fulfillment

The Four Pillars

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The Order of the Magdalene with Lauri Ann Lumby is firmly rooted in the four pillars of:

  • Spirituality
  • Science
  • Psychology
  • Education

The Order of the Magdalene is founded on the belief that pillars are not meant to contain or control but are intended to uplift while providing ongoing encouragement and support. It is a model based on empowerment, not on oppression.

Psychology – specifically Human Development

The primary focus of the Order of the Magdalene is to provide education, resources, and tools which support human beings in becoming self-actualized. Self-actualization, a term first coined by Kurt Goldstein and then popularized by Abraham Maslow, is a process by which human beings are compelled toward reaching their full potential.  Maslow defined self-actualization as:

            Self-actualization (also referred to as self-realization or self-cultivation) can be described as the complete realization of one’s potential as manifest in peak experiences which involve the full development of one’s abilities and appreciation for life. (Maslow, 1962)

Self-actualized people know:

  • Who they are.
  • How they are uniquely gifted.
  • How they are called to live out those gifts for the sake of their own fulfillment and in service to the betterment of the world.

Furthermore, self-actualized people have found a deep sense of inner contentment, along with a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. Becoming self-actualized is the ultimate fulfillment of the human journey.

Spirituality

Spirituality is inherent in every person. Each one of us is driven by an invisible force that compels us to seek meaning and purpose in our lives. Connecting with this invisible force (however we define or identify that force) helps us to access inner guidance, knowledge, understanding, contentment, and peace. The Order of the Magdalene supports the unique spiritual journey and spiritual development of each individual by providing tools and practices that are universal and free of doctrine or dogma.  Here western and eastern contemplative practices meet, providing a path consistent with our increasingly wholistic and secular world.  Instead of experiencing these practices through the lens of division, we find union in an open dialog and exploration of all the ways in which human beings have nurtured this inherent yearning to explore mystery. In this way, we are empowered to discover our own truth along with the path of our highest good.

Science

History has shown us the endurance of spiritual/contemplative practices including mindfulness, meditation, silence, and contemplation, and the benefits experienced by those dedicated to these practices. With recent advances in science, specifically neurobiology, we can now see the proof of what before were only theories based on subjective observation.  Through the science of such pioneers as Zinn, Davidson, and Newberg, the Order of the Magdalene has found validation and support for our methods.

Education

With training in adult education, developmental psychology, spiritual formation, and project-based learning, Lauri Ann Lumby, founder, and spiritual director of the Order of the Magdalene, has created an experiential learning model that is adaptable to the individual learning style and temperament of each participant. One-on-one support provides the additional resources that guarantee that the individual needs of each client and student are met and their formative desires fulfilled.

Putting it All Together

Through a solid foundation built upon the four pillars of psychology, spirituality, science and education, The Order of the Magdalene provides a comprehensive approach to the process of human development.  Self-actualization is supported through our online classes, workshops, books, community gatherings and one-on-one support. 

LIVE COURSE STARTING APRIL 10th!

Surviving the Long Dark Night

LIVE (via ZOOM) online course

Wednesdays 6:30 – 8:30 pm central time

April 10, 17, 24, 2024

Created and facilitated by Lauri Ann Lumby

Learn more and enroll

There Are No Shortcuts!

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On the journey toward self-realization, self-actualization, wholeness (whatever word you use for this), there are no shortcuts. And yet, I am continually confronted by those who refuse to do the work. 

  • They become bored and disinterested.
  • The work turns out to be “too hard.”
  • They are unwilling to let go of the things blocking their journey.
  • They bail out the first time their ego attachments are challenged.
  • They cling to their victimhood.
  • They give up the work in favor of shiny objects and false promises.
  • They think they can just think the right thoughts and become self-actualized.
  • They believe a gratitude practice alone will make them whole.
  • They believe they are already enlightened.
  • They think the journey ends with ascension.
  • They find every way to escape the real work by focusing on surface practices only.
  • When the journey doesn’t make them rich, bring them fame or glory, or bring the man/woman of their dreams, they become disinterested and walk away.

The journey of self-actualization has absolutely nothing to do with anything outside of us. It has everything to do with what is within. And it takes work.  HARD WORK. There are no shortcuts!

We cannot “Lala” our way to self-actualization. In fact, spiritual bypass guarantees the journey will fail. As the Buddhists say, “What we resist will persist.”  The more we resist the inherent drive to evolve and become whole, the more we will suffer because of it. The more we ignore the deep healing work that is required to become whole, the more we will suffer.  The more we ignore the inner obstacles to our freedom, the greater our suffering will be. This suffering, I have found, is more difficult than simply doing the work. We can suffer a life of quiet desperation, or uncover the inner peace, contentment, fulfillment, and joy that is inherent within us through the journey of self-realization.

