I don't want to be an Ant part 2 (cause, I guess ants have to shout)

I am re-posting my response to someone that replied to another post I had regarding the movie "Waking Life", and the idea of "I don't want to be an Ant, Do You?" This gentleman has asked me to expand on what I was saying and below is my response. Since it was buried in sub-links and also a bit of a mess, I attempted to cleaned it up and am putting it out there as a new blog post:

I guess there are two points this idea brought up for me, first, with regards to the general lack of connection today in the world, and the out right break down of left vs. right, outside of the small faction that is integral. Which I am aware always exists to some degree. There have always been communication breakdowns and differences of opinion on who’s right and wrong, across all cultural fronts for decadences. Integral theory explains clearly why this is so. 

But now seems different. And I will leave it to the historians to figure out the exact tipping point. But in the last 3-5 years, my personal guess is since the days right after 9-11. But there seems to me, to be a perfect storm brewing since then that will clearly deeply impact our world, Integral or not. And this deep schism in America today is at the epic-center of that storm, and it, in itself is hitting a saturation point.

Bottom line: We are in for something, in some way, soon; that is clear. And that "something" may go one way that will, to put in mildly, not be any fun, or very pretty to say the least. And maybe, as some believe, this is what needs to be. Maybe the shit needs to hit the fan, period. Maybe it is just cosmic growing pains.  In a spiritual sense, "it is how it is", and there is no avoiding it, and further more there is no need to try and avoid anything. And that all may be true or not. It lovely dancing in the paradoxes.

However, some of us are awake, and we do have free will, we know this because well, we are awake. Nice how that works huh?  So maybe what ever is "coming" could go differently or at lest smoother if more people in the integral community, as well as, other awaken communities, could come together, grass roots style and help bridge the gap and ease the transition.

I’m not talking about making people suddenly leap to 2nd tier, no personally transitioning anyone, we can not, and should not do that.  Personal development happens for everyone in their own time. But maybe it would help the ride we are all on. If only, on a one on one level, to reach back and just talk to those at all stages of development. And stop shutting out those knocking on the integral door.

Which brings me to my second point, while taking into account my limited years following and studying integral, starting only in 2006, which I guess shows my lack of inner circle street cred. I have found, in my short time in Boulder, that the integral community has splintered into a few factions. And I feel there is tension between those factors; which, in turn makes each of them, and their members very hard to tap into and get to know. Which damages the very core of what it means to be Integral.

Now, as I’ve said, I am an outsider to this scene and I don't pretend to know what is gong on, nor the history behind the issues that there are. And I respect that I don’t know, what I don’t know.

But, what I do know. What I heard from Ken Wilber himself, and feel is more important than all of that noise, is that we, and by we, I mean all of us, whether we show up at Boulder Integral, or come to various types of salons, read thought provoking books, or check out the IL website and tap into the online connections from all around the global. We are all the leading edge of human consciousness, like it or not. And it is time to own it.

Who says we can’t come together with those like us who feel the calling to do so and help those who may be on the verge of even a small integral understanding, or at the very least begin to have open, honest, communion with the rest of the world. To just be friendly. To listen and help everyone be better right where they are, by the mere fact of being exposed to each other.

Maybe most people will scoff, and will hate it, and shoot it down, and piss all over it, so what! After all, we already know, it’s all going be what it’s going be anyway. So we can’t really lose anything by trying, except maybe our elitist status that we don’t want anyway, right???

Look at it this way, all of this all came from one man’s mind/soul, Ken Wilber, well the mapping of it all anyway. And I don't pretend to even come close to grasping everything that there is to capture that comes from such a mind. But just stop and think for a moment, what if he had decided not to talk not, not to write and share what’d he’d learned; for whatever reasons he may have had back then.  Where would all we integrally minded, kindred spirits be today? Eh, well maybe that does matter either.