AuthenticNC: Real Human Connection - Events This Week

**FREE** for HeartFire Members! / $225 Drop-In (Register Here)

Ready to unlock the mystical experiences that are your birthright as a human being?

In this 12-week, in-depth book study and discussion group, we will study the elements of the religion of tomorrow, far beyond dogma and belief. What does it mean to be both spiritual and physical beings, sharing in mystical experiences together? How do we grow up, show up, clean up, and wake up?

What to Expect:
Our last book study had 12 attendees. Expect ~10 attendees for this one as well.

We'll have in-depth discussion of topics including:
~ States of awareness
~ Stages of adult development (Integral Psychology)
~ How to transform shadow & bias
~ Structures of consciousness
~ How to thrive in a polarized world
~ How to weave a coherent spiritual path in the modern world

We meet at a welcoming home in Durham with plenty of parking... reach out to Benji at (303) 847-5263 by text message with any questions.

This is also a space for you to:
~ Integrate spiritual or psychedelic experiences you have had in supportive community
~ Understand current cultural debates
~ Learn the different types of mystical experiences that are available to you as a human being
~ Get to know others who are passionate about their personal development and having visionary experiences - much deeper than what you'll achieve at other Meetups at public talks or bars.

All are welcome who are interested.

Dates:

We begin on Tuesday, 3/5, closing the group on 03/19. We will meet for 12 weekly sessions, ending or 5/28. No meeting on April 30 (option to meet that Thursday instead).

Drop-In Tuition:

Tuition for Non-Members: $225 for the 3-month course.
Cash or Check in advance, or via Credit Card here to register.

For those who hold active 10-passes, the cost is $150.

For just a few dollars more, you could become a Member:

Heartfire Members: This is INCLUDED FOR FREE with your membership. Simply RSVP below on Meetup.

Start Your Membership: Your membership includes weekly groups & discounts on retreats. By joining, you save money and help make our authentic relating community sustainable! Join here: Heartfire Membership Registration

What We're Studying & Why

To guide our conversations, we'll explore the book The Religion of Tomorrow: A Vision for the Future of the Great Traditions by renowned philosopher Ken Wilber. Find it here: Bookshop

Partial Book Description:
"A single purpose lies at the heart of all the great religious traditions: awakening to the astonishing reality of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. At the same time, through centuries of cultural accretion and focus on myth and ritual as ends in themselves, this core insight has become obscured.

Here, Ken Wilber provides a path for re-envisioning a religion of the future that acknowledges the evolution of humanity in every realm while remaining faithful to that original spiritual vision. For the traditions to attract modern men and women, Wilber asserts, they must incorporate the extraordinary number of scientific truths learned about human nature in just the past hundred years--for example, about the mind and brain, emotions, and the growth of consciousness--that the ancients were simply unaware of and thus were unable to include in their meditative systems."

Arrival Logistics:

This study group will be in-person in Durham.