The obstacles to self-actualization are many:

  • Unhealed wounds
  • Past conditioning
  • Ego-attachments
  • Trauma
  • Attachment to the status quo
  • Attachment to material/external results.
  • Anything we have suppressed or repressed.

The seven cardinal compulsions are all manifestations of these obstacles: pride, sloth, greed, envy, wrath, lust (for power), and gluttony.

The journey toward self-actualization invites us to remove these obstacles through deep processes of inner transformation and healing. With every obstacle that is removed, another aspect of our true nature becomes liberated, and we take another step toward the freedom of our original natures.

Jesus spoke of the difficulty of the journey toward self-actualization when he spoke of the narrow gate and the eye of the needle:

“Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few in number.” Matthew 7: 13-14

 “Amen, I say to you, it will be difficult for one attached to material things to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is attached to material things to enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 19: 23-24

There are no shortcuts! If we truly seek wholeness and the inner fulfillment that comes through the journey of self-actualization we must do the work! 

Supporting Your Journey of Self-Actualization:

Authentic Freedom is a protocol and practice developed by Lauri Ann Lumby which supports you in identifying and then healing the fears that have kept you imprisoned by your past wounding and cultural conditioning.

Through recorded lessons, reading, discussion, mindfulness and creativity practices, you will be given the tools to identify, heal and transform the fears that:

There is not enough.
You are insignificant and have nothing of value to offer the world.
You cannot live as our most authentic selves.
You are not loved (or that love has to be earned or can be taken away).
You are not free to express our truth.
You do not know the truth.
You are alone.

At the end of this course, you will have the tools to support you in the continued liberation from your fears and the conditioning that has placed them there.

Learn more HERE

The Awakened Woman

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Wild.

Untamed.

Feral.

Teeth.

Hair.

Toes.

Chanting Abandon.

Stomping Heartbeat.

Drumming the Call to Justice.

No longer silenced.

Finally heard.

My cloak of invisibility torn in two.

The Holy of Holies revealed.

I am She.

I am Her.

The awakened Witch can no longer be burned.

The World awaits her teaching.

They hunger and pine for her word.

Their curiosity lives in her.

Once again they can breathe.

Here I get my fill and never know hunger or want again.

copyright Lauri Ann Lumby

Soul School

Supports your own awakening and fulfillment through online courses, training intensives, and one-on-one Soul Tending with Lauri Ann Lumby.

Learn more HERE.

Freedom from Longing

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

It could be said that longing is the bane of human existence, but it would be more accurate to say:

Misdirected Longing is the Bane of Human Existence

Longing is the natural consequence of choosing the human condition.  Longing arises out of our false perception of separation from Source.  Longing is the calling of the Soul to return to Union, drawing us home to ourselves. The destination of longing rightly directed is an embodied experience of peace, contentment, and joy.  Here we feel safe and secure in all that we are and with all we are experiencing because through deep inner work, we have freed ourselves from longing by coming home to ourselves.

Misdirected longing, in contrast, provides no fulfillment because instead of turning our longing inward we have projected it outward. Misdirected longing is rooted in the belief that our longing will be satisfied by something outside of us.  We believe, and have been led to believe, that the fulfillment of our longing will come when we make enough money, find the right job, achieve the next promotion, find the next true love, move to a new location, find a new home, buy that new car, etc. etc. etc.  We are also told that longing will be fulfilled when we lose weight, achieve a certain dress size, find a remedy to the signs of our aging bodies, buy a new wardrobe, etc. etc. etc.

Longing projected outward will always leave us dissatisfied, unfulfilled, anxious, and insecure.

We are freed of longing when we turn that longing inward – directing it toward all the parts of ourselves that feel unloved, unacceptable, imperfect, and flawed. In freeing ourselves of longing we are also invited to direct that longing inward toward every experience of our lives that we have judged as wrong, shameful, mistaken, or misguided.  Longing arises when we have forgotten that we are LOVE and that everything happening in our lives has come about for the purpose of that LOVE. Longing finds its fulfillment when we remember that LOVE – this alone is the purpose of the human experience.

Become FREE of Longing:

Mary Magdalene and the Path of Beloved Partnership Live/online course

Starting January 17, 2022

Beloved Partnership is a term that has been alternatively associated with concepts such as soulmate or twin flame.  Beloved Partnership is neither of these.  Beloved Partnership has nothing to do with the human pursuit of external love. 

Instead, the longing for Beloved Partnership and its resulting pursuit can only be satisfied from within.

Learn more and register HERE