Winter 2021 Issue
Dear Friends,

The winter months present a time to turn inward, reflect and prepare for what's ready to be revealed in the Spring. Inspired by the instinct to nestle in, this Quarterly issue focuses on the power of vision and the worldview that informs our practice. The stories below honor our roots and illustrate how the four legs of ITP - Vision, Practice, Community and Research - continue to inform and evolve our pioneering endeavor. 

Just as body, mind, heart and soul are all interconnected elements in our transformation, the four legs of ITP form the essential components of the program. This issue highlights the Vision while interweaving resources to inspire your practice and further connect you with the ITP community. References to scientific studies conducted by Stanford University and IONS enrich and substantiate our practice. 

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing commitment to ITP and our practice community. As George and Michael share in The Life We Are Given, “We believe that by the very nature of things, each of us carries a spark of divinity in every cell and that we have the potential to manifest powers of body, mind, heart and soul beyond our present ability to imagine.” How exciting! Your personal practice holds great power in your transformation and also that of the world around us. 

2021 offers an abundance of ITP workshops and programs to support you on your transformative journey. Do join us! We appreciate your whole-hearted participation and wish you healthy, safe and peaceful days ahead.

With love and gratitude,

Pam Kramer 
ITPI President 
The Enduring Joys of Practice
Excerpt from The Life We Are Given
by George Leonard & Michael Murphy
Since earliest childhood, we have been told we must practice in order to achieve our goals. This has led us to assume that practice is merely a means, not an end in itself, and indeed that much of what we do in life is of value only for what we will get out of it sometime later. In our ITP classes, we have certain goals--our affirmations, for example--and our practice makes it possible to achieve them. But that is only part of the equation. We don’t just practice to achieve our goals, we have goals in order to enhance our practice, for we regard practice as having great value in itself.

As might be expected, there was some resistance to a regular practice on the part of almost every participant. Resistance to any significant change, whether it be for the worse or better, is a natural tendency of all living organisms.
The universe is our greatest teacher, our greatest friend. … Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks. Everything – mountains, rivers, plants, and trees—should be your teacher.

- Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei
We had worked for most of our adult lives inspired by the belief that all of us possess a vast, untapped potential to learn, to love, to feel deeply, to create, and that there are few tragedies so pervasive, so difficult to justify, as the waste of that potential.

- George Leonard, ITP co-founder
Upcoming Events
Purpose Earth Presents

A Celebration of Change-makers

A free online event honoring Purpose Earth's first 2021 grant recipients

March 2

7 - 8:30 pm PST
Adventures with ITP

Free, live webinar with Pam Kramer and
Dr. Shamini Jain

March 5

11 - 12 pm PST
Integral Leadership Training Program

Develop Yourself as a Leader from the Inside Out

March 13 - Sept. 12
SAVE THE DATES

Ki of Cooperation Meets Holomovement

Online Series with Emanuel Kuntzelman

April 10 | May 22 |
June 12 | July 10

9 - 11 am PDT
SAVE THE DATE

For the Love of ITP
Virtual Benefit & Celebration

Surprise Honoree to be Announced Soon!

May 5
4:30 - 6:30 pm PDT
VISION
ITP Worldview that Informs the Practice
by Michael Murphy
ITP co-founder, Michael Murphy, in conversation with the Journey of Practice program participants, shares the theory underlying and informing ITP using the metaphor of “the cosmos itself as a seed,” and each of us manifesting its sprouting potential. Through practices such as ITP, we are part of the Divine’s cosmic awakening.
The Paradox of Practice
by Christina Grote
“You know, there’s really only one paradox. Here you have man trying to upgrade himself, when actually he already is, and it’s trying to manifest.” - Robert Nadeau sensei

This quote from Nadeau is a perfect description of the paradox of practice, inherent in the worldview that informs ITP. Why struggle to upgrade yourself, when you already are what you are trying so hard to be? To paraphrase Zen master Richard Baker roshi’s answer, you are perfect just the way you are, but there is still room for improvement. ITP co-founders Michael Murphy and George Leonard, offer another way of explaining this in their book The Life We Are Given, writing that the “...infinite possibilities of the Divine Spirit were involved in the universe from the very beginning. Evolution is the process through which these hidden possibilities are revealed.” At the core essence of our being, we are the Divine manifesting itself through our potential.
Clarifying Our Worldview
to Inform Our Practice
Interview with Max Gaenslen
ITP Mastery teacher Max Gaenslen shares his insights with ITP practitioner Jill Robinson on how having clarity in our worldview informs and enhances our practice. In this short interview, Max talks about his personal relationship with his unfolding practice and the aha moments that have arisen from embracing a panentheistic worldview.
PRACTICE
Leonard Energy Training: Basic Centering
Led by Charlotte Hatch
Centering is at the core of ITP’s many exercises and vital to our daily practice. In this guided exercise, ITP Mastery teacher, Charlotte Hatch, provides an easy path to somatic balance and awareness of center. In the ITP world-view, a change in the condition of the body, mind, heart, or soul affects the whole person and so it follows that a balanced body leads to a balanced life.
Power of Practice in Action
Interview with Kim Kristenson-Lee
In this Q&A interview, long-time practitioner Kim Kristenson-Lee, shares the incredible impact and value ITP has had on her life. From her first encounter with George Leonard during a workshop at Esalen, to the invaluable experience she’s had in the Integral Leadership Training Program, Kim shares how this practice has been a powerful and valuable part of her life for nearly 20 years. 
COMMUNITY
Sustaining Your ITP Group in a Time of Covid
Presentation by Michael Choy
Michael Choy is one of the original co-founders of the Palo-Alto ITP group, now going for over 16 years. When they started this group, it was with the intention that each member share the responsibilities and commitments as co-leaders. In this video, Michael shares his insights on how to sustain a community, specifically during these challenging times. Pair this with his questionnaire here for further support.
RESEARCH
The Understudied Side of Contemplation
by Michael Lifshitz, Josh Brahinsky and TM Luhrmann
As part of their ongoing study of ITP, Stanford University researchers, Michael Lifshitz, Josh Brahinsky and TM Luhrmann, explore the practice of affirmations and their discovery of how practitioners embrace the tension between both honoring the present state while, at the same, envisioning positive, lasting change.