Karma and Creativity represent a dynamic interplay that exists at every level of existence, from the physiosphere to the biosphere to the noosphere and beyond. Karma signifies the principle of cause and effect, where every action has consequences that shape experiences. Creativity embodies the capacity to generate novel ideas and bring them into reality. Together, they reflect a universal process where past actions inform and enhance future innovations.
Toward an Integral Cinema: The Application of Integral Theory to Cinematic Media Theory and Practice
Mark Allan KaplanDefining characteristics of what may constitute an integral cinematic work are mapped out and developed into a set of evaluation criteria using the works of Dulac, Gebser, and Wilber. A test of these evaluation criteria with the viewing of several motion pictures is summarized; the results suggest that several past and recent films demonstrate qualities that could be said to constitute an integral cinematic work.
From Race to Culture to Kosmos
Greg Thomas, John Dupuy and Roger WalshJoin cultural analyst and co-founder of the Jazz Leadership Project, Greg Thomas, as he explores the transformative power of culture, using his knowledge of jazz and blues as a conduit to greater understanding and connection. Greg tackles layered issues of race through a systemic lens, suggesting a shift from racial to cultural worldview, offering an enlightening dialogue filled with anecdotes from music history and a rich exploration of how shared cultural experiences can dissolve boundaries and unite us all.
Illuminating the Integral Vision: A Metatheory for Understanding Self, Life, and the World
Corey deVos, John Dupuy and Roger WalshCorey gives a terrifically lucid explanation of what the term Integral encompasses: a stage of psychological development, a description of Ken Wilber’s life’s work, and a comprehensive map that comes alive for people, guiding their way and making sense out of enormously complex issues. Corey also describes Integral as a gateway between two massive phases in human history — the “adolescent” phase of collective development now starting to fall behind us, and an integrated phase quite possibly ahead.
No Beginnings, No Endings: A Dialogue with Living Jazz Great Wayne Shorter
Greg ThomasWayne Shorter, likely the greatest jazz composer since Thelonious Monk, was also one of the most influential tenor and soprano saxophonists in the post-John Coltrane period from the mid-1960s onward. His death on March 2, 2023, at the age of 89, marks the end of a musical life that spanned a panoply of styles and configurations, from hard bop to electronic fusion and funk to Brazilian and Caribbean to orchestral and the avant-garde, all suffused his own idiosyncratic melding of sounds and sensibilities which seemed to reach from the heat-center of the earth to the infinite expanses of the cosmos.
Nature as Teacher: Finding Beauty, Wisdom, and Self in Everything
Susanne Cook-Greuter, John Dupuy and Roger WalshAdult psychology pioneer and ego development expert Susanne Cook-Greuter introduces us to her favorite wisdom teacher: Nature. Susanne explains how Integral Theory’s 3-2-1 Process can be practiced with elements in nature to gain greater insight into the teachings of nature—evolution, cycles of life and death, the transience of life, the beauty that is everywhere—and to experience oneness with all.
Songs of Peace, Grace, and Awakening
Barbara Hunt and Stephen BanksBarbara Hunt talks to host Stephen Banks about her personal musical journey, the different effects of major and minor chords in music, the One Taste of pain and suffering as it is expressed in our creative expression, and more.
Holons: The Building Blocks of the Universe
Corey deVosJoin Corey deVos for this fun, fascinating, and far-reaching exploration of one of the essential cornerstones of integral theory — holons, or the apparently endless series of “part/wholes” that fundamentally compose reality as we know it.
Putting the “Art” in Artificial Intelligence
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosWhat is art, at its most fundamental level? This is one of those perennial questions that we have been asking and re-asking at every stage of the human journey, from the first cave drawings all the way to the emergence of sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms like MidJourney that are once again blurring the lines between art, beauty, and perspective and forcing us to find new ways to answer this timeless question. Watch as Ken and Corey take a fun and fascinating look at the intersection between art, semiotics, and technology.