Doors open at 6:15. We begin at 6:30pm and end at 8:30pm. Since this is a home, we'll wrap up by ~8:45 each week.

~~~

Don't forget to Join Our Mailing List:

Mailchimp

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/authenticnc

Calendar:

https://www.navigatechange.org/authentic-relating-events/

Your Host, Benji Whitehurst, M.A.:

~ Long term meditator and dreamworker, 20 years of experience with Transpersonal Psychology & Ken Wilber's Integral Movement.

~Organizer of hundreds of authentic relating & dream workshops in the Raleigh-Durham area since 2014

~MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University

~ 1-on-1 relationship coaching available!

Image credit: Collage by B. Whitehurst based on MidJourney AI.

FREE EarlyBird for HeartFire Members / $35 EarlyBird Drop-In before 5/2

In a hurry? Here's the basics:

Come join us for a unique and exciting evening of Authentic Relating Games at Radical Healing in Durham, Friday, May 17 from 6:30-9pm. Doors open at 6:15pm.

Note: These are not board games! See below for details.

Register ("Join") below on Meetup. Drop-in payment is due at the time of RSVP, via this link: NavigateChange.as.me/games-night (scroll to May on the calendar to pay)

Want invites? Join our mailing list:
Mailchimp

Full Details:
Welcome to AuthenticNC, Raleigh-Durham's Authentic Relating community. We are a vibrant community of healers, professionals, and brave consciousness explorers. Many of us arrive seeking:

Real Connection
Deeper Relationships
Get Beyond Small-Talk
Expanded Awareness
Intimacy

What You'll Experience at This Games Night:

Together, we will craft an evening of conscious connection, with a focus on the Theme: Beyond Positivity & Negativity

It's okay to arrive anxious. We'll help you relax into satisfying connection through conscious connection exercises, authentic sharing, and improv games, curated to help you tune in to what is true for you in your relationships.

You'll have a chance to explore...
~How to let down walls
~How to find connection (in spite of being single or in a relationship, whatever your case may be!)
~How to express yourself authentically - beyond holding back or lacking a filter.

Our Authentic Relating Game Nights tend to be deep and intense, with a mixture of fascination, laughter, and occasional tears of release. It's the full mixture of emotions you would experience in any group, as you explore how to get real and to be more open with those around you.

Come alone or bring a friend. People sometimes bring a date to these events, both for a unique evening out and to get to know each other more deeply. Please be aware that these games are more intense and deep than fun... but it is definitely a bonding experience, where you will get to see much deeper into each other's worlds!

Your host: Benji Whitehurst, M.A., Relationship Coach & host of 120+ Authentic Relating events and workshops in Raleigh-Durham since 2016. Benji studied Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University, and certified in Integral Circling through the Boulder Integral Center.

Payment:
Games Nights are INCLUDED FOR FREE for all community members holding our Heartfire Monthly Membership who RSVP prior to 5/2. $10 after 4/2. Your monthly memberships help us build a vibrant, stable community! Join here: Membership Registration

Discounted 10-passes & memberships are here:
https://www.navigatechange.org/tgroup/

Register in advance: space is limited! EarlyBird discount ends on 5/2.

What is Authentic Relating?

Authentic Relating is the practice of harnessing connection as a lens for self-discovery, and vulnerability as a tool for mind-blowing, heart-opening connection in service of living more turned-on, whole lives.

A collection of values and agreements create a spacious, welcoming, transformative container for each practice: Honor Self, Honor Other, Confidentiality, Hide Nothing, Everything is OK, Play Full Out, and Own Your Experience.

When do I arrive?

The event will begin promptly at 6:30pm—please plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early for extra connection and in service of us starting on time. We will end at 9:00pm. There is sometimes a group who will go out afterwards for snacks and extra fun.

Our Policies:

To help us experience as much joy and as little drama as possible, we've created a Disclosure & Waiver detailing these expectations of self-responsibility & kindness to others, including the known risks of authentic relating practice and guidelines for conflict resolution. Your registration for this event means you have read and agree to the terms of this waiver, including the agreement to fully resolve any disputes related to this event using community conflict mediation. You can find our invitation toward diversity & sameness on the same page.

We invite you to join a 10-year-old community and experience not just the depth possible in an evening of authentic relating, but the sense of soul-enlivening community available for all who play, relate with us over the long term.

You are also welcome to join our weekly practice series, T-Group (see our Meetup page!)

Newcomer 2-Pass: Simply click "Attend" and bring $50 cash or pay via Paypal. We train you in the practice.

**Free for HeartFire Members!**

In a Hurry? The Basics:

This is something you've never experienced before. We mix relating with conscious communication and play for a deep, intense experience. See below for details on what to expect.

We host an intro & warm-up each week for newcomers. Our Meetup has been meeting for over 10 years... it feels that good.

We alternate T-Group and Relational Flow practices every other Sunday evening for variety.

Want invites? Join our mailing list:
Mailchimp

Full details:

What is Relational Flow?

Relational Flow is a contemplative practice, where we meditate on our sense of connectedness in the group, with an intention to open toward each other. On the surface, the practice is very simple... you sit in a circle, and share spontaneously and freely:

Feelings
Desires
Feedback
Stories

However, we add something huge: a conscious, meditative focus on sharing only what increases the well-being of the group as a whole, which we call the Good, True & Beautiful. This is what makes it both fascinating, and a relational meditation practice.

We begin each session with a brief meditation and a ~20 minute intro before we dive in to the Relational Flow meditation practice.

If you're thinking about joining us, click "Attend" below!

Payment:
Relational Flow is INCLUDED FOR FREE with gratitude for all community members holding our HeartFire Monthly Membership. Your monthly memberships help us build a vibrant, stable community! Join here: Membership Registration

Discounted 10-passes & memberships are here:
https://navigatechange.org/tgroup

