This conversation between Keith Martin-Smith and Michael Porcelli explores the hidden dynamics that shape how we communicate, from cultural conditioning to emotional awareness to the unseen “third entity” of relationship. Together they unpack why so many conversations go off the rails—and how we can learn to repair, realign, and relate with greater depth, clarity, and skill.
IAM Spotlight: Faith Development Pathway
Brendan Graham DempseyBrendan Dempsey offers a powerful re-engagement with James Fowler’s Faith Development Theory, applying cutting-edge tools from developmental psychology to illuminate how our structures of meaning evolve. This presentation reveals not just how faith matures, but why this maturation is critical for meeting the challenges of a world in search of deeper coherence.
How the Metacrisis is Birthing the New Human
Nicholas HedlundNick Hedlund introduces Visionary Realism, a synthesis of Integral Theory and Critical Realism that addresses the root causes of our global Metacrisis. Rather than offering surface-level solutions, he invites us to align with the deeper structure of reality through aletheic resonance — a participatory, reverent way of knowing that may be key to the emergence of a new kind of human.
Becoming Whole in a Divided World
Keith Martin-Smith and David ArrellIn this thought-provoking episode of Integral Edge, Keith Martin-Smith sits down with executive coach and consciousness explorer David Arrell to explore what it truly means to become whole, both personally and collectively, amid ongoing division and conflict.
Return to the Roots: Tantra, Mormonism, and the Mystic Heart Behind All Things
Kimberley Lafferty and Thomas McConkieKimberley Lafferty and Thomas McConkie explore how we can return to the spiritual traditions of our childhood with new eyes — not through regression, but through transformation. Drawing from Tantra, Mormonism, and Integral spirituality, they illuminate a shared mystical core that invites us to embody divinity through both transcendence and humble, concrete service.
Between Two Infinities: What Does It Mean to Live a Good Life?
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWhat does it really mean to live a good life—and how does that meaning evolve as we grow? In this candid and illuminating conversation, Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos explore how progress on meaningful needs, conscious relationships, and a deeper sense of purpose all contribute to a life well-lived.
Every Scar Has a Story: Rewriting the Narratives That Shape Us
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos explore how trauma shapes the stories we tell about ourselves — and how those stories can be transformed into resilience, wisdom, and self-leadership. Drawing from developmental theory, the Enneagram, and decades of clinical experience, Keith offers a four-stage model of trauma healing rooted in radical acceptance, narrative re-patterning, and the cultivation of a compassionate “wise self.”
Time & Timelessness
Corey deVosThe polarity of Time and Timelessness reflects two interdependent ways of relating to existence — one through the flux of change, and the other through stillness and presence.
The Cycles of Time: Mapping Evolution at the Edge of History
Keith Martin-Smith and Terri O'FallonIn this wide-ranging conversation, Terri O’Fallon and Keith Martin-Smith explore how human development unfolds through increasingly complex relationships with time, from infancy’s timelessness to the transpersonal awareness of timelessness beyond time. They examine how cultural evolution is accelerating, why recurring societal crises reflect developmental recursions, and how future leadership must integrate ethical maturity, shadow work, and a multi-generational vision.
Ethics and Awakening: Why Spiritual Growth Isn’t Enough
Jac O'Keeffe and Kimberley LaffertyKimberley Theresa Lafferty and Jac O’Keeffe explore the critical but often overlooked role of ethics in the spiritual path, challenging the assumption that awakening alone leads to maturity. Through personal stories, developmental insight, and hard-earned wisdom, they reveal how true spiritual integrity requires psychological integration, relational accountability, and a lifelong commitment to ethical embodiment.
Why Philanthropy Is the Most Powerful Lever for Systemic Change
Josh Leonard and Robb SmithThis episode introduces a groundbreaking developmental map of philanthropy, revealing how the field is evolving from strategic rigor to empowerment-driven justice — and now toward a new paradigm of integrative systems change. Josh Leonard and Robb Smith explore how philanthropic institutions hold the unique freedom and leverage to become civilization’s steering mechanism, capable of addressing root causes rather than symptoms in the age of the metacrisis.
Terminal Crisis: The Economic World War Has Begun
Robb SmithThe global system isn’t collapsing — it’s transforming. In this urgent episode, Robb Smith reveals why the U.S. is facing a historic terminal crisis, what comes next in the 700-year cycle of capital accumulation, and how a new world order — or global anarchy — is already taking shape.
Caught in the Algorithmic Undertow
Bruce Alderman and Josh LeonardBruce Alderman and Josh Leonard explore the slow, invisible pull of digital systems — algorithms, platforms, attention economies — that subtly yet profoundly shape our beliefs, behaviors, and social worlds.
The Shadow of Trump
Kim Barta and Keith Martin-SmithPsychotherapist and developmental theorist Kim Barta joins Keith Martin-Smith for a deep dive into the psychological and developmental dynamics surrounding one of the most polarizing figures of our time: Donald Trump.
A Grand Strategy for the Transformation Age
Robb SmithIn this powerful second installment of Big Picture Mind, Robb Smith presents a sweeping yet grounded vision for the future of the integrative worldview — one that meets the historic demands of our moment and invites each of us into a shared project of planetary coherence. We are living amidst a multi-system breakdown: geopolitical instability, techno-economic upheaval, ecological overshoot, a …
The Occupational Hazards of Awakening
Kimberley Lafferty and Santiago JiménezIn this profound dialogue, Kimberley Lafferty and Santiago illuminate the occupational hazards of awakening, exploring the bliss and challenges of ego dissolution and emptiness within daily life. They offer deep insights and practical wisdom for integrating profound spiritual experiences into authentic human living.
Men, Meaning, and the Rise of the New Right
Keith Martin-Smith, Jason Lange and Raymond FismerThe modern world is demanding more from men than ever before—strength and sensitivity, resilience and vulnerability, leadership and collaboration—yet many feel lost without clear role models or cultural support. This conversation explores the forces shaping modern masculinity, the allure of strongman archetypes, and the path toward a truly integrated, evolved form of masculinity that balances power with presence, agency with empathy, and tradition with transformation.
A Sociology of Big Pictures: Network Strategy for a 21st Century Worldview
Robb SmithThe Institute of Applied Metatheory (IAM) presents A Sociology of Big Pictures: Network Strategy for a 21st Century Worldview by Robb Smith, an in-depth exploration of how grand integrative frameworks emerge, compete, and evolve within the modern attentional landscape. As we enter the Transformation Age — marked by rapid geopolitical, technological, ecological, and epistemic shifts — Smith argues that the need for a coherent, integrative worldview has never been greater.
The Turquoise Dialectic: Expand Your Cosmology Through Integral Dialogue
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosCorey DeVos and Dr. Keith Witt explore the turquoise dialectic—a mode of deep, integrative conversation where perspectives evolve rather than compete—touching on themes of honesty, trust, intergenerational transmission, and the ways our personal cosmologies shape reality. From the psychology of deception to the ancestral patterns we unconsciously carry, this discussion invites listeners to examine how they construct meaning, engage in dialogue, and participate in the ongoing evolution of consciousness.
Evolving Love: The Secret Path to Awakening
Kimberley Lafferty, Mickra Hamilton and Daniel SticklerThis conversation explores how love evolves alongside human development, revealing how our relationships reflect and shape our consciousness. Through personal stories, integral psychology, and esoteric wisdom, Kimberley Theresa Lafferty, Dr. Daniel Stickler, and Dr. Mickra Hamilton uncover how intimacy, shadow work, and sacred partnership can become profound paths of transformation and awakening.
The Big Picture Mind: What Every Elite is Missing
Robb SmithIn this first episode of The Big Picture Mind, Robb Smith explores the rapid, self-reinforcing change that is driving a global metacrisis across governance, technology, culture, and meaning. To navigate this, he calls for the rise of Big Picture Minds—people who can think integratively, restore coherence, and actively shape the future rather than be overwhelmed by it.
Polarization and the Algorithmic Undertow: Integral and Critical Realist Perspectives
Bruce AldermanBruce Alderman explores how our rapid transition into a globally networked information environment has created unprecedented challenges for human cognition, social cohesion, and collective meaning-making and sensemaking.
Exploring Teal and Turquoise Psychotherapy
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosThis discussion unpacks the essence of integral psychotherapy, exploring how Teal and Turquoise approaches integrate all psychologies into a dynamic framework that optimizes healing and growth. With practical insights into productive self-awareness, the role of spirituality, and the interplay of life’s processes, Corey and Keith illuminate the path toward deeper wholeness and transformative relationships.
Making Sense of the Extraordinary
Kimberley LaffertyIn the debut episode of Evolving Spirit, Kimberley Theresa Lafferty invites us into a raw and heartfelt exploration of extraordinary experiences—those profound moments that challenge our understanding of reality and connect us to deeper meaning. From developmental insights to the importance of ethical grounding, Kimberley offers a sophisticated framework for integrating these transformative encounters into our lives with wisdom, compassion, and community.
A View From Somewhere: An Introduction to Metatheory and Planetary Sense-Making
Mark Edwards and Bruce AldermanBruce Alderman and Mark Edwards explore how integrative metatheory can illuminate and address the interconnected crises of our time. Through themes such as navigating hyperobjects, the role of storytelling in fostering collaboration, and the challenges posed by algorithmic fragmentation, they advocate for integrative thinking that balances big-picture reflection with grounded, actionable practice.
What We’ve Learned: 2024 Reflections and Looking Ahead to 2025
Robb Smith and Josh LeonardThe Institute of Applied Metatheory (IAM) is revolutionizing how we tackle global challenges by applying integrative metatheories—holistic frameworks that unify knowledge across disciplines. In this episode, Robb Smith and Josh Leonard reflect on IAM’s 2024 accomplishments and share an inspiring vision for 2025, highlighting leadership, collaboration, and storytelling as keys to driving transformational change.
Escaping the Drama Triangle: Presence, Problem-Solving, and Relational Mastery
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosCorey deVos and Dr. Keith Witt explore one of the most common yet misunderstood aspects of human interaction: the tension between drama and problem-solving. They dive deeply into the “Drama Triangle,” a psychological framework that reveals how the roles of victim, rescuer, and persecutor trap us in cycles of dysfunction. These dynamics, while often personal, are also embedded in cultural systems, politics, and even therapy itself.
Breakdown of the World System: Q&A with Robb Smith
Robb SmithRecorded on Election Night 2024, this Q&A session with Robb Smith offers an in-depth exploration of the profound challenges facing America in the wake of the election results. As the nation grapples with critical questions about the future — such as choosing between reform and revolt, addressing increasing polarization, and recognizing the urgent need for evolved leadership — Robb offers a deep exploration of these complexities through the lens of integral theory.
An Integral Metatheory of Conservatism
Robb SmithIn a time of political upheaval and societal change, understanding the deeper currents that shape our worldviews is more crucial than ever. Join Robb Smith in this enlightening presentation recorded during our recent election watch party, where he delves into the rich tapestry of conservatism through the lens of integral theory.
SALT for Climate: Redefining Urgency and Transformation in Climate Leadership
Josh Leonard, Lisa Gibson and Gail HochachkaJosh Leonard sits down with Gail Hochachka and Lisa Gibson, leaders of the SALT for Climate initiative, to explore their pioneering approach to climate action. They discuss the often-overlooked psychological and social dimensions of climate work, share insights from their work on collective sensemaking and leadership training, and explain why a focus on human dynamics may be the missing piece in our response to the climate crisis.
Overflowing Purpose: An Inside Look
Integral LifeIn this short 14-minute video, we give you an exclusive inside look at Overflowing Purpose, a transformative new course that brings together renowned thinkers like Ken Wilber, John Vervaeke, Robb Smith, Cindy Wigglesworth, Gail Hochachka, Peter Merry, Greg Thomas, and others to address the complex challenges of our time — and your unique role in meeting those challenges.
Spiritual Intelligence: 21 Skills for Wisdom, Compassion, and Love in Action
Cindy Wigglesworth, John Dupuy and Roger WalshCindy Wigglesworth, trailblazer in the field of spiritual intelligence, has created an assessment tool that identifies our spiritual strengths and weaknesses — qualities that fall outside the traditional IQ or emotional intelligence (EQ) parameters — in order to provide a guide for determining which skills we as individuals need to develop in order to show up in the world as love in action.
Polarity Politics and the 2024 Election
Corey deVos and Mark FischlerCorey deVos and Mark Fischler explore the complexities of the 2024 U.S. presidential election through an integral lens, offering insights into how political polarization is shaped by systemic structures, and how these structures influence our individual psyches and sense-making. They introduce practical approaches for navigating political polarities, recognizing personal and collective shadows, and engaging in more nuanced political discourse.
Faces of X: Making Peace with the Culture War
Corey deVos and Stephanie LeppStephanie Lepp talks with Corey deVos about her Faces of X project, which models how we can transcend culture wars by integrating opposing perspectives. The discussion explores how the polarization we see in society mirrors unresolved polarities within ourselves, and emphasizes the need for both personal and social integration. This discussion highlights the limitations of binary thinking and the importance of synthesizing conflicting viewpoints to create more inclusive, nuanced solutions.
The Wonderful (But Flawed) Ideals of DEI
Keith Martin-Smith, Roger Walsh and John DupuyKeith Martin-Smith takes a careful look at the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement when he began to notice the damage it was causing people he knew under the guise of progress, or equity. Putting his keen mind to the task, Keith identified seven key areas where the DEI movement goes markedly astray from the values it aspires to.
The Myth of Evil: Why Polarities, Not Villains, Drive Injustice
Barry JohnsonBarry Johnson introduces the concept of polarity thinking, offering a revolutionary framework for addressing complex societal issues like poverty, racism, and climate change. Rather than viewing problems as having singular solutions or evil sources, Barry explains how mismanaged polarities—such as justice vs. mercy and freedom vs. equality—are at the heart of many dysfunctions. By adopting a both/and mindset, we can break vicious cycles, foster balance, and create more sustainable solutions in our personal and collective lives.
Introducing the Cultural Complexity Index
Brendan Graham Dempsey, Robb Smith and Josh LeonardThe Institute of Applied Metatheory recently chose to organize, fund and incubate a significant new Applied Metatheory Initiative called the Cultural Complexity Index, which we see as holding the potential to act as a high-leverage project for long-term social emancipation.
The Integration of Defenses
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosHow can we become more aware of our defensive reactions as they arise? Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos explore the intricate world of psychological defenses, presenting them as a critical line of intelligence and development. Dr. Witt introduces his pioneering concept of an “integration of defenses” as a developmental line, illustrating how our defensive mechanisms evolve and manifest across various stages of growth.
Ready, Steady, Grow! The Art and Science of Vertical Development
Beena Sharma and Corey deVosCorey deVos and Beena Sharma explore the concept of vertical development and its importance in today’s world. Beena, with over 30 years of experience in the field, shares her journey and evolving understanding of vertical development.
How America Got Here: A 50 Year Journey to Polarization
Robb Smith and Josh LeonardRobb Smith and Josh Leonard look at the deep structures — in the form of actual events, policies and decisions between 1970 and 2024 — that radically shifted America from one form of system “regime” and associated equilibrium, that of relative national coherence in the early 1970s, into a new, radically- and qualitatively-different regime and equilibrium of extreme polarized decoherence of 2024.
Radical Wholeness and the Five Paths of Transformation
Ken Wilber and Andrew HolecekKen Wilber and Andrew Holecek explore the frontiers of integral theory and human consciousness. Ken shares some of the key insights from his latest book, “Finding Radical Wholeness,” offering a novel and deeply insightful perspective on the nature of reality and human development.
Democracy in Decline? The Supreme Court and the Threat to Public Morality
Mark Fischler, Roger Walsh and John DupuyHow did the democratic process and the values it represents — equality and liberty for all — come to be teetering on the brink? Mark illuminates the fact that the Constitution is not a set-in-stone document, but eminently open to interpretation, and explains that its interpretation is a direct reflection of the worldviews of the Supreme Court justices. In fact, the whole process of democracy needs to be aligned with a certain level of development in order to deliver…
Can Integral Theory Actually Help the World?
Keith Martin-SmithKeith Martin-Smith explores the potential and pitfalls of integral theory in addressing global challenges. He argues that while integral thinking offers valuable tools for understanding complex systems and human development, it often falls short in practice due to misapplication and ego-driven superiority complexes. Keith proposes a more nuanced approach: treating people as unique individuals, communicating integral ideas more skillfully, and focusing on practical applications rather than theoretical grandstanding.
From Four Quadrants to Eight Zones
Corey deVosCorey deVos offers a simple tour through the 8 zones of Integral metatheory, resulting in a profoundly comprehensive and holistic view of reality. Whether applied to relationships, social justice, or personal development, the 8 zones offer a powerful tool for enhancing our capacity to address and resolve conflicts, enrich our connections, and create a more inclusive and harmonious world.
Reintegrating DEI: Beyond the Culture Wars
Keith Martin-SmithKeith Martin-Smith explains the developmental levels in detail that allowed DEI to form in the first place, as well as the levels from which DEI is often expressed (and resisted) from, allowing us to more clearly see and understand the cultural wars we are all experiencing.
Karma & Creativity
Corey deVosKarma 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.
The 8 Horizons of Love
Corey deVos and Dr. Keith WittIn this episode of Witt and Wisdom, Corey deVos introduces a comprehensive relationships framework he is currently developing, designed to help partners navigate the staggering complexity of our relationships — whether romantic, familial, or platonic. Corey highlights the eight fundamental territories or horizons within which all relationships unfold, detailing the common factors, everyday examples, key questions, common challenges, and the risks of neglecting each of these horizons.
IAM: Organizing Big Pictures For The Transformation Age
Robb Smith and Josh LeonardJosh Leonard and Robb Smith discuss the founding and evolution of the Institute of Applied Metatheory (IAM). They explore the urgent need for an organization that networks and supports scholar-practitioners in applying integrative metatheory to complex 21st-century challenges. The conversation reflects on the integral movement’s stages and challenges, societal shifts necessitating IAM’s emergence, and the four foundational hypotheses underpinning its work.
The Many Within: Understanding IFS and Self Integration
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos discuss Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, an approach developed by Richard Schwartz in the 1980s that recognizes the multiplicity of the human psyche. IFS works with the different parts of the personality to promote psychological health, wholeness, and ongoing development.
Integral Diversity Maturity: Toward a Postconventional Understanding of Diversity Dynamics
Toni Gregory and Michael RaffantiThis article outlines the authors’ ongoing study of diversity, focusing particularly on the AQAL model as a linchpin in an evolving theory of “diversity maturity.” Recognizing the limitations of non-integral approaches to understanding and negotiating diversity dynamics, the authors explain how an integral perspectives come to inform their postconventional understanding. The authors share their preliminary theory of the diversity maturity process in which the integral vision/theory that unites diversity, complexity, and creativity is the dynamic relationship among and between quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types. The article concludes with an agenda for further theoretical and empirical inquiry.
Healing the Infosphere: How Integral Journalism Can Elevate Public Discourse
Stefan Schultz and Corey deVosCorey deVos talks to Stefan Schultz, a journalist at Der Spiegel magazine, about his model for integral journalism that he has been developing over the past few years. This model, staggering in both its depth and its breadth, examines journalism and media literacy through a developmental lens, looking at how the infosphere shapes society and how journalism can positively influence this process.
Ken Wilber’s Map of Everything
Brad Reynolds, Roger Walsh and John DupuyBrad Reynolds gives us a beautiful distillation of Ken Wilber’s work, starting from the beginning and spanning decades. Not only does Brad elegantly relate the major themes of Ken’s work, he also makes clear the value of Ken’s contributions—the way this knowledge can be understood and applied to literally expand our notion of reality and evolve our consciousness
The Art of Integral Conversation: How to Have a Turquoise Dialectic
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos explore the concept of “turquoise dialectic” – a sophisticated form of integral discourse that emerges at the later stages of human development. Drawing upon their deep understanding of adult development and integral theory, they explore the feeling and transformative potential of the turquoise “we-space”, and how we might create the conditions for this type of conversation to unfold.
Mathing the Loops: An Integral Perspectival Mathematics Approach to Transformational Learning Processes
Bruce AldermanBruce Alderman builds upon Ken Wilber’s integral perspectival mathematics to model the dynamics of Otto Scharmer’s “3 Levels of Listening” framework. Alderman develops complex notational equations to map out how each successive listening level involves deeper transformations of belief structures, self-concepts, and collective awareness, culminating in a transconceptual, participatory openness to emerging future possibilities.
Sex, Pronouns, and Prepositions: How an Integral Mathematics of Perspectives Can Stop the AI Apocalypse
Bruce AldermanBruce Alderman introduces an expanded version of Ken Wilber’s integral mathematics, a notational system for mapping the complex interplay of perspectives in communication and meaning-making. He demonstrates the potential applications of this enhanced system across various domains, from modeling ethical decision-making in AI to facilitating transdisciplinary collaboration, while acknowledging the need for further testing and collaboration to fully realize its potential.
The Lost Art of Adulthood: Reviving Our Rites of Passage
Luke Entrup and Keith Martin-SmithIn this episode, Keith and Luke Entrup discuss the necessity of reintroducing formal rites of passage for our children, not as a fun thing to do with your kid but as something vital for their development – a piece most of us missed and have had to make up for throughout our lives.
Inhabit: Your Awakening
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeCorey deVos and Ryan Oelke explore the nature of integral awakening, drawing on their own experiences and the insights of integral theory. They discuss how awakening is a universal human potential, but one that is profoundly shaped by the unique “Kosmic address” of each individual – their particular stage of development, state of consciousness, typologies, cultural contexts, social conditions, and so forth.
What Feels Right: An Embodied Perspective on the Ethical Line of Development
Emily BarattaThis article examines ethical frameworks across levels of human development and via the quadrants of the AQAL model. The ethical line is examined as it progresses through stages of development, paying special attention to the role of the felt sense in the determination of right action. The role of unconscious forces, particularly the felt sense of disgust, is examined as the basis of moral intuition. Integral Ethics includes the ethical framework of the previous stages and an examination of personal motivation for right action. By inquiring into the unconscious drives that move us, we may begin to recognize the cultural prejudices and excessive survival drives that can influence our determination of right action.
CANCELLED: The Battle for Free Speech in the Integral Age
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosKeith Witt and Corey delve into the complex and contentious issue of cancel culture, examining its implications for free speech, academic freedom, and social cohesion. They explore why understanding the nuances of cancel culture is crucial in today’s polarized environment, and how an Integral perspective can provide a more comprehensive view that embraces complexity, encourages growth, and seeks balance.
The Psychology of Climate Change
Gail Hochachka, John Dupuy and Roger WalshClimate change researcher, sustainable development expert, and activist Gail Hochachka works on the front lines of climate change research, asking—and answering—questions like: How does the way we make meaning, at all our different stages of development, relate to the ways we act on climate change? How can we foster more engagement with climate change? Is climate action scalable? And how are we going to show up for the people who are facing the greatest impacts?
The Seven Deadly Sins of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
Keith Martin-SmithJoin Keith Martin-Smith as we question whether DEI initiatives are achieving their intended goals of increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion, or whether they may be perpetuating any number of unseen biases that take us further away from those shared goals. Are we oversimplifying the narrative around privilege and diversity? How do factors like poverty impact issues like police violence? How might we rethink and reshape the DEI discourse, moving towards more skillful (and more integral) approaches?
Deepening Our Explorations of Reality
Bruce Alderman, John Dupuy and Roger WalshBruce Alderman, poet, mystic, and spiritual explorer, is also an integral scholar and pioneer of the emerging field of metatheory, looking at how to put our disparate fields of information—spiritual, psychological, philosophical, environmental, scientific—together and integrate them into a useful whole.
How to Awaken and Empower the Integral Man
Keith Martin-Smith and Jason LangeKeith Martin-Smith and Jason Lange explore the challenges and ongoing evolution of masculinity. Watch as they delve into topics such as the impact of societal norms on men’s behavior, the importance of emotional intelligence, and the journey from traditional to more integrated forms of masculinity, bringing a wealth of insights to help men navigate their roles and identities in a rapidly changing social landscape.
Developmental Engagement Field Theory
Dr. Keith WittThis article explores how social engagement is central to human functioning and development, and how it potentially provides agentic access to intersubjective and interobjective energy fields. An integrally informed developmental engagement field theory is described, with practical suggestions for applying it to living, parenting, and psychotherapy. The article concludes with a lifespan case study that embodies the presented research.
An Integral Taxonomy of Therapeutic Interventions
Andre MarquisGiven that therapists are confronted with literally hundreds of techniques or interventions to potentially utilize in their clinical practice — and a growing chasm separating research and practice — how do therapists dispel the confusion that so many of us feel as we confront this fragmented heap of techniques? In short, how do therapists decide which interventions to use with a given client?
From the Cambrian Explosion to the Human Explosion
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore the parallels and differences between the Cambrian explosion and the rapid evolution of human consciousness, discussing the profound impacts of technological and cultural advancements on our collective development.
The Power of Vulnerability: Embracing an Integrated Masculinity
Keith Martin-SmithIn this insightful discussion, Keith Martin-Smith addresses the misconceptions around male vulnerability, emphasizing its role as a source of strength and authenticity. He explores the transformative impact of embracing vulnerability on men’s emotional health, relationships, and societal perceptions of masculinity.
Between Hope and History: An Integral View on Israel-Palestine
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark Fischler and Corey deVos bring some integral perspective to the Israel-Palestine conflict, navigating the multiple nested contexts that make this issue one of the most enduring and complex in modern history. The conversation explores the critical tensions between different historical legacies, cultural identities, and political intricacies, all contributing to a seemingly intractable conflict that defies simplistic narratives. With deep compassion and empathy, Mark and Corey acknowledge the ongoing violence and suffering experienced by people on both sides, underscoring the urgent need for solutions that address these deep-rooted issues.
“The Diplomat” Seeks the Bigger Picture
Mark Allan Kaplan and Jonathan SteigmanWhat makes a movie integral? Why are so many integral works science fiction or fantasy? Mark Allan Kaplan and Jonathan Steigman explore the Netflix series “The Diplomat” and how it reflects the Integral structure of consciousness
Transforming Self, Society, and the Spaces Between Us
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this enlightening episode of The Ken Show, hosts Ken Wilber and Corey deVos embark on a profound journey through the multifaceted realms of systems theory, communication, and social evolution. They dissect the nuanced perspectives of “inside” and “outside” views in systems, delve into the transformative power of communication paradigms throughout history, and critically examine the influence of social media on the overall emergence of integral consciousness.
In Context: AI-Enhanced Strategies for Social Sector Evolution
Josh Leonard and Robb SmithRobb Smith is joined by Josh Leonard to explore together how IAM’s new AI-augmented mental model software, Context, can support Josh’s work as a social sector consultant, specifically in a project Josh is leading with the YMCA of San Francisco to revamp their leadership development program.
Revolutionary Social Transformation
Ken WilberThis never-before published essay by Ken Wilber delves into the intricate dynamics of societal evolution, emphasizing the interplay between technological advancements, cultural worldviews, and governance systems.
Awaken Your Integral Heart
Brad ReynoldsIn this profound presentation by Brad Reynolds, we explore the essence of integral consciousness and its implications for personal and societal transformation. Delving deep into the heart’s role in spiritual awakening, the conversation emphasizes the interconnectedness of the head, heart, body, and spirit, with the breath as a conduit for circulating spiritual energy. The discussion touches upon the rich tapestry of human development, drawing from the wisdom of ancient traditions and modern integral thought. Brad’s emphasis on love as a transformative force is particularly moving, with the assertion that to truly be integral, one must embody love.
Why Greater Depth Means Greater Responsibility
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWatch as Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos delve into the profound interdependence between human development and responsibility, exploring how our deepening self-awareness shapes our relationships and societal roles in an ever-evolving world. At the heart of the discussion is the compelling notion that as we evolve in our understanding and self-awareness, we bear a greater onus to guide, uplift, and positively influence those around us. This responsibility is especially important in the realm of relationships, where the path to trust and understanding is often fraught with challenges, yet rich with opportunities for growth.
Integral Cinema Studio
Mark Allan KaplanIn this remarkable exploration, Mark walks us through all of the main elements of Integral theory—using some of our favorite movies to illustrate the basics of the Integral approach, while noting how each of these elements has shaped the cinema experience since the invention of film itself. Not only does this series offer a wealth of perspective and insight to film, filmmakers, and audiences alike, but it also brings more color, more sound, and more awesome explosions to Integral thought and practice.
The Archetypal Lens
Mark Allan KaplanThe next integrally-informed lens we will be exploring is the ARCHETYPAL LENS. One way of understanding Archetypes from an Integral perspective is to see them as Primary Patterns of Being and Becoming that have their roots in the first forms of involution residing at the very edge of the Formless itself
The Complexity Lens
Mark Allan KaplanWe now enter the complex domain of tetra-enmeshment and tetra-evolution with what I am calling the COMPLEXITY LENS. On a basic level we could say that tetra-enmeshment refers to the complex inter-relationship or tetra-enmeshment between the four quadrants or “the subjective, objective, intersubjective, and interobjective dimensions of existence” whereby “all four dimensions arise simultaneously and tetra-evolve
The Methodology Lens
Mark Allan KaplanWe now shift focus to that space between theory and practice where we find the constructs, paradigms, and approaches used to examine and enact our world and the world of cinema, using what I am calling the METHODOLOGY LENS. With this lens we can attempt to look at what methodological constructs are behind how we look and how we act, what method or approach we are using at any given moment to comprehend and relate to self, others, and world.
The Energetics Lens
Mark Allan KaplanSince art in general and cinema in particular communicate through the transmission of light and sound, which both operate through frequency spectrums that transfer energy through space, every moment of projected image and sound of a cinematic work can be said to essentially have its own particular energy signature. Some film theorists have explored the dynamics of what can be called cinematic or kinetic energies that are inherent in the perceptual reception of moving imagery.
