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POLL: When do you think the Integral movement will reach its "tipping point"?

Posted October 2nd, 2009 by Corey deVos

The Integral movement is based upon principles of compassion, clarity, and inclusiveness. A willingness to step beyond our personal and cultural points of view while remaining true to our own unique perspective; to sanctify the common ground between different sciences and different spiritual traditions while fully honoring and celebrating the differences between them; to hold all the contradictions and paradoxes of knowledge gently in one hand while cutting through the confusion and fragmentation with the other—these are precisely the sorts of qualities that define the Integral movement as a whole.

The Integral movement is already beginning to sweep across the world. Though it is no longer just a revolution of the mind (ours is a revolution of the “body, mind, and spirit in self, culture, and nature”) and though it is still in its very early stages of emergence, its influence is rapidly beginning to gain traction, right now at this very second. The very same currents of growth and development that set the initial stage for the sixties revolution—vertical and horizontal growth through stages and states of consciousness—have begun to flow together once again, creating an upswell of consciousness, care, and creative novelty that has not been seen in decades.

The Integral Revolution: the result of an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable subject.

When do you think the Integral movement will reach its "tipping point"?

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A Bit More Information

Posted October 3rd, 2009 by Brendan LaChance

If it isn't a bother, I have a few more questions that I would be interested in getting more information about people's perspectives on a vote like this.

1. What did you consider when you voted in terms of "tipping points"? What kind of criteria constitutes having crossed a tipping point? For example, are you basing this off of something like what Wilber often mentions: when approximately 10% of the population reached "rational" we had the renaissance, when 10% of the population reached "pluralistic" we had "the 60s," etc? (Side note, does anyone know how this approximation was reached?) Are you basing it off of "inevitability" or something along those lines? In other words, what did you have in mind when Corey mentions "tipping point"?

2. Based off of what you had in mind regarding "tipping points" which selection did you make and why? Examples: I chose 3-5 years because I think within 3 to 5 years mainstream universities will have begun to seriously incorporate more "integral" models into their structure and this will usher in this revolution on a society wide scale OR I chose 5-10 years because business are increasingly incorporating "integral" concepts in the way that they function and this will redefine markets (LR landscape) which will have immense reverberations throughout all 4 quadrants OR I chose 20-50 years because I think technological brain implants (UR) will have been designed and implemented by that time which will drastically effect particularly the cognitive line of development within the human species OR I chose never and you all are crazy because and "integral" is revolutionary only in the sense that it begins to ride along with reality as it is and it is nonsense to me to consider one period revolutionary and another static, reality is constantly in a dynamic of static and change. Etc, etc, etc obviously with more complex combonations of factors or whatever. (Sorry got a little carried away with making examples but I was having fun imagining what other people's perspectives on this might be)

Okay, those are the questions I have directly related to this poll. I have a few additional (bonus) questions somewhat related though not as directly as I think the first two questions.

Bonus 1: Two part question. A) How do we know we are in a revolution? What do we look for? (somewhat related to my earlier questions I know but more generally just in case there is a different direction to go with that) B) Please desribe/relate your perspective on a different revolution you have gone through/observed/participated in. I.e. if you were alive during the 60s, when and how did you know that it was a revolutionary time? Was this apprent on July 13, 1961? Did "it" sort of gradually dawn on you as the 60s progressed? Did you need a few years of reflection to really realize that there was something unique about that decade? Another example (idea) for those of you (us) who can't really comment from a particaptory perspective on the 60s: social networking revolution. When did you first join a social network and how have you experienced that? When (or have) you noticed that this revolutionized certain aspects of your life?

Bonus 2: Back in relation to this question about an integral tipping point: could you just briefly mention your phenomenological perspective on "integral" as you relate to it locally? What I have in mind here is do you feel like you are the only person in 200 miles who thinks anything "integral" is important? Do you have a close friend or two who you can discuss it with and that is it? Does everyone in your vicinity ooze Aurobindo, Gebser, or Wilber quotes? Does the local grocery store clerk give you a lesson on Cook-Greuters Magician stage before handing you your change? Does the school bully lock you in the janitor closet just so he can teach you about hermeneutics? Okay I am being kind of silly but I think it would be interesting to also look at this and how it may possibly be effecting our votes. Also, gathering rough general impressions like that may make us rethink our earlier position about when we thought this whole "tipping point" would occur.

Okay I guess I should chill on the questions for a while...

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Answers to my question (talking to myself again...shh don't tell my mom!)

Posted October 3rd, 2009 by Brendan LaChance in response to A Bit More Information

Okay here are my answers to the questions I posed:

1: I think "tipping points" is a complicated concept. I intitially thought of "inevitability" when I was thinking of this. I think there is an element to evolution that is simply inevitable. (Assuming we don't destroy ourselves of course) What I mean here is that there are problems in the world that we are either going to solve using solutions that I think must be "integral" generally (hence inevititability) or else there is simply going to be serious consequences to society as we know it. But inevitability isn't quite the same as a tipping point unless you consider something like involution/evolution a "tipping point" that makes navigation through infinity inevitable (or something like that). But if it is not the same then what is it? Is it like a greater than 50% of something kind of thing, is it a 10% of something kind of thing? Well in order to answer this so that I could formulate an answer for a vote, I decided to base it off of a sort of qualitative observation that the "integral revolution" would have reached a tipping point once it had "snowballed." What I mean by "snowballed" is that it no longer would seem like a big push to get integral perspectives heard and into action. There would be a kind of phenomenon that across many domains, integral type solutions/practices/what have you would just begin to really spontaneously pop up. I would consider a tipping point to have been crossed when it doesn't seem like "intgral" (i.e. people, the institute, etc.) have to do much convincing anymore. I heard Michael Murphy suggest to Ken in an interview at some point that his feeling was that Wilber was "about to be flooded." I know this is very general but I think it is hard to see a tipping point in the midst of its "buildup."

2: I personally chose within the next two years. I was trying to decide between that and the already happened! choice. I think in many ways, we are already in the midst of an integral revolution. I think more and more integrally informed businesses and practices are starting to pop up. I think more and more individuals are starting to get "there." I think many businesses are moving in an "integral" direction and as more and more do so I think this really will have a quick snowball effect. The reason I chose within the next two years very well could be the projection of my own internal individual sense of momentum. I feel that within the "spheres" that I am familiar with (i.e. my relationships, the websites I follow, etc.) there has been a movement even within the last 6 months. Much of this certainly is a result of my own changing perspective and I suppose that is another reason I chose this timeframe in my vote.

Bonus 1: I'm not entirely sure we will know we are in the middle of a "revolution" or "tipping point" until after the fact. That being said, I think we will feel something. I will just briefly mention my experience with the social networking site facebook to illustrate what I mean (on an individual level mostly). I got a facebook several years ago and at the time, I knew there was something to this thing that was very different from anything I had experienced. I immediately recognized a few ways in which it would impact my life, i.e. the ability to stay in touch with friends over long distances. Recognizing something general like that of course does have some truth to it, but it is not the same as having experienced this change in lifesttle for several years. Today, there is a much greater sense of how that site has affected my relationships and my being in the world. I am tired so I am not going to shoot for more on this bonus question...

Bonus 2: I'll edit this post in the morning so I can get more bonus points...right now need to sleep...

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POLL: When do you think the Integral movement will reach its "tipping point"?

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A Bit More Information

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Answers to my question (talking to myself again...shh don't tell my mom!)

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