Stuck in Development: Bringing Depth to the Postmodern Media Age
Jason Lange and Corey deVosFilmmaker, life coach, and long-time Integral friend Jason Lange sits down with Corey deVos to talk about his new television series, Stuck in Development, now available on all major streaming platforms.
Inhabit: Your Bardo
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeRyan and Corey explore the idea that every moment is a bardo, a transition from one state of being to another state of being — and within these ubiquitous transitions there are opportunities to transcend the karmas of our conditioning, and to channel new kinds of creativity into the world.
Spiraling towards Perihelion
Markus PintzingerA stunning collection of hand-drawn imagery by Markus Pintzinger, detailing the evolutionary journey through the major stages of development (as depicted by Spiral Dynamics).
The Remarkable Practice of Dream Yoga
Andrew Holecek, Roger Walsh and John DupuyLucid dreaming expert, author, “curiouist,” and integralist Andrew Holecek explains how lucid dreaming opens the door to a greatly expanded understanding of our minds, our perception of reality, and human potential altogether.
VisionLogix: Bringing Integral Iconography to Life
Corey deVos and Stephen BanksCorey deVos talks to Steve Banks about his integral approach to woodworking, and how he tries to transform beautiful ideas into beautiful art. Corey and Steve go on to have a robust discussion of integral art as a whole, as well as their shared appreciation for music.
Blue Pearl: A One World Oratorio
Stephen BanksThe world premiere of Blue Pearl: A One World Oratorio, composed by Steve Banks and performed on 14th May 2022, at St Giles’ Cripplegate, London.
Blue Pearl is an ground-breaking new oratorio for choir, four solo singers and orchestra. It is inspired by the writing of American mystical philosopher, Ken Wilber, and his Integral vision.
The Integral Storycreator: Using Integral Methodological Pluralism to Create Fictional, Narrative Prose
Michael OrnstThe intention of this paper is to explore using Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP) to construct a fictional, narrative story as part of a greater consideration into using the distinctions of Integral Theory in creating any kind of story or character driven work of art. The key component is using the mixed method information, especially the developmental knowledge, in combination with one’s own experience to make up the personality content of the characters and the moments of decision, discovery, and tension of the story; making sure to touch all the dimensions of the character’s life and the story’s world. The paper begins by discussing how and why IMP works for story creation, moving into a story I wrote using it. The second half of the paper is an in depth look at the process of locating and utilizing information and knowledge to craft the story, the characters and the relationships.
Music and Personal Experience: Flows and Peaks
Matthew CollinsThis article investigates music’s ability to facilitate flow states of consciousness as peak experiences. The research first uses two first-person methods, phenomenology and structuralism. The results of two second-person methods, hermeneutics and ethnomethodology, are then detailed. The final research section uses two third-person methods, empiricism and systems analysis. The empirical section utilizes a survey, while the systems analysis section investigates factors that contributed to the phenomenological research method. Results focus on tracking a conceptual understanding of the terms flow state and peak experience.
The Kosmic Vitality of Poetry and Music
Brooke McNamara and Stephen BanksBrooke McNamara and Stephen Banks explore integral art as an expression of Integral spirituality, with its embrace of every dimension of our humanity. Includes a 20 minute performance combining Brooke’s poetry with excerpts from Steve’s Blue Pearl: A One World Oratorio.
Sex, Death, and the Creative Mystery
Stuart Davis and Stephen BanksStuart Davis talks to host Steve Banks about his own creative process, the central themes that inform his art, and how he unpacks the radical unknowable mystery at the center of the creative furnace. Stuart and Steve focus on two themes in particular: sex and death (aka eros and thanatos, creativity and destruction, the self-transcending and self-dissolving drives shared by all holons in the Kosmos). They also explore how these themes are all expressions of a single primordial creative lineage running through all of our human activities, and indeed through all manifestations in this universe.