The Altitudinal Lens
Mark Allan KaplanWhen we look at a cinematic work and endeavor to discern if it is “integral” or not, what we are doing is attempting to use the term in an evaluative mode as a kind of typological categorization tool. One of the major ways of typologically mapping the Integral structure of consciousness is as a particular level or altitude on the worldview line of development (the Integral Worldview altitude).
The Zonal Lens
Mark Allan KaplanWe are now ready to delve into the more advanced integrally-informed cinematic lenses, starting here with the ZONAL LENS.
The Zonal Lens aids us in applying eight (8) indigenous human perspectives (zones) and their corresponding methodologies for gaining verifiable and reproducible knowledge to the realm of perceivable realities.
The Typological Lens
Mark Allan KaplanIn addition to States, and developmental Lines and Levels, there are also various patterns of shared Characteristic Types or Typologies within all four Quadrants.
The States Lens
Mark Allan KaplanIn a cinematic work, at the most basic level, these various human reality states can be captured and replicated to some degree through text, image, and sound. For example, we can visually and auditorily capture a storm (a weather state), and add the text/story of a person trying to get out of its way, including how this person is reacting (i.e., a fearful emotional state).
The Developmental Lens
Mark Allan KaplanThis time we will explore what I am calling the DEVELOPMENTAL LENS. The Developmental lens includes two separate yet intimately connected perceptual lenses: LINES and LEVELS of development.
The Quadratic Lens
Mark Allan KaplanThis time we explore the QUADRATIC LENS. This lens helps us look upon everything we perceive as being made up of four distinct yet equal and interrelated essential dimensions of perceptual reality. These dimension-perspectives can be labeled in various ways to represent the form of existence we are looking at.
The Holonic Lens
Mark Allan KaplanThe first Integral lens I will explore is the HOLONIC lens. This lens helps us look upon everything we perceive as a HOLON; a whole that is part of another whole. Holons are the essential building blocks of our reality. A whole atom is part of a whole molecule, which is part of a whole cell, which is part of a whole organism
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.
Buddhas in Blue: Enlightened Ways to Make Policing Work For Everyone
Ryan Johansen, Chris Orrey, Roger Walsh and John DupuyIn this moving, illuminating, and impassioned discussion, retired Police Lt. Chris Orrey and San Bruno Police Chief Ryan Johansen open our eyes as to the realities of policing in today’s world and offer solutions as to how the entire institution of police work could be transformed to become more effective and sustainable, both for police officers and for the communities they serve.
Meta-Ideological Politics: Bridging the Gaps Between Us
Ryan NakadeRyan’s presentation delves into the complex nature of ideology and its profound impact on our perceptions, interactions, and behaviors. He underscores the human brain’s inherent tendency to seek patterns, elucidating how ideologies aid us in deciphering the world but can also misguide us. Ryan describes the three definitions of “meta” he uses to elucidate the concept of meta-ideological politics: “meta” as transcending, “meta” as between, and “meta” as self-aware or self-referential.
Sentio Ergo Sum: The Emotional Line of Development
Joanne RubinIntegral Theory is described as a “nondual” developmental paradigm, where ontology and epistemology are paired constructively, and in which developing consciousness is sourced by thought, feeling, and states of consciousness. Emotional and cognitive development intertwine within ego development, and ego is defined by its coordinating and self-identifying functions. Following a review of the literature on emotions and emotional development, criteria are proposed for preconventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels of emotional development.
Integral Perspectives on Alcoholism
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosAlcohol addiction is a deeply entrenched issue that affects a significant portion of the population, with around 10% of children being raised in a family with at least one alcoholic parent as of 2019. In this episode of Witt and Wisdom, Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos undertake a comprehensive exploration of alcohol addiction, its effects, and the recovery process through the lens of Ken Wilber’s integral theory, which encompasses all four quadrants – individual (internal and external) and collective (internal and external).
From Socrates to Social Media: Renewing Our Commitment to Free Speech
Nadine Strossen, Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark Fischler and Corey deVos are joined by Nadine Strossen, a renowned advocate for free speech and former president of the ACLU, to traverse the rich history and the evolving frontier of free speech — a legacy that reaches from the philosophical debates of ancient Greece to today’s dynamic platforms of social media. Together, Nadine, Mark, and Corey illuminate the journey of free speech (a crowning achievement of the rational/modern (Orange) stage) celebrating it as a beacon of individual rights and a testament to the unyielding human pursuit of truth and expression.
Developmental Experiments in Individual and Collective Movement to Second Tier
Terri O'FallonThis article describes seven years of research on an ongoing experiment that fosters the development of individuals and groups through an integrally informed educational program called Generating Transformative Change (GTC). A progressively targeted developmental action research project involving seven cohorts is described and the conclusions about three of these participant groups, involving a total of 30 people, are presented.
Diversity, Empathy, and Integration: Reframing and Reclaiming a Movement Toward Healing and Wholeness
Brad KershnerBrad Kershner offers a deep and detailed criticism of standard DEI approaches (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), highlighting the complexities of ethnicity, race, and cultural evolution. He challenges prevailing educational metaphors grounded in the postmodern perspective, advocating for a more universal application of modern liberal values, and emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding to forge a more genuine and generative path forward for social justice.
Toward an Integral Meta-Psychotherapy
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosImagine a therapy where everything is interconnected, where every moment is a golden opportunity, and where the journey is as transformative as the destination. Whether you’re a therapist, a seeker, or just curious about the intricacies of the human psyche, this episode promises a journey of discovery, connection, and evolution.
The Essence of Awakening: Who Are We Really?
Lama Surya Das, Roger Walsh and John DupuyLama Surya Das, beloved meditation teacher, scholar, pioneer of bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, and author of the bestseller Awakening the Buddha Within among many more, shares bright gems of wisdom from his extensive experience practicing Dzogchen, his long immersion in meditation retreats, and studying in person with the great spiritual teachers of Asia.
Is Metamodernism Integral? Is Integral Metamodern?
Brendan Graham DempseyMetamodernism and the integral paradigm share a lot in common, yet also differ in important ways. To what degree should these terms be conflated or kept apart? What unites them, and what constitute the meaningful distinctions? What role do things like sensibility, generation, emphasis, and epistemology play? This gathering provided an opportunity to dig into this topic. To this end, metamodern thinker Brendan Graham Dempsey offers some history and a bit of compare/contrast perspectives on the topic.
Sex, Identity, Gender: Beyond Wokism and Trumpism
Corey deVos and Keith Martin-SmithJoin us as we push even further into the front lines of the culture war skirmishes that have become so plentiful over the last several years. Corey deVos joins Keith to discuss how our notions of sex, gender, and identity apply to some of the most contentious and pressing issues of our time, and how they can be integrated into a more integral dialectic.
Building a Just World: How Our Laws Express Our Collective Values
Mark Fischler, John Dupuy and Roger WalshConstitutional law expert and criminal justice professor Mark Fischler has a thirst for justice and a gift for teaching. With cogency and passion, Mark explains that law is not the absolute that we perhaps thought, but an ever changing reflection of the values we hold as a society. Law is a developmental process, and will benefit from our own dedication to inner moral development.
The Art and Science of the Intentional Love Affair
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos delve into the intricacies of intimate relationships, exploring the concept of “intentional love affairs” and how they can be cultivated to deepen connection and intimacy. They discuss the importance of fostering better friendships, nurturing love affairs, and developing the ability to solve problems so effortlessly that they may not even appear as conflicts to others.
What Is a Man (And Why Does It Matter?)
Keith Martin-SmithWith all the cultural war battles being waged around the question “what is a woman”, Keith Martin-Smith offers an integral discussion of manhood and masculinity — as a biological given, as a cultural construct, and as an ongoing source of identity.
When Therapists Go Woke
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey examine a troubling new trend in psychotherapy, where woke ideologies are being imposed in the therapist’s office and interfering with client-based approaches to mental health. Prompted by Lisa Davis’s insightful article “How Therapists Became Social Justice Warriors” in The Free Press, Keith and Corey delve into the evolving role of therapists in the current sociopolitical climate.
AQAL Topology: An Introduction to Integral Geography and Spatiality
Brian EddyThis article introduces some of the basic elements of Integral Geography as both theory and practice for applying the AQAL framework to the study of the world. A historical overview elaborates what geography is, how it evolved as a discipline, and how geographers frame a number of key dimensions of inquiry in studying both the human and natural world. These key dimensions are then situated in relation to the AQAL framework and are used to reveal how space, spatiality, and topology are intrinsic to the AQAL map and Integral Theory in general.
The Enneagram as a Spiritual Tool
Leslie Hershberger, John Dupuy and Roger WalshEnneagram expert, teacher, master facilitator, and transformational coach Leslie Hershberger leads us into the world of the Enneagram, painting a broader, deeper picture of the Enneagram and its uses as a psycho-spiritual tool than is commonly understood.
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.
Shadow, Trauma, and Attachment: Why Do Spiritual Teachers Keep Messing Up?
Keith Martin-SmithIf spiritual teachers are so “awake” and “enlightened”, why do so many of them get caught with their shadow hanging out? Watch as Keith Martin-Smith offers a stunning overview of shadow, trauma, and attachment disorders, and how they can corrupt both our mental health and our spiritual awakening.
Mastery, Collaboration, and Finding Your Unique Healing Style
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos explore the multifaceted nature of integral psychotherapy, emphasizing the importance of therapists finding their own healing style and the role of personal cosmologies in shaping therapeutic practice. They delve into the complexities of blending different integral systems, highlighting potential blind spots in integral cosmology and the challenges of extending beyond one’s mastery. The conversation also touches on the impact of generational events and the internet on mental health and societal norms.
Ontological Shock: The Accelerating Emergence of Artificial Intelligence
Robb Smith, Bruce Alderman and Corey deVosRobb Smith joins co-hosts Bruce Alderman and Corey deVos in our first episode of Integral Life’s new AI series, where together they grapple with the profound “ontological shock” and societal transformation prompted by the emergence of AI, exploring its impact across education, personal lives, and organizations. They delve into the potential risks and benefits of AI, its role in discourse shaping, the evolving perceptions of AI, and the transformative potential of AI-aided technologies, all while weaving in spiritual insights and invoking a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness in this transformative age.
Accountability Matters: A Call for Ethics, Empathy, and Equality
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosIn this thought-provoking podcast discussion, Mark Fischler and Corey deVos delve into the intricacies of Trump’s legal battles, the pursuit of accountability in politics, and the complexities of maintaining empathy and justice in a polarized society.
Grappling with the Metacrisis
Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Nicholas Hedlund, Roger Walsh and John DupuyIn this dialogue, the world of metatheories comes alive with urgent, purposeful meaning, because as Sean and Nick point out, integrative metatheories like Ken Wilber’s integral theory and Roy Bhaskar’s critical realism are the only tools that provide a useful framework for us to talk about and confront the vast web of interrelated and wicked problems we face on every level at this time.
Shadows of Development
Kim Barta and Keith Martin-SmithJoin Keith Martin-Smith and Kim Barta for an exclusive discussion as they delve into the world of shadow and ego development. Kim is a seasoned therapist, coach, and educator with over 40 years of experience who has dedicated his career to the resolution of shadow material. His unique perspective on the intersection of development, trauma, and attachment disorders combines the best of developmental psychology with depth psychology.
What Makes Us Happy? Growing Toward Anti-Fragility
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosJoin Keith and Corey in this enriching dialogue, as they bring forth an integral perspective on the pressing issue of mental health and resilience among youth, and explore the transformative potential of anti-fragility and the happiness strategies that can empower us to create a brighter future for ourselves and the generations to come.
The Integral Way of Jean Gebser
Jeremy JohnsonIn this two-part introductory series, Jeremy Johnson and participants explore a brief — if experiential — journey through the structures of consciousness, discovering how they continue to live in and through us and our world.
The 8 Perspectival Zones of Emergence
Ken WilberKen Wilber is asked whether there are structural preconditions for the enacting of certain zones, whether zones unfold with respect to increasing cognitive development, whether certain zones were even available at earlier times in history, and whether there are “premodern,” “modern,” and “postmodern” zones.
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.
The Edge of the Future: Education, Civilization, and the Metacrisis
Zach Stein, John Dupuy and Roger WalshEducator, author, philosopher, and futurist Zachary Stein gives a startling account of the effects the digital age already has on education and where this is headed. Zak sees education in a deeply philosophical sense as fundamental to the sustainability of our civilization, with implications for each component of the metacrisis. Who will be driving the technology stack that actually leads to a viable civilization? Can we maintain our psychological sovereignty in a sea of digital propaganda and know the truth?
The Highest Stages of Conscious Development
Terri O'Fallon and Keith Martin-SmithTerri O’Fallon and Keith Martin-Smith dive into a deeper and more detailed exploration of Terri’s STAGES model, focusing on a smaller section of the model: stages 3.0 – 6.0 (roughly Amber/Orange to Turquoise/Indigo). Terri outlines what makes each level of her model unique from the last, what causes people to shift from one level to another, as well as what the mature expressions look like for 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 stages.
How Self-Hatred Can Lead to Self Transformation
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore how feelings of self-hatred and self-loathing, when combined with compassionate self-awareness and the natural resilience of Witness consciousness, can help us overcome our resistance to change and put us back on the path of increasing wholeness, happiness, and self-acceptance. It’s an incredibly powerful discussion that we hope will help you better navigate some of these darkest corners of your own psyche.
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.
Navigating the Meaning Crisis
John Vervaeke and Nomali PereraJohn Vervaeke talks with Nomali, Jeff, and the rest of the group about his three major concerns about stage models, and why he doesn’t emphasize them in his own work
Where Is the Method to Our Integral Madness? An Outline for Integral Meta-Studies
Mark EdwardsThe purpose of this article is to explore the future development of Integral metatheory and to contextualize the absence of a formal method within a general framework for describing an integral meta-studies. The importance of method is discussed within an integral cycle of learning model that shows why method plays such a crucial role in metatheory building and in scientific disciplines in general. An overview of integral meta-studies is presented to contextualise the discussion of method.
Tapping Into Divine Guidance
Lisa Frost and Kevin Snorf“Tapping into Divine guidance” is a term most of us in the Integral family are familiar with. But what is the difference between that and prophesy or prophesizing? And what would practicing a prophetic modality entail? Join Lisa and Kevin with guest practitioner Rodrick Chambers, an ordained minister and spiritual coach, as we dive into the role of prophesy in the 21st Century.
How Attachment Theory Can Improve Your Relationships
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosAs Dr. Keith often reminds us, “Everything is relationships.” And the earliest relationships we form in our lives often set the tone and cadence for all the other relationships we will ever form in our lives. The coping strategies we learn in preadolescence become our inner compass later in life, and our efforts as grownups can often be seen as expressions, compensations, or substitute gratifications for the sense of security we may or may not have felt as children.
Perspectives on Development: Introducing the STAGES Model
Terri O'Fallon and Keith Martin-SmithTerri O’Fallon takes us on a guided journey through her STAGES model, an integrally based development model that charts human development from infancy to the highest levels of development that humans are capable of. Terri’s research is based in the number of perspectives a person can take (1st through 7th) – and she explains how different levels of fluency with these perspectives can often cause us to talk “past” or “over” one another, and how familiarizing ourselves with these perspectives can help us stop doing that.
Transcending and Including Our Current Way of Being: An Introduction to Integral Coaching
Joanne HuntThis article provides an introduction to the Integral Coaching® method developed by Joanne Hunt and Laura Divine, founders of Integral Coaching Canada, Inc. A brief introduction to the field of coaching is offered using the four quadrants to appreciate the underlying assumptions of how change occurs and how schools of coaching have approached the rapidly growing field of adult development. Further delineation of Integral Coaching Canada’s use of subject-object theory and a “transcend and include” developmental model is provided and resides at the root of this school’s AQAL approach to change.
Transform the Police: A More Integral Approach to Law Enforcement
Chris Orrey, Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark and Corey are joined by Chris Orrey, a retired police lieutenant with over 30 years of service with the Hayward, California Police Department, to discuss the abuse and resulting death of Tyre Nichols, who was severely beaten and ultimately killed by five Memphis police officers after a routine traffic stop. What allowed this tragedy (and others like it) to take place? What sorts of personal, cultural, and institutional transformation are necessary to prevent something like this from occurring again?
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.
Escaping the Comfort Zone: Motivation, Shame, and the Will to Transform
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore the complex psychology of motivation — the various sticks and carrots we use to get out of bed in the morning and keep ourselves moving forward in our lives, sustaining the inertia we need to push us through any number of hardships, setbacks, and growth opportunities.
Integral Spiritual Explorations: What Is Integral Spirituality?
Rollie Stanich, Nomali Perera, Lama Pema Dragpa and Jeff SalzmanWhat exactly do we mean by spirituality, and what do we mean specifically by “integral spirituality?” In this discussion, Nomali Perera presents a brief but vast array of ways in which we can explore this topic of integral spirituality. Her guests, longtime integral spiritual teachers and practitioners, Lama Pema Dragpa, Jeff Salzman & Rollie Stanich share their own inquiries and ideas of practices as well as answer questions from event attendees. At the end, you’ll also find a great integral anthem, “Universe Communion” by Stuart Davis, which beautifully captures the theme of integral spirituality.
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.
How to Build a Conscious Community
John Churchill and Keith Martin-SmithKeith Martin-Smith talks with Dr. John Churchill about the themes in Keith’s latest book, When the Buddha Needs Therapy: shadow and awakening, the problem and promise of spiritual communities, the state-stage model as it relates to trauma and growth, narcissism and other personality disorders inside of spirituality, the power and trap of lineage, and what a fully Western version of an awakened spiritual path might look like.
Looking Back: The Best of 2022
Corey deVosWe now live in a time when all of the right conditions and contradictions for Integral have finally emerged — a cascade of “wicked problems” that can only be fully seen, let alone solved, from an Integral point of view, but whose effects can be felt by virtually everybody. We took a close look at many of these wicked problems over the year, including issues such as racism, abortion, power, free speech, disinformation, and the rise of artificial intelligence. You can find many of these discussions listed on our Best of 2022 page!
Psychedelic Therapy and the Politics of Consciousness
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosIn the recent 2022 midterm elections, Colorado joined the state of Oregon in its decriminalization of psychedelic substances for therapeutic use. Here Dr. Keith and Corey explore some of the major implications of this profound legal shift, both in terms of our overall emotional, psychological, and spiritual health, as well as our rapidly evolving “politics of consciousness” — those states of consciousness that are sanctioned by the state, versus those that are not.
A Unique View Into You: Working With a Client’s AQAL Constellation
Laura DivineThis article provides an introduction to the set of six lenses used to support client assessment and competency development: the four quadrants (competencies, orientation, and translation), levels of consciousness (including three levels within each level), six lines of development (cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, somatic, spiritual, and moral), states of consciousness (gross, subtle, and causal as well as productive and non-productive, high-energy and low-energy states), gender type structures (feminine and masculine development), and Enneagram type structures.
Transformational Conversations: The Four Conversations of Integral Coaching
Joanne HuntThis article provides an introduction to the process used by Integral Coaching Canada in working with clients over time.
We’re Hoping AIs Will Answer Our Deepest Spiritual Question. They Can’t.
Robb SmithIf we can create an AI that seems fully conscious, what does it mean for our place in the universe? Are we really conscious? If we can basically replicate consciousness, how special can life be? How special can our own lives be?
How to Thrive During the Holidays
Lisa Frost and Kevin SnorfHolidays can be tough. For many the holiday season can be the some of the most hectic and challenging weeks of the year. Join Lisa and Kevin for a look at not just how to survive the holidays, but how to genuinely thrive and deepen your commitment to practice.
The Maturing Test: How Developed Is the World’s Most Advanced AI?
Robb Smith, Corey deVos and Susanne Cook-GreuterWe just assessed GPT-3, the world’s most advanced sentence-generating Artificial Intelligence, using Susanne Cook Greuter’s testing methodology. What did we learn, and what are the possible consequences for humanity? Watch to find out!
How Change Works: Supporting Vertical Development
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore some critical strategies to help support ongoing growth to increasing wholeness in ourselves and in other people: finding a psycho-spiritual framework to help organize our knowledge, experiences, and practices (e.g. Integral metatheory), engaging in change work (psychotherapy, coaching, consulting, etc.), and seeking communities of people who we recognize as more developed than ourselves.
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.
Therapy & Awakening: A New Integration
Chad Bennett and Keith Martin-SmithKeith Martin-Smith speaks with Chad Bennett, a psychotherapist and ordained Zen priest, about why our existing ideas of therapy are often limited and keep us bound inside of the therapeutic relationship, unable to learn the skills necessary to continue our own growth towards psychological wholeness.
Taking Justice Personally
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark and Corey offer an intimate sharing of their personal stories, reflecting on some of the most formative experiences in their own lives that influenced their interest and enactment of justice. It is a tender and heartfelt conversation that we hope not only allows you to better understand their own passions and perspectives, but also invites you to reflect in a similar way on the critical fulcrums in your own life, and how these experiences continue to shape your standards of goodness, integrity, and justice.
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.
An Integral Approach to Sexual Identity: Beyond Religion and Science
Michele EliasonThis article proposes an integral approach to sexual identity development that broadens the discussion beyond science and religion or nature versus nurture. A four-quadrant exploration of the research on the origins of sexual identity reveals much more complexity and highlights potential points for social justice interventions as well as ideas to enhance personal spiritual transformation.
How Healthy Relationships Manage Conflict
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey discuss “post-issue relationships” — relationships where both partners have the awareness and skill to stay connected in warmth and acceptance all the time, where challenges such as irritation, anxiety, doubt, guilt, and frustration can be transmuted into problem solving and warm feelings towards each other.
Awakening Joy: Life Skills for Living, Loving, and Serving Life to the Full
James Baraz, Roger Walsh and John DupuyJames’ teachings take us deeply into states like gratitude and compassionate presence, to where we can focus our attention on how it feels to feel good somatically, thereby creating new neural pathways that strengthen awareness and aliveness. James has witnessed a lot of people learn to love themselves and turn their lives around as a result of this teaching.
Who Awakens? How to Be Free From Your Freedom
Keith Martin-SmithIn this talk, Keith Martin-Smith dives into some topics of particular interest to those on a spiritual path. He first addresses the question head on: what is awakening, exactly? To answer this, he presents the listeners with a Zen koan, or riddle: Who awakens?
Ranked Choice Voting: A Path Toward a More Integral Politics
Jim AnestRanked choice voting (RCV) is a practice that offers considerable promise by creating and protecting a more civil commons where more perspectives are included, respect is encouraged, coercion and distortion are minimized, and intersubjective bridging is rewarded.
Open Yourself to Greater Freedom and Flow
Aneesah WilhelmstätterCome practice with Aneesah, using N.A.I.L. Freedom, her dynamic self-reflection tool specifically crafted to help you step into the space between stimulus and response, where you always have enough freedom to do the next right thing. This four-step alignment process can help you unshackle yourself from irrational fears, step into the flow, and flourish in all areas of your life.
Nonduality (And Beyond)
A. H. Almaas, John Dupuy and Roger WalshA.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), renowned author and co-creator of the Diamond Approach, describes his own process of inquiry and some of what he has come to discover in his lifelong pursuit to understand the nature of reality and know the truth.
Indistinct Union: An Integral Introduction to Nonduality in Christianity
Christopher DierkesThis article explores the work of Bernadette Roberts, a little-known contemporary Catholic Christian mystic. I analyze her work as a basis for a renewed and complete Christian map of mystical consciousness for the contemporary era. Through her experience, Roberts lays the foundation for a native Christian nonduality.
Work as Practice, Practice as Work
Lisa Frost, Kevin Snorf and Kent FrazierWhat would it look like to re-imagine and redefine the very ways we relate to and participate in our work? In this episode Lisa and Kevin speak with Kent Frazier, founder of Fully Human at Work, to understand what practice looks like in this context of our lives.
The WHAT, WHY, and HOW of Integral Practice
Lisa Frost and Kevin SnorfThe truth is, you’re always practicing something. What is your default practice if you are not practicing consciously?
The Source and Heart of Judaism and the Great Religions
Zvi Ish-Shalom, Roger Walsh and John DupuyIn this remarkable conversation, Zvi describes how he found ways to map and interpret his own profound mystical experiences, how the teachings arise from the ground of being, about how they might become accessible to us all, regardless of religion or spiritual tradition, and how they are especially relevant for young people today, seeking to find a structure for their spiritual journey.
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.
Vertical Development’s Many Gifts
Beena Sharma, John Dupuy and Roger WalshBeena Sharma, president of the Vertical Development Academy (VeDA), gives a beautifully cogent explanation of the 8-stage, full spectrum model of adult psychological development, Vertical Development — illuminating us not only to the characteristics of each stage of development, but the implications and ramifications of each stage, the process of human development as a whole, and how this model can help us face our current metacrisis.
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.
The Momentous Leap to Integral Consciousness
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen Wilber and Corey deVos explore some of the unique challenges that come with the transition to Integral stages of development — “the momentous leap” as it is often called. Watch as Ken and Corey try to bring a little bit more light to this particular path of transformation, and maybe leave a few signposts for fellow travelers along the way.
Personality as the Base Note of Change Work
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWatch as Dr. Keith offers a “Psychotherapy Masterclass” that helps us work with various personality types as a foundation for healing, change, and self-actualization. While intended for other psychotherapy professionals, this discussion offers valuable insight for all of us, and can be immediately applied to our personal transformational work, whatever that may be.
Transformational Theses: Your Doorway to Changing the World
Robb SmithA Transformational Thesis (“TT”) is the name for a specific hypothesis that if you can effect this change, you can achieve that outcome, and in particular this process of change is a transformational one in which a person, organization, system, context etc. has moved to an overall fundamentally higher- and more-healthy form of long-term functioning.
Abortion, Freedom, and the Sanctity of Life
Cindy Wigglesworth, Corey deVos and Mark FischlerWatch as Cindy Wigglesworth, Mark Fischler, and Corey deVos take a careful look at the Supreme Court’s deeply controversial decision to overrule Roe vs. Wade, and the subsequent banning of abortion access in dozens of states across the country. How does something like the sanctity of life change from one developmental stage to another? How do integral “metaphysics of wholeness” inform our views? Watch to find out.
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.
Making Sense of Madness: Personality Disorders and Mass Formation Delusions
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore an Integral understanding of personality disorders, and how they fit into the mass formation distortions that currently seem to be happening all around us in our culture.
Has the Supreme Court Lost Its Way?
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosWatch as Mark and Corey discuss the legitimacy crisis the Court is now faced with, the dangers of an “originalist” reading of the U.S. Constitution, and the failure of the left to produce a coherent legal theory to steer the Court (and the rest of the country) toward a better, more inclusive, and more stable vision of democracy.
No Boundary: Ken Wilber Goes Back to High School
Ken WilberKen speaks with high school students to discuss his 1979 classic, No Boundary. What follows is a lively and deeply insightful exploration of integral spirituality, Ken’s personal practice, and the path of awakening that leads us to nondual realization.
How to Heal a Culture That Has Lost Its Soul
Alexander Beiner, Roger Walsh and John DupuyRebel Wisdom co-founder Alexander Beiner has his finger on the cultural pulse of our times. Here he explores key challenges we face as a global community: sensemaking and truth finding in an culture that has lost its coherence as well as its sense of the divine, and what role psychedelics might play both therapeutically and spiritually in healing our culture. He discusses the need to go beyond the intellectual to find clarity and coherence, using embodied practices like meditation and inquiry, and explains how modalities such as these are an essential container for therapeutic psychedelic experiences.
In Pursuit of Wholeness: Making Room for Everything
Corey deVos and Ken WilberThis notion of holons — the idea that the universe is fundamentally made of whole/parts within whole/parts within whole/parts, turtles all the way up and turtles all the way down — this isn’t just important in a theoretical or philosophical sense. Understanding holons also helps us make better sense of the world that we live in, and our inner worlds as well. And it helps guide our own growing up, waking up, and cleaning up process.
An Example of Integral Pedagogy
Lynne FeldmanBased on Integral Theory, the practice of Integral Education is emerging as a viable and practical discipline. This article demonstrates how an instructor can begin to operate within the AQAL framework by first focusing on the quadrants. Detailed examples of using the quadrants as a pedagogical tool are provided in the context of a senior high school sociology course. In addition, the role of an Integral educator is explored in the context of Integral practices they might employ based on the four quadrants. Although the article presents an application of the AQAL framework within a high school curriculum, the Integral principles in use are instructive for other educational settings using an Integral approach.
Authoring Your Life Story: The Hero’s Journey and You
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWatch as Dr. Keith and Corey take a deep dive into the human superpower of self-authorship, and how we can use that superpower to construct a more resilient, more forgiving, and more integrated sense of “self”.
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Overview, Response Strategies, and Integral Theory
Heather LarkinResearchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been involved in an ongoing collaboration with Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Preventive Medicine, where they have designed a large and epidemiologically sound study exploring the role of “adverse childhood experiences” (ACEs) on social and health outcomes later in life. This research brings a distinct and compelling relationship between ACEs, health risk behaviors, and physical and mental health into awareness. This article outlines these research findings, pointing also to the role of ACEs in homelessness and criminal justice involvement and addressing service delivery implications. Integral Theory is used to explain ACEs as an underlying syndrome, and Integral Restorative Processes is presented as a useful and flexible intervention model to guide a comprehensive and effective response.
From Bodhisattva to Ecosattva: Integrating Personal Practice and Global Activism
David Loy, Roger Walsh and John DupuyDavid Loy, Zen teacher, scholar, and prolific author, reveals his acute understanding of the crises we face today, the psychology at the root of the problems, and how we can make our way forward in this in-depth discussion. He has adopted the term ecodharma to focus attention on the challenge Buddhism faces now: integrating personal transformation with global activism and social transformation. As David points out, the focus needs to be on this world, with transcendence being a metaphorical understanding but not an excuse to abandon the problems we and our planet face today.
