2011: The Year in Review

This week's Daily Evolver takes a bird's eye view of 2011 and the wide variety of stories that we've covered this year. David and I begin by reviewing the properties of an Integral worldview that are markedly different from the post-modern view that preceded it. The first thing we notice is how we are still learning what the Integral view affords us, especially as we feel into the contractions of the first-tier world, while bring drawn to a second-tier sensitivity that Integral is calling us to.

What do the stories of #OccupyWallStreet, climate change, the Arab Spring uprisings, the 2012 Elections, and the world economic woes feel like if we take into account a variety of perspectives and try to figure out what they mean in regard to the big picture of global evolution? One thing is certain: the headline stories of 2011 have called us into deeper practice as we've attempted to move beyond our fears and make choices from a keen appreciation of what is arising moment to moment.

Finally, we see in all the stories of 2011 an evolutionary thread that bears witness to Ken's most outrageous claim, that we are actually in the middle of the sixth major developmental transition in human history. How else can we explain the radical blooming of novel new approaches to age-old problems that seem to be emerging in even the most challenged areas of the world? In spite of what spins out of our 24/7 media culture, we have come to believe that the world is actually less violent and corrupt than it's ever been, allowing us to appreciate and feel gratitude for the very real progress that is being made, however chaotic it may be.

2011: The Year in Review  Right click to download mp3  Right click to download m4b AudioBook  Duration: 33 minutes

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that "poor minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, and great minds discuss ideas." Integral minds, we might add, discuss all three.

In Integral Life's The Daily Evolver series, host Jeff Salzman explores some of the greatest and most pressing news stories of our time, lending some much-needed perspective to the people, events, and ideas that shape the world around us. The Daily Evolver uses the Integral lens to help make sense of the complexity, anxiety, and turbulence that surrounds our lives, offering a regular touchpoint for one of the most important practices of all: the practice of staying informed.