Inquiry

I brought the DVD to my weekly "sisters" group to watch, which we did in two sittings.

We had lots of discussion afterward, about where we each have come from spiritually, about
some of the integral terms, etc.

My women friends, ages 50-70, of various denominations, mostly Unitarian-Universalist,
were glued to the screen the whole time. It's very well produced. I wished so much that our
staunchly Catholic friend had been there because I'm sure she would have loved Father Keating,
as we all did. I'll bring it to her after her personal life settles down a bit so she can watch it.

I wish I had seen it when I was going through my own faith crisis about four years ago.
It would have done so much to reassure me about my decision to leave the church, which I did
for reasons I couldn't even articulate -- I just knew I didn't feel comfortable anymore at my fairly
fundamental, evangelical church.

So, yes, I think this is an extremely valuable resource for people of all stripes -- in fact, I think
it's a valuable film for everyone in the U.S. and beyond, simply because we live in a
predominantly Christian country, and gaining understanding between people of differing faiths
is extremely valuable in itself. I think this should be shown in high schools, along with mandatory
classes on world religions.

I am so glad I found Integral Institute during my search for meaning and understanding and
wisdom in this journey I've been on the past few years. A lot of this information (on the
Integral websites) is still over my head, especially just getting used to the "color" terms and
states and stages terms, but little by little I understand more and am certainly the better for it.

I've also purchased the Integral Starter Kit so I can get up to speed, and I gave gift memberships
to my brothers and sisters for Christmas.

Thank you for all you offer!

Roshana

I thought the DVD was a good general introduction to integral theory and how it can apply to Christianity. The production values were excellent and it is a quality product. It will be great for discussion groups and for introducing people to these ideas and framework.

I, too, have shared my excitement about the DVD, the Future of Christianity, with others. It was long overdue. I thought that in the first part Ken Wilber didn't particulary shine as the witty humorous person that he really is.  How could he? Try and reduce all he wants to communicate into the simple basics of it all so people can begin to understand how it all fits together.  But when Ken interacts with Fr.Keaton, we see a glimmer of the true faces of both of them. I am so grateful to them for trying to communicate their insights to the grass roots. I will continue to share my love for these DVD's with everyone who is open to learn more.

A few weeks ago, I approached my Christian pastor-friend after having had a few rather unpleasant experiences with "Christians." She took it in stride when I said, "I need you to give me a book that will help me to not hate Christians, because I'm getting perilously close to that." And she handed me a book called If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person (by Philip Gulley & James Mulholland). I started reading it and was heartened by its message, a kind of pluralistic Christianity that maintains everyone will be "saved" and brought back to "God," yet centers all its teachings about this through Jesus. I haven't finished the book yet, but am certainly going to do so, and not grudgingly.

Not long after I got the book, I stumbled upon IntegralLife.com and saw The Future of Christianity DVD set. Obviously, I had to have it. Wilber is among my short list of "gurus" that I really trust to help lead me to and through personal evolution, and as an avid collector of "spiritual cinema" (and a spiritual cinema circle gathering host in my community), I was hopeful that this DVD set would give me the kind of full-course meal that I really needed to turn back toward Christianity's table with respect and hope.

I watched the feature (on DVD 1) with a friend who is far less versed in integral theory than I, and her response at the end was, "Huh?" I had to take some time explaining things to her that weren't so easily laid out in the film. And that's really unfortunate, because I was hoping for a documentary that would really speak to everyone, and I don't think the film accomplished that.

There were certainly some wonderful gems! I loved Ken's suggestion to "read up" within a religion, and Keating's suggestion that one of the fundamental things to hold onto in the search for an evolved Christian faith is "silence." I had "ears to hear" what was important for me at this time, which is that I need to start developing that "silence" and that interior spiritual landscape. The message about taking Christianity horizontally (to/through the states of consciousness) is as vital, I think, as its suggestion that we need to somehow take it vertically (beyond mythic realms). Great stuff!

But here's the problem, in my opinion: the delivery is too chunky, too wordy and too meandering. For all I know, it's a sign of heightened intelligence, but I find that both Wilber's and Keating's style of speaking is not direct enough. It's almost as though they start speaking without knowing where they're really headed, and run the risk of not ending up where the questioner was hoping they would.

In other terms, it really seemed to me that both Wilber and Keating are textbook "N's" in the Myers-Briggs personality spectrum, and that means that they think in more creative, more spontaneous and unfolding ways than "S's," who really need basics and applicability in clear language.

Now, I haven't yet watched the other two segments (Keating's stand-alone piece, or the dialogue featuring both of them), and maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised to find myself eating my assessment here. But, to be honest, I've listened to several of Ken's CDs/DVDs and am not holding my breath. He rambles a bit. Brilliantly, of course! But rambles. And I found The Future of Christianity to be no different. (In fact, were it not for the narrator who gave form to the film by asking very clear questions, I would have found the entire documentary dizzying.)

So, while I was truly inspired by much of the "meat" of the message, I felt like it was obfuscated by a maze of verbiage, like what it really needed was a really great editor who could say, "Ken, that was amazing. Now, can you say all that in 3 bite-sized sentences?" And, to me -- a self-aware, very strong "S" -- that was unfortunate. I probably won't seek permission to share this with my spiritual cinema group, because I don't want to spend all the discussion time interpreting the film for the "average viewer," but I'll keep the DVD, of course, and review it from time to time for more information.

Again, good stuff...great "jewels." I just wish that the delivery were a little clearer, crisper, easier to follow.

Thanks for allowing me to share my perspective.

Bowing,
Ryan