An Integral Writing Tour: Through the Four Studios of Your Own Awareness
Edith FriesenUsing Integral Theory as my framework, I explore the four quadrants or fundamental perspectives of reality with respect to writing. This consists of inquiry into the use of subjective, objective, intersubjective, and interobjective perspectives to better understand and express writing. My thesis is that together these interrelated perspectives comprise the whole writing space: an Integral writing space. I also identify three developmental levels within each quadrant (e.g., three increasingly complex subjective perspectives, objective perspectives, etc.). This results in a total of twelve unique perspectives that map the horizontal breadth and vertical depth of the territory of writing. I offer experiential exercises for each of these writing perspectives in order to help the reader recognize them. My conclusion is that each of these perspectives is already present within our experience and is vital for a comprehensive understanding and expression of writing.
The Journey of Sound: Music, Spirit, and Creativity
Santiago Jiménez and Stephen BanksSantiago Jimenez, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music producer, talks to host Steve Banks about his remarkable composition, The Journey of Sound Through the Stages, as well as the many influences and inspirations that went into its creation.
Learn Integral by Watching Movies (and Playing Video Games!)
Corey deVosTake a cinematic journey through the major stages of human development, using a series of 22 carefully-curated film clips (and more than 30 video games) to illustrate some of the most important qualities of each stage.
Grace and Grit: From Book to Film to Practice
Sebastian Siegel and Nomali PereraExplore the topic of grace and grit as something we all need in order to live purposefully, face challenges, and birth our dreams in the same way Ken and Treya exemplified in this profound story of transcendent love.
Inhabit: Your Entertainment
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeCorey deVos and Ryan Oelke explore how to more fully inhabit our art and entertainment. We tend to think of “recreation” as a passive activity, but we actually share an active symbiotic relationship with our art and entertainment, both personally and culturally. We create art, which in turn re-creates us.
Into the Dreaming
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosOur dreams are often drenched in meaning, significance, and symbolism. But it is often very difficult for us to make sense of our experiences in the dream world, and to hoist these treasures out of the surreal and into the real. Our dreams typically communicate to us in the language of the bizarre, and more often than not we need some guidance in order to better understand them and extract whatever wisdoms they may offer us. Watch as Dr. Keith and Corey explore the murky depths of our own unconsciousness, and try to shine some light upon some of the common features we experience in the dream world.
Inhabit: Your Creativity
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeWe live in an infinitely creative universe — and with every passing moment we have the option to actively and consciously participate with that creativity. Watch as Ryan and Corey explore ways to more fully align ourselves with our own deepest source of beauty, inspiration, and creative emergence.
Poetry as a Transformational Practice
Brooke McNamaraBrooke McNamara weaves poetry and meditation in this moving presentation from the 2016 Relational Leadership Summit, exploring poetry as a transformational practice — “language being used to go beyond language.”
Kosmic Creativity and the Integral Daemon
Ken Wilber“Daemon” is a Greek word that, in classical mythology, refers to “a god within,” one’s inner deity or guiding spirit, also known as a genii or jinn, the tutelary deity or genius of a person; one’s daemon or genii is also said to be synonymous with one’s fate or fortune.
Kosmic Creativity: How to Manifest a Universe
Ken WilberKen Wilber explains how we can connect with the creative spark at the core of every moment, and how we can harness that creativity to manifest our own unique vision and purpose in our lives.
The Kosmos as Evolving Masterpiece
Alex GreyAlex Grey offers a riveting tour through some of his most significant works, offering unique insight into his creative process, his personal inspirations and influences, and his most profound psychedelic experiences.
Visual Medicine
David Frank“My work is an offering of my heart and an aspiration towards ever increasing strength, grace, joy and faith, a celebration of divine magic and infinite love and an expression of gratitude to the spirit that animates this cosmic dance.”
Liberation Upon Seeing
Alex Grey and Ken WilberAlex Grey and Ken Wilber take us on a breathtaking journey through five of Alex’s paintings — Gaia, Net of Being, Cosmic Christ, Light Walker, and Theologue — offering an intimate glimpse into the creative process, the nature of reality, and the unique capacity art possesses to awaken the viewer with a single glance.
