Mission

Each human represents a portal of possibility, unto itself, and, as part

of something greater. Each of us, by design, can become a living agency

for the evolutionary process, as it arises, through our living expression

Focus

To actively cultivate, and sculpt, the story of human development

into the future. To create conversations at the frontier of discovery

Portals of Perception

Endeavors to bring to life these natural processes of human development and evolution

to discover, decode, and inspire inquiries into the unknown, and into becoming

an intentional participant in the emergence of a wiser future

The Seeds of Possibility

 

 

Perception: what is it? We look in the mirror, we see a face, we know that we are human. But how does perception shape what it means to be human?

Is perception the gateway to understanding ourselves, and our environment? Is this why it's important?

We Are

Lisa Marcus

At home, we were always encouraged to ask the more enigmatic questions of life. Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where will I go at the end of my life? And the biggest question of all, What is my part to play in the great canvas of life?

Enchanted by the many different cultures and peoples from around the world, during my youth I traveled through my trusty Encyclopedia Britannica. Then came the wondrous day that I was able to travel by airplane. Committed to being a "Champion of Warmth," I continue my travels and interactions with others from all around the world, as together we create a "bouquet of humanity;" one that connects and offers companionship as we step into the future.

Marianne Ashcroft

Since I was a small child, I have always been searching for what's real and irrefutable. Not prepared to settle for the answers that others chose to give me, I set out to find out for myself why I'm here and what I'm here to do; what I'm part of and how I can honour my part in it.

I believe every life has a song to sing, and we can each discover our unique combination of notes from the talents, skills, perceptions and passions that each life is gifted with.

Paul Stone

I started playing piano at 5, having been enticed into practicing by my parents. Throughout my life I’ve been passionately interested and engaged with the domain of music; this has ranged from listening to and studying intently many kinds and styles of music and, as I’ve grown more seasoned (matured), composing, arranging, recording and engineering new music.

I believe that music, and other art forms as well, can offer translation and transference of refined essences and qualities. Helping to create ecologies or atmospheres where a special kind of nourishment, healing, and enlivenment can be experienced. This is the background and context for appreciating my experiments with creating and playing Essence Music. My engagement and endeavor quicken and deepen. I know that there are others similarly compelled and called to these regenerative realms, where everyone involved is enhanced and elevated. I hope our paths may cross!

Alison Doyle

I find myself seeking to be in the moment that I'm in... not anxious about the future, or longing for the past, but as much as possible in this very moment. Now.

I'm beginning to love all that I have yet to know about, to discover... from the moment we're born we've been pushing back space for ourselves: our thoughts, feelings, God, Creation, the Universe. We're in a crowded world, living crowded lives, and we're making space for moments.

    Jeff Vander Clute

    Jeff Vander Clute coaches and consults, teaches, writes, and leads travel journeys.

    He is a co-founder of Sourcing The Way, Enlightening Journeys and Expeditions, and The Consciousness of Money.

    Jeff is also a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle and he serves on the board of directors for Alliance for the Earth and Source of Synergy Foundation (previous chair).

    Ofer Dotan

    Socialised in a small communal village in rural Israel, I developed a sense of appreciation and curiosity toward human potential, purpose and our shared experience in this world.

    Following my passion for facilitating processes that empower people, I specialised in economics, comparative law and public policy. Applying these skills, I try to be in a continuous exploration process, both professionally and personally, to unlock ever more humane wonders.

    Holly Thomas

    The right poem at the right time can loosen, trigger, or buttress almost anything. As intimate catalysts, poems distill and extend our experience—sharing everything from fear to relief, and from dismay to benediction.

    As an editor, poet, and painter, I often teeter between creation and critique—with the risk of stifling creation by prematurely attempting to interpret or refine it. But when I find my balance and trust what is emerging, something with a life and agency of its own seems to enter the world. What happens next depends on those it touches.

    HollyLThomas.com

    Libby Wagner

    One of my favorite ways of being is in wonder and curiosity. What if? What about? Why? I’m drawn to conversations and contemplations about the Beautiful Questions in human life. As a poet, I walk about trying to name things, to use my sensory experience in the world to make sense of it, even when I know that I’m trying to say the "unsayable." This doesn’t deter me from trying to connect, express, reveal. In my organizational work, I create spaces and places where people can connect with their artistry to arrive transformed by their conversations and their creations.

    LibbyWagner.com

    Yair Assulin

    Yair Assulin is an award-winning author and thinker. He writes a weekly analytical column for one of Israel's leading newspapers, Haaretz, and hosts a radio show at the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation covering the fields of culture, business, politics and society. He has been a visiting lecturer at Yale University, and has served as a Goldman senior fellow at the School of Political Science at Tel Aviv University.

    In recent years much of his public writing focuses on the development of a new political and business philosophy based on his ideas about "The Century of How," and "The End of the Age of Politics," in order to create a vivid ethos to societies and companies in this broken time of the technological revolution.

