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Incredible Mind

Posted November 21st, 2008 by Alan Sato
In Reference to:
Idiot Savant, or Just an Idiot?

Ken Wilber truly has a great mind.  I have seen him time and time again spontaneously answer questions in videos in Integral Naked.  He has spontaneously answered questions about psychology, business ethics, cross spirituality of every combination thinkable, integral teaching, and the list goes on.  Just amazing.  If it weren't for integral, I don't know what I'd be today.  Probably following the baby boomers.

I found this audio segment in the "Overview" section of the Learn tab.  I am completely bewhildered by this.  (ALL of the following said jokingly)  Did Ken insist upon having this segment put there?  I listened to it again because I forgot how many PhD's he has, and I enjoy this kind of stuff, but how can this possibly fit in "overview"?

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wooing with words

Posted November 21st, 2008 by Charles Bowling

 

Happy Friday Alan,
Naming, labeling, or categorizing something certainly has value, as the work of Linnaeus certainly shows in the field of botany.  Nonetheless it can be a tricky business, in part because of an all too human tendency that holds  once a thing is named that it has been understood. At best this sort of naming is often  just a partial truth, and unless we are willing to hold these names or categories with something less than a death grip we effectively shut off any further inquiry.
Consider the category 'mind'; rather than see it as an isolated phenomenon integral theory  encourages  us to see it on a continuum, say from body to mind to over mind, with plenty of room for gradations and even overlaps.  It further points out that there is a two way  directionality on this continuum. Sometimes it's described in terms of evolution and involution, or aspiration and inspiration, and even karma and grace.
Have you seen the award winning film Amadeus about the life of Mozart? And how it exposed  his exceptional genius at musical composition; apparently a piece was formed fully in his mind and he wrote it down in an act amanuensis, mostly for the use of others because he had almost total recall of each and every note. Contrast this with the other great genius of western music Ludwig Beethoven, who struggled with each and every note often writing and rewriting, as he wrestled with his muse.
So unless and until the overview section on the learn tab has a category for the 'descent of grace' i can rest easy with this KW piece in question being held in "overview".
Warmly,
Charles
41N58'02" 88W18'28"