Transfigurations: Art, Consciousness, and Spirituality
Alex Grey and Ken WilberIn early May of 2011, Alex and Allyson Grey stopped by Ken’s loft for an afternoon of catch-up and conversation. This is a spontaneous iPad recording of the meeting, offering you a chance to sit in with some of the most important creative minds of our time.
An Integral Take on the Blues Idiom
Greg ThomasFrom an integral perspective, the blues has many dimensions, from the personal to the bio-behavioral aspects of the individual, to the cultural and social dynamics of collectives. The blues can be experienced from an egocentric, ethnocentric, and world-centric value level or stage of development. We can view the blues as a musical or cognitive or aesthetic line of intelligence or development also, and even as a philosophical proposition—an existential response to life in the late-19th through the 20th century.
Love Has No Opposite
Stuart DavisStuart Davis offers a hysterical sit-down comedy routine, anchored deep in the heart of the Integral Tantra. Integral enlightentainment at its finest!
The Feeling of Eros
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a 30 minute guided process that will put you in direct touch with Eros — and in so doing, you’ll likely encounter the simple mistake of ascribing it source to some object outside yourself. By relaxing the contraction around your heart, you’ll experience an unbounded expansion of care, in a simple moment of non-seeking presence.
Jimmy Eat World: Hells Bells and the Dangers of Rock and Roll
Zach Lind and Ken WilberZach Lind from Jimmy Eat World offers a fascinating glimpse into some of the inspiration behind the band’s distinctive sound, as well as a personal tour through his own upbringing in a conservative Baptist household. He and Ken then discuss an Integral approach to understanding spirituality, religion, and fundamentalism, paving the way forward for Christianity in the 21st Century. Zach and Ken also talk about his experiences touring with bands like Green Day and Blink 182, expanding Jimmy Eat World’s already distinctive sound in the studio, and balancing his stardom with his life at home as a husband and a father.
My Morning Jacket and the Search for Meaning
Jim James and Ken WilberJim James and Ken Wilber discuss the spectacular rise of My Morning Jacket, examining the circumstances and intentions behind each of their albums, tracking the band’s career from their humble beginnings to their latest forays into rock stardom. They take a look at the personal side of Jim’s career, exploring some of the more difficult aspects of maintaining one’s relationships, sanity, and integrity amidst the mania of the rock and roll lifestyle, and reflect on the role that rock music often plays as the primary source of spiritual experience and connection for a great many people in the world.
Technology, Evolution, and God: Exploring the Technium
Kevin Kelly and Ken WilberWired magazine’s own “Senior Maverick” talks with Ken Wilber about some of the ideas behind Kevin’s blog The Technium, which explores the various ways humanity defines and redefines itself through the interface of science, technology, culture, and consciousness. Kevin also shares some of his own thoughts about the role of spirituality in the 21st century, going into considerable depth around his own spiritual awakening several decades ago.
Introducing Niggy Tardust
Saul Williams and Ken WilberSaul Williams talks to Ken Wilber about his album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust. Listen as they take an in-depth look at many of the songs on the album, while discussing Saul’s creative process and his experience of live performance.
Pearl Jam: Restoring Idealism to Rock and Roll
Stone Gossard and Ken WilberFew bands in recent history have done more to express idealism and authenticity in music than Pearl Jam. In this far-reaching interview with guitarist Stone Gossard, we are offered an insider’s view of the gritty origins of grunge music, the iconic rise of the “most popular band of the 90’s,” and the struggles of maintaining one’s artistic ideals in the vertigo of sudden fame.
It’s Not Easy Being Turquoise: Jim Henson, The Muppets, and the Art of Integral Puppetry
Steve Whitmire and Ken WilberFor two decades, Steve Whitmire has served as the performer behind the world’s beloved Kermit the Frog as well as other famous Muppets and Sesame Street characters. In this two-part dialogue, he discusses the impact the Integral vision has had upon his own life, career, and creativity, and opens the door to a possible future of explicitly Integral puppetry….