    Jeremy Stuart

    I have a long-standing fascination for perception, stemming from my study of art and photography. During the course, my view changed from 'I am a student of photography' to 'I am a student of life and myself,' in which looking through the lens of a camera focused this pursuit.
    Having travelled whilst a student, I recognised that one of the powers of humanity is that together we make the world we choose, whether we consciously realise that or not. And what life turns out like starts in the mind - with a question, an insight, an appreciation, a vision.
    I believe that inside everyone lives genius, whether active or yet to appear; and that it is a great service to try to foster it in oneself and in others. When people feel safe enough to exchange freely and honestly, with respect for each other and their differences, exciting things happen. That's why I'm here.

    Sus Friis Jorgensen

    It would appear that life is a long line of changes - and seemingly not a straight line and neither a one line! Whenever I attempted to sort out my life, once and for all, I mostly ended up engaging with the most unpredictable and surprising aspects of life - as if life itself didn’t want me to put it into a foreseeable outcome: The journey started along educational pathways leading to classical physics. Then leaps happened and I continued along an artistic line as a professional dancer working at theatres & art schools and - later again - teaching instead of performing.

    Now, I find myself at the point of starting all over, so.. changes.

    It is still a complete enigma to me what being alive is all about. I am still writing “my own ticket” in life to become a self-chosen, best-version of being me, being human.

    Karen Heney

    From an early age there has been a compelling search for truths, those realities that didn’t have a fixing or a closed door. The quest for meaning, sometimes quiet, other times reaching and finding pathways, has always accompanied me. The awareness that all life is caused to exist for an inherent purpose, one that allows for the possibility of furtherance and refinement, has prompted both perceptions and questions. These concern the purpose of human life, its integration within greater domains and what I personally may need to discover in order to play my part.

    Creativity has always been integral, with an endeavour to create visual interpretations of concepts as practical activities. The intention behind a current project is to broaden the paths of relevance and meaning for others to access and explore.

    Grace Boda

    Grace is an executive coach and transformational guide working at the leading edge of consciousness. She guides leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives and others to work with the full creative power of awakened Presence.

    Grace holds advanced degrees in public policy and physical therapy (neuroscience specialty), is a certified executive and systems coach and professional mediator, and has advanced training in energy work, subtle perception, and the development of consciousness.

    George Goumas

    Many days, early in the morning, I am awake to see the dawn, to feel the vibration of nature as everything becomes alive. I close my eyes for a moment and let the energy join the life inside me. It is a declaration of continuance of a journey with peaks and valleys, passion, and wisdom.

    Being a parent, having real friends, searching through psychology, behavioral sciences, exploring sacred body movements, trying to unlock creative dynamics in every impediment helped me craft my way.

    Today, I know what I don't want to have, to do, to be. Promising myself to be diligent, agile, buoyant, and keen to discover the flow of reasonings that will lead me to join a universal consciousness.

    Waiting for people of kind to enrich our collective intelligence with their talent and uniqueness.

    Anne Stadler

    Anne is a pioneering elder. Her specialty is offering services that support self-organizing individual and collective leadership. She opens space for the emergence of spirited leadership and inspired forms for collective evolution. A founder and organizer of local, national, and international peace efforts, and an award-winning television producer at KING 5-TV in Seattle Washington, Anne has decades of experience in guiding the formation of emergent communities.

    Aviv Shahar

    I seem always to have been on a journey - as a student of life. It is my experience and belief that there now are new capabilities, faculties, and perceptions that are activating and coming online to help humanity emerge and transcend the predicaments of our civilizational crises.

    There are many of us, spread all around the planet, who have been waiting for this time, a bit like sleeping agents from the future, alertly waiting for an activation signal that calls those who are ready to step into service in small and large ways. For me, that signal now beckons. I am ready for a new emergent future.

    Daphne Neveras-Lupfer

    I recently retired from a successful and fulfilling Information Technology career growing and supporting a Fortune 100 company.  A critical goal, shaping the entirety of my professional career was effective life balance between family and work.

    I started exploring religion and developing my search for truth and meaning during my teen years when I first attended Catholic Mass. My inquiries have since taken two pivotal turns: when a former colleague introduced me to the Unity movement and when I discovered the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the precepts of Buddhism.

    Liz Halter

    I have always loved being outdoors in nature, in gardens, feeling the wonder looking up at the stars. This came hand in hand with a close affinity to the Native Americans and their respect and honor for the planet and nature, the elements and the seasons.  

    Another level of this passion has been a lifelong quest to find the way of the natural human.  I found that there is a tendency to want to go back to the earth, or to the ways of the ancients. While there is certainly wisdom to be carried forward, it isn’t really possible to go back, and it isn’t really the answer.