How to Teach Kids About Sex and Gender
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWhat exactly are “developmentally appropriate, age-appropriate” ways to teach kids about sex, gender, and identity, not only for kids in kindergarten through third grade, but throughout the rest of childhood and adolescence? Which aspects are more appropriate to teach at home, and which are appropriate to teach at school? Watch as Dr. Keith and Corey share their thoughts.
Armed Insanity: Getting Real About Guns and Criminality
Jeff SalzmanJeff Salzman shares our collective outrage and heartbreak over the shooting of the Texas schoolchildren and teachers, and offesr some hope that this time it will be different, that this shooting will heighten a social pain-point – unstable young men equipped with weapons of war – sufficiently to transcend political polarities.
What’s Wrong With Education (And How Can We Fix It?)
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosBroken education produces broken people. How can integral perspectives and practices help our education systems generate more happy, healthy, and wholesome kids? Watch as Mark and Corey take a close look at the many dysfunctions, injustices, and failures we see in our education system — both within the system (how and what kids are being taught) as well as surrounding the system (access to education, funding, etc.).
An Integral Approach to Affective Education
Frank MarreroThe author uses twelve AQAL dimensions of education as described by Sean Esbjörn-Hargens to approximate a “report card” for evaluating any curriculum with an affective focus. This completeness is not just an academic exercise but shows the practicality and advantage of an Integral approach in the real world. Four affective educational models will also be examined using Integral perspectives. The features of these programs will be measured using an example of an Integral assessment of their strengths, foci, and weaknesses.
Integral Critical Theory: The 8 Zones of Racism
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen and Corey continue their discussion of the 8 critical zones of integral metatheory, and apply them to the ongoing cultural conversation taking place around race, racism, and other kinds of bigotry that we continue to see in the world. This discussion is a great opportunity to not only learn more about these 8 primordial perspectives that are available to us, but also to see how they can be applied to social and cultural challenges and “wicked problems” such as these.
Coding Gender: Using IMP to Construct a Content Analysis of Gender Definitions in Scientific Research
Jeff CohenThe pervasive influence and conceptual complexity of gender as a scientific construct has lead to attempts to explain it from multiple perspectives. When each of these perspectives is offered, it tends to be presented as a complete explanation. Each perspective, however, likely offers only a partial truth concerning the enactment of gender. The recognition of the partiality of these perspectives indicates that each should be considered in some form when trying to address the full complexity of gender. It also makes clear that none should be privileged above any other. Through the application of the Integral model and Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP), this article develops a broader and deeper conceptual and operational model for the study of gender than those that have been typically applied.
Healing Collective Trauma: We Are All Shareholders in a Traumatized World
Thomas Hübl, Roger Walsh and John DupuyThomas Hübl, renowned spiritual teacher, author, expert on collective trauma, and creator and facilitator of The Collective Trauma Integration Process, shares fascinating, life changing information about the dynamics of collective trauma — how it is embodied and perpetuated in the language we use, and how we are bound together in a sort of “mutual collusion” that predisposes us to repeat our past, and to repeat over and over the things we would much rather leave behind.
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.
An Integral Understanding of Narcissism and Gaslighting
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosIn this episode, Dr. Keith and Corey take a careful look at the strategies and intended results of gaslighting (the effort to make you question your very sanity by convincing you that your memories and perception of reality are somehow incorrect, inconsistent, or unreliable) in our personal and professional relationships, as well as in media, marketing, politics, and society at-large. How can we can better inoculate ourselves from this pernicious form of psychological manipulation? Watch to find out!
Illuminating Our Stage Structures
Jeff SalzmanSometimes in our psychological development the way forward requires us to go back, to re-explore earlier stages of life to see what is distorted or left unintegrated. This is the theme of the work of my guest today, developmental psychotherapist Kim Barta, who joins us to discuss his approach to personal growth.
Re/Thinking Religion: Integral Postmetaphysical Spirituality
John Vervaeke, Bruce Alderman and Layman PascalJohn Vervaeke joins Bruce Alderman and Layman Pascal to explore some of the commonalities and differences between Integral Postmetaphysical Spirituality and Integral Life Practice, and John’s “religion that is not a religion” and his work around developing an ecology of practices suitable for addressing the meaning crisis.
Integral Political Economy
Kevin BowmanAn integral political-economic framework is developed first with a quadrant analysis of the economy. The analysis contains a novel separation by quadrant of the effects that either encourage or discourage economic development. It is then shown what quadrant aspects are recognized or emphasized by liberals and conservatives. A review of the Integral approach to capital then allows for the integration of the radical view. Political-economic understanding is then proposed as a learning line of development where conservative, liberal, or radical emphasis in agents is associated with their political-economic personality types. Distinctions are made between less and more mature versions of each type. Finally, an immature/mature fallacy is discovered where more mature views are often mistakenly reduced to less mature versions of that type by less mature views of another type.
The Moral Imperative to Help Ukraine
Kateryna Yasko, Vytautas Bučiūnas, Bence Gánti, John Dupuy and Roger WalshIntegral leaders Kateryna Yasko, Vytautas Bučiūnas, and Bence Gánti illuminate many of the most poignant and pressing questions of our time, brought to the fore by the ongoing war in Ukraine: Can postmodern people embrace a warrior consciousness when necessary? Are Russians who explicitly support the war worthy of compassion? Can people remain sane and humane while at the same time taking up arms? How can we handle the effects of the psychological trauma that will cascade over generations? And how do we prevent the mass delusion and psychosis that is so easily propagated via modern media technology?
Inhabit: Your Speech
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeWhat are the unique challenges that prevent you from inhabiting your most authentic and embodied voice, and how can integral thought and practice help us to overcome those challenges — in our society, in our communities, and in our own consciousness? Watch as Ryan and Corey take a look at a recent article by Jonathan Haidt, and explore how we can bring more “enfoldment mechanisms” to our activities in all four quadrants.
Toward an Integral Analysis of the Iraq Crisis
Gregory WilpertThis article analyzes pro- and anti-war arguments and situates each within an all-quadrant, all-level perspective. I evaluate each perspective according to its probable sincerity, given that some arguments covered deeper, unarticulated interests. This analysis considers the intended and unintended consequences of warring or abstaining on various scales: global, regional, and national. Finally, I argue that an Integral perspective can recommend actions in an ideal scenario and a real world scenario.
From the Big Bang to the Eight Primordial Perspectives
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen Wilber offers a stunning introduction to the major components of Integral theory and practice — a guided tour that takes us from the very first forms to emerge in the universe, all the way to the eight primordial perspectives that all of our knowledge is constructed from.
An Integral Approach to Constitutional Interpretation
Mark FischlerThe following article outlines the major approaches to constitutional interpretation and explains how either approach on its own ultimately leads to a narrow and incomplete understanding of the law, which ignores the rich reality that both interior and exterior perspectives carry. The author will introduce Integral Legal Theory as a method of interpretation that will allow each perspective its day in court while offering coherence to a jurisprudence gone slightly mad.
Beyond the Culture War: Consciousness Evolves, Politics Can Too
Steve McIntosh, Roger Walsh and John DupuySteve McIntosh outlines an extraordinary framework to make sense of our political conflicts—extraordinary in that it points to ways through and out of our persistent polarity consciousness. Steve convincingly argues our opportunity is right now: to create a synthesis, a cooperative agreement space, that transcends and includes thesis and antithesis, left and right, individual and community.
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.
Using Integral Theory in the Classroom
Jack CrittendenThe first part of this article discusses the need for the application of Integral Theory, a postdisciplinary model, to university and academic culture. The second section examines the need for and current status of character education. It uses the AQAL framework to outline an Integral Character Education, which not only includes inculcating values in an individual but also the requisite behaviors associated with those values, as well as the need to anchor them in social interaction and a common ethos.
The Essence of Zen: One Heart, One Mind
Diane Musho Hamilton, John Dupuy and Roger WalshZen teacher Diane Musho Hamilton brings us home to the simple essence of Zen: to practice as one, without reference to past or future. This heartfelt conversation covers many topics: waking up to our true nature, grief and practices that help us work through it, the tension of “difference,” healing the rift between female and male, the role of ayahuasca and peyote, the ever more subtle process of purification, and a beautiful recitation of 14th century Sufi poet Hafiz’s poem, “I Have Learned So Much.” Allow yourself to be reminded how simple things can get if you let them and how, as Diane says, “We’re all just growing up together.”
Integral Journalism in the Disinformation Age
Stefan Schultz and Corey deVosStefan Schultz is a journalist for Der Spiegel magazine since 2008, and a student of integral theory since 2018. In this fun and far-ranging discussion, Corey deVos talks to Stefan about his own integral approach to journalism, taking a careful look at the primary methods and motivations of journalism we see at each major stage of development. They then go on to suggest what a more integral form of journalism might look like, while also exploring a number of related topics — the role of art and aesthetics in journalism, the distinction between orthodox and heterodox sources of information, the collapse of legitimacy in our media institutions, and much more.
An Overview of Integral International Development
Gail HochachkaInternational development is a diverse field attempting to address some of the most pressing global problems facing humanity today. Although the field has come a long way over the past five decades, it is far from perfect. In this article, Gail Hochachka discusses how the quadrants, lines, and levels of Integral Theory assist in this ongoing refinement of international development practice.
Facing the Metacrisis: Conflict, Metamodernity, and Construct Awareness
Jonathan Rowson, John Dupuy and Roger WalshJonathan Rowson, brilliant, driven, articulate, shines a bright light of understanding on the metacrisis we face today, what feeds it, and what could help us find our way through. What is metamodernity and what does it have to offer? Is the ecological crisis fundamentally an educational crisis? Can we grow into our problem rather than thinking of ourselves as “failing beings” as the climate collapses around us?
Trauma to Transcendence: Using Life’s Wounds to Grow
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanDr. Keith Witt and Jeff discuss a powerful realization emerging at the leading edge of culture regarding the role of trauma in our lives. Dr. Keith is writing a book on the subject and has mined various psychotherapeutic modalities to create an integral approach to using trauma as a portal to health and higher consciousness.
Gender Fluidity: Fruitful and Fanatic
Jeff SalzmanThe sexual evolution continues! This week Jeff looks at the controversy raging over the dramatic emergence of transsexual identity and gender fluidity, particularly among young people. He places it in the context of the stage transformations of sex and gender through history, and even gets a little personal.
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.
Facing Death: A Call to “Get Real”
Terry Patten, Roger Walsh and John DupuyAn extraordinary, heartfelt conversation with spiritual practitioner, teacher, activist, Integralist, and author Terry Patten, who was at the time facing his own mortality following a recent diagnosis of a rare and aggressive cancer. An inner radiance shines forth as Terry, with much graciousness and candor, discusses the call to “get real”—not only personally but also collectively; his deepened perception of the “amazing grace of existence;” the directionality that has guided much of his life; and action inquiry: working on becoming next-stage human beings by experimenting with being the best people we can be. A touching and transformative talk, Terry conveys the deepening understanding coming from living on the edge and transmits a “radical okayness” with everything.
Inhabit: Your Heart
Corey deVos, Ryan Oelke and Rollie StanichWatch as Corey deVos, Ryan Oelke, and special guest Rollie Stanich explore the vast and tender territories of the Integral Heart. This is an invitation to continue opening your own most Integral heart, and allow it to infuse and inform all of our actions and interactions together — to lead our lives with both wisdom and compassion, with both discernment and tenderness, with both insight and humility — so that we may use our integral minds and hearts to recognize, appreciate, and incorporate the partial truths that each of us are trying to bring to each other.
Integral Mathematics: An AQAL Approach
Elliot BenjaminThis article lays the foundations for a comprehensive formulation of Integral Mathematics. I introduce a number of definitions for an Integral Mathematics, including the perspective of Integral Mathematics in the context of a distinct discipline, Ken Wilber’s symbolic Integral Mathematics of primordial perspectives, and Integral Mathematics as a developmental line. I then focus on the perspective of Integral Mathematics as a distinct discipline and show that the “division” between the worlds of pure and applied mathematics is parallel to the distinction between the Left- and Right-Hand quadrants. I give a four-quadrant analysis for Integral Mathematics as a distinct discipline by applying the quadrants to Perfect Numbers from Recreational Number Theory. Finally, I give an example from Group Theory that illustrates how Integral Mathematics may be applied to explore shifts in levels of consciousness through meditation.
How We Can Hack Our Brain to Become Happier, Healthier, and More Transcendent
Rick Hanson, John Dupuy and Roger WalshIn this inspiring and empowering conversation, Rick Hanson spells out how we can use positive, self-directed neuroplasticity to hardwire our brains in order to become happier, cultivate virtues, deal with cravings, become deeply grounded, turn our desired states into stable traits, and more.
The Awakened Brain: The Neurobiology of Spiritual Experience
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith takes a close look at the physiology of spiritual experience. What parts of the brain are being activated when we are having one of these powerful state experiences, and what does this tell us about the critical intersection between growth (both biological and psychological development) and awakening?
AQAL and the Practice of Law
Mark FischlerFor many the practice of law is a dissatisfying experience. By providing a more comprehensive, AQAL vision for the practice of law, I speculate that lawyers can gain more satisfaction and meaning from their profession.
Bringing Integral Wisdom and Compassion to Ukraine
Jeff Salzman, Corey deVos and Nomali PereraIn this series of discussions, Daily Evolver host Jeff Salzman talks to Corey deVos and Nomali Perera about some crucial perspectives and practices to help us bring more clarity to our thinking, and more depth to our hearts, as we witness the brutal realities of war in Ukraine.
Responding to Suffering and Evil: Integral Principles
Roger WalshSuffering and evil challenge us all, but several principles may help Integral practitioners to respond effectively. These include appreciating the role that unrecognized, limited perspectives (and corresponding worldviews) play in creating suffering and evil, and learning to recognize and release such limitations into more integral stances. Doing this skillfully requires taking up effective, authentic psychological and contemplative disciplines, and especially the disciplines of awakening service or karma yoga, whose central elements are described.
Ramping Up Human Evolution in Time to Avert Disaster
Jamie Wheal, John Dupuy and Roger WalshIn this riveting, mind opening (and bending) conversation, philosopher and peak performance expert Jamie Wheal takes our existential metacrisis head on, asking and often answering the biggest questions we, the human race, face today. More than inspirational, this conversation is like an infusion of the energetic, coherent, transpersonal potential of human beings. Guaranteed, you won’t see things the same way after listening.
Russia Is Catalyzing the Transformation Age
Robb SmithRussia’s invasion of Ukraine is not just a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, it is a coordinated attack, with China’s cooperation, on the dominant late Information Age global network, especially the US dollar as global reserve currency. And while it likely counts on a devastating financial counterattack from the western alliance—after all, Putin is a Judo master and wants to use his opponent’s weight against them—it underestimates the global values coherence of the “Green” structure of sociocultural evolution that will yet hamper a serious bipolar Russo-Sino block from gaining momentum. But it may come to represent a signal opportunity for the US to lead much-needed reform in the global order in the very areas continuing to be exposed as structural flaws, including the power of UN’s peacekeeping mission, total nuclear disarmament, the US dollar’s role in foreign policy, and the structure of the UN security council.
From Codependence to Interdependence
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosCodependent relationships — those relationships where one person needs another, and the other person needs to be needed — are surprisingly common in our lives, regardless of our overall stage of development. In fact, there is a good chance that you have dealt with codependent relationships in the past, or are maybe even struggling with one right now. This discussion will help you to transform those relationships into genuinely interdependent relationships that can transcend and include both healthy dependence and independence.
The Path of Integral Flourishing: 1000 Points of Transformation
Lee Mason and Corey deVosLee Mason talks to Corey deVos about Lee’s new Flourishing LIVE training — an online group coaching program to help you develop a personalized strategy to thrive optimally across all areas of your life.
Integral Management and the Effective Human Service Organization
Heather LarkinHuman service organizations aim to address personal and social growth and development in the communities they serve. At the same time, these organizations must respond to increasing client complexity and diversity within a rapidly changing global environment. This includes the ability to respond to the needs of an ever-increasing aging population as well as the spiritual diversity within communities. There is also an increasing emphasis on interorganizational collaboration as a way to better meet the needs of disadvantaged populations. Integral Theory offers a map to guide the human service manager in handling these complex organizational interactions while aligning with the mission of addressing personal and social growth and development.
Polarization, Being Woke, the Universal Agenda, Mindfulness Going Bad, and the Integral Vision
Jeff Salzman, John Dupuy and Roger WalshCulture wars, polarization, discernment versus condemnation, how our psychological development determines political attitudes and values, and how Integral perspectives help us understand them all. A candid conversation, ranging from global current events to personal spiritual turning points, with endearing, brilliant, and optimistic Integral pundit Jeff Salzman.
Fatherhood and Leadership in a Time Between Eras
Robb SmithRobb Smith talks with Bonnitta Roy, Jordan Greenhall, and Jonathan Rowson about what it means to be a father, raise children, and take on the responsibility of intergenerational transmission in this time between eras — and whether it holds lessons for being a leader today.
The Data and Methodologies of Integral Science
Kurt KollerThis essay introduces a methodology for Integral Science called Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP). Tracing the development of epistemological and ontological relationships in the writings of Ken Wilber, the paper demonstrates how such a methodology might be applied. I consider Wilber’s elucidations of three core principles of valid knowledge (injunction, apprehension, and consensual validation) along with three essential elements of an IMP (nonexclusion, enfoldment, and enactment).
What Is Integral Justice?
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark and Corey go back to basics by returning to some of the guiding principles running through the series — namely, how to enact justice in all four quadrants in order to support more equal opportunities and more equal outcomes, while reducing suffering for the greatest number of people.
Monological, Dialogical, and Translogical Power
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen and Corey explore the three different kinds of power, each a product of particular stages of development in both individuals and collectives. Ken explores the different kinds of power associated with each chakra in our interiors, and Corey notes that the same patterns can be seen in the different modes of power associate with social holons.
Quadrants as a Scanning and Mapping Device
Susanne Cook-GreuterDefining the problem space has always been a central task of research and problem solving. In this article Susanne Cook-Greuter argues that the Integral or “all-quadrant” (AQ) approach provides a method to define a problem space that is at once elegant, infinitely adaptable, and panoramic. AQ stands for the first two letters of AQAL, the “all-quadrants, all-levels” aspects of Integral Theory created by Ken Wilber. I am choosing to represent AQ separately from the rest of the Integral Theory because it is independently powerful and useful as a means to explore and describe the human territory of experience.
Justice Breyer, Originalism, and the Engine of Enfoldment
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark and Corey take a look at the life, legacy, and retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and what distinguished his judgements and legal philosophy from other Supreme Court Justices. We then examine the legal doctrine of “originalism” — the idea that our founding documents should only be interpreted according to the specific contexts and understandings of the time they were written.
AQAL: Beyond the Biopsychosocial Model
Baron ShortThe biopsychosocial model promised a more integrated psychiatric approach to patients. It assumed biological and psychosocial factors were paramount to effectively treat human disease and suffering. It has not, however, influenced conventional psychiatry as George Engel had envisioned. This article describes many of the strengths and weaknesses of the biopsychosocial model, as well as how AQAL and Integral Methodological Pluralism include the model’s partial truths and transcend its shortcomings.
Art, Awakening, and the Evolution of Consciousness
Gaia Orion and Stephen BanksSteve Banks talks to Canadian Integral artist Gaia Orion about how she came to Integral, her experience of living an Integral lifestyle, and putting together exhibitions of Integral artists at the Integral European Conferences since 2016. Steve and Gaia go on to talk about three of Gaia’s exquisite paintings.
Embody Your Ancestry
Lee MasonThe goal of this practice is to invite you to consciously embody both your unique individual ancestry and the ancestry that you share with all life. Doing this exercise can help you to feel more at home in reality and more deeply appreciate your interconnectedness with all life.
Wang Huning: The World’s Most Influential Intellectual?
Robb SmithTo understand this century, we have to understand the geopolitical and philosophical power struggle between China and the United States and the differing global “Operating Systems” they’re fighting for. And to better understand that struggle, we have to better understand whether the cognition of China’s leaders are integral or not: are they capable of bringing the Teal “Power to Integrate” to bear on the world system?
Defending the Importance of the Holarchical-Developmental Scheme for Environmentalism
Michael E. ZimmermanAccording to the late ecologist, Stan Rowe, Ken Wilber’s holarchical scheme confuses important issues in the part-whole relationships belonging to organisms and ecosystems, and Wilber’s developmental ideas echo the anthropocentrism found in the work of many other modernists. In the process of articulating and defending Wilber’s views, I argue that Rowe’s alternative flirts with ecofascism, insofar as Rowe depicts human beings as mere “parts” of Gaia, which considers everything smaller than Gaia as functional units. Despite my disagreements with Rowe, I admire him for grappling with these important and highly complex issues.
Integrating Power
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen and Corey take an in-depth look at the multiple kinds of power we find in all four quadrants — interior and exterior power, individual and collective power — as they are expressed up and down the spiral of development.
An Analysis of Integral Coaching Canada Across Eight Zones and Five Methodologies
Lisa FrostThis article provides an in-depth analysis of Integral Coaching Canada’s coaching model using Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP). The author uses five primary methodologies and the perspectives available through eight zones to evaluate what makes Integral Coaching Canada’s model unique in the field of coaching. This article is based on first-, second-, and third-person approaches to research and an original study and master’s degree thesis that evaluated over 20 coaching models.
Transforming Trauma Into Resilience
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWatch as we take a look at several different kinds of trauma — micro-traumas, big traumas, “pre-verbal” traumas, generational traumas, etc. — and explore how we can shift into a “post-traumatic growth” mindset which, like the kintsugi vase in the image above, allows us to remake ourself into a more resilient, unique, and elegant vessel.
A Brief Overview of Integral Social Work
David KerriganThis article seeks to explore Integral Social Work — its meaning and applications. This goal is achieved by exploring the nature of social service in the context of Integral Theory’s AQAL (all- quadrant, all-level) approach. The essence of Integral Social Work is to serve the whole person and the whole of society with the whole of one’s being. This requires that social workers develop themselves, while simultaneously helping others, and society, to develop in as full, complex, and healthy a way as possible.
Social Work as an Integral Profession
Heather LarkinThis article introduces the reader to the profession of social work and its evolution over time. By simultaneously attending to both the person and the environment, social work has been a more comprehensive profession. Although social work has been inherently striving for a more integrative approach from the beginning, it has lacked a meta-theory that could address people, their environments, and integrate previously competing theories. Integral Theory is that meta-theory. Social workers are invited to consider this meta-theoretical approach to the service they provide.
Toward an Integral Feminism
Sarah NicholsonThis paper studies the development of some of the key schools of feminist thought, exploring the history of the definition of Woman. Ken Wilber’s framework of Integral Feminism is then used to move toward the processual creation of a more adequately holistic understanding of women and subjectivity.
The Development of Desire
Willow PearsonIn this article Willow Pearson proposes that desire, as all lines of development, evolves toward greater complexity and is an all-quadrant phenomenon. For this reason, she situates desire and sex (from preconventional to conventional to postconventional and beyond) within an Integral framework. Integral Theory offers a unique view of desire and a possibility to understand all levels of desire as embodied wisdom, however partial each view might be.
The Three Centers of the Enneagram: Mental, Emotional, and Physical
Leslie HershbergerLeslie Hershberger takes us on an illuminating tour through the three centers of the Enneagram — the heart center, the mind center, and the body center.
An Introduction to Integral Science
Kurt KollerThis paper argues for an Integral approach to science, which consists of interior, exterior, individual, and collective dimensions, all of which must be included in the various knowledge quests of science. A basic methodology consisting of injunction, apprehension, and communal consensus is elaborated to help create a broad umbrella for distinguishing valid scientific endeavors. Distinctions are drawn between contemporary science and Integral Science, with the conclusion that an Integral approach allows for a greater opportunity for transdisciplinary learning and cohesiveness in the overall scientific endeavor.
The Science of Subtle Energy
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this episode of The Ken Show we take a look at Ken’s “Comprehensive Theory of Subtle Energy”, which offers an elegant summary of how these energies might be accounted for by integral metatheory and integrated with our scientific understanding of the universe.
Jane: An Integral Psychotherapy Case Study (Depression, Identity, and Intimacy in Young Adulthood)
Paul LandraitisTo illustrate the value of the AQAL model for therapists, Paul presents a case study that demonstrates some features of Integral Psychotherapy. He introduces the client and explore three treatment episodes of various lengths. By following the unfolding journey of one client working with an integrally informed psychotherapist, the reader gains a felt sense of at least one way the AQAL model can be clinically applied. Lastly, the client’s situation and progress are explored through an AQAL analysis using the five elements of Integral Theory.
Integral Psychotherapy: An Introduction
Bert ParleeIn this article Bert introduces and explores some of the diverse schools of psychotherapeutic thought. He then argues that Integral Theory or the “all-quadrant” approach provides a method of organizing and uniting these competing schools of psychotherapy into a coherent whole. The result, as we will see, is a more inclusive, adaptive clinical assessment and treatment.
Wicked Problems: Bringing Wisdom and Compassion to Immigration
Magdalena Smieszek, Mark Fischler and Corey deVosImmigration matters have been viewed by many as a “wicked problem” — implying a complexity that has sets of values in tension, something societies have dealt with since the very dawn of civilization itself. Watch as Magdalena, Mark, and Corey offer their own ideas and reflect on the reasons this issue has become one of the central fault lines in the culture wars.
20th Century Background for Integral Psychology
Susanne Cook-GreuterThis paper introduces Integral Psychology (IP) as a mature embrace to the question of what is human nature and how do we best explore it. Historically, wave after wave of various trends and movements have attempted to give psychology a focus and scientific status. After decades of specialization and segmentation (APA has over 50 divisions), IP aims at a mature synthesis of the field. IP mines and integrates the lasting contributions to our understanding of human nature and potential from all psychological schools of thought, disciplinary divisions, and methods of investigation—paying attention to both research and applications. In this paper I explore six of the major historical predecessors to IP: behaviorism, psychoanalysis, humanistic-existential, transpersonal, constructivist-developmental, and positive psychology.
Inhabit: Your Humility
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeCorey and Ryan discuss the importance of cultivating and inhabiting a “confident humility” with relation to our own physical bodies, mental processes, and spiritual health. We also have a fun segment at the end designed to put your own humility to the test, by looking at 10 common integral caricatures — stereotypes that many of us fall into at one point or another during our Integral lives.
Integral Psychiatry: Five Elements of Clinical Theory and Practice
Baron ShortPharmacological treatments are the mainstay of current psychiatric practice as effective treatments for a variety of mental disorders. Many recognize the inadequacy of a purely biological treatment for most patients. The psychiatric field appears to be shifting into a more integrative stance with biological and psychosocial treatments. With the vast array of therapies, the Integral approach attempts to embrace all schools of treatment into a coherent whole. Two elements of the AQAL framework — quadrants and levels — are introduced as relevant aspects for Integral Psychiatry.
Honesty, Humility, and Reality Distortion Fields
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey discuss “the H Factor” — a variation of the Big 5 personality typology that adds a critical sixth trait, honesty and humility. Watch as we take a deep dive into the psychological benefits of honest self-reporting, a healthy epistemic humility, and the sorts of “reality distortion fields” that seem to emanate from certain personalities.
Integral Life Practice: Enough Talk, It’s Time to Live!
Terry Patten and Ken WilberTerry Patten and Ken Wilber take an in-depth look at their book Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening. ILP is a highly distilled, easily customizable, and radically inclusive approach to practice, based on the most comprehensive map of human potentials we currently have.
Principles of Integral Life Practice
Forest JacksonThis article presents the state-of-the-art design elements of Integral Life Practice, which is a method of supporting personal or professional growth into greater levels of success and actualization. Integral Life Practice is guided by Integral Theory, the fundamental elements of which are briefly reviewed before the author postulates six tenets of Integral Life Practice. The flexible, modular design of Integral Life Practice is described in detail, and suggestions are given for creating integrally informed basic and advanced practices that will have a high degree of transformative efficacy.
An Introduction to Integral Life Practice
Adam LeonardIntegral Life Practice — the conscious exercise of body, mind, and spirit in self, culture, and nature — uses the AQAL Integral map to orient the many growth techniques invented by humans throughout the ages.
Zero to Awake
Jogen SalzbergJoin a multi-dimensional guided meditation and pointing-out instruction tour led by Integral Practice Leader Jogen Salzberg, Sensei through awareness in its various extra-ordinary modes. The tour encompasses the 3 Faces of Spirit through the practice of sparking Wonder, resting into Calm-Abiding, recognizing Spaciousness, orienting to Timelessness, affirming Selflessness and finally being the Clear Light Nature of Mind itself.
The Art of YES
Lisa Frost and Corey deVosWatch as Lisa and Corey preview the new season of Integral Life Practice Experiences now available on Integral Life, taking you deeper than ever before into your own growth, awakening, and life purpose.
Lisa also discusses her exclusive new program, which she is calling Live Your Deepest Yes, a 12-week live group coaching series that will help you better align yourself with your innermost truth, your passion, and your own unique contribution to the world.
Ken Wilber Goes to High School: Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
Ken WilberIn this very special episode of The Ken Show we are joined by Aissatou Diallo, Zoe Tray, and Noah Delorme, students at Choate Rosemary Hall who have been studying Ken Wilber’s seminal book, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality for their senior year project. Watch as Ken, Aissatou, Zoe, and Noah unpack many of the core insights of SES and discuss the unique value Integral work holds for a new generation of thinkers, leaders, artists, and scholars.
Afghanistan: Meeting at the Crossroads of Complexity, Chaos, and Compassion
Magdalena Smieszek, Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMagdalena, Mark, and Corey try to bring a bit more wisdom and compassion to the topic of America’s occupation and withdrawal from Afghanistan, while holding a space for all the complexity, chaos, and heartbreak that is flooding our awareness.