From Jagged Little Pill to Flavors of Entanglement
Alanis Morrissette and Ken WilberSeven-time Grammy Award winner Alanis Morissette takes us on a tour of her life and career by sharing how the threads of her life have increasingly come together into one integral tapestry — where once there may have been jagged fragments, we can now see conscious and playful entanglement with all of life.
The Last Airbender: Spirituality for Kids (of All Ages!)
Brian Konietzko and Stuart DavisThe co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of the most entertaining — and enlightening — animated shows on television, shares the story behind Avatar and why working on Family Guy just wasn't enough.
The Integral Artist
Alex Grey and Ken WilberThe creator of some of the most transcendent art of our time explores why it is necessary to go beyond the faded postmodern milieu of today’s art world, how psychedelics can play a role in discovering and manifesting one’s deeper realms of being, and how the “two kinds of higher” can impact artists and their work.
The Meaning of the Avant Garde
Ed Kowalczyk, Stuart Davis and Ken WilberKen Wilber, Ed Kowalczyk, and Stuart Davis met at the Ken Wilber’s house in Boulder for a special meeting focusing on Integral Art and Transformative Practice. What followed was an afternoon of vibrant discussion and electrifying performances, centered on the themes: What is the relation of art and transformation? How can art be part of an integral transformative practice?
Beyond Genre: Adventures in Rap, Rock, and Romance
Rick Rubin and Ken WilberRick Rubin, MTV’s “most important white boy in hip-hop,” has produced some of the most influential and creative albums of the past two decades with artists like The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Slayer, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Nine Inch Nails, Audioslave, Jay-Z, Saul Williams — and the list just keeps on going. Here Rick and Ken discuss why truly great music almost always transcends our concepts of genre, before waxing philosophic about rock, romance, and the potential perils of paternity….
Integral Actors Studio: Engaging the Metaphysics of Acting
Julia Ormond and Ken WilberListen as Julia Ormond talks to Ken Wilber about her experiences as an actress, as well as the psychotherapeutic work and “ordeal by vulnerability” that is intrinsic to an art that derives its prima mater from the fertile ground of the actor him/herself….
The Many Meanings of The Matrix
Lana Wachowski and Ken WilberThe Matrix trilogy is the most successful cinematic venture of the past several decades — together, all three films have grossed over three billion dollars worldwide, an impressive accomplishment within any genre (let alone science fiction.) The attention of audiences worldwide has certainly been captured by the mind-bending storyline and phenomenal special effects, but the perennial question remains: What does it all mean?
Artist as Instrument: Esoteric Rock and Roll
Ed Kowalczyk and Stuart DavisEd Kowalczyk, the lead singer and songwriter for the acclaimed rock band Live, talks with Stuart Davis about music, creativity, and performance as a powerful form of spiritual practice — a means to transcend self and contact Self.
System of a Down: Politics, Justice, Rock and Roll
Serj Tankian and Ken WilberSerj Tankian, lead singer of System of a Down, talks to Ken Wilber about the intersection between art and politics, discussing some of the most important aspects of his life that contribute to the “post-everything” bouquet of sound that is System of a Down.
Leading-Edge Consciousness and Avant Garde Art
Billy Corgan and Ken WilberIntegral Life has, as one of its primary concerns, the resurrection of the avant garde—the idea, the movement, and the practice. In this far-reaching, sharp, and insightful dialogue, Billy Corgan and Ken discuss the nature and meaning of the avant garde, using Billy’s own career as a touchstone for the discussion.
Art as a Contemplation of Being
Saul Williams and Ken WilberWhen Ken and Saul first met, they talked nonstop for four hours, only interrupted because Saul had a gig. All Ken said about that meeting was, “That might be the most beautiful human being I’ve ever met.” This isn’t that conversation, but it’s still pretty awesome. Please join us in sitting with this extraordinary soul….
That Moment of Oneness
Ed Kowalczyk and Ken WilberIn this intimate discussion of the heart of a rock and roll (that actually has heart), Eddie talks about how the very essence of an authentic performance is awakening and sharing with the audience a glimpse into that oneness that is everybody’s natural condition. If you don’t think rock and roll can do this, you haven’t heard Live.