    We need new ways for new times and I believe we as humans are equipped to discover the ways that will allow us to live authentically, in harmony, with purpose and hope in today’s world. 

    Edward Dowrick

    Born in Pennsylvania just outside of Philadelphia, I started studying music at age 5 and was quickly drawn to the piano by age 7. From this early age, I was also compelled to be on a discovery journey into the many aspects of "why is the human on Earth?," its purpose, and its application into everyday life.

    I've learned that every thought, emotion, feeling, attitude, stance, posture, movement, action, and reaction is a part of a constant process of exchange of energies, of IMPRESSIONS and EXPRESSIONS, and realize that the quality of these in-breaths and out-breaths determines the state we find ourselves in, and therefore our well-being and intactness. Music is a theater of expression to this great search.

    Patrick Summers

    A seeker of the special places. Early on I used to enjoy sitting in certain churches after the service had ended and sensing what felt like fine, special atmospheres. Something was around I could feel but couldn’t see. The same with walks in nature and wilderness. The serenity and sense of healing felt connected to something deeper and finer in the earth, trees, flora and fauna. A type of energy? The planet’s soul?

    I also began to sense what might be called the special places within, the inner lives and capabilities that can help us perceive and connect to finer sources of light and healing and knowledge all around us. Across the planet and into the universe; we’re all connected.

    So many journeys of discovery. Shall we proceed?

     

    Bernie Doyle

    I’ve traveled to over 40 different countries across 6 continents and I feel like I am just beginning to understand about human life. The world is a big place and life has so many expressions, it is amazing to believe that I am part of such an amazing experiment. After a lot of consideration I’m of the mind that the inherent nature of man is good, and that if you unplug from the media you’ll quickly find that the human race is also fundamentally peaceful. I love the fact that human beings exist and that we collectively have a universe of evolution before us.

    For me Portals is a home for a variety of resources which are essential for understanding our possibilities and potentials as a race. I look forward to meeting you somewhere, somehow.

    Jane Goodman

    From the time of childhood I've been driven to understand how the human was meant to be.

    This has guided me in knowing how to interact in this world. The inroads I continue to explore are through the sciences of behaviors and ways of giving service to others, which  build filaments of qualities that nourish the tree of humanity rooted in the purpose of life.

    Some of the branches that have been nurtured are community, leadership and meaningful communication.

    Kyriaki Nikandrou

    When I was a child, staring at the starry night skies, I was filled with awe and wonder, about the mysteries of the Universe, Life, Time, the Human and its place in the Cosmos, trying to connect the dots that link everything with everything…

    Some years down the line, I still do. I am seeking to be in conversation with others in search for keys, for tools of understanding and application and for the real questions, the ones that become portals to contemplative journeys, leading to uncharted territories that feel like home.

    I believe we are on a trajectory of multiple and unpredictable changes; it is up to each one of us to rise to the challenge of our times. Now, more than ever before, is the time to be true to ourselves and fulfill our potential.

    Peter Barry

    I don't think I can remember a time when I wasn't asking, Why am I here? Or wondering, What is the purpose of life? Seeking not so much to simply solve the mystery, but rather to find the settlement that comes from knowing one's place, and finding one's home, in this great unfolding.

    Perhaps, then, one can become part of the living process, which sets one free to go out into the world and discover what is new, what is needed, and ask the question: How can I help?

     

    Mona Martin

    I have always been attracted by the mysteries of what I did not know, what’s been lost, what’s been hidden.

    It drove me to set my feet on a path to find out how things work, what caused them, how are they connected…

    How did they happen, what does it mean for the human being,  how did we get to where we are today - and where exactly are we today?

    …… a delightful pathway of discovery that does not end.

    Avshalom Zack

    Many years ago, I woke up to the mysteries
    and wonders of the gift of existence.

    Thus, the quest for its purpose, meaning
    and fulfillment became a central theme of my life.

    Shared with fellow pilgrims in exploring the human potential, and with gratitude and care towards Mother Earth, the well being of her many dwellers and the future.

    Don Giuliano

    I have been a perennial student at the University of Living. As long as I can remember, I’ve been in awe and fascinated by the nature of things, their relationship to other things, and to their causes. I’ve wondered about – and still do, as it is a work in progress – and am in the pursuit of, the discovery of the part I play in this Great Mystery.

      Jessica Wapner

      The fact that we aren’t all talking together all the time about why we are here, and what life is about, has always seemed strange to me.

      Here we are, on this incredible blue ball, floating in space, in a vast universe, and yet we spend so much of our time tied up with small and fleeting matters.

      I love asking the big questions and exploring them with others. There is so much to understand, to feel, to know, to imagine, to wonder about. 

      Ron Lingard

      It struck me at an early age that human life was seeking something that could not be found outside of itself.  As a nine year old I could not have used those words, of course.  This seeking has been a constant thread throughout my life, as I believe it is for many who contribute to the Global Community in many ways (mostly unseen), and by doing so reminds us of what it means to be human.  

