The practice of mutual awakening: a conversation with Patricia Albere

Years ago, a love relationship changed the course of Patricia Albere’s life. “We entered into a very intensive awakening that we shared…and together we were being purified and processed by whatever this thing was.” The Sufis refer to it, she says, as red sulfur, an intense awakening that can’t be stopped. “It’s like an orgasm that just keep going and going.”

Peter, her lover, died suddenly in a car accident, but Patricia was forever changed and her curiosity about this experience of mutual awakening has just kept growing. Can it be practiced with groups? Can it be cultivated? Yes, and yes.

For the past several years Patricia’s been at the helm of an extraordinary spiritual experiment called the Evolutionary Collective, which is asking these questions and exploring the territory of a post-autonomous enlightenment, transcendence in the interpersonal realm.

As we dissolve the automatic natural separateness of our human egos, it’s as if we’re creating a higher consciousness collective being, like a large-scale saint. –Patricia Albere

Patricia has brought many years of spiritual practice into her facilitation, from the years she spent with Werner Erhard to her studies with A.H. Almaas and years spent in the Rajneesh community.

Jeff’s and Patricia’s relationship goes way back to the early days of Boulder Integral, and it’s a pleasure to eavesdrop on their conversation. Sometimes Patricia seems to emanate the sacred feminine, in the space between the words. So listen with your heart.

We hope you enjoy it. You can find more about Patricia Albere and her work at mutual-awakening.com and evolutionarycollective.com.

Send your questions and comments for the show to jeff@dailyevolver.com. Record a voice memo on your smartphone or use the Speakpipe button to the right.