Integral Healthcare Management
Integral LifeIntegral Healthcare Management, an application of Integral Theory to the management of healthcare organizations, is a comprehensive and inclusive way of providing healthcare. This article explains the “all-quadrant” aspect of Integral Theory in the context of two common healthcare management challenges: operating a hospital in accord with national accreditation standards and complying with modern notions of “patient safety.”
The Forgotten People: Restoring Justice for Indigenous Cultures
Magdalena Smieszek, Mark Fischler and Corey deVosJoin Mark, Corey, and special guest Magdalena Smieszek as they take a careful look at the many indignities and injustices that have been inflicted on indigenous populations in North America and around the world over the last several years, decades, and centuries.
Martial Arts and Psychotherapy
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore the fertile intersection between martial arts, psychotherapy, and integral living. Watch as Keith shares the deep wisdoms he has received from his own lifelong martial arts practice, and how those wisdoms directly inform his approach to his own psychotherapy practice and the various healing strategies he draws upon.
3-Body Workout
Integral LifeThis series of movements (sometimes called Integral Kata) is a way to contact and exercise your three bodies: physical/gross, subtle, and causal.
Inhabit: Your Perspective
Corey deVos, Bruce Alderman and Ryan OelkeThis isn’t another hyper-cognitive discussion of integral theory. This is more of a “perspectival yoga”, and we hope that by the time you have finished watching this episode you will be more familiar with these fundamental dimensions of your experience, right now in this very moment.
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.
The Art of Practice: Forgiveness Made Easy
Barbara Hunt, Lisa Frost and Corey deVosTo authentically forgive — what Barbara describes as “the absolute refusal to hold ill will against someone for what they did or didn’t do” — can actually be tremendously challenging. Fortunately Barbara Hunt is with us to help make it simple. Watch as Barbara talks to Lisa and Corey about forgiveness as an integral “master practice” — a practice that scaffolds and supports the rest of our various waking up, growing up, cleaning up, and showing up practices.
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.
An Integral Age at the Leading Edge
Ken WilberThis is the excerpt that started it all — an extraordinary 200-page introduction to Ken Wilber’s updated integral map, kicking off a stunning new evolution in his meta-theoretical work (often refered to as his “post-metaphysical” or “Wilber V” phase). Excerpted from the still-unpublished followup to Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, in this free ebook you will be introduced to some of the key ideas that emerged from this new phase of integral thinking.
The New Axial Age: A Complex Integral Realist Perspective
Paul Marshall, Bruce Alderman and Robb SmithWhy do we do philosophy? For our innate love of wisdom, surely. But isn’t it also so we can better understand ourselves and the world in which we find ourselves so as to chart our way to our best possible futures? And if so, shouldn’t we try to do the best philosophy we can?
Escaping Narcissism
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosIn this episode of Witt & Wisdom we take a careful look at these narcissistic tendencies and how they express themselves in all four quadrants, and at every major stage of development. We hope that this discussion will help you identify whatever narcissistic traits you may be carrying with you, and to consciously wield your positive self-esteem without being seduced by our own self-importance.
Marx, Mysticism, and Mathematics: Navigating Our Epistemic Collapse
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this episode we continue our fascinating discussion about Integral epistemology, taking a look at the important but partial truths of Marxism, how we go about verifying and confirming spiritual experiences, and the involutionary/evolutionary nature of mathematics.
Israel/Palestine: Where Do We Go From Here?
Magdalena Smieszek, Mark Fischler and Corey deVosWatch as Magdalena, Mark, and corey explore the long and complex history of the region, offer their own thoughts on whether Israel qualifies as an “apartheid state”, and suggest some next step solutions in order to inch ourselves closer to genuine peace, stability, and justice for the men, women, and children on all sides of this seemingly intractable conflict.
From Languishing to Flourishing
Lee Mason and Robb SmithRobb Smith talks with Lee Mason about what an integral approach to flourishing looks like, and what we know about the science of getting out of languishing.
Inhabit: Your Wokeness
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeRyan and Corey invite all of us to inhabit our own most embodied “post-woke” leadership, allowing us to recognize and rescue the most important babies of “social justice” from the bathwater of political extremism.
What’s Wrong With Policing in America?
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosWhy do we see so many cases of apparent police abuse being recorded so frequently, but punished so rarely? What are some possible solutions that can help create more social trust for our police organizations, and a more peaceful society for all of us? Watch as Mark and Corey take a careful look at the Derek Chauvin verdict — and at the state of policing itself in America — as they offer their own personal views and try to sort through the conflicting narratives surrounding this tragically controversial cultural fault line.
Calling All Integral Practitioners! Responding Effectively to the Crises and Craziness of Our Times
Roger WalshWe are in a race between consciousness and catastrophe, and the potential catastrophes keep multiplying. But the outcome is not predestined and our fate is in our hands. As integral practitioners, the question becomes: How can we use our integral skills to contribute most effectively? Of course, beneath this lies another question: How do we discover our most effective contributions?
Awaken the Eye of Spirit
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosAll of us possess three primary modes of perception that we use to disclose reality – the “Eye of Flesh”, the “Eye of Mind”, and the “Eye of Spirit”. Watch as Ken and Corey explore these ideas and the many ways we perceive and interpret spiritual realities.
Heartbreak in Boulder: Finding Meaning in the Wake of Tragedy
Mark Fischler, Jeff Salzman, Nomali Perera and Corey deVosOn March 22nd, a mass shooting took place at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado which claimed the lives of 10 people. What follows is a heart-full conversation that invites all of us to bring more awareness to the full spectrum of emotion that is likely moving through all of us right now, a much-needed reminder that the integral heart is big enough for all of this, because it is a heart that is both utterly unbreakable, as well as always-already broken.
Sitting in the Mystery: Aliens, Artists, and the Experiencer Group
Stuart Davis and Corey deVosBelief in UFOs and alien contact continues to find more and more legitimacy. In this fun and fascinating discussion, Stuart and Corey take a deep dive into these cosmic mysteries, exploring the many ways the Integral framework helps us illuminate and interpret the full enchilada of human (and non-human) experience, from the ordinary to the extraordinary to the extra-extraordinary.
Love, Conflict, and Play
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosKeith and Corey talk about how all play is an abstracted version of fighting, and how we can always draw upon our evolutionary capacity to transmute our basic animal drives into art, goodness, and greater understanding.
Unpacking the Integral Enneagram
Corey deVos and Lisa FrostWhat exactly is the Enneagram, and what makes it such a helpful tool when it comes to our ongoing growth and awakening? Watch as Lisa and Corey offer a broad introduction to the Integral Enneagram, as well as to the many Enneagram offerings we currently have available on Integral Life.
Overcoming Bias in Practice
Aneesah Wilhelmstätter, Lisa Frost and Corey deVosWhat do we do when experiences of bias arise within our practice, or even within our practice community? What is the best way to verify whether these biases are real in the first place, and overcome them when they are?
From Woke to Awake: An Intersectionality of Perspective
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark and Corey have a rich and far-reaching discussion about our present political realities and challenges, dedicating the first half of the discussion to some of the major headlines from the last few weeks, and then exploring ways to elevate “woke culture” into a genuine “post-woke” integral sensibility.
VisionLogix Woodworks
Corey deVosIn recent years, much of my creativity has been focused around my woodworking. It has become an all-consuming passion for me, and over the last year or so I have created a number of custom-designed carvings that try to bring integral ideas and iconography out of the abstract and into solid material form.
Hope as Process: Being and Becoming in the Great Integration
Brad KershnerHow do we expand our horizon? How do we learn to see through our current forms of construction and break through into broader, deeper vistas of awareness and understanding, so that we may envision a richer and more nuanced context of possibility, and enact a way of life that forms the shape of our deepest potentials?
Inhabit: Your Game
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeIn this continuation of our “integral media” series, Ryan and Corey take another look at the major stages of human development, this time using a series of 33 video games in order to illustrate the qualities and characteristics of each stage. All of this allows you to not only observe these stages within you, but to actively inhabit, engage, and play with them as well.
Biden’s First Month, Trump’s Second Impeachment, and Cancelling Cancel Culture
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosHow is the Biden Presidency going so far? Will Donald Trump be convicted in the Senate for his impeachment trial? Now that the political left has regained tentative control of our government, what do we do about “cancel culture” and other illiberal tendencies coming from the left? Watch this latest episode of Integral Justice Warrior as Mark and Corey shine a light upon these three questions.
The Art of Practice: Introducing ILP
Corey deVos and Lisa FrostJoin Lisa Frost and Corey deVos in a new monthly series that will explore how to bring more depth and artistry to our Integral Life Practice — the very best and most effective practices to help you Wake Up, Grow Up, Clean Up, and Show Up in your life, your relationships, and your work in the world.
The GameStop Revolution Has Started. It Won’t Be Televised.
Robb SmithThe revolution won’t be televised, it will be Reddited. And it has started. In a four year run of incredible, historic events, it’s hard to objectively recognize which and when the most significant of them occurs. But I think it possible that one of the most important events of the past several years is playing out as we speak: the deep structure of society has just phase-shifted into a state of conditions necessary for Teal to emerge and without which it cannot: the GameStop Revolution is putting in place a demand by the crowd that will force Green-platform power holders to either evolve to Teal or become increasingly irrelevant.
The Invisible Audience
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWatch as Dr. Keith and Corey have a fascinating discussion about the “Invisible Audience”, helping you make these unconscious observers just a bit more visible to you.
Inhabit: Your Inner Theatre
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeCorey and Ryan take you on a cinematic journey through the stages of human development, a tour of your own inner theatre, using a series of 21 carefully-curated film clips to illustrate some of the most important qualities of each stage.
Insurrection, Censorship, and Madness
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark and Corey take an in-depth look at the heart-breaking events at the Capitol, offering their own full-spectrum response to this American travesty. They also discuss the response coming from corporations such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook, who are now beginning to purge their platforms of far-right voices and Q anon supporters. Is censorship ever the right thing to do? If you think you have a simple answer to the question, you might be missing something important.
Inhabit: Your Trust
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeRyan and Corey take a deep dive into the wicked problem of social trust, looking at this meta-crisis through each of the four quadrants while suggesting some key practices and perspectives within each quadrant that can help us restore our trust in each other, in our institutions, in ourselves, and in the grand evolutionary unfolding itself.
Supreme Court, Systemic Racism, and Sea Monsters
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosMark and Corey discuss the state of Trump’s challenges to the election results (e.g. “The Kraken”), the recent Supreme Court decision around religious liberties in the face of a pandemic, and what it says about Amy Coney Barrett’s future tenure as Supreme Court Justice, and whether Joe Biden’s plans to address racial justice are coming from healthy liberal values and methods of enforcement, or from unhealthy illiberal (woke) values and enforcement.
Putting the Pieces Back Together
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosCorey and Keith discuss the psychological and cultural aftermath of the 2020 Presidential Election, and the integral work ahead of us to help put the fragmented pieces of our society back together in the post-Trump era.
Inhabit: Your Election
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosWatch as Ryan and Corey reflect on the results of the 2020 Presidential Election, exploring its implications for the world and within our own hearts, while also creating a space where we can begin to release some of the fears and anxieties many of us have been struggling with during these chaotic and uncertain times.
Integral Panel: Post-Election Wrap-Up
Corey deVos, Jeff Salzman, Cindy Wigglesworth, Mark Fischler and Ryan OelkeJoin Corey deVos, Jeff Salzman, Cindy Wigglesworth, Ryan Oelke, and Mark Fischler as we explore some of the deeper implications of the 2020 election results through a more integral lens.
The Fierce Urgency of Now
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosWelcome back to Integral Justice Warrior! Watch as Corey and new co-host Mark Fischler kick off a new season of IJW, exploring how the spirit of integral justice moves through us, and how it has moved through some of the most significant justice warriors throughout history.
The Breakup Episode (IJW Season 1 Review)
Diane Musho Hamilton and Corey deVosParting is such sweet sorrow! In this final episode of Diane and Corey’s first season of Integral Justice, we take a look at our past year of episodes together — the major themes we explored, the insights we gleaned, and the space we shared with our community.
Inhabit: Your Democracy
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeIn this very special episode of Inhabit, Ryan and Corey focus on one of the most essential elements of any Integral Life Practice — directly engaging your democratic systems and showing up at the polls to cast your vote.
Illuminating Shadow: Family, Community, and Relationship
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosCorey and Keith are joined by a very special guest, Keith’s daughter Zoe Witt, for this tremendously touching exploration of shadow in family, in relationships, and in the Integral community itself.
Inhabit: Your Fear
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeYou don’t need to push away your fear, neither do you need to surrender to it. All you need to do is to consciously inhabit your fear – allow it to freely move through you, allow yourself to respond however you need to respond in the moment, and notice any interior frictions as it passes through your system so you know nothing is getting “stuck” or pushed into shadow.
Welcome to the Party! Celebrating Race as a Mutually-Shared Experience
Mark Palmer, Diane Musho Hamilton, Corey deVos and Rob McNamaraIntegralist Mark Palmer proposes that our conversations all need to be more imbued with joy, with play, and with celebration of our differences.
Just Breathe: How to Manage Your Stress and Find Your Flow
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosYour breath is a direct channel to the flow state. Watch as Dr. Keith and Corey explore this elegantly simple practice, one that can bring you more joy, more fulfillment, and more anti-fragile strategies to manage and master the outrageous pressures of our lives.
Grace and Grit: An Interview with Sebastian Siegel and Julia Ormond
Sebastian Siegel and Julia OrmondJulia Ormond interviews Sebastian Siegel at the 2020 Integral European Conference about the film adaptation of “Grace and Grit”. Bence Ganti facilitates with an introduction to Ken Wilber. They discuss book-to-film, acting, directing, producing, characters and set, filmming, and pivotal elements of production.
Integral Finance
Integral LifeMoney is a human abstraction. Although not found in nature, it is pervasively used throughout human activities and undertakings. In so doing, it generates an array of personal and cultural responses in addition to its material manifestations. As such, it is ideally suited for an AQAL analysis. This paper constitutes the introductory theoretical overview for Integral Finance. It introduces the basic principles and presents fundamental applications of Integral principles to money, including money’s nature, its various roles in the world, and its applications to and impacts on other disciplines.
Integral Ecology: A Post-Metaphysical Approach to Environmental Phenomena
Sean Esbjörn-HargensIntegral Theory provides a distinct and participatory approach to Ecology. This article introduces Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory, distinguishes the Integral approach from other methods, and applies some key concepts to Ecology. The ontology, epistemology, and methodology of environmental phenomena are examined in light of Wilber’s framework and the framework is applied to multidimensional examples of recycling. Finally, an Integral Ecology platform is presented.
Integral Ecology: An Ecology of Perspectives
Sean Esbjörn-HargensThere are many competing approaches available for responding to environmental problems and dealing with ecological issues. This article provides an introduction to Integral Ecology, an approach that takes the valuable insights from all the major schools of ecological thought and unites them in a comprehensive framework. First, the difficulty of defining “ecology” is explored. Next, the twenty-five major approaches to ecology are introduced. Finally, Integral Ecology is defined in such a way that it honors the importance of all these approaches.
Criminology Needs an Integral Vision
Integral LifeThis article supports the claim that there is substantial agreement within the discipline that criminology (and criminal justice) is in need of a change in approach. This article maintains that a framework is needed to organize the contributions and partial truths of existing disciplinary knowledge. It is argued that criminology needs an “orienting perspective” or a “meta-theory.” The article proposes that the Integral model provides a functional and apposite framework for addressing these problems. An in-depth, AQAL-based justification for this proposition is provided.
The Meaning of Integral Criminology and Criminal Justice
Integral LifeThis document was produced on the basis of a meeting that took place in March, 2001. There are some revisions reflecting activities and developments that have occurred since that meeting. Our intention is to suggest, in an introductory way, how the Integral approach could be applied to contemporary issues in criminology and criminal justice. We explore issues of the War on Drugs, the death penalty, and juvenile justice as illustrations.
Integral Correctional Education
Integral LifeThis article is part one of an overview of Integral Correctional Education. It briefly introduces salient aspects of the field of correctional education, defines correctional education, introduces the Integral model, and outlines the historical periods of correctional education practice. A discussion of some core principles of correctional education is followed by some problems that afflict inmate students, correctional educators, and the communities they serve.
An Integral Tour of Consciousness Studies
Allan Combs and Sean Esbjörn-HargensConsciousness is not only found in the Upper-Left quadrant in Integral Theory, which concerns itself with individual subjectivity and experience; rather consciousness is located in each of the four quadrants. This short essay examines how consciousness reveals itself and is studied in each of the four quadrants within Integral Theory.
Consciousness as Embodied, Embedded, Enmeshed
Sean Esbjörn-HargensConsciousness is all too often understood purely in subjective terms. An Integral approach recognizes that subjectivity is only one of four dimensions to consciousness. This article proposes that consciousness (subjectivity) cannot be understood independent of its co-arising with bodies (objectivity), cultures (intersubjectivity), and systems (interobjectivity).
Integral Approaches to Christian Ministry
Integral LifeThis article presents an Integral (AQAL) framework for Christian Ministry. Quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types are introduced and situated within the historical framework of Christianity.
An Overview of Integral Congregational Ministry
Integral LifeAQAL perspectives provide a uniquely comprehensive holding environment for investigating the various approaches of Christian “confessional theologies”—those understandings of the Divine that are lived within; and “comparative theologies”—those inquiries into the ultimate spiritual values and goals of all human life as perceived and expressed in a variety of religions and wisdom traditions. The authors use the AQAL analytical framework to unite the interior, exterior, individual, and collective dimensions, and to explore aspects of specific lines, levels, states, and types associated with Christian ministry.
Integral Business and Leadership
Integral LifeThis introductory article is an early articulation of Integral approaches to business and leadership in which the authors use the clarifying and synthesizing perspectives of Integral Theory and methodology to update biases, make new connections, and illumine blind spots of the theorists who have gone before: Drucker, McGregor, Kaplan and Norton, Senge, Hammer, and Collins, et al.
Inhabit: Your Shadow
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosRyan and Corey explore ways to bring more embodiment to your shadow practice, allowing you you to recognize your shadow in 3rd person, to relate with your shadow in 2nd person, and to finally reclaim and inhabit your shadow in your own 1st-person experience.
Introducing and Understanding Integral Art
Integral LifeThis article briefly outlines a general definition of art and the main approaches of art theory andpractice. It then illustrates how those approaches coherently fit together via the four quadrants of AQAL theory. The article concludes that Integral Art preserves the important truths of these approaches (while negating their more extreme versions). Therefore, nothing short of an Integral approach will suffice in both tuning artists to their fullest expression and reminding critics of their widest embrace.
Overcoming Racism: What Is Ours To Do?
Diane Musho Hamilton and Corey deVosDiane and Corey continue their in-depth exploration of race and racism, focusing on the actual four-quadrant work that needs to be done in order to begin to truly overcome these personal, cultural, and social challenges.
Mindfulness, Psychotherapy, and Politics
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey lead a fascinating discussion that brings us to the heart of psychotherapy, mindfulness, and spiritual awakening, and then apply this transformational wisdom to the social and political challenges we are surrounded by.
Inhabit: Your Ground
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeWatch as Ryan, Corey, and Marshall explore how Integral Practice allows us to more fully inhabit our ground by helping us bring more awareness to the most fundamental dimensions of our own lived territory.
The Metacrisis is Giving Rise to the Transformation Age
Integral Life and Robb SmithHow can we contribute to the rise of the Transformation Age? We first need to understand what’s driving the emergence of the Transformation Age out of the Information Age: a global metacrisis, occurring amidst a great release of global power, which as it becomes more acute is exposing the limitations of the current era’s structures, sensemaking, key contradictions (all pluribus, little unum), scarce resources (meaning), and the sources of power themselves (convening power).
Integrating Shadow
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen and Corey offer a stunning overview of the psychological shadow. Ken describes several different kinds of shadow, how shadow can show up differently in all four quadrants, and the relationship between shadow, violence, and social transformation.
Power, Privilege, and Fragility: Leveling Up Our Conversations About Race and Racism
Greg Thomas, Mark Palmer, Diane Musho Hamilton and Corey deVosDiane and Corey are joined by guests Greg Thomas and Mark Palmer in this groundbreaking discussion about racism, anti-racism, and racial integration, highlighting a number of critical views that have been largely missing from the larger conversation that’s been taking place culturally in recent weeks, months, and years.
Integral Mastery
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosThe mastery process has been heavily researched — from the initial ignition of passion that makes us want to excel is some area, to embracing growth as progress as the ongoing goal, independent of outcomes. Join us for a fascinating exportation of integral growth and mastery that goes far beyond the typical discussion of “10,000 hours”.
Inhabit: Your Resistance
Justin Miles, Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeSpiritual conversations often emphasize the importance of overcoming our resistance and accepting the world for what it is, exactly as it is. However, there are times when we don’t need to overcome our resistance, we need to fully inhabit our resistance. We can’t simply accept what is, we need to put ourselves on the line for what can and should be. How can we bring more mindfulness, skillfulness, and embodiment to our resistance, even while seeing everything as always-already perfect?
The Transformation Age: America Burning
Robb SmithAmerica has been on fire these past few weeks. A nation struggling with its racist past, its contemporary racial shadow, its deep political and cultural polarization, and a divisive president who will never be capable of leading a nation, we continue to find ourselves in the heart of The Great Release (and this time, not from an economic depression or disease pandemic, but from our deep and terrible racist heritage). In this brief article, I want to use a few lenses of integral metatheory—concepts you’ll be familiar with, but applied in ways you’ve never seen before—to see if we can get a broader view of what’s happening.
#EnoughIsEnough: Overcoming Racism in America
Diane Musho Hamilton, Greg Thomas, Mark Palmer, Gabe Wilson, Rob McNamara and Corey deVosIn light of the recent violent deaths of three black Americans — Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd — at the hands of current and former police officers in the United States, we wanted to deepen our discussion of race and racism and how we as Integralists can contribute to change by becoming powerful anti-racists in our own circles of influence.
The Heart of Conversation
Diane Musho Hamilton and Ken WilberDiane talks to Ken Wilber about her new book, Compassionate Conversations, which takes an intimate look at many of these cultural fault lines — power, privilege, identity, systemic racism, political correctness, collective shadows, etc. — and suggests a more skillful, artful, and heartful way to facilitate these conversations, to honor our unique differences, and to reaffirm our underlying unity.
COVID-19 Through the Lens of the Enneagram
Leslie Hershberger and Corey deVosHow are different Enneagram types dealing with these new life conditions that are being imposed upon us all? What are the different coping strategies and pain points and opportunities for transformation? How can the Integral Enneagram help us bring more care, compassion, and connection to our own integral family? Watch this very special episode to find out.
Inhabit: Your Truth
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeRyan and Corey devote an episode to the theme of fully inhabiting, embodying, and enacting truth — how to find it, how to wield it, and how to avoid the false certainties fed to us by both mainstream and fringe media. They don’t try to tell you what to believe, but rather try to help you avoid overly identifying with the contents of our views and to liberate yourself from your beliefs, whatever they happen to be.
Integral Europe Goes Global
Bence Gánti and Corey deVosWatch as Bence Ganti and Corey deVos take a sneak peak into the IEC lineup (which will feature over 70 presenters and a full range of activities including workshops, games, and even live concerts) and discuss the many challenges of transitioning from a live event to a streaming-only event.
Supporting Development in Adolescents
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWatch as Dr. Keith and Corey take a close look at a critical phase of our own development, noting all of the things that can go right (and many of the things that can go wrong) during this period of growth, and how we can be more supportive and responsive to the needs of our own children as they navigate this turbulent period of their lives.
How to Have More Compassionate Conversations
Diane Musho Hamilton, Gail Hochachka and Corey deVosIn this episode of Integral Justice Warrior we are joined by Gabe Wilson, co-author of Compassionate Conversations: How to Speak and Listen from the Heart, co-written with Diane and Kim Loh. In this discussion we explore many of the central themes of the book, helping all of us learn how to de-escalate conflicts and tensions, and to communicate with far more presence, empathy, skill, and grace.
Conversations From the Road
Robb SmithIn my travels, I’ve been privileged to sit down with members of the Integral Life community and talk with them about their lives, their growth and what’s on their minds. You are invited to listen in to those conversations we have received permission to publish.
Coronavirus: Making Sense of Our Sense-Making
Beena Sharma, Susanne Cook-Greuter and Corey deVosWatch as Beena Sharma and Susanne Cook-Greuter offer a must-see presentation to help us understand the many healthy and unhealthy responses we are seeing to the coronavirus pandemic, all the way up and down the spiral of development.
The Four Energies: Turn Your Energy Into Things That Matter
Ginny WhitelawGinny Whitelaw helps you experience the four energy patterns that show up in the human nervous system. All of us possess these four patterns, and though most of us have our favorites, all four are available to us at all times. Each is good at different things, and here you will learn what each one is good for, which ones you might use or overuse, and how you can tap into any of them at the right time in order to lead with your fullest and most authentic purpose.
Life as Practice: Karma Yoga and Awakening Service
Roger WalshAnyone who is deeply committed to contemplative practice and to cultivating the qualities it enhances—such as empathy, compassion, clarity and insight, to name only a few—will want to practice as continuously as possible. This means finding a way to use our daily activities and work as part of our practice. Fortunately, such a way is part of the world’s major religious-spiritual traditions, and it is formulated most explicitly in Hinduism as karma yoga.
From Trauma to Transcendence
Dr. Keith WittThis practice will help you cultivate the courage to face your trauma, discover an unbreakable source of resilience and empathy within yourself, and find deeper meaning in your suffering — so that you yourself can become a source of strength and healing for the rest of the 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.
Coronavirus and a Course in Anti-Fragility
Corey deVos and Ken WilberKen and Corey respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by suggesting a far more comprehensive approach to health and healing. Watch as we take a tour through all four quadrants of healthy living — a much-needed guide to integral anti-fragility in the 21st century.
Working With Collective Trauma
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosCollective trauma is more than the sum aggregate of all our our individual traumas. It is a trauma that exists between us, rather than within us individually, and requires different kinds of interventions and rehabilitations in order to treat.
Inhabit: Your Quarantine
Ryan Oelke, Corey deVos and Keith Martin-SmithWe are joined by special guest Keith Martin-Smith, an acclaimed author, teacher, and dear friend to the show, in order to explore key practices and postures to help us maintain our physical, mental, and spiritual health while enduring the painful realities that all of us are so immersed in right now.
Deeper Into the Great Release
Robb Smith and Corey deVosLadies and gentlemen, the Great Release is truly and fully underway. That earthquake has now begun. Nanoscopically small and quietly transmissible, Covid-19 would be almost laughable as a catalyst for the great release if it weren’t so deadly. But as it stands, it is in fact the perfect spark to alight the ample tinder of total system irresilience.
Love in the Time of Corona
Diane Musho Hamilton, Gail Hochachka, Rob McNamara and Corey deVosJoin Diane, Gail, Rob, Corey, and special guest Cindy Lou Golin for a very special discussion about the coronavirus pandemic and how to manage the tremendous fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that can arise from it. We also explore some of the hopeful opportunities and wisdoms that are being brought to the surface by our new set of global life conditions, as well as some of the possible paths toward anti-fragility that our society can take in the wake of this pandemic.
A Plague Arrives (And How Integral Practice Helps Us to Meet It)
Jeff SalzmanJeff takes a look at the Coronavirus pandemic, humanity’s response to it, and how the integral lens helps us see more clearly the myriad forces and opportunities rising out of this crisis — which increases our wisdom, compassion, and resilience while dealing with it.
How Defensive States Prevent Self-Knowledge
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey navigate the psychological minefield of defensive states and shadow impulses that often diminish our capacity for wisdom, empathy, and self-knowledge.
The Four Quadrants: A Guided Tour
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen and Corey take a in-depth tour through one of Ken’s most well-known contributions to integral philosophy: the Four Quadrants. Watch as Ken shares his personal story about the origins of the Four Quadrant model — the day everything came together — as he weaves 3rd-person theoretical descriptions of the model with his own 1st-person experience and creative process.
Get your own custom Four Quadrant carving!
Corey deVosCorey is making these beautiful Four Quadrant carvings available by commission. Hand crafted in Corey’s workshop, these are available in a variety of beautiful and exotic hardwoods. Click through for more details.
Inhabit: Your Uncertainty
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosRyan and Corey invite us to deepen our practice in the face of uncertainty, finding strategies in all four quadrants to help us better acclimate ourselves to the massive pressures, social responsibilities, and societal realignments that are coming to the surface as we plunge into the opening act of the Transformation Age.
Intersubjectivity, Social Justice, and Climate
Diane Musho Hamilton, Gail Hochachka, Rob McNamara and Corey deVosJoin us as we take a look at climate change through the lens of 2nd-person intersubjectivity — how we live together, how we grieve together, how we create meaning together, how we relate with each other in the midst of crisis, and the many other ways that we are all in this together.
Integral Preparation for a Time of Rapid Social Change
Robb SmithA lifetime of practice has prepared integral people to carry the world through the trying and rapidly-changing times we are entering.
Corona, Climate, and Crashes: Welcome to the Transformation Age
Robb Smith and Corey deVosRobb Smith and Corey deVos explore the rising disruption caused by a brand new set of global life conditions emerging across the planet, why only an integral sensibility is capable of managing these many challenges and crises, and how we can begin to cultivate the inner resilience and anti-fragility we need in order to endure and even thrive in the midst of extreme volatility.
Inhabit: Your Politics
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosRyan and Corey explore ways to bring more embodied awareness and skillful discernment to our political lives, overcoming the corrosive and often paralyzing effects that both our cynicism and our idealism can have upon our political decisions and our willingness to engage our most fundamental civic responsibilities.