      In my personal reflections I like to frame this sometimes elusive quality of being human in terms of being ever more conscious of becoming a spiritual resource, for one thing has become very clear to me which is that human work is a work in progress.

      Aud Wilken

      It has always moved me deeply that the human can process such a myriad of life, so many things, and in so many ways.  

      To be in charge of the sensitive machinery that can feel, think, listen, absorb, know, and create.  To come to know Life more intimately. To offer response - perhaps with music or poetry - to what is being felt and witnessed.  How to best tune oneself to accurately translate and be with all of this without shrinking it? To offer it one’s best, with great trust in the senses and by practicing often - alone, and with others - to give voice to Life as it moves in and through and between us all.

      Many small offerings, so more beauty, more truth and more goodness can land and grow.

      Trevor Winn

      It’s the seemingly simple experiences of life that had the most impact when very young, like lying on the green hills looking at the white clouds, being with the snow in winter, feeling the cold, sitting by the fireplace, being with the wonder of night, walking, the warmth of others, and then later on, the thrill of travel and the curiosity that motivated me to live and work in various countries.

      And now it is to feel useful, to share experience, to have good conversation, to explore what provides life and how that works, my relationship and partnership with myself, the planet, and beyond, being in the quest of being in the place that enables truths to be perceived, connections to be made, remaining open to the requirements of these times in which for me, attitude and sentiment are core elements.

      Dr. Alan Litchfield

      Being born with an intense curiosity about the world and at the same time confused by contradictions and unexplained patterns in society has led to a restless life of seeking and searching, penetrating into the purposes and reasons of existence throughout material and subtle worlds. As Director of the Service and Cloud Computing Research Lab at the Auckland University of Technology, much of that is presently focused on research into novel and new technologies and how they might mediate the empowerment of individuals. Also, this is expressed through the philosophy of science and the philosophy of technology in which there are enduring questions about the relationship between what people have expressed of themselves and created, what they thought would be the outcomes, what we all have to show for it, and what are the opportunities for betterment.

      Also, being born of Māori (Ngāti Whatua, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) descent provides approaches and constructs that differ from the typically accepted western world view. This includes how a person relates to their environment, family, their past, present, and future, and the interrelationships that exist through all levels of self.

      Miriam Abrahamson

      Education, art and music have always intrigued me, all leading to and stemming from the great wonder and burning need to find out what being human portends, what I could do and who I could be, what felt right and what felt wrong. I was aware yet didn't know how to articulate the strong dissonances that life around me seemed to be so full of.

      There was so much beauty and softness yet so much cruelty and pain.

      Since then, I am still researching this unique gift of being human, working towards establishing life- aligned- education for children, and for all…

      I believe that within the search of what our human existence is about, are the answers to how we should best proceed in these times of great possibility sided by the breakdown and crisis that we are experiencing all over the world.

      Elizabeth Lyell

      Early on, I wondered what I was doing here, in a body on a planet! It seemed good, yet strange. While I enjoyed people, I was particularly fascinated by the animals, all the way from the tiny (ladybugs) to the large (elephants). I longed to be able to converse with them. My (ingenious) efforts toward making this happen were probably my first spiritually oriented forays!

      Since then, I’ve worked with humans in different capacities (teaching philosophy, and now in working as a counselor). I’ve learned a lot about the mind and the heart. I now know that while good reasoning is essential, the heart has its reasons, which reason does not know (Blaise Pascal)! Life’s mysteries still fascinate and astound me… while I continue to ask, why are we here?!

      Perry Martin

      The theme of being a representative of the hopes and dreams of those lives whom have gone before became a constant companion to me, as it became clear that I may be unique in all the world, but never would my life be alone. We are dependent on each other as a humanity

      This taught me a very deep lesson: a human's life is not to be lived for only one purpose, but can fulfill many purposes. And ever-refining new purpose can reveal itself - if one is open. We, after all, are a multi-faceted assembly of many lives.

      Rita Lampen

      Growing up in the Finnish countryside, immersed in the ever-varied life of the seasons and the elements, was a fortuitous beginning of deep intimacy with the planet that hosts and supports us, and a rich interactive affair of being human in this big picture within an even bigger picture. I recall the awe and wonder looking up at the stars as a small child, feeling an inexplicable longing for home beyond the tangible family home.

      Visual art, movement and music have been recurring cyclic themes in my life over the years, on a journey of living in several countries practicing a variety of occupations in aspects of arts, crafts and
      well-being.

      Life can be an ever-moving adventure of "shedding skins" that have become outdated and constrictive, and growing new ones that are – hopefully – refining to be more resilient, fluid yet strong, better serving the purpose of this ongoing journey of discovery.

      So – what next….?