to be saying that the goal isn't to collect more spiritual ideas—which, if we're honest, most of us love doing. 😊 The real task, in his mind is to develop a new way of perceiving, and so he uses the mandala to represent this architecture as a way of orienting oneself within consciousness. The question shifts from, "What should I think?" to, "Where am I?"

In other words, it's less about acquiring more knowledge and more about developing an inner sense of orientation.

Think about physical proprioception:

• Your body always knows where “center” is.

• Every movement is referenced back to your body’s center.

• You don’t consciously calculate your position—you feel it.

Thomas’s mandala seems to propose the same thing spiritually.

Instead of asking:

“Where am I in the universe?”

The mandala teaches your consciousness to ask:

“Where am I in relation to the center?”

That is spiritual proprioception.

And here I think is the point…it's better because it changes the conversation from ideas to practice.

Just as your nervous system constantly updates your body’s position, the mandala trains your awareness to constantly update your position within consciousness.

You begin to know:

• Am I centered or fragmented?

• Am I reacting from habit or responding from awareness?

• Have I drifted from the organizing principle?

• Where is “north” spiritually?

That’s why Thomas says the practitioner steps into the mandala rather than merely studying it. The map is orientation, and it is very different from what we are used to.

And that is when it clicked for me….

Modern education develops conceptual intelligence, but ancient contemplative traditions developed spiritual proprioception.

The mandala is there to train an inner faculty that lets you know where you are.

OK so this is where I personally get all excited. As a student of Steiner, as you might have been able to tell from my last interview with Bernhard Reicher ,I am all in on the idea that human beings can cultivate organs of perception beyond ordinary sense perception. Steiner describes Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition as higher faculties of knowing. Ingo Swann calls it Psychic Intelligence. Thomas, seems to be describing something remarkably similar , the idea of cultivating new capacities for perception that allow us to participate more deeply in reality.

I don’t know about you, but this absolutely lit my brain up.

If Thomas is right, we can be to trained on how we perceive.

That is a completely different proposition.

So I have about a thousand questions for him.

If you’re even remotely intrigued by this idea of spiritual proprioception, the mandala, Steiner, or the possibility that human beings can actually cultivate new organs of perception, then come and join us.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those conversations that stays with you long after it’s over.

Free Talk August 7, 10PM EST

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