Climate Change: From Alarmism to Anti-Fragility
Diane Musho Hamilton, Gail Hochachka, Rob McNamara and Corey deVosIn this fascinating episode of Integral Justice Warrior, Diane and Corey are joined by Gail Hochachka and Rob McNamara to explore anti-fragile approaches to climate change. We are also joined by fellow integral enthusiast Deb Collins, who offers her own perspectives around the tragic wild fires that swept across the Australian continent.
2020 Integral European Conference Preview
Jeff Salzman and Bence GántiJeff Salzman talks to Bence Ganti, the driving force behind the upcoming Integral European Conference, a major six-day event for the Integral community which will commence on May 26th at the Azur Resort at Lake Balaton in Hungary. This fourth biennial conference will be the biggest and most comprehensive yet, with over 700 participants from 50 countries.
Inhabit: Your Wisdom
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosWatch as Ryan and Corey explore a number of practices and perspectives to help you bring your own wisdoms to the surface, allowing you to move through the world with more skill, compassion, insight, and humility.
The Meaning of Coincidence
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey take an integral look at synchronicity, exploring this elusive phenomena through the lenses of the four quadrants, the major states of consciousness, the twenty tenets, and Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of morphic resonance. It is a fun and fascinating discussion, and one that will hopefully help you pay a bit closer attention whenever you feel your own four quadrants falling into perfect and seamless symmetry.
Climate Change Solutions: Adapt or Transform?
Diane Musho Hamilton, Gail Hochachka, Rob McNamara and Corey deVosWe are joined by special guests Gail Hochachka and Rob McNamara to explore some of the critical strategies to climate change — some of which emphasize a total top-down transformation of our political and economic systems, and others that emphasize a more incremental and adaptive approach.
Time, Consciousness, and Development
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey discuss how our relationship with time lies at the very root of consciousness, and explore how our perceptions of time affect our overall psychological health and sense of well-being. We are also joined by our good friend Jeremy Johnson in a fascinating discussion of how Jean Gebser describes our ever-evolving enactment of time.
Engaging Climate Change in All Four Quadrants
Diane Musho Hamilton, Rob McNamara and Corey deVosIn this episode of Integral Justice Warrior, Diane and Corey are joined by Rob McNamara, integral teacher and author of The Elegant Self, in order to take a closer look at climate change through all four quadrants.
Integrating Shadow Up and Down the Spiral
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey shine some light on the many sorts of shadow material we can encounter during our developmental journey, and how we can use our own shadows to help guide us toward the light.
Inhabit: Your New Year
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosRyan and Corey offer some simple practices and perspectives to help keep us grounded and engaged during this transition not only into a new year, but into a whole new decade, with a whole new set of possibilities, challenges, and life conditions emerging all around us.
Inhabit: Your Wound
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosWe all possess a unique constellation of traumas, enacted by your own unique kosmic address, and which can lead to your own unique wisdom. This is what we hope to help you uncover today.
Big Time: Integral Historiography and You
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen unpacks his own approach to integral historiography, helping us to better understand our own place in history — and history’s place in us.
Who Ate Captain Cook? Integral Historiography in a Postmodern Age
Ken WilberIn this fascinating sidebar to Ken Wilber’s book Boomeritis: A Novel That Will Set You Free, Ken offers a summary of integral historiography, revealing a far more comprehensive way to integrate multiple schools of historiography and to deepen our enactment of both the facts and most salient interpretations of the historical record.
100 Reasons Not to Have an Affair
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey discuss why extramarital affairs happen, what the consequences of infidelity are to your relationship, your family, and your own mental well-being, and why you should probably never, ever have one.
Judge Judy: Evolution’s Warrior
Jeff SalzmanNow in its 23rd year, Judge Judy attracts 10 million viewers a day who are eager to watch the 76-year-old grandmother transform into a Valkyrie for Justice, laying waste to the mendacities of cheating lovers, thieving landlords, lying teenagers, and meddling mothers-in-law.
Climate Change: From Despair to Determination
Diane Musho Hamilton and Corey deVosDiane Musho Hamilton talks to Corey deVos about how to cut through the feelings of despair and hopelessness that so many people feel around the challenge of climate change, and how to engage in more skillful and productive communication around the issue so that we can generate the political will we need in order to catalyze new solutions.
Integral Social Justice
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this stunning 3 hour discussion, Ken Wilber offers his own views around healthy and unhealthy forms of social justice, praising the healthy and legitimate efforts to enact social justice over the generations while noting how much of today’s broken discourse around social justice is helping to perpetuate multiple forms of injustice.
Sacrilegious and Sexy AF
Bruce Alderman and Layman PascalIn this special Devil’s Night interview, our good friends Bruce Alderman and Layman Pascal talk to Hofman and Daemon, former members of The Satanic Temple in New York, and founding members of the Satanic organization LORE: The Satanic Collective of NYC, about the history of Satanism and the new Integral and Metamodern-ish forms that are currently emerging.
Inhabit: Your Digital Life
Corey deVos and Ryan OelkeHow do we better manage the inherent fractures and fragmentations of the digital world while bringing more embodied wisdom and compassion to our online interactions? Watch as Ryan and Corey provide some fairly simple perspectives and practices that might help you inhabit and engage your digital life with more skillful authenticity, resilience, and kindness.
Creating a Coherent Life Story
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey discuss the primary goal of psychotherapy — to help people experience themselves every day as living a happy ending to their life so far, and at the very beginning of a wonderful and exciting new chapter. This goal, of course, requires a more integrated self in order to meet the inevitable challenges, triggers, and opportunities that we will encounter on the path of growing up, and for us to be able to create a cohesive and coherent life story for ourselves as we move forward
Considering Otto Scharmer’s “Axial Shift” Political Theory
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanMany integralists are fans of Otto Scharmer, MIT professor and developer of “Theory U”, a brilliant tool for activating higher stages of consciousness that has gained wide acceptance in organizations.
Speaking and Listening From the Heart
Diane Musho Hamilton and Corey deVosDiane and Corey are joined by Gabe Wilson and Kim Loh, co-authors of Diane’s new book Compassionate Conversations, in this far-ranging discussion about growth, empathy, dignity, and integrity. Join us as we unpack one of the primary polarities at the core of Diane’s book — the polarity between sameness and difference — and how we can draw upon both our uniqueness and our commonalities in our pursuit for social justice and our efforts to reduce suffering within us, between us, and outside of us.
Polarities in Human Development
Beena Sharma, Susanne Cook-Greuter and Corey deVosBeena Sharma and Corey deVos explore the important relationship between polarities and adult development — and how polarity thinking not only helps accelerate our development toward integral stages of maturity, but also helps us to be more of ourselves, wherever we happen to be in our developmental trajectory.
Inhabit: Your Life Purpose
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosRyan and Corey explore the many ways we can create meaning for ourselves, introducing the concept of “Integral Ikigai” to help us find and fulfill our deepest life purpose.
Wicked Problems: Gun Violence
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this exclusive series, Ken and Corey take an in-depth look at America’s ongoing struggle with gun violence, using the four quadrants to track many of the most critical and commonly-blamed factors, conditions, and causes that seem to be contributing to this terribly wicked problem.
Polarity Wisdom: The Mechanics of Integral Thinking
Beena Sharma and Corey deVosIn this premiere episode of our new monthly Polarity Wisdom show, Beena introduces her new Integrating Polarities training, designed to teach you the higher-order thinking common to individuals at the integral stage of development.
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.”
Integral Justice Warrior: Compassionate Conversations
Diane Musho Hamilton and Corey deVosIntegral Justice Warrior is a new show with Diane Musho Hamilton and Corey deVos, where every month we will take a close look at some of the most challenging cultural issues and fault lines of our time — as well as the communication skills we need in order to heal these shared wounds and begin to close the gaps between us.
The One Moment That Can Make or Break Your Relationship
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore how to better manage conflict in our relationships, focusing on one critical moment in these conflicts — the moment a defensive state arises. How that moment is handled is a massive determinant of how a relationship will progress, as discussed by Keith and Corey in this episode.
A More Unifying Psychotherapy
Andre Marquis and Ken WilberAndre Marquis, PhD, is associate professor of counseling and human development and author of several books and scholarly articles in the field of Integral Psychology. Today Andre talks to Ken Wilber about his most recent book, Integral Psychotherapy: A Unifying Approach, which explores how a more comprehensive understanding of the self can greatly enhance, enrich, and energize the therapeutic experience for both patient and practitioner.
Inhabit: Your Spiritual Life
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosNeed help shifting gears from mental map-making to actually inhabiting the spiritual territory? Watch as Ryan Oelke and Corey deVos explore what it means to truly inhabit and integrate our contemplative practice and our moment-to-moment experience of life.
The Other World: Integrating Psychological and Spiritual Health
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos explore the bottomless source of deep wisdom that exists at the intersection between the spiritual and psychological realms.
Watch the Grace and Grit Film Trailer!
Integral LifeKen Wilber’s acclaimed and globally popular book, Grace and Grit, has been made into a feature film starring Mena Suvari and Stuart Townsend, with Frances Fisher, Rebekah Graf, Nick Stahl, and Mariel Hemingway – produced, written, and directed by Sebastian Siegel. The film adaptation explores Ken and Treya’s courage, commitment, transcendence… and their discovery of love beyond life.
Grace and Grit: The Movie
Sebastian Siegel and Jeff SalzmanToday’s guest, Sebastian Siegel, is the screenwriter and director of the upcoming movie, Grace and Grit. The film tells the true love story of iconic, Integral philosopher Ken Wilber and his wife Treya. Based on the acclaimed book that chronicles Treya’s journals, they fall madly in love in 1980’s California and are immediately faced with illness and challenges that tear them apart. They overcome by finding a connection beyond this world, and love beyond life.
Inhabit: The Territory of You
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosWelcome to INHABIT — a monthly practice-based series with Ryan Oelke and Corey deVos, designed to help you embody your own unique expression of integral being and more fully inhabit the territory of your life, your relationships, and your world.
Kosmos: An Integral Voyage
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen Wilber and Corey deVos ponder the evolutionary mysteries of the universe, speculating on how abundant life might be in the kosmos, why we haven’t met any of our galactic neighbors yet, and what might happen if a UFO landed on the White House lawn. It’s a fun conversation — and one that takes its subject matter more seriously than you might expect. Whether you are a true believer of UFO phenomena or an iron-clad skeptic, you don’t want to miss this fascinating and far-reaching exploration.
Evolving a Multi-Cellular Society
David Sloan Wilson and Ken WilberA fascinating discussion of conscious, cultural, and biological evolution — and how we can use the fundamental patterns running through all three in order to create a more adaptable and sustainable future.
Shadow Work for Couples
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore how shadow practices can help couples resolve conflict and deepen their intimacy.
The Art of Integral Embodiment
Ryan Oelke and Corey deVosRyan Oelke is a gifted integral coach, the co-founder of Buddhist Geeks, and the creator of our new Embodied Success program. Watch as Ryan and Corey enjoy a far-ranging discussion about integral embodiment, self-actualization, and the call to make a meaningful impact in the world.
The Varieties of Integral Spiritual Experience
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosWatch as Ken and Corey explore the path of Waking Up — a guided tour through temporary states of consciousness that include everything from emotional states to chemically-induced states to the direct, immediate experience of timeless reality, revealing an infinitely renewable source of energy, resilience, and creative inspiration that rests at the very center of you.
Trauma and the Unbound Body: The Connection Between Embodiment, Nondual Realization, and Healing
Ryan Oelke and Judith BlackstoneRyan Oelke speaks with Judith Blackstone, a teacher in the contemporary fields of nondual realization and spiritual, relational, and somatic psychotherapy, about her new book, “Trauma and the Unbound Body: The Healing Power of Fundamental Consciousness”. They chat about the connection between embodiment, nondual realization, and healing, and how all three help deepen one other.
Campaign Closeup: Marianne, Bernie, and More Mayor Pete!
Corey deVos and Jeff SalzmanThe Democratic field for US president is taking shape fast. Today I have a freewheeling conversation with Corey deVos of Integral Life about our impressions of the emerging landscape, with a special focus on Marianne Williamson, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg.
The Many Ways We Grow
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosHuman development is uneven, which means that we are better at some things than we are at others. Some skills come more naturally to us, and others are more difficult to acquire. Watch as Ken and Corey explore each of these developmental capacities in detail, offering a powerful summary of human potentials, talents, and intelligences — a comprehensive map of the territory of “you” that will help guide your own ongoing growth and development.
Affluenza and the College Admissions Scandal
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWatch as Dr. Keith and Corey explore the recent college admissions scandal through the lens of integral psychology, typology, and the intimate interplay between culture, genetically influenced personality traits, and personal choice.
Mayor Pete’s X-Factor: Could It Be Integral Consciousness?
Jeff SalzmanIn less than three months, Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend Indiana, (population 102,000), has gone from political anonymity to the top tier of candidates in the Democratic race for president of the United States. What accounts for Mayor Pete’s blast out of the political gate?
Rebel Wisdom: Integral Meets the Intellectual Dark Web
David Fuller and Jeff SalzmanToday’s guest, David Fuller, is at the center of the intellectual Dark Web (IDW) having founded Rebel Wisdom, a YouTube station that has attracted over 60,000 subscribers in less than two years. David Fuller is committed to the further evolution of the intellectual dark web and enthusiastic, as I am, about what integral theory can bring to that project. I hope you enjoy our conversation!
Doing Justice: Integral Law and the Mueller Report
Mark Fischler and Corey deVosIn this new monthly series with Mark Fischler, we take a look at some of the most pressing and most complex issues of our time through the lens of Integral Law. In this special premiere episode Mark describes his own background, how he arrived at this fascinating intersection between the integral world and the legal world, and what exactly he means by the phrase “integral law”. Mark and Corey then turn their attention to the big story of our day — the Mueller report — offering their own views about the investigation, Attorney General William Barr’s summary of Mueller Report, and how this story might play out in the weeks and months to come.
The Boy Crisis
Warren Farrell and Ken WilberWarren Farrell and Ken Wilber take an in-depth look at the many social, cultural, and psychological challenges that young boys are facing today, while noting how many of these challenges are the products of well-intentioned — but often misguided — feminist praxis.
Growing Up: A Guided Tour
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this episode of The Ken Show we explore one of the most central elements of integral metatheory: growing up through multiple stages of developmental maturity. Watch as Ken and Corey offer a guided tour through each of the major stages on the Path of Growing Up — an exploration of your own greatest, deepest potentials — and offer some simple practices to help you actualize those potentials.
Conflict as a Driver of Evolution and Intimacy
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore the central role that conflict plays in the ongoing evolutionary process, from the big bang to today, and in our intimate relationships in particular — where conflict can either create more distance and resentment, or it can be an opportunity to create more intimacy and deeper connection.
The Heart of Motherhood
Brooke McNamara and Jeff SalzmanBrooke McNamara developed her new course, Write to the Heart of Motherhood, because, as a poet, she knows writing to be a flexible and potent way for mothers to “connect to our true voice in the middle of our messy lives.” Listen as she discusses her new course with Jeff Salzman.
What’s Missing in the Intellectual Dark Web
Ken WilberKen Wilber takes an in-depth look at the Intellectual Dark Web though the lens of Integrative Metatheory, celebrating their contributions to political discourse while also pointing out what they’ve been missing in their analyses.
Taking Aliens Seriously
Sean Esbjörn-Hargens and Jeff SalzmanIs there intelligent life beyond Earth? Is it possible that alien beings have already contacted us? What do we make of the thousands of testimonials of human-alien contact, including from scientists, diplomats and astronauts? Yet… where’s the proof? And if there is proof, why is alien contact not the biggest story of the millennia?
On the Front Line of the Culture War — Give Me Some Real Examples, Not Just Theories!
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosWatch as Ken and Corey offer their views on some of the most controversial policy debates of our time, each of which has become a battle line in our constantly escalating culture wars.
The Psychology of Kink: Transforming Sexual Drives Into Art
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosLOT of adults are into kink, and studies show those people are happier, more resilient, and more conscientious. Join Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos as we explore kink as a one way to transform our sexual drives into art and add to the sum total of love in the universe.
Is Masculinity Toxic?
Jeff Salzman and Dr. Keith WittJeff talks with Dr. Keith Witt about an evolutionary approach that liberates masculinity and femininity into a new integration that features the best of both and makes them available to all.
The Baby and the Bathwater: Saving Liberalism
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this episode of The Ken Show we explore five themes near and dear to the liberal heart — tolerance, nonviolence, power, privilege, and gender — celebrating the healthy aspects of each that we want to include in a more integral embrace, while weeding out the unhealthy regressive narratives that most of these have devolved into.
Angry and Vulgar: The Fruits of Incivility
Jeff SalzmanDonald Trump’s coarseness has proven to be more powerful than most people thought possible. In act two of his presidency he is being met with reciprocal incivility from his opposition, exemplified by newly-elected Congressperson Rashida Tlabid, who promised at a rally to “impeach the motherf*****”. In this episode I explore where and how this “new incivility” is arising, its evolutionary potency, and how it can be – and is being — engaged with more wisdom and intention.
Integral Mindfulness and the Evolution of Shame
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosIntegral mindfulness gives us the tools to make our moral discernments more visible and influenceable. Integral mindfulness can organize our relationships with shame and moral disgust (as well as with moral approval and all forms of pleasure) to use them as sources of enhanced horizontal and vertical health.
Unlocking the Power of Meditation
Craig Hamilton and David RiordanCraig Hamilton offers a brief summary of three common mistakes we all make in meditation.
The Expanded Trinity: The Three Faces of God-in-Three-Persons
Paul Smith and Ken WilberIs your god big enough? Close enough? You enough? Join Paul Smith and Ken Wilber as they take us on an expansive journey from the traditional Trinity to Paul’s nine-dimensional “expanded” Trinity.
Beyond the Nation-State: Globalism, Plutocracy, and the Integral World Federation
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen and Corey explore how today’s transnational challenges and realities may be hastening humanity’s eventual growth toward increasingly inclusive and global forms of governance, what government might look like at the level of the global holon, and how we might actually be able to get there from here.
Staying Attuned in an Entangled Universe
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore ways that people can stay attuned with one another even while our defensive states are being activated.
The Major and Minor Scales of Integral Politics
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen Wilber and Corey deVos take an in-depth look at the “major and minor scales” of integral politics — an inventory of the most critical elements, polarities, and patterns of self-organization that are at play within all of the major political systems across the world, from the rise of civilization to today.
Integral Politics: Its Essential Ingredients
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a summary of his integral political model, exploring the “major and minor scales” that inform and influence our major political orientations while suggesting a revolutionary path toward a far more integrated approach to politics and governance.
The Art and Practice of Happiness
Dr. Keith Witt, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosWatch as Dr. Keith Witt, Jeff Salzman, and Corey deVos take an in-depth look at the art of happiness, exploring some of the central perspectives and practices that can lead to a more happy, wise, and fulfilling life.
More Than an Infomercial: What’s New at Integral Life
Corey deVos and Jeff SalzmanToday I’m joined by Corey DeVos, editor-in-chief of Integral Life. I invited him on because my job is highlighting the emergence of integral consciousness, and I have been really impressed with the stuff Corey and company are putting out these days. (Plus they host my live show twice a week, and I want them to know I love them!)
Hope for the Christian Contemplative Movement
Father Thomas KeatingIn celebration of Father Thomas Keating’s life and his tireless effort to help people discover their innermost intersection with divinity, we invite you to watch the following free video where he shares some of his own hopes for the future unfolding of contemplative christianity.
Lead With Purpose Webinar
Ginny Whitelaw and David RiordanGinny Whitelaw shares some of the central themes of her astonishing new training program, Lead With Purpose.
The Higher Stages of Couple Love
Jeff SalzmanAn integrally-inspired clinical psychologist specializing in couples therapy, Dr. Tom Habib has mapped what he calls the “couple’s line of development,” which describes the predictable stages a couple typically grows through — and where they may get stalled.
Is Free Will an Illusion?
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosIn this episode of The Ken Show we explore one of the oldest and, in many ways, most profound and consequential philosophical questions in history: what is the nature of “free will”, and is it ultimately just an illusion?
Forgiving Humanity: An Evolutionary Call for Collective Self-Love
Jeff SalzmanJeff makes the case that humanity is not fallen but rising, and that what matters more than our sinful nature is our basic goodness and the goodness of a kosmos that has destined us to grow.
Today’s Next-Level Organizations
Frederic Laloux and Jeff SalzmanEach stage of human development features a unique way of organizing work. So what’s next? Frederic Laloux‘s blockbuster book, Reinventing Organizations, offers compelling answers to that question.
White Pride vs. White Guilt in the #MeToo Era
Terry Patten and Corey deVosThere is a hidden subtext lurking behind the Trump reality show, US political gridlock, and the Kavanaugh confirmation showdown. Yes, it’s certainly a clash of worldviews. But it’s also about racial and cultural tribes. And it’s even about gender roles and identities.
Virtual Reality: A Technology of Transformation
Kent Bye and Ken WilberKent Bye, host of the Voices of VR podcast, talks to Ken Wilber about the many ways virtual reality can bring Ken’s integral map of consciousness to life, exploring how VR’s unique capacity to elicit feelings of awe, empathy, and flow can help it become a uniquely powerful platform of transformation.
How to Think Integrally
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen and Corey explore some of the major qualities of integral thinking at the “vision logic” or “construct aware” stages of development.
The Koan of Chronic Illness: A Father’s Story
Corey deVos and Dr. Lynn Royster FuentesCorey deVos talks to Lynn Fuentes about his daughter’s Biliary Atresia diagnosis when she was just a few months old, her subsequent liver transplant a year later, and her ongoing recovery today. Corey also shares some of the little wisdoms that have ripened for him during his family’s journey. It was a fantastic and very touching interview, and we invite you all to check it out.
Loving Completely — How to Show Up More Fully in Your Relationships
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWouldn’t you like to know — quickly, easily and succinctly — what the very best of science tells us about how to have amazing, life-changing relationships, intimacy and sex? Loving Completely is your guide.
Amir’s Story: From Islamic Fundamentalism to Radical Humanism
Amir Ahmad NasrHow much do you care about your deepest held ideals, freedoms, and spiritual awakenings? Enough to put your own life at risk? Watch as Amir Ahmad Nasr, author of My Isl@m: How Fundamentalism Stole My Mind — and Doubt Freed My Soul, shares his inspiring story.
An Integral Understanding of Suicide
Dr. Keith Witt, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosSuicide has been in existence as long as self-aware consciousness has been in existence. The gift of self-aware consciousness included the capacity for humans to anticipate and understand the inevitability of their own deaths, and all gifts come with a price. In this series of videos, Dr. Keith Witt talks to Jeff Salzman and Corey deVos about bringing a more integral understanding and compassion to the topic of suicide.
Reclaiming Your Power While Struggling With Chronic Illness
Dr. Lynn Royster FuentesLynn Fuentes offers a brief teaching about how to reclaim your power while struggling with the sense of disempowerment that often accompanies various kinds of chronic illness, whether you are dealing with your personal health issues or those of a loved one.
The Deconstruction of the World Trade Center
Ken WilberKen Wilber explores the many sorts of reactions people had to the tragedy of 9/11, and offers a theoretical framework within which a genuinely Integral approach to politics and governance might emerge.
From Polarization to Integration
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen Wilber and Corey deVos explore some of the causal factors behind so many of the regressive tendencies in our culture and politics these days, from new social pressures coming from social media technologies like Facebook, to the historic evolutionary trends that have formed and informed our major schools of political thought in the first place.
The Keys to Feminine Power
Claire Zammit and David RiordanWelcome to our latest interview with Dr. Claire Zammit on her new web offering, Feminine Power: The Essential Course for the Awakening Woman.
Integral Intimacy: A Beginner’s Guide
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith and Corey explore the basic architecture of Integral intimacy in relationships, offering a simple roadmap for any couples who would like to level up their relationship.
Patterns of Projection: Reclaim the Best of You
Helen PalmerWorld-renowned Enneagram teacher Helen Palmer explores some of the primary patterns that our projections take, each pattern corresponding to our own Enneagram type. She also describes some simple techniques to help us identify and integrate our own psychological projections, helping us to fully own our unconscious shadows and reclaim the very best parts of ourselves.
The Power to Serve
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanDr. Keith talks to Jeff Salzman about Integral Life’s recent “Tap Your Power” event in Denver, CO, which featured exquisite teachings from himself, Ginny Whitelaw, Beena Sharma, and Ken Wilber on the many facets of power in today’s world — interior and exterior, individual and collective, all the way up and down the spiral of human development.
Immigration, Postmodernism, and Feminism: An Integral Reckoning
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosKen Wilber responds to questions about immigration, the dangerous excesses of the political right, and the regressive tendencies we are seeing in the postmodern left. Ken and Corey then offer a fascinating exploration of feminism and the need for both men and women to better harmonize the public sphere of politics, career, and religion with the private sphere of family, hearth, and home.
What’s MY News?
David RiordanIn this series of dispatches I’m going attempt to give you a basic premier about what is changing about the news. Then I am going to continue to track this story as it continues to emerge.
The Art of the Love Affair
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt explores the art of the love affair — how they happen, how to avoid them from occurring outside of your committed relationship, and how to deal with and heal from secret affairs.
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.
Can the Intellectual Dark Web Save Western Culture?
Robb Smith“The question is, will the IDW be more than a counter-balancing force to the dominant intellectual ideology of Green postmodernism? Can they synthesize enough, in time, to articulate positive, coherent and integrative modes upon which culture might be reorganized as it enters the fourth phase in a few short years?”
The Intellectual Dark Web: An Integral View
Robb Smith and Mark FormanMark Forman and Robb Smith discuss the Intellectual Dark Web, the loose counter-cultural band of intellectuals recently profiled in the New York Times.
The Roots of Integral Theory
Steve McIntosh and Jeff SalzmanSteve McIntosh takes us on a tour through his view of the origins of integral theory, starting with Georg Friedrich Hegel, who first explained the mechanisms of evolution in human history, and on through a stream of philosophers who unified the evolution of matter, consciousness and spirit.
A New Republic of the Heart: The Art and Practice of Sacred Activism
Terry Patten and Ken WilberTerry Patten talks to Ken Wilber about his new book, A New Republic of the Heart: An Ethos for Revolutionaries, inviting us to align our “inner work” with our “outer work” and establish sacred activism as both a fundamental component of our ongoing Integral Life Practice, as well as the ultimate expression of that practice.
Dream Yoga: Open Your Doors of Perception
Andrew Holecek and David RiordanAndrew Holecek talks to David Riordan about his new Dream Yoga teachings, presenting an opportunity to develop a liberating flexibility in your identity, transforming your very sense of Self, and exploring your mind in new and creative ways.
The Tetra-Meshed Earth: Depth and Innovation in Climate Change Adaptation
Gail HochachkaGail presents the contours of the challenge that is climate change — namely how to grasp in meaning or action such a wicked problem and hyperobject: something not directly seen and experienced, so radically nonlocal and involving of multiple disciplines, that exists on timeline we can’t easily conceive of, and regarding a future we can only approximate. Making sense of an issue this complex is slippery and plastic, and how we then engage it even more so.
Big Data in Little China
Robb Smith, Ross Hostetter and Jeff SalzmanAre there fundamentally different ways for countries to progress into and through modernity? After all, the western model has been dominant for 200 years because of its success in doing so. But might Big Data — as controlled either by strong central states, private monopolistic businesses, or both — allow new forms of social regulation that can drive the evolution of non-western societies into modern values and beyond?
Helping Kids Grow Strong
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanDr Keith Witt talks with Jeff about how to better support children’s development. Dr. Keith argues that the healthy expression of a person’s type (their preferences, gifts and built-in challenges) is based largely on their early relationships.
Why Power Matters: A Conversation with Robb Smith
Robb Smith and David RiordanRobb Smith talks with David Riordan about the many faces of power, and why it’s so difficult for each of us to get a personal handle on it.
Kosmic Integrity: The Integral Community’s Most Important Contribution to the World
Robb SmithJoin Robb as he calls us forward to be agents of kosmic integrity, an incredibly unique praxis of healing and wholeness that may be one of our most important contributions to the world in the road ahead.
Starfleet Values Are Integral Values
Cindy Wigglesworth, Corey deVos and Jeff SalzmanToday Jeff is joined by fellow integral nerds Cindy Wigglesworth and Corey deVos in this integral appreciation of the venerable Star Trek franchise. Open hailing frequencies, set phasers to stun, and prepare to boldly go where no Star Trek review has gone before.
Change the Rules: New Structures to Drain the Swamp
Jeff SalzmanJeff visits with integralist Tom Curren, who has launched a new non-profit initiative with the goal to change the rules of the American political system.
Beyond Excellence in Sports: Flow by Choice
Jeff Salzman and Scott FordJeff talks with Scott Ford, author of Integral Consciousness in Sport: Unifying Body, Mind and Spirit Through Flow. Scott offers a specific practice for entering flow, which is applicable for “in the zone” performance in all aspects of life.
The War Among Progressives
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday Jeff and Corey take a close look at an fantastic new article by Valerie Tarico, published to Alternet with the title “Here’s Why Some Progressives Are Tearing Each Other Apart”. In the article Tarico argues that today’s left is largely split into two major factions, each of whom are operating with two very different narratives around social progress and our collective wellbeing.
The Butterfly and the Hawk: How “Dual Focus” Can Help You Overcome Pain, Anxiety, and Trauma
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosA common element of many trauma treatments, most psychotherapy, and much spiritual practice is something called “dual focus” — our capacity to anchor ourselves in the feeling of being safe, capable, and worthy in the present moment, while simultaneously extending our awareness to distressing feelings, thoughts, memories, impulses, judgments, and events.
