The Future of the Planet, Spirituality and Capitalism

Dear friends,

For many of us the past few months have felt incredibly volatile.  What I have appreciated most about resting as a witness to this volatility is the profound study of contrasts offered: at a time when we are confronted by what I have come to call “meltdown capitalism” we have also collectively acted to elect a historic and rare inspirational figure to the highest political office in the world.  I speak poetically when I say that it feels like Spirit has awoken in 2008, and yet there are seeds – deep, alive and beginning to stir – in the cultural soil that is being churned right now.   And this is the context for what Integral Life announces this month, three initiatives to cultivate these seeds of change into currents of transformation in the 21st century.  Addressing the future of capitalism, the future of spirituality and religion, and the future of our planet, we see each of these efforts as the beginning of a journey where integral can act as a useful guide along the way.  I hope each of you will become involved with an area that meets your passion.

State of the Word Forum 2009

First, Integral Life and State of the World Forum have partnered to hold State of the World Forum 2009: An Integral Approach to Climate Change, where we will begin to address the complexity of climate change through an integral lens.  This event will be held November 12-14, 2009 in Washington, D.C. and will be uniquely designed to operate on many different levels and lines as an integrative framework of information, inquiry, embodiment and action.  (A formal event announcement will be sent in December, but you can learn more here.)

Integral Spiritual Experience

Second, Integral Life, in partnership with I-Evolve, is very excited to announce Integral Spiritual Experience, an annual international flagship event that will explore and embody integral spirituality through the 3 faces of Spirit (I, We, and It) with lineage holders from virtually all the major traditions. Our goal is to engage in a grand adventure in crafting and living an integral spirituality that can help pave the way for spirituality and religion to meet 21st century standards.  Stage 1 of the Integral Spiritual Experience is a five-year exploration, with the Q1 2010 inaugural experience focusing on “Realization of Your Unique Self and Purpose.”  We will be sending direct invitations to you next month with complete details.

The Future of Christianity

In keeping with this theme, in this month's newsletter we also release for Christmas pre-order our new DVD package The Future of Christianity: A Startling New Vision of Hope for the 21st Century.  This special offering features Father Thomas Keating and Ken Wilber discussing the evolution of Christianity and the treasured contemplative path that has been largely hidden from view for nearly 2 billion Christian practitioners.  Please consider this remarkable offering as a unique gift that reminds us of the true spirit of Christmas. You can learn more here.

Conscious Capitalism

Finally, we were excited to be represented at the Conscious Capitalism conference 2 weeks ago in Austin, Texas, where a group of 125 business leaders from around the world convened to discuss the future of capitalism, a capitalism in which a business has a purpose deeper than profit maximization and considers the well-being of all the stakeholders in an economic system.  Contrasted with meltdown capitalism, conscious capitalism is an implicitly integral view of human economic exchange.  To support this effort, yesterday we published for Integral Life members economist Kevin Bowman’s “Integral Economics Part 1: Understanding our Economic Institutions” as a learning experience here on IntegralLife.com (Part 2, forthcoming, will explore the current financial crisis.)

Three major areas of human concern – our planet, spirituality and religion, and capitalism – and three major initiatives to explore how integral can help contribute to each at the dawn of the 21st century.  I hope you’ll find something in this unfolding story that meets your deepest passion.  You have an immensely important part to play, and won’t it be amazing to explore it? 

Much love,

Robb Smith

Chairman and CEO