For drop-in after your first time, RSVP using Meetup and secure your spot via PayPal: https://paypal.me/BenjaminWhitehurst or let us know you'll bring $40 cash at the door. Sliding scale available.

Register in advance: space is limited!

Logistics
Doors open at 4:45. We begin at 5:00pm and end at 8:00pm. No entry permitted after 5:15pm. Please plan to stay for the entire session, as we do a grounding exercise at the end.

Bring a water bottle, no food in the space.

The group is encouraged to self-organize to go out together afterwards.

Who Is This For?
We are a vibrant community of healers, artists, professionals, and brave consciousness explorers. Many of us arrive seeking:

Real Connection
Deeper Relationships
Get Beyond Small-Talk
Expanded Awareness
Intimacy

Others are here for training. Your sessions count toward our 200-Hour Certification in Relational Leadership! Please track your hours.

Those who join us tend to be brave—authentic relating requires a level of openness uncommon in our society. Are you willing to be in the presence of all emotions—including the ones we usually avoid like shame, jealousy, anger, sadness? Are you willing to express yourself openly and receive authentic feedback from others? Are you willing to forgive when others make relational mistakes? If you have this level of bravery, then this event is for you.

We expect all participants to be fully responsible for their own physical, emotional, and psychological well-being during these events: Honor Self. And we invite all participants to respect each others' boundaries and be kind: Honor Other.

If this is for you, we look forward to meeting you!

To help us experience as much joy and as little drama as possible, we've created a Disclosure & Waiver detailing these expectations of self-responsibility & kindness to others, including the known risks of the practice and guidelines for conflict resolution. Your registration for this event means you have read and agree to the terms of this waiver, including the agreement to fully resolve any disputes related to this event using community conflict mediation. You can find our invitation toward diversity & sameness on the same page.

We invite you to join a 10-year-old community and experience not just the depth possible in an evening of authentic relating, but the sense of soul-enlivening community available for all who play, relate with us over the long term.

Your Host:
Benji Whitehurst, M.A. is a Tantric Relationship Coach. He studied Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University. Benji also certified in Integral Circling through the Boulder Integral Center. He has been practicing T-Group and other Authentic Relating practices since 2012.

**FREE** for HeartFire Members! / $225 Drop-In (Register Here)

Ready to unlock the mystical experiences that are your birthright as a human being?

In this 12-week, in-depth book study and discussion group, we will study the elements of the religion of tomorrow, far beyond dogma and belief. What does it mean to be both spiritual and physical beings, sharing in mystical experiences together? How do we grow up, show up, clean up, and wake up?

What to Expect:
Our last book study had 12 attendees. Expect ~10 attendees for this one as well.

We'll have in-depth discussion of topics including:
~ States of awareness
~ Stages of adult development (Integral Psychology)
~ How to transform shadow & bias
~ Structures of consciousness
~ How to thrive in a polarized world
~ How to weave a coherent spiritual path in the modern world

We meet at a welcoming home in Durham with plenty of parking... reach out to Benji at (303) 847-5263 by text message with any questions.

This is also a space for you to:
~ Integrate spiritual or psychedelic experiences you have had in supportive community
~ Understand current cultural debates
~ Learn the different types of mystical experiences that are available to you as a human being
~ Get to know others who are passionate about their personal development and having visionary experiences - much deeper than what you'll achieve at other Meetups at public talks or bars.

All are welcome who are interested.

Dates:

We begin on Tuesday, 3/5, closing the group on 03/19. We will meet for 12 weekly sessions, ending or 5/28. No meeting on April 30 (option to meet that Thursday instead).

Drop-In Tuition:

Tuition for Non-Members: $225 for the 3-month course.
Cash or Check in advance, or via Credit Card here to register.

For those who hold active 10-passes, the cost is $150.

For just a few dollars more, you could become a Member:

Heartfire Members: This is INCLUDED FOR FREE with your membership. Simply RSVP below on Meetup.

Start Your Membership: Your membership includes weekly groups & discounts on retreats. By joining, you save money and help make our authentic relating community sustainable! Join here: Heartfire Membership Registration

What We're Studying & Why

To guide our conversations, we'll explore the book The Religion of Tomorrow: A Vision for the Future of the Great Traditions by renowned philosopher Ken Wilber. Find it here: Bookshop

Partial Book Description:
"A single purpose lies at the heart of all the great religious traditions: awakening to the astonishing reality of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. At the same time, through centuries of cultural accretion and focus on myth and ritual as ends in themselves, this core insight has become obscured.

Here, Ken Wilber provides a path for re-envisioning a religion of the future that acknowledges the evolution of humanity in every realm while remaining faithful to that original spiritual vision. For the traditions to attract modern men and women, Wilber asserts, they must incorporate the extraordinary number of scientific truths learned about human nature in just the past hundred years--for example, about the mind and brain, emotions, and the growth of consciousness--that the ancients were simply unaware of and thus were unable to include in their meditative systems."

Arrival Logistics:

This study group will be in-person in Durham.

Doors open at 6:15. We begin at 6:30pm and end at 8:30pm. Since this is a home, we'll wrap up by ~8:45 each week.

~~~

Don't forget to Join Our Mailing List:

Mailchimp

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/authenticnc

Calendar:

https://www.navigatechange.org/authentic-relating-events/

Your Host, Benji Whitehurst, M.A.:

~ Long term meditator and dreamworker, 20 years of experience with Transpersonal Psychology & Ken Wilber's Integral Movement.

~Organizer of hundreds of authentic relating & dream workshops in the Raleigh-Durham area since 2014

~MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University

~ 1-on-1 relationship coaching available!

Image credit: Collage by B. Whitehurst based on MidJourney AI.