Where is Integral Post-Metaphysics?

This blog entry evolved from my response to Ken Wilber's article, "A Narrative on Guruji," You can find here: http://integrallife.com/member/corey-devos/blog/narrative-guruji-ken-wilber#comment-77145

What I was concerned about was the extraordinary claim of the article--Being able to eliminate viral/bacterial agents through the "blessing", and the relative lack of links, videos, photographs with the article entry. I am concerned because in the past I have read Wilber's lavish extolling of Adi Da, which he later regretted, and Wilber continues to use Adi Da as an example of Line/Level fallacy. But as a reader of Integralworld, which have articles by amateurs, critics, aspiring integral scholars, there's been a worry, a legitimate worry about the association with Andrew Cohen. * I am worried that Integral is heading in different directions that I anticipated. I am worried that one day I will no longer call myself integral. I yearn to be assuaged of this worry. I yearn to know that Integral, indeed, was as I was so enraptured with 5 years ago, will become the knowledge framework for the New Human. 

quote: "viral loads in mammals are reduced by up to 99.8% (including hepatitis b and c and cytomegalovirus)"

 http://www.integralworld.net/lane9.htmlhttp://www.integralworld.net/lane9.html

Indeed, I was quite surprised by this article, as it is the first time that I've seen Wilber supporting what could be seen as just another NEW-AGE guru performing magic. The reason I was first attracted to Wilber's philosophy was the relative lack of unprovable metaphysics (in the Popper sense) and the more sane discussion of contemplation, meditation, and the possibility of classical enlightenment as sustained awareness in deep dreamless sleep. 

 An Integrally-informed Secularist

Although I am mostly secular, I am open to phenomena that current science is not yet aware of. Indeed, I as a secularist experience a little bit of cognitive dissonance when it comes to bioenergy. Western science, unlike Chinese medicine, tends to be dismissive of bioenergy and its purported effects. In the regards of god-like power of bioenergy, indeed, I myself am quite wary of. I do not readily believe that bioenergy can cure cancer, AIDS, and whatnot. Although I would be very happy if it were able to since I, myself as a secularist,  do have conscious control over Kundalini, or Qi energy.

However, there's a problem with terminology--its signifier and its supposed referent. Bioenergy to some , maybe have the signified that is an all pervasive energy that is in plants, bacteria or even earth itself. But to me, its signified simply means that activated energy that traverses along the channels of nervous system that most scientists, who often are not introspective with regards to their own bodymind, are mostly unaware of.

Depending on the terminology, I am assuming bioenergy or orgone, is exchangeable with the term Kundalini--the energy that rises up the spine that is often highly pleasurable. Overtime, however if the individual practices, the energy can be directed, voluntarily, downward and upward the spine. and with practice, extend from top of cranium to the sole of the feet. 

I have observed that progression of voluntary control of bioenergy in my own learning. At first I was NOT able to direct Kundalini down the spine, and only up the spine. And Kundalini was limited to the spine range, and never beneath groins. Now, I am able to direct Qi directly down the thighs, and sometimes, when the energy is strong enough, it penetrates to the ankles. Currently, I've been trying to penetrate bioenergy to the arms, and have largely been unsuccessful. (I've tried to look up readings on this--to find tips to help me achieve Kundalini penetrating the arms and fingers.  unfortunately, most of the readings are plagued with metaphysical imagination and miraculous powers. In contrast, I do not assume ESP kind of power from this energy, to me, it's simply an intra-sensory reality that largely has escaped attention of Modern science. )

I was very impressed with Ken's video showing him with the EEG machine and voluntarily controlling the different mental states. I would thus call for a similar treatment for the Guruji Effect. And even in the mental states that indeed purports his claims in his earlier writings that he is able to sustain awareness even in deep dreamless sleep. This has inspired me to abandon all the previous associations I've had with the term "spiritual Englightenment," (and its perfectionist, and end-of-journey, superhuman in all facets connotations) 

I wrote the above passages to show that I am not a typical secularist. I experience lucid dreams, have conscious control over kundalini, and sometimes experience clairvoyant like states.But I am still not sure about the hard science validity of the blessing claim.  

I am well-read in quantum mechanics, string theory, general relativity... I've seen videos of savants performing mind-gobbling calculations, mnemonic feats, synaesthesia...and I do attest to the claim that "The world is not stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we CAN imagine." I am open to the idea of the blessed water, but I've also seen too many debunking of supernatural feats by people such as James Randi.

(James Randi is a skeptic magician who can perform all the same feats that ESPers claim to do. The only difference is that Randi tells you at the end that what he did did not violate the known laws of physics. Randi has offered a prize to anybody who can prove a extra-ordinary phenomenon--it is subject to repeatability, verification, falsifiablity, etc.)

(And yes, I have read the experiment about the chicken imprinting on a randomly walking robot. That to me, is a repeatable type of science, and thus justifiably can be called hard science. If I have the tools, I would really like to do the experiment myself. "something is dong we don't know what!" and that is exactly right.)

Back the the article

The claim here is that Guruji's blessing can alter the very structure of the water molecule itself and hence make the crops virus/insect free. This goes against my intuition. As I would more readily accept the claim if the study found both samples of crops to be under the same  vermin-free environment, but the blessed crops have higher growth rates. I still believe that Western science and technology are very effective when it comes to diseases of viral/bacterial agents. Where as the umbrella term holistic science, barring charlatanism and placebo effect, are very better with regards to the relative lack of side-effects when it comes to psychosomatic diseases. Integral medicine, with its precision targeting of the 4-quadrant causes of the disease, seeks to address source of the problem as beyond the conventional treatment. The last thing that I want integral community to swing toward is a claim that Shaktipat can cure Hepatitis, AIDS, malaria and other agential diseases. (However I am open to claim of the curing of psychosomatic diseases such as migraine, and possibily allergies, autoimmune diseases)

I would like to see Guruji submit an application for the Randi price. As this, if proven, would indeed earn his foundation a million dollars and a new branch of science. 

The first healthy response to such a claim, even if by a personally respected author, is to be an open-minded skeptic. 

 General Concern for the Direction of Integral