Integral Liftoff: Listeners Share the View from Second Tier
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIn today’s episode Jeff uses your reflections to chart out some of the landmarks of the new integral territory, as well as characteristics of the pioneers who seek to inhabit it.
Conspiracy in the Age of Aperspectival Madness
Corey deVos and Terry PattenCorey deVos and Terry Patten attempt to navigate to the endless web of conspiracy theories with some degree of wisdom and discernment, and to bring a small dose of sanity to the dangerous epidemic of aperspectival madness that is flooding through our world.
Trump’s War Cabinet Drops a Developmental Level
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday Jeff and Corey consider the choice of John Bolton to become Donald Trump’s national security advisor (replacing Gen. H.R. McMaster), as well as the promotion of Mike Pompeo to be Secretary of State (replacing Rex Tillerson). The shakeup represents a major worldview shift from orange modernity to amber traditionalism in the war cabinet of a President who often operates from the red power stage.
Peering into the Post-Privacy World
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanToday Jeff talks with integral psychotherapist Dr. Keith Witt about the arising of big data and its effect on our individual and collective psyches. They share their insights on the fascinating new book, Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are.
What Jordan Peterson (and His Fans and Foes) Can Learn from Integral Theory
Jeff SalzmanThrough subsequent postings critical of “leftist radicals,” Jordan Peterson has become a hero for advocates of free speech, and a idol to people who are opposed to the postmodern promulgation of multiculturalism and gender fluidity. So where does Peterson fit in the integral schema? In these two episodes of the Daily Evolver Jeff examines Peterson’s message as expressed through his book and his most popular lectures and interviews.
An Ethos for Revolutionaries: Terry Patten on Activism at the Integral Stage
Terry Patten and Jeff SalzmanTerry is pioneering a robust and dynamic new form of activism that fuses the “inner work” of personal transformation and awakening with the “outer work” of service and commitment to social justice. In this episode Jeff and Terry explore how we can deploy it to bring about the profound transformation of self and world that our era requires.
The Stages of Leadership Maturity
Susanne Cook-Greuter and Beena SharmaBeena Sharma and Susanne Cook-Greuter offer a stunning overview of their Leadership Maturity Framework, which offers leaders, coaches, and change agents of all stripes a far more thorough understanding of human development and human potential, as well as a far more robust toolset to help others thrive at whatever stage of life they find themselves at.
Why Be Normal?
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith discusses how the concept of “normal” profoundly effects our development and functioning, and how he has dealt with these issues over the decades in therapy sessions and groups.
From F#@king Up to Waking Up: A Tale of Addiction, Volition, and Liberation
Chris Grosso, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday our dear friend Chris Grosso talks to Jeff and Corey about his latest book, Dead Set on Living: Making the Difficult but Beautiful Journey from Fucking Up to Waking Up, which pivots around Chris’s provocative and profoundly moving journey out of the shadows of addiction and the endless empty parade of substitute gratifications, and into the light of spiritual awakening and healthy living.
Star Trek: Discovery and the Moral Arc of the Universe
Corey deVosThe soul of Star Trek isn’t optimism or idealism or a roadmap to utopia. All of those are byproducts of the actual moral core of the series: exploring post-conventional morality, and owning the consequences of decisions made from that stage.
Sacred Activism: The Practice of Civic Engagement
Terry Patten and Corey deVosTerry, Corey, and our live viewers discuss the integral moral imperative to engage more deeply with the many systems we are governed by, and to show up more fully in a world that is getting better and better, worse and worse, faster and faster, and crying out for the sort of integral solutions that only you can begin to provide.
The Feeling of Enlightenment: Sex, Spirit, and the New Tantra
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a stunning keynote teaching about Integral Tantra and the “feeling of enlightenment”, giving you a powerful set of pointing-out meditations to help familiarize you with the ever-present luminosity of your deepest and innermost Self, as well as sexual practices that will help you integrate your libido with your liberation.
Can Virtual Reality Create a More Virtuous Reality?
Corey deVos and Jeff SalzmanJeff and Corey explore the exhilarating emergence of virtual reality technology and the far-reaching implications it has across the full spectrum of human experience, from entertainment to education, to medicine, art, journalism, spiritual practice, sexuality, communication, and any number of other exciting and potentially groundbreaking applications.
Customize Your Mindfulness for Resilience and Impact
Meg SalterMindfulness can feel like swimming upstream against your own mind. Yet the benefits are clear: enhanced attention, empathy, and resilience, and reduced anxiety, stress, and even insomnia. Unfortunately, too many people don’t find a practice that works for them and their daily lives. This series comes in five parts: an introduction and four follow-on sessions, each with a sample mindfulness practice based on the four primary ways of relating to the world.
The Black Panther: A Hero for Humanity
Jeff SalzmanJeff Salzman talks to Steve Harper about the superhero film The Black Panther, which illuminates the struggle of growing beyond a retributionist victim identity to a larger sense of responsibility for one’s self, one’s people, and the whole of the world.
The Mysterious Art of Letting Go
Craig HamiltonCraig Hamilton offers some simple pointing-out instructions to help you “let go and let God”. These practices are not designed to try to get you into any particular state of consciousness, but to liberate you from the need to have any particular state or any particular feeling to be free.
Two Integral Eggheads (Try To) Watch the Olympics
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday Jeff and Corey take an anthropological look at the Olympics, noting how they express multiple stages of human development, how one’s type and kosmic address influences how you experience sports, how athletes at the peak of their performance can transmit powerful state experiences, and much more.
Unitas Multiplex: A More Integral Approach to Diversity
Roger Walsh and Ken WilberRoger Walsh and Ken Wilber explore a more integral approach to diversity that seeks to add a critical missing piece that has been missing from the conversation: the notion of developmental diversity.
The Predictable Stages of Growth in Couples
Jeff SalzmanToday, in honor of Valentine’s Day, Jeff talks with Dr. Tom Habib about the affairs of the heart. An integrally-inspired clinical psychologist specializing in couples therapy, Tom has mapped what he calls the “couple’s line of development,” which describes the predictable stages of growth that a couple can grow through — and where they may get stalled.
The Art of Evolving: What We Carry with Us, What We Leave Behind
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday Jeff and Corey respond to listener feedback, focused on how we evolve (both as individuals and as cultures) by “transcending and including” our previous stages of development. But, practically speaking, how do we know what to include and what to transcend?
How to Level Up Your Parenting
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosBeing a superior parent is the goal of pretty much all parents. Join us as we explore the many dimensions of integral parenting and the many advantages that come with it.
You Are the Hero of Your Own Story
Jeff SalzmanToday we share Jeff’s guest appearance on Steve Harper’s “What’s Your Theory?“ webcast. Steve and Jeff explore the interior qualities of traditionalism (amber altitude), and how to recognize, respect and nurture their power in one’s self and others.
The Beauty (and Baggage) of Traditionalism
Jeff SalzmanJeff looks at the deep structures of traditionalism and how we can nurture its most healthy expression in our culture, and in our own minds and hearts.
Virtual Lucid Dreaming: The Intersection of Consciousness and Technology
Andrew HolecekAndrew Holecek explores the fascinating and fruitful vanguard of consciousness and technology in this stunning presentation about virtual reality, lucid dreaming, and awakening in the midst of rapid social change.
Ralph Ellison’s Integral Insight into Race and Culture
Greg Thomas and Jeff SalzmanTo kick off Black History Month, Jeff connects with Greg Thomas, an integral thinker who is pioneering a new way forward in race relations in the U.S. Greg advocates transcending the postmodern emphasis on racial identity in favor or embracing what is a broader American cultural identity, of which all Americans are an inextricable part.
Dream Yoga and the Wisdom of the Dark
Andrew HolecekAndrew offers a stunning presentation on the incredible untapped power of lucid dreaming, and how a genuine dream yoga can help make our spiritual practice more complete, and awaken us more fully from the somnambulant trance of our day-to-day lives.
The State (and Stages) of the Union: 2018
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIn this episode we look at President Trump’s State of the Union address, where he made opening moves toward a grand bargain to overhaul the U.S. immigration system and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. What are the policy and political ramifications? Can we trust the guy who brought us birtherism? Are Democrats willing to give Trump victories they themselves want (and Republicans would never give them)?
Star Wars: The Force Evolves
Cindy Wigglesworth, Corey deVos and Jeff SalzmanJeff is joined by Cindy Wigglesworth and Corey deVos, and together they dive deeply into the rich mythology and mysticism of the Star Wars universe — sharing their personal connection to Star Wars, their integral appreciation of its central themes and principles, and their best guesses as to where the Force may be taking us next.
Urantia: A Spiritual Vision with Evolution at its Core
Byron Belitsos and Jeff SalzmanWelcome to The Urantia Book, a spiritual revelation that came into being in the early 20th Century and has inspired generations of adherents since. Today Jeff talks with Byron Belitsos, author of the new book, Your Evolving Soul: The Cosmic Spirituality of the Urantia Revelation, about the principles of these deep and beautiful (and controversial!) teachings, and how they can illuminate our spiritual development.
When the World’s Largest Investor Wakes Up
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIn this episode we look at the continued emergence of postmodern consciousness (green altitude), using a current example from the U.S. financial sector: last week Laurence D. Fink, founder and chief executive of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor fund, informed business leaders that if they want any of the the $6 trillion he invests they are going to have to serve a social purpose.
Integral Power Panel
Ginny Whitelaw, Roger Walsh, Jeff Salzman, Gail Hochachka, Bert Parlee and Robb SmithJoin panelists Ginny Whitelaw, Roger Walsh, Jeff Salzman, Gail Hochachka, and Bert Parlee in this far-ranging discussion about power — how to relate to it, how to wield it, and how to avoid getting trampled by it.
A New War for Power
Robb SmithBlack Lives Matter. MeToo. North Korea. Robert Mueller. Fake news. What do these and dozens of other headlines have in common? Join Robb as he explains how they all point to a new war for power that is currently underway: how power is being used and misused, how power is changing, and who will have power when the momentous leap into the transformation age is done.
Trump’s First Year
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosDonald Trump has just completed the first year of the most unlikely, outrageous presidency in modern history. What do we make of it?
Is Integral Arrogant? Jeff Responds to Listeners.
Jeff SalzmanDoes the integral project have a problem with arrogance? Jeff explains how integral theory itself helps to answer the question.
The #MeToo Reckoning: A Conversation with Diane Musho Hamilton
Diane Musho Hamilton and Jeff SalzmanDiane and Jeff look at the upside of the #MeToo movement, as well as its inevitable overreach. They look at how it heals historic patterns of abuse, and what it is blind and hostile too. And they look to integral consciousness, the ability to hold multiple perspectives, as a way forward.
Awaken to Your True Nature
Craig HamiltonA radical new approach to spiritual practice is being born, bringing the possibility of authentic spiritual Enlightenment within reach for all of us. Craig calls it “The Practice of Direct Awakening.” And it is rapidly turning every assumption we’ve had about spiritual practice and Enlightenment on its head.
Themes of Emergence: Awareness, Responsibility, and Mutuality
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosCulture wars and cognitive dissonance. Consensus trance on climate change. #MeToo and emergent mutuality. Tantric sexuality and karma yoga. Self-awareness and personal responsibility. Join us as Keith explores some of these converging themes, as well as questions from the audience around social trauma, education, and broken-hearted enlightenment.
New Year, Less Fear: Renewing Our Faith in Progress
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday Jeff and Corey welcome 2018 with the recognition that in terms of human flourishing – nutrition, health, lifespan, peace, freedom – we are living in the best of times.
Never Been Better, Never Felt Worse: Inside the Rise of an Integral Global Operating System for the 21st Century
Robb SmithIntegral Life CEO Robb Smith puts the tumult of 2016 into historical perspective and looks ahead at the “momentous leap into the transformation age” that he believes is underway right now. Taking a long view of history, evolutionary dynamics, culture and economics, Robb argues that we’re at the peak of a Green, pluralistic global operating system, with Orange modernism slipping into our rearview mirror, and Teal integralism just beginning to emerge, holding all the promise of overcoming the evolutionary contradictions that gave rise to populism and leaders like Donald Trump.
Re-Mystifying Christmas
Fr. John Forman, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosJeff and Corey welcome as their guest Father John Forman, Rector of the Burien, Washington Episcopal Church. Father John shares his teachings on how we can embrace the birth of Jesus as a beautiful mystery, thereby accessing its spiritual potency in real time and enabling us to shine the light of Christ Consciouness into the world.
Lessons from Alabama and Puerto Rico
Jeff SalzmanJeff looks at the victory of Democrat Doug Jones over Republican Roy Moore in the special U.S. Senate election in Alabama. Jeff starts the episode by checking in on Puerto Rico, as political and business forces align to create a state-of-the-art, low-carbon power grid.
Why Can’t Wedding Cakes Be Gay?
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday we look at the case, heard last week in the U.S. Supreme Court, of the Colorado baker who refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding — a case that pits competing American values of freedom of speech (and freedom from compelled speech) and the principle of tolerance and equal access in the public spheres of life.
The Shadow Side of Technology
David Riordan and Jeff SalzmanJeff talks with David Riordan, Vice President of Media for Integral Life, about some of the ways we can inhabit the virtual world more safely and intelligently.
The Last Gasp of Late-Stage Capitalism: An Integral Look at the Republican Tax Plan
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosThe rise of capitalism, starting a couple hundred years ago, has been a spectacularly positive development for humanity, creating enormous material weath that raised billions of people out of poverty. In the last 40 years, however, it has been tuned so that the vast majority of economic growth flows to the elites who own and manage the systems of wealth creation. The Republican tax plan doubles down on that trend, reducing taxes for corporations and the rich at the expense of social programs that help the poor. Jeff and Corey discuss the ramifications.
For the Love of Chaos: What Does Complexity Theory Have to Do with Intimacy and Healing?
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosIn a world as complex and chaotic as ours, how can we raise our level of awareness and attunement in order to meet the great challenges of our time? Watch as Dr. Keith explains how chaos can be used as an incredibly effective driver of growth, healing, and love.
The Future of Sex: More Fun, Less Creepy
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanJeff talks with Dr. Keith Witt about the great consciousness raising our culture is going through regarding sexual harassment. Dr Keith’s prescription for a healthier, safer future: more sex!
Artificial Intelligence vs. Artificial Consciousness
Michael E. Zimmerman and Jeff SalzmanThe hopes and fears surrounding the advent of artificial intelligence are fantastical, from Ray Kurzweil’s promise of spiritual machines to Elon Musk’s warnings of killer robots. And yes, some version of that future is barreling toward us at an ever-increasing speed, says philosophy of technology professor Michael Zimmerman, who is Jeff’s guest today.
Ann Coulter’s Piece of the Truth: Critiquing Trump From the Right
Jeff SalzmanWe in integral land often say stuff like “everyone is right” and “no one is capable of being wrong 100% of the time.” But what about Ann Coulter? What is her piece of the truth? Listen to find out!
Finding the Rhythm of Improvisational Leadership
Greg Thomas and David RiordanGreg Thomas talks to David about what is moving him as our cultural disruption continues to unfold, particularly concerning the issues of race and culture. Listen as Greg outlines his improvised response to all that is arising. He is particularly noticing a lack of moderate voices on both sides of the conversation. Although, Jazz Leadership has been his practice for some time he, like the rest of us, he is experiencing an acceleration and intensity to the cultural conversation since the 2016 election.
The Gift of Gratitude
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosJeff and Corey explore one of the most powerful and universal practices available to us: the practice of gratitude. In times of peak stress, peak fear, and peak anxiety, gratitude is more important than ever. Which means that this year, perhaps more than any other year in recent memory, we could use a nice dose of gratitude to help remind ourselves of the incredible goodness, beauty, and truth that we are all surrounded by. This in turn helps us relax our cynicism, loosen our negative fixations, and make our “skin-encapsulated egos” just a little bit more porous.
The Emergence of a New Activism
Elizabeth DeboldAt this historical moment, as the stakes with climate change and the pressure to regress accelerate across the planet, consciousness work at a collective level may hold new potential for change. What would it mean to hold this realization, not as a deep personal truth, but as a call to action? This is the essence of a new activism.
Cultivating an Integral American Identity
Jeff SalzmanToday Jeff reflects on the conversation he and Corey had on Monday with African American scholar Greg Thomas, where they explored what a more integral approach to race relations might look like. Greg is influenced by his mentor, Albert Murray, who, writing in the 60’s challenged the postmodern narrative that reduced race (and much of human relations in general) to hard constructs of victim and oppressor.
The Path Ahead: Politics, Globalism, and You
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers an extensive presentation to help us better understand the evolutionary pressures that led to the rise of Trump and the backlash against progressivism, and offers his own ideas around the future of the global economy.
Roy Moore Wants to Date Your Daughter
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosAmerican politics is riveted on bombshell accusations involving Judge Roy Moore, who is running for U.S. Senate from the state of Alabama. In a story reported in the Washington Post, he is accused by five women of molesting them when they were 14 – 16 years old. Watch as we explore this extra-icky story, and try to provide a more integral point of view.
Beyond Race and Victimhood
Greg Thomas, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday we are joined by Greg Thomas, who has thought and written extensively on one of the most vexing conundrums in our culture: race relations. Greg attempts to chart a new course, one that includes the postmodern insight into oppression and its effects, but challenges its fixation on racial and victim identity.
Our Postmodern Personality
Doshin Roshi and Jeff SalzmanJeff is interviewed by Doshin Michael Nelson, founder of Integral Zen, about the nature of Green and the Integral way forward.
Finding Greater Resilience in the Trump Era
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanDr. Keith Witt talks to Jeff Salzman about the ramifications today’s polarized politics are having upon people’s psychological health, and the strategies you need to become more resilient — and less reactive — to the many stresses of our time.
The Daily Evolver Q&A: Deep Listening, Helping People Grow, and Geopolitical Shades of Grey
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosJeff and Corey answer some questions from our listeners in this special Q&A episode of The Daily Evolver.
Saudi Arabia’s Wild Weekend: Corruption Crackdown or Power Grab?
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosOn Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s 32 year old ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arrested dozens of the country’s most influential political and religious figures, including 11 of his royal cousins. It was, according the the New York Times, “the most sweeping transformation of the Kingdom’s governance for more than eight decades.” In this episode we bring an integral lens to the unfolding situation.
Heal Thyself: How to Repair Interpersonal and Cultural Injuries
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosThe Buddha had it right with “life is suffering”! We all regularly feel injured by other people, our own interior struggles, cultural events, or random chance. Repairing these injuries is a big deal! Luckily, Integrally informed psychology can help us recognize and repair injuries. In this upcoming episode of Live with Dr. Keith we’ll talk about how we all become injured and the steps we often need to take for effective repair.
The Mean Green Fever Dream: Climate Urgency vs. Alarmism
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosWhen trying to communicate about climate change and sustainable initiatives, how can we find a way to convey the tremendous urgency of the problem without falling into the sort of overwrought alarmism that only ends up tuning people out of the conversation?
An Integral Response to Terror in the 21st Century
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosJeff and Corey make an effort to wrap their integral hearts around the tremendous pain and sadness of yesterday’s tragic terrorist attack in New York City (and all other terrorist attacks around the world) while trying to ground the very real fears, anxieties, and resentments these attacks generate into a much more hopeful and optimistic enactment of our world.
The Art of Being Unique (But Not Special)
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosToday Jeff and Corey take a look at a paradoxical move in vertical development: where we embrace our own radical uniqueness and express it in relation to other beings who are also utterly unique. It’s a new and more vivid integration of the individual and collective realms of reality, and out of it emerges a possibility for a more fruitful, happy and fulfilling life. Once again we are helped out by Sarah Silverman!
Mueller, Trump & Collusion: The Rule of Law Pushes Back
Robb Smith, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIn today’s Daily Evolver Jeff, Corey and Robb look at today’s groundbreaking headlines to explain how Red and Amber-centered populism, led by President Trump, gained power in order to combat the stagnation brought on by too much cultural and economic power consolidated in too few hands. Today, with indictments being leveled at three people working for the Trump campaign (one of which confirmed collusion with the Russian government), the Orange, Constitutionally-centered rule of law fought back.
Integral Tantra: Sex, Love, and Awakening
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a very special presentation on the incredibly juicy topic of sex, love, and Integral Tantra. This is an extended preview of Ken’s forthcoming keynote presentation at the What NOW conference at the end of the year.
Building Bridges: How to Talk to Trump Supporters
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIn the wake of the Trump election, many progressives are realizing that one way forward is to reach out to their political opponents, at least to establish a basic human connection. Today Jeff looks at four recent attempts to do that: by comedian Sarah Silverman, philosopher George Lakoff, Vox political correspondent Liz Plank and New York Times columnist David Brooks. Corey also adds some of his own integral tips for good interpersonal hygiene.
“The Witch” and the Evolution of Horror
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosJeff offers a review of the film The Witch: A New England Folk Tale, noting how much it resonated with his own integral sensibilities. He and Corey then turn the discussion to a broader discussion of the evolution of horror as a genre and its utility as a “release valve” for both cultural anxieties and the persistent existential dread we are all born into. SPOOOKY!!!!!
The Heart of Integral Parenting
Miriam Mason Martineau, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosOur dear friend Miriam Mason Martineau joins us to explore the exceptionally rich topic of integral parenting. It’s hard to imagine a more important, more meaningful, or more immediately fulfilling application of integral thought and practice than this one.
How to Vote Integral
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIn a political system that is so polarized and seemingly rife with conflict between irreconcilable views, how do we make the best and most integrally-informed choices possible?
Politics, Addiction, and Mental Health: The Path to Recovery
Chris Grosso and David RiordanIn this interview Chris recounts some of the surreal feelings he’s having as the Trump administration continues to disrupt the social, political, and cultural status quo. He speaks to the impact Trump is having on the mental health communities that he serves — as safety net budgets for social services are eliminated, those with mental health issues are often the first to feel the pain.
Cryptocurrency for Newbies: The Evolution of Money
Ryan Oelke, Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIn this very special episode we take a close look at one of the most exciting and disruptive new technological forces in society: the rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.
Integral Live
Integral LifeIntegral Live is broadcasting LIVE. Come play!
Trump-Sick? Try This.
Jeff SalzmanJeff shares his thoughts on how to navigate in an era led by a man who he too agrees is unfit for the office of the Presidency. He ends the episode by sharing 15 minutes of a video of spiritual teacher Byron Katie as she helps a woman metabolize her distress at Trump.
When Buddhists Go Bad: The Tragedy in Myanmar (And Why Development Trumps Doctrine)
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosJeff looks at the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas in Myanmar at the hands of the Buddhist majority, and stoked by militant Buddhist monks. What’s up with the religion of peace and compassion? Let’s shed some integral light.
The Transpersonal Workout: Less Pain, More Gain
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosFor most of us, working out kind of sucks. Here’s a great way to more deeply engage your workout and make it suck a bit less.
What NOW: What’s Sex Got To Do With It?
Ken Wilber“The What NOW conference promises to be a real outpouring of creative information about new and Integral approaches to the world’s problems — environmental, economic, political, technological, spiritual, personal. I hope to see you there.”
Dunkirk: The Art of War
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosDoes the film Dunkirk qualify as integral art? What the hell is “integral art”, anyway?
The Republic Fights Back (And Even Some Republicans!)
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosHave American conservatives finally had enough of this Donald Trump guy?
The Gun Problem
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosAmerica finally faces a challenge it can’t shoot its way out of.
Normal Crazy vs. Extra Crazy: Disarming Your Defensive States
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosWhen we feel safe, we are usually comfortably social with ourselves and others. When we feel threatened, our nervous systems (our adaptive unconscious, our Shadow selves) can generate defensive states to protect us. These states amplify or numb emotions, distort perspectives, pump out destructive impulses, and diminish self-reflection and empathy. Watch as Dr. Keith Witt offers some valuable guidance to help you disarm these defensive states whenever they arise for you.
Moving Beyond Fear
Ginny Whitelaw and David RiordanAt the moment, Ginny is particularly concerned about the lack of leadership that both President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un are displaying in their escalating war of words, and in this discussion she helps work through the very fears that naturally arise as a result.
The Acceleration of Crazy
Terry Patten and David RiordanTerry touches on what he calls the “acceleration of crazy” as our current reality show unfolds. He also has some interesting insights on how he is navigating the chaos, while noting that major stage transitions like the one we are currently living in are, by their very nature, revolutionary, calling us to a higher, richer, and more sustainable human commons.
The Morality of Meat
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosIf God didn’t want us to eat animals, why did He make them out of meat?
Move Fast and Break Things: Are Facebook, Amazon, and Google Hacking Our Democracy?
Jonathan Taplin and David RiordanA hot topic in the 2016 election was the business and targeting practices of the tech giants Facebook, Google, and Amazon and their possibly corrosive effects upon democracy. One of the excellent new books on this subject is Jonathan Taplin’s Move Fast and Break Things – How Facebook, Google and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy. Jonathan’s book does a really great job tracing the motivations of their founders as they morphed from startup tech innovators to dominant tech monopolies.
Beyond Polarization and White Nationalism: Embracing Our Deeper American Identity
Greg Thomas and Mark FormanGreg Thomas and Dr. Mark Forman dive more deeply into the unique perspective of Ralph Ellison (renowned author of Invisible Man) and his unparalleled value in our time of national crisis.
Do Rivers Have Rights?
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosRivers are people, my friend. And they’ve lawyered up.
Don and Kim’s Big Red Rumble
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosTensions are rising as toddlers squabble. What is a more integral view?
Why Meetings Suck (And How You Can Make Them More Fun, Efficient, and Engaging)
Joanne HuntJoin us in this role-playing exercise as four colleagues undergo the first 2 minutes of a business meeting where they discuss a new project. Watch how each participant brings a dramatically different Native Perspective — or “orienting quadrant” — to the table, then get inside their heads to see how they interpret the meeting. Can you spot your own Native Perspective?
American Psycho
Jeff Salzman and Corey deVosWhat does childhood psychosis have to do with Donald Trump?
What’s Your Story NOW?
Jeff Salzman and David RiordanJeff Salzman and David Riordan discuss many of the topics we will be exploring at this year’s What NOW conference at the end of the year.
DJ Qbert: Alien Octopus Genius
DJ Qbert and Justin MilesPart mystic, part alien, part genius, and part octopus, Q was the perfect person to talk to about subjects that seem out of place in a conversation about djing. He’s delightfully bizarre and I knew talking with him would make for some great conversation. For me, interviewing him was a form of deity practice (how do you talk to a God about being God?) and I am genuinely appreciative for him allowing me to see through his eyes for a minute.
The 4th Spinning of Hip Hop
Justin MilesHiphop is largely studied from the outside in. We enjoy the music, the art and the dance. We judge, argue, evaluate and rank it, but not much attention is paid to what happens inside the artist. The 4th Spinning is an attempt to look at Hiphop from an Integral perspective, which simply means exploring the inside-and-outside of individuals (behavior, psychology and spirituality), and the inside-and-outside of groups (culture and society), to not only understand but to manifest Hiphop in all of its fullness.
The Debt Collective
Douglas RushkoffDoug Rushkoff interviews Astra Taylor and Thomas Gokey, co-founders of Strike Debt, Rolling Jubilee and most recently the Debt Collective. The Debt Collective is a direct action campaign that leverages the collective power of debtors, united together, against exploitative for-profit education and lending institutions in the US. Astra and Thomas give Team Human listeners a template for hacking real world systems and tapping into the power of solidarity.
WTF is CryptoMind?
Corey deVosWhat exactly is “cryptocurrency”, and why should you care? In this inaugural episode of the new CryptoMind podcast, our good friends Ryan Oelke (from PowerUp Productions) and Vincent Horn (from Buddhist Geeks) answer these questions, offer their own big-picture reflections, share their stories, and talk about the larger significance of the cryptospace as they see it.
Finding Sanity in the Post-Truth Era
Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVosDr. Keith Witt talks about our shared emotional reactions to the election and ongoing cultural upheavals, and some strategies help us not only cope, but actually grow through these times.
Inside the Great Release
Robb SmithJoin Integral Life co-founder Robb Smith as he explains the current historical moment as a natural and predictable backlash against the twin dominance of the right-leaning Multinational Capital Holon in economics and the left-leaning Multicultural Culture Holon in culture since the 1970s.
A Taste of Centering Prayer
Father Thomas KeatingCentering Prayer is a simple Christian practice that helps us to locate and take refuge in our “inner room,” consent to the presence of God-in-2nd-person, and lead us into deep prayer, devotion, and contemplation of the divine. Listen as Father Thomas offers a short guided practice of Centering Prayer.
The Many Ways We Touch
Ken WilberWe have the intuition that everyone is at least partially right, that no human being is capable of being 100% wrong. But how do you tell just how right everyone is? Some are more right than others — how do you tell the difference? And how do you handle interfacing with limited or partial perspectives when engaging with people in real time? This eBook, from the upcoming Vol. II of Ken Wilber’s “Kosmos Trilogy”, will help.
The Three Principles of Integral Thinking
Ken WilberKen offers an in-depth summary of the three integrative principles, nonexclusion, enfoldment, and enactment, which he uncovered while putting together his Integral Methodological Pluralism framework — a robust meta-paradigmatic scaffolding that seeks to honor, include, and integrate multiple paradigms and methodologies and practices across all domains of human knowing.
Your Native Perspective: Better Relationships
Integral LifeThis practice will help you become more fluent with native perspectives — four fundamental ways of being, perceiving, and doing — in both yourself and in other people.
Lifestyle and Mental Health: Restoring Sanity in the 21st Century
Roger WalshRoger Walsh describes eight of the most crucial lifestyle-based approaches to help restore balance and sanity to our frantic 21st-century lives.
Race, Rooted Cosmopolitanism, and Hope in the 21st Century
Greg Thomas and Mark FormanThe political storm that has visited the United States over the past few years have exposed a number of crises: cultural, political, and environmental. One of these crises is our society’s ongoing struggles with how we define and treat one another according to our ideas of “race.” The moment is ripe for bringing together healthier understandings of ethnic identity that can replace the largely toxic idea of race from our past. In this episode of Psychology Now, special guest Greg Thomas joins co-host Mark Forman to discuss these issues.
Kosmic Address: Everything In Its Right Place
Ken WilberKen Wilber explores the notion of Kosmic Address — a universal “indexing system” that uses the integral framework to situate and constellate all known phenomena (physical, mental, and spiritual), as well our capacity to discern that phenomena. This allows us to not only better understand the nature of each component part, but also how that part relates to every other part and fits into the whole, revealing the hidden architecture of knowledge itself.
Essential Meditations: Shamatha and Vipashyana
Andrew HolecekIn this excerpt from the Okay, I’m Dead… Now What? web course, acclaimed teacher Andrew Holecek offers guided instructions for two fundamental types of meditative practices: Shamatha and Vipashyana meditations.
The Four Faces of Truth
Ken WilberIn an era when our collective notion of “truth” is being weaponized, balkanized, and smashed to smithereens, it’s important to remind ourselves how we go about discerning truth in the first place. In this introductory chapter from The Eye of Spirit, Ken Wilber explores the four primary methods we use to acquire and verify our knowledge, allowing us to escape our current “post-truth” quagmire by bridging the ever-widening divide between conflicting views, values, and verities.
The Good, the True, and the Beautiful
Ken WilberKen Wilber explores the three fundamental discernments of the human mind: the Good, the Beautiful, and the True. Ken discusses how all three are simultaneously parts of a single indivisible whole, yet each possesses its own means of disclosing and verifying knowledge.
No Boundary: A Union of Opposites
Ken WilberKen Wilber explores the intrinsic dualism of the mind, offering a simple but cogent way to “transcend the pairs” and discover the nondual heart of the Always Already.
Integral Semiotics: The Language of Liberation
Ken WilberHow do we derive meaning from the words we use? An integral approach fundamentally changes how we understand the nature of language, communication, and shared meaning. Integral Semiotics offers a comprehensive map or framework of most of the known worldspaces available to humans. Since most of these worldspaces do not possess simple location or material form, they are likely to be denied reality by most realist, empirical, or behavioral schools—where in fact they are home of the vast majority of those things most humans hold valuable. Integral Semiotics is thus a matter, not just of linguistics, but of emancipation.
How Zen Can Provide Leadership in a Post-Truth Trump World
Ginny WhitelawGinny Whitelaw offers some valuable advice on how presence, resilience, and centeredness can help us illuminate a better path forward in the midst of the “post-truth” collapse.
Growing, Relating, Connecting: An Integral Tour of Couples Therapy
Dr. Keith Witt and Mark FormanIn this episode of Psychology Now, Dr. Keith and Dr. Mark dive into the wide world of couples therapy and relationships, using the Integral lens to locate some of the deeper principles and key insights that leading couples therapists’ employ to help couples develop loving, growth-orientated, grounded relationships. Includes six key practices that you can try right now to enhance your relationship.
Making Sense of Trump’s Exit from the Paris Accord
Gail HochachkaLast week, Trump stated his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement regarding climate change. Trump announced that the USA will withdraw based on the sense that it will negatively affect US jobs. To explore this, I turn to Integral Theory, which is a comprehensive transdisciplinary theory developed by contemporary philosopher Ken Wilber and applied by others across several professional fields. We can draw upon these ideas regarding the dynamics of social groups to make sense of Trump’s exit from the Paris agreement.
Basic Meditation Instructions
Terry PattenTerry Patten offers some very basic instructions to help you kickstart your meditation practice. He also offers an extended segment on “Integral Inquiry”, a simple but powerful technique that can deepen your ongoing practice.
Finding Your Flow: A Simple Shift to Help You Tap Into Your Peak Performance
Scott Ford and Ken WilberScott Ford talks to Ken Wilber about a startling new practice that can help you immediately access flow states (aka “the zone”) — a state of total absorption and nearly effortless engagement with a given activity, typically allowing us to perform at our very highest capacity.
Get a Feel for Integral
Integral LifeConsciously following the deepest contours of your very own nature is the foundation of any Integral Life Practice. Here you will learn how to feel these basic dimensions of your being, simply by noticing what is already present.
Hardcore Spirit: Wisdom for a New Generation
Chris Grosso and Ken WilberChris Grosso and Ken Wilber explore a radical new evolution of the spiritual life — one that is so all-inclusive, nothing gets left out. So all-embracing, it literally has no opposite. So all-pervading, even sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll can find their rightful place on the altar of transformation. This is not your grandma’s spirituality. These aren’t the crusty moralizations of traditional religion, or the saccharine pablum of New Age narcissism. This is Hardcore Spirit.
Full Spectrum Mindfulness: A Guided Tour
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a blistering in-depth guided tour through his widely acclaimed Full Spectrum Mindfulness teaching, a series of simple but powerful practices to unlock your deepest sources of power, love, wisdom, and self-mastery.
Irritation as a Spiritual Path: The Zen of You and Me
Diane Musho Hamilton and Jeff SalzmanFor many progressive spiritual practitioners it no longer feels like enough to merely follow an individual meditation practice, as valuable as that is. We want to apply our enlarged selves, skillfully and in real time, to the circumstances of our complex lives, and particularly to our relationships with others. The spiritual potency of relationship is a subject Diane Musho Hamilton explores in her new book, The Zen of You and Me: A Guide to Getting Along with Just About Anyone.
Compassionate Exchange
Integral LifeCompassionate Exchange is a way to move freely through all perspectives available to you, instead of staying chronically identified with only one. In this meditative practice, we consciously and deliberately exchange self for other.
Psychedelics in Psychotherapy
Elliott Ingersoll, Mark Forman and Dr. Keith WittSpecial guest Dr. Elliott Ingersoll joins Doctors Keith Witt and Mark Forman to share their personal and professional experiences with psychedelics while reviewing relevant research, current practices, and the amazing potentials of these treatments. Therapists need as many tools as possible to remediate symptoms, enhance health, and support development. The way we see it therapies utilizing psychedelics will become increasingly available and likely useful in the years to come.
Spitting Out the Bones: Why “Waking Up” Is Not Enough
Genpo Merzel Roshi and Ken WilberIn February of 2011, Genpo Roshi stepped down as a teacher of Zen Buddhism after admitting to numerous extra-marital affairs. Since then, Genpo has been taking a long, hard look at his own culpability and his own personal demons, while trying to find his own way forward on the path of redemption — a fascinating case study in the importance of bringing together the paths of Waking Up, Growing Up, Cleaning Up, and Showing Up, all of which are necessary to be an effective spiritual teacher in today’s world.
The 3-2-1 Shadow Process: Face It, Talk to It, Be It
Diane Musho HamiltonA crucial aspect of any integral practice is a way to be profoundly honest with ourselves about our shadow, or unconscious, or false self, or dishonesty, or disowned self. The 3-2-1 Process is a simple and effective tool for working with the shadow — any part of ourselves that we unconsciously repress or deny.
Loving AIs: Bringing Unconditional Love to Artificial General Intelligence
Julia Mossbridge, Ben Goertzel and Robb SmithAs part of our work on the Innovation Lab advisory board of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, I had the pleasure of sitting down with OpenCog founder and leading AGI researcher Ben Goertzel and IONS Innovation Lab director Julia Mossbridge to discuss LOVING AIs, a project aiming to design and develop an “unconditional loving” module for AGIs. In this interview, I dive into the rabbit hole of AGI with Ben and Julia to discuss the state of the field, what it would mean to program unconditional love into AGIs, and some thorny implications for the brave new world we’re entering.
The Five Phases of Change
Mary SaundersMary Saunders explores the primordial qualities of earth, wood, fire, metal, and water as elemental energies in nature, within our bodies, and within our psyche — a model for physical health, emotional intelligence, and spiritual maturity.
The Great Release
Robb SmithRising populism and the election of President Trump are symptoms of massive irresilience that has been building in the U.S.-led world state since 1945, and may reflect the end of the fourth cycle of economic hegemony of the past 800 years. The Great Recession of 2008 was just a tremor. We wind toward a coming global breakdown, a great release that threatens regression across our lives.
Shapes of Mind: The 10 Stages of Consciousness
Robb SmithAt Integral Life we sometimes refer to different stages of consciousness in order to make sense of various issues or complex situations. So I thought it might be useful to briefly outline the ten stages of consciousness-or what I often call the ten shapes of mind–in order to provide an orienting primer for those who are new to Integral Life. For those who have been with us a long time, hopefully you’ll enjoy a refresher.
The Bannon Doctrine: Demolition Ahead
Jeff SalzmanSteve Bannon is Donald Trump’s favorite philosopher. Trump sometimes jokes that he doesn’t know “whether Bannon is alt-right or alt-left,” but either way Bannon has given voice to the visceral impulse of populist nationalism that Donald Trump has expressed for decades. So what does Bannon actually believe? Listen to find out!
Increase Your Erotic Polarity
Dr. Keith WittRenowned marriage and family therapist Dr. Keith Witt offers a short practice to reinvigorate your “erotic polarity” — one of the fundamental forces that sustain thriving relationships.
Cultivating Wisdom
Roger WalshIn an era drenched in data, a desire for wisdom has been reborn. Where can we go to learn about wisdom? This ILP module offers distillations of the world’s accumulated wisdom — ancient and modern, religious and scientific, philosophical and psychological.
Into the Void and Back Again: Understanding and Recovering From Depression
Dr. Keith Witt and Mark FormanDepression is a powerful mood disorder and – after anxiety – the most prevalent of all mental health challenges. In this episode of Psychology Now, Dr. Witt and Dr. Forman dive deeply into the topic of depression, and how our struggles with depression can lead to deepened commitment to change, heightened self-understanding, and increased empathy for the suffering of others.
You’re Angry! Find Your Deeper Unmet Need & Reframe Your Anger
Integral LifeAnger arises when you feel like you’ve been violated: you are interpreting some situation or behavior, whether it was done intentionally or not, as a very real violation of your deeper needs or values. It’s usually sourced in a deeper need that’s not being met. This practice is designed to help you find it.
Michelin 3-Star: The Culinary Art of Joel Robuchon
Robb SmithCan food be transformative? In this first-of-its-kind integral review of Michelin 3-star restaurant Joel Robuchon, Robb Smith explores why the world’s best dining has always been at the center of his aesthetic Integral Life Practice, and what integrative metatheory brings to a night at one of the world’s best restaurants.
The Koan of Chronic Illness
Dr. Lynn Royster FuentesLynn Royster Fuentes looks at the question of chronic illness as part of a koan, a puzzle you have been asked to solve, an all-encompassing and fundamental question that can be answered and re-answered as you investigate the approaches that will reduce your suffering.
Trump: The Anti-Green Backlash Begins
Ken Wilber and Jeff SalzmanJeff Salzman interviews Ken Wilber about how the Trump phenomenon arose, and how an integral sensibility can help us respond to the unique challenge of Trump’s political and cultural movement.
Capitalism: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity
Douglas Rushkoff and Robb SmithIn this Integral Life exclusive, renown media theorist and author Douglas Rushkoff argues that the central assumption of our economic lives — that further economic growth will create continually rising prosperity for all — is broken.
Pre-Truth, Post-Truth, and Beyond
Jeff SalzmanJeff Salzman takes a look at how integralists can understand and relate to the fight over pre-modern, modern and postmodern conceptions of truth, and how a new integration of the three can help us build a more authentically inclusive world.
The State of the World 2017: The Wake of Trump
Jim Garrison and Ken WilberJim Garrison and Ken Wilber offer a post-election report on the rise of Donald Trump and the implications for the future, as well as the many failures among the liberal leading edge that contributed to Trump’s election.
Zen Leadership and Putting the “Happy” in Happy New Year
Ginny WhitelawWelcome to the New Year! In the Chinese system, we’re entering the Year of the Rooster and, my, doesn’t it already feel like a wake-up call?
Wake Up, Grow Up: Enlightenment in the 21st Century
Ken WilberIn this feature presentation from the 2016 SAND Conference, Ken Wilber explains why the path of “waking up” (spiritual awakening) needs to be complemented by the path of “growing up” (psychological maturity) in order to renew and replenish our understanding of enlightenment in the 21st century.
We’ve Elected a Wartime President
Robb SmithI’ll get to the point. The United States has just elected a wartime president, a Commander in Chief who is already on a wartime footing and was on a wartime footing from the moment his campaign began last year. And he won because a significant portion of the country were the war’s first casualties and they wanted a president who could help them stop losing. This isn’t a military war. It’s a jobs war.
Death & Dying
Andrew HolecekJoin Tibetan Buddhist teacher and end of life expert Andrew Holecek as he walks you through a powerful, and life-changing, one-hour ILP coaching session to better understand death and liberate you from the false identity that keeps you trapped in the fear that your true self is anything other than timeless.
Profound Connection
Diane Musho HamiltonJoin renowned mediator Diane Hamilton in order to enhance your happiness and deepen your relationships by learning to navigate the three native perspectives that can unlock your power, passion and authenticity in every important relationship in your life.
Discover Your Enneagram Type
Helen PalmerAn extraordinary presentation to help you discover more clarity and wellbeing, with practices for each personality type delivered via a deepening understanding of your inner observer.
Real Yoga: Liberate Your Posture
Sofia DiazMost yoga programs promise to bring you more strength, more endurance, and more flexibility. Real Yoga does too, but goes several steps further, helping you cultivate these very same qualities on the inside as much as the outside. Not just in your body, but also in your heart, mind, and spirit. Sofia Diaz leads an exquisite 1-hour yoga practice, excerpted from her full Real Yoga web course.
Full Spectrum Mindfulness: The Hunger Drive
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a taste of his Full Spectrum Mindfulness training program, focusing here on the most fundamental level of mindfulness — the hunger drive.
A Transforming Friendship With Jesus
Paul SmithPaul Smith leads you to a full-spectrum realization of God — a God who is big enough to satisfy our minds, close enough to touch our hearts, and familiar enough to easily recognize how God intersects with innermost Self.
Body Mind Moment Training
Rob McNamaraBody Mind Moment Strength Training is designed to help you integrate your workouts into your daily life with the intention of you gaining confidence in your abilities to feel fully alive and to meet the challenges the world presents. Rob’s approach (demonstrated here with his student Maria Bailey) goes way beyond normal strength training goals of developing more muscle or sculpting your body to fit into your skinny jeans, but rather is intended to guide your bodily awareness into what it means to live more completely.
Plant Plus Personalized Nutrition
Joan BorysenkoThe Plant Plus Diet Solution is a user-friendly synthesis of where nutrition is going in the 21st century. It will help you make sense of dietary confusion, give you suggestions on how to personalize your approach to food and bring the practice of mindfulness to bear on that relationship.
Loving Completely
Dr. Keith WittDr. Keith Witt offers a taste of his Loving Completely practice program, an exceptional web course that helps deepen the whole relationship by acknowledging and working with the intrinsic wholeness of human beings.
Spirituality for the Inner Skeptic
Terry PattenTerry Patten helps us explore our own inner skeptic, and suggests practices that lead us into a greater awareness of the mystery of life — whether you identify this experience in spiritual terms or not.
Integral Enlightenment
Craig HamiltonThis practice embraces the wisdom of the great meditative traditions, but also reaches forward to unleash the profound spiritual potential inherent in our recently evolved capacities for self-awareness, introspection, self-authorship and relational intimacy.
Always Already: The Brilliant Clarity of Ever-Present Awareness
Ken WilberIn this excerpt from The Eye of Spirit, Ken Wilber offers one of the most powerful (and beautiful) pieces of spiritual writing he has ever produced. This is the very first time these words have been reproduced on the web, and we invite you to share this chapter however you like.
Right Bucks: Money and Spirituality
Ken WilberIn dealing with this issue of money and Dharma—or money and spirituality in general—there are at least two very different items that need to be teased apart and addressed separately. The first is the appropriate monetary value of any relational exchange (from medical care to education to goods and services in general); and the second is, should monetary exchange ever be linked to Dharma teaching?
From Rationalism to Nationalism: How the Internet Ruined Everything
Corey deVosWe no longer enjoy a “shared reality” in any meaningful sense. We now live in a time-shifted honeycomb of mediated views and values, a flat and fragmented reality that has completely changed the shape of our consciousness, our culture, and our conduct in the public sphere.
Integral Without Borders: International Development in a Post-Trump World
Gail Hochachka, Paul van Schaik and Ken WilberHow might the integral framework help facilitate healthy growth and sustainabilty in developing societies around the planet? Gail Hochachka and Paul van Schaik talk to Ken Wilber about how Integral Without Borders is actively working to meet people’s struggles and challenges head-on and help them to gain more perspective and better adapt to their present circumstances. Gail, Paul, and Ken also discuss the earth-shaking election of Donald Trump, the social trends that carried him into the Presidency, and how his election might impact the further unfolding of integral consciousness around the world.
Sutras: A Musical Meditation
Corey deVosSutras is an hour-long musical meditation that includes spoken word pieces by Alex Grey, Ken Wilber, Lama Surya Das, Sally Kempton, and Alan Watts. A synaesthetic journey through gross, subtle, causal, and nondual realms. Sonic tonic for your aching body, mind, and soul. Liberation upon hearing.
The Trump Era: Day 1
Jeff Salzman, Diane Musho Hamilton and Terry PattenJeff, Diane, and Terry try to come to terms with the victory of Donald Trump, like millions of other people around the world.
The Morning After
Robb SmithAmericans have just elected Donald Trump as President-elect of the United States of America. I know that a few of you are elated and many more are terrified. I can understand both emotions. I am far from a natural-born Hillary Clinton advocate, but during the course of the campaign there was simply no possibility that I would be voting for Trump, a man who who speaks against many of my deepest principles. And yet he won — by the slimmest of margins — but a clear win nonetheless.
(r)evolutions: Protest Music for a New Day
Corey deVosAn inspirational 2-hour mix of 21st-century protest music. Because a revolution without dancing is not a revolution worth having.
Introduction to Integral Spirituality
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers an introduction to a spirituality that honors the truths of modernity and postmodernity — including the revolutions in science and culture — while incorporating the essential insights of the great religions.
A Revolutionary Spirituality
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a general overview of his comprehensive approach to spiritual growth and awakening, noting an important distinction between spiritual intelligence and spiritual experience.
Campaign Fever: How We’ve Turned Indignation into a National Pastime
Ginny WhitelawIt seems we have caught a kind of fever, where anger and indignation are becoming an art form, where one-sided views are called news, and where we can get stuck in a place of no progress. That place could be called coping, as opposed to transforming, and it precedes what I call the “first flip” of Zen Leadership…
The 500 Lb. Gorilla Raging Through the World: Demographics
Robb SmithAvailable below is an adjustable data visualization for Europe. Adjust the year of analysis and retirement ages to see how the population shifts and worker:retiree support ratio changes.
The Integral Vision
Ken WilberIntegrative metatheory is arguably the only credible global philosophy of the 21st century. Ken Wilber’s The Integral Vision is one of the finest introductions to integrative thought and practice you can find.
The Universal Dream: Seeing Dreams In Multiple Perspectives
Mark Forman and Dr. Keith WittDr. Witt and Dr. Forman dive deeply into the world of dreaming, exploring the neurobiology and function of dreams, the history and basics of dream work in psychotherapy, and some useful tips to help you interpret your own dreams.
The Great Divide
Robb SmithPopulism is on the rise. Too many people feel left out of the march of prosperity and more people than ever believe that the future will not see their kids better off than they are today. The rich get richer while the middle class remains stagnant. There is a growing and robust backlash to political correctness and immigration. And artificial intelligence threatens to make the coming jobs war even worse than previously anticipated…
Cleaning Up the Future with Phil Toledano
Robb SmithIn this fascinating New York Times Op-Doc, noted photographer Phil Toledano takes us on precisely this 3-year journey within himself, confronting all the various ways he can grow old, disease, wither, and die. At first blush it seems like Mr. Toledano’s project was custom-designed to address only his deep fears and neuroses. But don’t blink, or you might miss the ways his project speaks to what is universal in each of us.
Is the System Rigged? (Yes, and It’s Coming Along Nicely…)
Jeff SalzmanIf there’s one thing that people on both ends of the political spectrum can agree on, it’s this: the system is rigged. But an integral view asks, “which system?” In this episode Jeff explores what corruption actually looks like, and how it relates to the US presidential election.
Easter
Stuart Davis and Saul WilliamsTrack 04 from the album ¿What (2006). Lyrics by Stuart Davis and Saul Williams.
What is Transformational Learning?
Robb SmithTransformation is the process by which a person “grows their mind” by building a broader worldview, deeper skills, better habits and expanded perspectives. Integral Life is a member community designed to offer experiences, media and practices that help you grow your mind and evolve your life.
Beauty and the Expansion of Women’s Identity
Vanessa FisherThe history of women’s beauty is written in bodily gestures that express both the constraints of their culture as well as the unfolding desire of their interiority. Embracing the power of beauty has always been problematic for feminism, and for good reason. This article offers an integrative analysis of the current views that dominate feminist discourse on women’s beauty, as well as a personal story of Vanessa’s own ongoing journey as a young woman trying to reclaim her beauty for the benefit of all beings.
What Is Your Native Perspective?
Integral LifeA big part of having better relationships is clear and meaningful communication. If you’re interested in improving how you communicate and listen to others, this exercise can provide you with a fresh perspective on the way you communicate and how it shapes your instinctual way of being, seeing, and doing in the world.
Everyone Culture: A Radical New Model for Work, Career, and Leadership
Robert Kegan and Ken WilberNext to our love, the most precious thing we give to another is our labor. Now you can give both at the same time. Discover a new set of breakthrough approaches to work, career, and leadership that fully honors and accepts its people for who they are, while also encouraging them to use the workplace as an ongoing source of personal growth, inner meaning, and self-improvement.
Putting “Meta” Into Practice: A Look at Integrally-Informed Psychotherapy
Mark Forman and Dr. Keith WittHere we explore the emerging art and science of Integrally-informed psychotherapy – an attempt to integrate the best of the major approaches to therapy into a single cohesive model of human psychology.
The Art and Practice of Self-Love
Dr. Keith WittDo you deeply and truly love yourself? What is preventing you from loving yourself completely? Is your capacity to love yourself contrained by poor self-esteem, internalized criticisms, or false modesty? Can you distinguish your self-love from self-absorption, narcissism, and the siren call of your own ego? Listen as Dr. Keith Witt explores the tremendous importance of self-love, and daily practices to help you explore the undiscovered regions of your own heart.
Relationships in Therapy, Relationships in Life
Dr. Keith Witt and Mark FormanIn this episode of Psychology Now, Dr. Witt and Dr. Forman dive specifically into the therapeutic relationship and describe how it functions as the medium of healing and transformation in psychotherapy.
The End of Politics: How Crowdocracy Can Transform Our Government (And Save Us From Ourselves)
Alan Watkins and Ken WilberIs democracy too broken to handle the world’s most wicked problems? If so, what’s the alternative? Listen as Alan Watkins shares his own vision of the future of politics and governance — a vision that is as practical as it is inspiring, and one that might be exactly what we need to help us carry our 250-year old democratic experiment into the 21st century.
Trump, Hamilton, and the Zen Leader Walk Into a Bar…
Ginny Whitelaw…the Zen Leader would want to learn from these two cultural phenomes how to message in a culturally resonant way — how to inspire people to pause in their busyness, connect with what is, to resource their lives and leadership from a place of centered connectedness.
Searching for Wisdom in the 21st Century
Roger Walsh and Ken WilberClimate change, wealth inequality, ideological polarization, terrorism, religious radicalization — these are some of the truly wicked problems of the world. And none of our most pressing global challenges can be navigated or overcome without a momentous leap of collective wisdom, as well as a commensurate increase in our ability to recognize and leverage that wisdom. But what exactly is this wisdom that so many of us are searching for? Where can we find it? How do we cultivate it in our own lives and make it available to more people?
Wicked and Wise: Climate Change, Democracy, and Integral Theory
Alan Watkins and Jeff SalzmanAlan Watkins, co-author of Wicked and Wise with Ken Wilber, talks to Jeff Salzman about climate change, the problems of globalization and democracy, getting CEO’s to do the right thing, and that pesky Donald Trump.
What’s So Important About Enlightenment?
Ken WilberWhat is “enlightenment”, and why should we care? What does “oneness with all form” and other mystical-sounding states of mind have to do with our ongoing search for happiness and fulfillment? Listen as Ken makes a stunning case for spiritual awakening, while clarifying the important differences between the integral approach to enlightenment and many of the classic definitions that have been handed down through the millennia.
The Soul of Jazz
Greg Thomas and Jeff SalzmanArt is often the leading edge of cultural and conscious evolution, and jazz today continues to lead the way. Listen as Greg Thomas takes us through the history of jazz — from its roots in the magic, mythic and traditional interiors of African Americans at the turn of the last century, through the modern and postmodern strains of the mid and late 20th Century, to the more wild wooly contemporary scene.
Rumi: Dancing in Fullness
Coleman Barks and David DarlingThere are few experiences in life as satisfying as the poetry of Jalal ad-Din Rumi, which for many is the spiritual equivalent of enjoying a piece of rich delicious chocolate, listening to Bach, or perhaps sipping a glass of fine red wine. In this extraordinary performance you will hear Rumi as you never have before — through the resonant, whiskey-and-syrup voice of Coleman Barks, a preeminent poet, scholar, and interpreter of Rumi’s work, and the music of Grammy-winning artist David Darling.
How to Create a More Fulfilling Sex Life
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanIn a healthy intimate relationship, the partners don’t have to be turned on by each other all the time, says Dr. Keith, “but they do need to be turned on by each other regularly.” Every couple has a balance of how much sex is needed to keep things vibrant, and it’s the responsibility of each partner to make it happen. For many couples, this is something that must be learned and practiced. Here’s how.
A Miracle Called “We”
Ken WilberHow is it possible that you and I can come together, find resonance with each other, understand each other, even love each other, when we are each separate individuals that possess our own unique perspectives, our own diverse interpretations of reality, and our own unseen landscapes of interior consciousness? How on earth do you get in my mind, and I get in your mind, enough that we are in each other to the point that we both agree that we can each see what the other sees? However this happens, it is a miracle, an absolute, stunning, staggering miracle.
The Spectrum of Brokenness: What to Do When You’re Dealing With a Personality Disorder
Dr. Keith Witt and Mark FormanNearly 1 in 10 people possess some form of personality disorder. Which means there’s a very good chance that you will encounter someone with this disorder at some point in your life… if you haven’t already. They might be your boss, your lover, your parent, your spiritual teacher, or even your presidential candidate. How can we engage these personalities with care and compassion, while remaining fully attentive to our own personal boundaries? Listen to find out!
The Healing Wisdom of the Christos
Joan BorysenkoJoan Borysenko takes us on her personal journey from Judaism to Yogananda to Jesus. Melding ancient wisdom, modern neuroscience, and positive psychology, her journey begins with a serious mental illness that remits after an experience of Divine Union as a 10 year old. It continues through the Judaism of her childhood, the discovery of the welcoming heart of Yogananda and her years of exploring mystical Christianity, Eastern meditation practices, and Judaism, all while running a mind-body clinic at Harvard.
The Darth Vader Move
Ken WilberThe brighter the light, the darker the shadow. The “Darth Vader move” is what happens when someone with an exceptionally high level of development uses the skills and capacities of that level for purposes generally deemed to be “wrong” — often the result of a highly developed cognitive intelligence combined with a poorly developed moral intelligence (Nazi scientists being the classic example). What happens when our higher angels get hijacked by our lowest demons? What is the cause of the Darth Vader move, and how can we prevent ourselves from being seduced by the Dark Side of the Force?
Finding the Christ
Cynthia JamesCynthia James looks at Jesus as a representative of Universal wholeness and the idea of Universal Christ Consciousness that exists within all. She explores the Mystic Christ and his teachings from a metaphysical perspective.
Everything Is Workable: Zen and the Art of Conflict Resolution
Diane Musho Hamilton and Ken WilberThough meditation is incomparably helpful, it doesn't make the sticky interpersonal issues go away. Conflict resolution skills are needed. Diane Musho Hamilton suggests that we make conflict resolution a valued part of our practice.
Death Makes Life Possible
Marilyn Schlitz and Ken WilberWhat happens after death? Is there some part of us that endures? How can we begin to work through the countless fears, anxieties, and neuroses that spring from knowing that our time in this world will one day come to an end? Listen as Marilyn Schlitz and Ken Wilber explore these and other questions in this incredibly rich discussion.
Being vs. Knowing: Ending the Debate Between Epistemology and Ontology
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a thorough examination of the classic philosophical conflicts between ontology and epistemology, while suggesting a way to seamlessly integrate the two and end this philosophical debate once and for all.
The Meaning of “2nd-person”
Ken WilberThere has been, for quite some time, a considerable misunderstanding about how the Integral Framework views 2nd person (e.g., “you,” “thou”). Ken Wilber thought it was time to address it.
The Future of Artificial Intelligence
Ken WilberWhen it comes to the future of artificial intelligence, we have more questions than answers. Are atoms, molecules, and mathematics alone enough to produce machines with genuine human-equivalent intelligence? Can that intelligence ever become truly conscious and possess the “inner light” of interior self-awareness? Will artificial intelligence be capable of determining its own morals, ethics, and values? Listen as Ken Wilber reflects on the future promise — and potential perils — of artificial intelligence.
Sex, God, Rock ‘n Roll
Stuart DavisSex, God, Rock ‘n Roll is sort of a mashup of Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and standup comedy monologues, all with a decidedly Integral twist. Stu has assembled some incredible talent—not to mention an incredibly talented production team—and together they have put together one of the most bizarre, unique, and consistently hilarious programs on television.
Integral Healing: A More Complete Path to Wellness
Lynne Feldman and Ken WilberLynne Feldman is a long-time student, supporter, and practitioner of integral living. Several years ago, she was diagnosed with two particularly nasty forms of cancer. This is her story, a remarkable and inspiring journey through some of the deepest, darkest, and most liberating regions of the heart. Listen as Lynne talks to Ken Wilber about her experience, weaving her personal story with a step-by-step breakdown of a far more comprehensive approach to healing that she crafted over several years — invaluable insights to aid you on your own path to wellness and wholeness.
Becoming Nothing
Father Thomas KeatingIn this deeply moving reflection, Father Thomas Keating offers a personal glimpse into his own spiritual practice, allowing us precious insight into the heart and mind of one of the world’s most cherished mystics.
Patterns of Resistance: What Stands Between You and Spiritual Experience?
Helen PalmerWhat is preventing you from fully experiencing your own timeless divine nature, right now in this very moment? Watch as Helen Palmer presents the Enneagram as a means to recognize and rehabilitate the conditioning of the everyday ego — reducing the opacity of our everyday habituated minds, transcending the illusion of separation, and allowing the self-liberating light of God to shine through more clearly.
The Gift of Contemplation
Father Thomas Keating and Cynthia BourgeaultFather Thomas Keating offers a detailed account of the conditions that catalyzed a massive reawakening of Christian contemplative practice in the late 20th century.
Resurrecting Jesus: Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic
AdyashantiThe story of Jesus has not waned in its power to change lives. Yet today, even though the majority of us grew up in a culture suffused by the mythos of Jesus, many of us feel disconnected from the essence and vitality of His teachings. In this presentation Adyashanti invites us to rediscover the life and teachings of Jesus, recounts his own personal encounter with Christ, and offers some much-needed guidance to help you transform your own relationship with the Christian story.
The Heart of Christ Consciousness
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a guided tour through the layers of the Christian mystical experience, pointing the way toward the innermost heart of Christ Consciousness.
Building a Transformative Friendship with Jesus
Paul SmithOne of the finest presentations on Integral Christianity you will ever see. Recorded during the 2015 Return to the Heart of Christ Consciousness event, this was far and away one of the most talked-about highlights from the entire conference. Watch as Paul Smith takes us beneath the crust of evangelical extremism and beyond the noise of outdated belief systems into the very heart of Christ Consciousness itself.
Life, Death, Love, and Awakening
Adyashanti and Ken WilberA lively, intimate, and tremendously moving discussion that covers an astonishing amount of ground — ranging from Ken and Adya’s personal lives, to spiritual materialism and enlightened activism, to the outermost frontiers of knowledge, technology, and future potentials.
Meditation for Militants
Justin Miles and Jeff SalzmanJeff talks about integral activism with Justin Miles, founder of the Miles Center for Integral Living in Baltimore. Justin is a former member of the Black Panther party, Buddhist meditation teacher, and therapist. Jeff also looks at the role of cynicism in our political discourse, and takes a couple questions from listeners.
Man Up: The Journey to a More Enlightened Masculinity
Robert Masters and Ken WilberRobert and Ken disclose a newly emerging path for men in the 21st century, one that allows these “softer” qualities to actually enhance and deepen a man’s sense of masculinity, rather than diminish it. It is a discussion that brings some much-needed relief to a seldom acknowledged pain so many men feel in their hearts, minds, and guts.
On Being Human: A Reflection
Susanne Cook-GreuterIn this deeply touching keynote address, Susanne Cook-Greuter offers a personal account on what truly matters in life, beyond one’s stage of ego development.
The State of the Integral Art
Roger WalshRoger Walsh explains how we can bring the Integral vision into our personal and professional lives and use it to make a meaningful impact in the world.
Human 101: The Psychology of the Future
Ken WilberHow can we formulate an approach to psychology that honors and embraces every legitimate aspect of human consciousness and pulls these multiple aspects together into a single coherent model of the human mind? Watch as Ken Wilber offers one of the finest and most complete summaries of an Integral approach to psychology he has ever recorded, while suggesting how a more comprehensive understanding of human consciousness can help shape a better, kinder, and more sustainable future.
Awakening Christ Consciousness
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a special teaching to awaken Christ Consciousness within your own heart and mind, right here and right now.
For the Love of Darwin: Beyond the Selfish Gene
David Loye and Ken WilberDavid Loye, author of Darwin in Love, talks to Ken Wilber about the life and often-distorted legacy of Charles Darwin, as well as Darwin’s belief in LOVE as a critical driver of the evolution of species.
Supermind and the Primordial Avoidance
Ken WilberKen offers a fascinating preview of his upcoming book, The Religion of Tomorrow, where he describes the highest structure of conscious that has yet evolved — the all-pervading, all-embracing stage known as “Supermind” — making this one of the finest meditations on your own highest-possible self you could possibly ask for!
ISIS: A Crisis of Modernity
Amir Ahmad Nasr and Ken WilberOur good friend Amir Ahmad Nasr, author of the provocative book My Isl@m: How Fundamentalism Stole My Mind—and Doubt Freed My Soul, recently wrote a wonderful article for Medium.com that offers one of the most complete assessments we’ve seen on the rise of ISIS and its implications for the rest of the world. Listen as Amir and Ken take an in-depth look at the many important truths surfaced by this remarkable article.
Holons: Turtles All the Way Up, Turtles All the Way Down
Ken WilberKen Wilber explores the idea of “Holons” — a word coined by Arthur Koestler to describe wholes that are simultaneously parts of other greater wholes (a whole atom is also part of a whole molecule, which is part of a whole cell, etc.)
What Are the Four Quadrants?
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a brief summary of his Four Quadrants model, one of the most important elements of Integral Theory and Practice.
The Five Elements of AQAL
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a brief summary of the theoretical formulation known as AQAL (pronounced “aw-qwal”) — which is shorthand for “all quadrants, all levels, all lines, all states, all types”.
FUCT: A Love Story
Stuart DavisSome love stories are simply timeless. Titanic. Romeo and Juliet. And now… FUCT: A LOVE STORY joins their ranks. This unforgettable, magical masterpiece absolutely must be made, and when you see this short promotional video, you’ll rush to be a part of this crowd-funded blockbuster of love and loss among divergent species.
Why Love Is Such a Mess
Warren FarrellWarren Farrell offers a detailed overview of the history of sex and gender, outlining the most significant challenges both genders have faced over the millennia while offering a new vision of wholeness and maturity for us to move toward in our lives and in our relationships.
The Swerve Toward Modernity
Stephen Greenblatt and Stuart DavisStuart Davis speaks with Pulitzer-Prize winning author Stephen Greenblatt about his book The Swerve: How The World Became Modern. They explore how life might’ve been different if Epicureanism had not nearly vanished, and some similarities and distinctions between Buddhism and Epicureanism.
Mary Magdalene and the Christian Path of Conscious Love
Cynthia BourgeaultFar beyond sensationalized conspiracy theories or pabulum reclamation of the feminine, Rev. Bourgeault’s intriguing portrait of Mary Magdalene recognizes her distinct yet intertwined roles as Jesus’ disciple, apostle, and intimate beloved. Discover the transformative wisdom embodied in this mysterious, often misunderstood feminine figure at the heart of Christianity.
The Rise of the Cosmopolitan: Four Steps to Build a Better Democracy
Jack Crittenden and Ken WilberLongtime friends and colleagues Jack Crittenden and Ken Wilber explore a higher-order thought process known as dialectical dialogue, a powerful tool to help bridge the enormous gulf that exists between the many conflicting and entrenched perspectives, values, and ideologies found in modern politics.
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.
Dude, Where’s My Body?
Stuart DavisStuart loses his body, and enlists some deadly sins to get it back.
American Mysticism: The Hidden History of Positive Thinking
Mitch Horowitz and Stuart DavisMitch Horowitz joins Stuart Davis to unveil the hidden history of Positive Thinking and the profound effect it’s had on modern America.
Pulsing
Stuart DavisThe first track from Stuart’s album, Songbook of the Dead .
Imagining the Future Through Your Enneagram Type
Helen PalmerHelen offers a stunning presentation about the narrative tradition of the Enneagram, taking us on a guided journey into the nine fundamental patterns of being.
Raising Wholeness: Parenting as a Spiritual Practice
Miriam Mason Martineau and Ken WilberMiriam Mason Martineau and Ken Wilber offer invaluable insight for all parents — new, old, and expecting — to help align yourself with a somewhat more integral, more spiritual approach to parenting.
Becoming Human
Stuart DavisWhy would a cosmic nomad want to incarnate as a human being? Learn the mysteries of corporeal manifestation!
Allergies and Addictions: States of Consciousness
Ken WilberFrom the lowest depths to the highest peaks, there is no place our shadow will not follow us, even into the heart of nonduality itself. Listen as Ken Wilber offers a guided tour through the major states of consciousness described by all the world’s spiritual traditions, while pointing out the many ways that our shadows can impede or even sabotage our efforts to contact and stabilize these states.
Reinventing Organizations: 3 Breakthroughs to Make Organizations More Integral
Frederic Laloux and Ken WilberFrederic Laloux and Ken Wilber take an in-depth look at many integrally-structured organizations that are beginning to emerge all across the planet, while outlining three major breakthroughs shared by these organizations: self-management, striving for wholeness, and listening to evolutionary purpose.
Basic Moral Intuition: The Greatest Depth for the Greatest Span
Ken Wilber and Gail HochachkaEveryone has a general intuition of morality, but each person has to actually bring it into practice and make it relevant in one’s own unique context. How can this understanding help us make better choices for ourselves and for the world? Listen to find out!
Warp Wisdom
Steve Beckett and Stuart DavisSteve Beckett is the founder and owner of Warp Records, located at the epicenter of the electronic music revolution for decades. Founded in 1989, Warp has worked with some of the most groundbreaking and influential artists in the world: Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Autechre, Squarepusher, LFO, Nightmares on Wax, Boards of Canada, Brian Eno, and dozens of other electronic pioneers, all of whom have stretched our minds (and our eardrums) in ways we never imagined possible. Steve also happens to be an accomplished integral coach and a longtime fan of Ken Wilber’s work, as he discusses with host Stuart Davis.
Does Android Jones Dream of Electro-Mineralist Sheep?
Android JonesThe content of these marvelous works ranges vastly from the kosmic to the micro, from tantric beloved to sacred civics, from expansions of consciousness to reconfigurations of our three bodies.
Having No Head: A Pointing-Out Exercise
Ken Wilber“Keep an open mind,” we like to say, “but not so open your brain slides out.” But what happens when you open your mind so fully that you end up temporarily misplacing your entire head? Well that’s enlightenment, baby!
A Tribute to Ken Wilber
Ken WilberThey say we are all standing on the shoulders of giants. In this video we celebrate one of the biggest and most important giants around: the one and only Ken Wilber. This was our chance to say thank you for all the truth, goodness, and beauty that Ken continues to bring into the world. Ken’s work has ignited the hearts and minds of so many, and we are honored to walk this path with him.
In The Belly of The Whale: Joseph Campbell and The Hero’s Journey
Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff SalzmanIn this conversation with Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff Salzman we explore the gift of Campbell’s formulation of The Hero’s Journey — Campbell’s name for the basic pattern of the great myths, which turns out to be a guide for our own lives.
Knowing Your Shadow: Healing the Broken Self
Robert Masters and Ken WilberExploring the full spectrum of disassociated shadow material in our lives (pain, shame, guilt, dark emotions, sexual shadows, spiritual shadows, etc.) and the ways that we can begin cleaning up and reintegrating these splintered pieces of our psyche, Robert Augustus Masters talks to Ken Wilber about his recent audio course, Knowing Your Shadow.
The Kosmic Slop
Corey deVosThe Kosmic Slop: a high-energy, hour-long odyssey through space, time, rhythm, and rhyme. An eclectic mix of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.
13 Koans (And Their Answers) to Awaken Your Deepest Heart and Mind
Jun Po Kelly Roshi and Ken WilberJun Po Kelly Roshi and Ken Wilber explore the 13 koans of Mondo Zen — and then give you the answers to each one of them!
The Shape of Things to Come: A Singularity in All Four Quadrants
Corey deVosIt seems clear is that we are seeing a general pattern of accelerated returns in at least four irreducible dimensions of our lives. It is a “singularity in all four quadrants” — Post-Humanism, Post-Scarcity, Post-Irony, and Post-Metaphysics. Let’s take a brief look at each of these dimensions.
The Future of Consciousness, Culture, and Technology
Ken WilberWhat future we are imagining for ourselves, for the integral movement, and for the impact of the integral vision on our shared future? With all the emphasis we see in spiritual communities about the importance of being in the NOW, it can be easy to forget how important it is to keep a careful eye on the future. After all, aren’t our thoughts about the future just another way to distract ourselves from connecting to our true selves in this present moment?
The Sound of the Singing Waterfall: Celebrating the Mystical Poetry of Ken Wilber
Jeff SalzmanMusic and poetry come together in an arousing celebration of Ken Wilber’s mystical writings, performed by Arni Karlsson, Ed Sarath, and Jeff Salzman. As Jeff says in his introduction, “Let these words wash over you; they are true pointing-out instructions — that is, they point out the True Nature of life and reality, as only Ken can.”
The Pre/Trans Fallacy
Ken WilberIn this clip from Volume 1 of the Ken Wilber Life Footnotes collection, Ken offers a brief explanation of the pre/trans fallacy: the confusion of pre-rational and trans-rational, pre-personal and trans-personal, pre-conventional and post-conventional, etc.
Why We Desperately Need an Integral Islam
Amir Ahmad NasrAmir tells his own story of coming to a more integral Islam, finding new ways to embrace and express this rich spiritual lineage while helping to carve a new path beyond the fundamentalist extremism so often associated with Islam in today’s world. This piece is heavily adapted from Amir’s book, My Isl@m: How Fundamentalism Stole My Mind–and Doubt Freed My Soul.
Brave New Future? An Integral Look at Super Artificial Intelligence
Michael E. ZimmermanThese days, discourse about intelligent robots—thinking machines—is as widespread as discourse about zombies. Both have been the subjects of recent bestsellers, which are the basis of two forthcoming films. Popular culture’s depiction of humankind under attack by either the undead or by the never alive (autonomous machines) suggests widespread anxiety about and fascination with technical developments that may generate a future out of human control (as if the future ever were under our control!)
The Meaning of the Earth
Jacob Needleman and Ken WilberWhat is our purpose? Why are we here? What does the Earth need from us? Listen as Jacob and Ken take an in-depth look at The Unknown World, framing man’s role on the planet in a completely new and fresh way and moving beyond the usual environmental concerns to reveal how the care and maintenance of a world is something vital and basic to our existence as authentic human beings.
An Inside Look at the Life and Work of the Dalai Lama
Victor Chan and Ken WilberKen Wilber and Victor Chan take an in-depth look at the Dalai Lama’s life, his spiritual practice, and his efforts to bring wisdom to the world and translate compassion into action.
A Few Moments of Being
Lama Surya DasLay claim to your birthright with this short guided meditation by Lama Surya Das.
In Over Our Heads: Development as a Lifelong Journey
Robert Kegan and Ken WilberDr. Kegan talks with Ken Wilber about his landmark book In Over Our Heads, exploring the many ways our cultural lack of developmental perspectives is actively inhibiting development itself, leaving the majority of us ill-equipped to meet the demands of our 21st century lives.
Inside the Super Brain: Integrating Mind, Matter, and Consciousness
Deepak Chopra and Ken WilberDeepak Chopra talks to Ken Wilber about his new book, Super Brain: Unleashing the Explosive Power of Your Mind to Maximize Health, Happiness, and Spiritual Well-Being—exploring how we can train our brain to reach beyond its present limitations, and how our subjective "mind" and objective "brain" co-arise and even co-create one another. Deepak also discusses his experience engaging and debating "new atheists" such as Richard Dawkins, and how he has dealt with the sometimes unkind and mean-spirited attacks from many of these popular modern thinkers.
Soulscapes
Louis Parsons“Lets try an experiment. Feel into who You really are for a moment. Relax into You. Imagine we are holding a conversation and you are telling me all about You. You may start telling me about what you love, when you feel alive, or some of the rich life experiences you have had. You may end up telling me some of your story. As you speak, I am using every sensory faculty I can muster to feel into the fullness and freedom of who You really are. Im listening beyond the words you say. I’m stretching out to feel You. I’m also listening to God. Then, I feel you inside me as a cascade of colour and form: I sense the unique symphony of light and the quality of energy that is you and You alone.”
Six Varieties of Christians and Their Churches: From Tribal to Integral
Paul SmithChristians and their communities of faith exist in rich diversity today. Why are there so many different kinds of Christians and churches? There are historical aspects, political factors, matter of taste, and personality types. However, from an integral perspective of evolutionary stages we can see a quite remarkable tendency for churches to fall into one of perhaps six different altitudes of understanding.
Empty Spaces: Liberation Upon Hearing
Corey deVosEmpty Spaces is an 80-minute musical meditation, featuring Alex Grey, Ken Wilber, Sally Kempton, and Alan Watts. A soundtrack for Dark Nights. Liberation upon hearing.
Kosmic Wonder
Valente Saenz“I used to do some research before creating an artwork, now I only “submerge” and begin working, knowing and trusting the magical force that operates this awesome universe. I make the analogy that I have never seen a bird taking a flying course, it comes with all the equipment and skills it needs to cross an ocean without fear of getting lost. I believe if we consider that our origin is beyond our human comprehension, then we need to trust our “heart’s compass”. At the end we are travelers passing by. As someone stated, “we are spiritual beings having a human experience”.
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.
Five Reasons You’re Not Enlightened (And Five Ways to See That You Always Already Are!)
Ken WilberHere we explore five simple shifts of perspective to help you recognize your own already-enlightened condition, right here and right now — five different interpretations of nondual consciousness at the heart of some of history’s greatest spiritual traditions.
Igniting Brilliance: An Integral Approach to Education
Willow Dea and Ken WilberWillow Dea and Ken Wilber explore the promise of an educational approach that can fully nourish, enrich, and challenge our children in every dimension of their lives.
Discovering an Integral Civic Consciousness in a Global Age
John BunzlIn an age of global crisis, why does the idea of global governance remain a such a taboo topic? Here John Bunzl posits a civic line of development, suggesting only those possessing a worldcentric level of civic awareness can fully comprehend global problems and the need for binding global governance.
Building a Global Democracy
John Bunzl and Ken WilberJohn Bunzl and Ken Wilber take a look at some of the most difficult obstacles in the way of creating a genuine integral global government, how this world government might function, and how we just might be able to get there from here.
Untamed
Michael WelchFor artist Michael Welch, the myth of being pierced by love’s arrow is an allegory of a shift in consciousness beyond one’s control, Desire taking hold and pointing one into Mystery. If we are too literal about the myth, he warns, the power of the arrow “loses its transformative power and becomes lethal.”
The Zen Leader
Ginny Whitelaw and Ken WilberGinny Whitelaw talks to Ken Wilber about her new book, The Zen Leader, offering an exceptionally simple guide to help maximize your health, happiness, and productivity.
Buddha Standard Time: Why “Now” Is Not Enough
Lama Surya Das and Ken WilberWe’re all given the same twenty-four hours a day. We can spend our time feeling hurried and harried, overwhelmed by chores and demands, distracted and burned out. Or we can awaken to Buddha Standard Time, the realm of timelessness where every choice, every action, and every breath can be one of renewal and infinite possibilities.
Yes, Virginia, Consciousness Goes All the Way Down. But Does It Go All the Way Up?
Michael E. ZimmermanAlthough the apparent confirmation of the Higgs Boson, the so-called God particle, has been attracting attention recently, the most vexing problem in science and philosophy remains the mind-body problem: What relation is there between material brain states and conscious, first-person experience? In the past few years, as we shall see in a moment, some neurosciences have now arrived at an answer that was anticipated by Ken Wilber’s version of integral theory.
Meditation Garden
Diana CalvarioDiana Calvario’s art weaves stunning imagery of nature, culture, divine beings, dream states, macro and micro scales of order, into remarkable evocations of creative emergence. Within the Kosmic flows of nested holarchies, what might be the interactive, energetic, and meaningful interplays of these various elements? Calvario’s art shows us the ever emergent circuits of this dance, and does so with profound invention, beauty and grace. Hers is an art that has the unique power to rewire and enhance one’s integral soul—a great achievement and singular aesthetic gift.
An Integral Guide to Healthy and Happy Living
Roger Walsh and Ken WilberRoger Walsh and Ken Wilber share a detailed exploration of Integral health and wellness. Together they outline a comprehensive guide to healthy living, offering some incredibly simple and practical ways to help increase your overall health, happiness, and vitality.
From the Big Bang to the Big Three: The Evolution of the 3 Faces of Spirit
Ken WilberKen Wilber takes us on a blistering guided tour through the evolution of the universe, describing how each of the “three faces of Spirit” has evolved from the Big Bang to this present moment.
A Brief History of Integral: The Story So Far
Ken WilberKen Wilber chronicles the emergence of integral consciousness and culture in recent decades. Ken describes this emergence as the latest in a historic series of transformations stretching all the way back to the birth of humanity, bringing humanity through several distinct stages of consciousness — namely archaic, magic, mythic, rational, pluralistic, and integral stages.
Integral Activism: Doing Nothing, Leaving Nothing Left Undone
Cindy Wigglesworth and Jeff SalzmanIn this special episode of The Daily Evolver, Jeff talks to Cindy Wigglesworth about activism from an Integral perspective, addressing some of the big questions currently resonating throughout the integral community. When is it time to reflect, and when is it time to act?
How Highly Conscious Leaders Are Engaging the Problem of Sustainability
Barrett Brown and Ken WilberBarrett Brown talks to Ken Wilber about the extraordinary overlap that exists between leadership, sustainability, and the highest reaches of adult development.
A Heart Blown Open: A Tale of Enlightenment, Debauchery, and Infinite Jest
Jun Po Kelly Roshi and Ken WilberIn this provocative and exhilarating dialogue, Jun Po Roshi and Ken Wilber take an in-depth look at Keith Martin-Smith's new book: A Heart Blown Open: The Life and Practice of Zen Master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi. For most of us, we would need to reincarnate at least 50 times in order to attain such an incredible volume of experience. But for whatever reason, it seems that Jun Po went a slightly different route, and chose to live all 50 of those lives at once. Here is his remarkable story—a riveting tale of enlightenment, debauchery, and infinite jest.
Strength to Awaken
Rob McNamara and Ken WilberThis discussion of strength training goes way beyond the conventionally-stated benefits of slimmer waist lines, well-toned arms, or being able to bench press your own body weight. Your physical health and vitality are absolutely fundamental for a happy and well-lived life—your body truly is a temple, and you want your temple to be as strong and solid as possible. But a more contemplative approach to strength training (such as the one developed by Rob) not only helps you rebuild your temple from the ground up, but can also have as much of an impact upon the interiors of your temple as it does upon the exteriors.
Integral Coaching: A Closer Look
Joanne Hunt, Laura Divine and Ken WilberIn this intimate conversation between Ken Wilber, Laura Divine, and Joanne Hunt, you will be exposed to some of the in-depth nuances of Integral Coaching Canada’s work. You will gain more intimate access to the Integral lenses that are illuminated, as well as how ICC’s coaches uniquely use them, through embodied “Looking At” and subtle “Looking As” capacities.
From Stardust to Supermind
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers a substantive and far-reaching Q&A with some of his students — some of the “best and most difficult questions” that he’d received in quite a long time.
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.”
Integral Christianity: Answering the Call to Evolve
Paul Smith and Ken WilberPaul Smith talks to Ken Wilber about his latest book, Integral Christianity: The Spirit’s Call to Evolve, laying the groundwork for a truly integral approach to Christianity that identifies, honors, and includes the very best of all previous interpretations of the Gospel, while clearing the space for radically new understandings, expressions, and experiences of Christianity to emerge.
Integral Cinema Studio: A Comprehensive Guide to the Cinematic Experience
Mark Allan Kaplan and Ken WilberGrab a snack, turn off your phone, and enjoy this groundbreaking exploration of the cinematic arts.
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.
Nature Mysticism: The Re-Enchantment of the World
Susanne Cook-Greuter and Ken WilberMany of us already know Susanne Cook-Greuter as one of the Integral movement’s most beloved scholars and authorities on mature adult development. But it’s not all developmental structures and tiers and fulcrums for Susanne, as she also has an exquisite, life-long appreciation and reverence for the world of Nature. In this dialogue, Susanne and Ken have some very interesting things to say about the role of Nature as a spiritual teacher, and as a source of mystical state experiences that can irrevocably transform us from the inside out.
Spiritual Intelligence: Measuring the Infinite
Cindy Wigglesworth and Ken WilberCindy Wigglesworth and Ken Wilber explore the history of human intelligence research, beginning with the well-known ideas of IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence), noting their impact on our personal relationships and careers.
The Spectrum of Political Thought
Ken WilberMore than ever, the world is in need of a new political vision — one that fully honors the brilliant multi-perspectival mechanics of modern democracy, allowing various forms of political thought to inform and influence our decision making, while avoiding the paralysis of ideological gridlock that has become the new norm for American governance.
Nature of Mind
Alex Grey and Ken WilberAlex Grey and Ken Wilber take us on an intimate, in-depth tour through the seven panels of Grey’s “Nature of Mind”, discussing both the inspiration and the execution of the piece as well as Alex’s background, his growth as an artist, and his distinctive style of portraying the gross, subtle, and causal anatomies that we all possess.
Taking the Long View: Immortality and the Technological Singularity
Ken WilberAnti-aging and longevity research reports, in addition to predicting lifespans beyond 200 years within just a few decades, also report no theoretical reasons preventing extensions into the thousands of years a few decades after that. What if you lived for another few hundred or thousand years? Would you bear witness to the end of disease, the coming of an integral age, the creation trans-human cyborgs, the end of poverty, the enlightenment of the planet — or maybe even flying cars…?
Dark Matter: A Soundtrack for Psychonauts
Corey deVosThis is a soundtrack for psychonauts, an adventure through shifting tones, textures, and soundscapes. Do not listen if you suffer from irrational fears of the future. Experiences of bliss, involuntary dancing, and spontaneous dropping of the bodymind are normal. If any of these symptoms persist, continue use and consult your metaphysician immediately.
Esoteric Jazz: Pat Martino in Dialogue
Pat Martino and Greg ThomasWe are very happy to present the following dialogue with a living legend of the jazz world: Pat Martino. Hosted by Greg Thomas, Pat shares some of the deepest depths of his inspiration, his vision, and his creative process, all of which has made him one of the most remarkable performers in the jazz scene.
Transformation Through Intimacy: Monogamy as a Path to Awakening
Robert Masters, Diane Bardwell Masters and Ken WilberRobert Augustus Masters and Diane Bardwell Masters speak with Ken Wilber about the next evolution of intimate relationships: monogamy as a spiritual path, a crucible for awakening, and a vessel for enlightenment in the 21st century.
Tipping Points and the Eye of Contemplation
Ken WilberKen Wilber explores the profound changes that occur when a newly-evolved set of visions, views, and values reaches a cultural tipping point and begin to saturate the rest of society. He then turns his attention to the question of how we come to know Spirit, and how that ‘knowing’ differs from other forms of knowledge.
The Principles of Integral Sustainable Design
Mark DeKay and Ken WilberMark DeKay talks to Ken Wilber about his new book Integral Sustainable Design, exploring the world of architecture and design through the lens of the Four Quadrants. Listen as Mark and Ken explore the deepest and most profound potentials of Integral design and architecture.
The Economics of Being Integral
Ken WilberThe economics of being integral is a good news and bad news situation. Even possessing an interest in this work seems to correlate with development that’s moving toward increasingly integral waves awareness, resulting in the capacity to see more, feel more, care more, and love more — a capacity for an awareness that is simply greater and more encompassing.
Albert Murray’s Lines of Cultural Development
Greg ThomasGreg Thomas explores the fascinating intersection between the work of Albert Murray and Integral Theory.
Fuel For Life: 10 Strategies for Nutritional Freedom
Shawn Phillips and Ken WilberShawn Phillips and Ken Wilber talk about one of the most important (and least discussed) components of integral living: food and nutrition. Listen as Shawn offers ten easy ways to increase your awareness of your relationship with food—which will dramatically increase your freedom to make healthier choices, thereby increasing your overall energy, vitality, and well-being in every aspect of your life.
Death, Rebirth, and Meditation
Ken WilberSome type of reincarnation doctrine is found in virtually every mystical religious tradition the world over. Even Christianity accepted it until around the fourth century CE, when, for largely political reasons, it was made anathema. Many Christian mystics today now accept the idea. As the Christian theologian John Hick pointed out in his important work Death and Eternal Life, the consensus of the world religions, including Christianity, is that some sort of reincarnation occurs.
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.
8 Simple Lifestyle Tips to Improve Your Health and Happiness
Roger Walsh and Ken WilberRoger and Ken discuss the eight most important things you can do to transform your daily lifestyle, all of which will make a tremendous and immediate difference in your life, your relationships, and your ongoing sense of well-being.
Animal Mysteries
Chris HuangChris Huang’s art celebrates animals in the wild. His paintings reveal these creatures not as mirrors of our own humanity, but as radiant Others, at home in their Kosmic habitats, mysterious living beings of Spirit who are to be encountered in reverential awe and wonder.
Atlas Evolved: The Life and Loves of Nathaniel Branden
Nathaniel Branden and Ken WilberNathaniel Branden, Ayn Rand’s former lover and the inspiration for her famous John Galt character, was at ground zero during the rise of the Objectivist movement. Listen as Nathaniel offers an intimate insider’s view of the origins, major contributions, and inevitable limitations of Rand’s philosophy and the intellectual movement it sparked. Masterfully hosted by Ken Wilber, this talk offers invaluable insight into Ayn Rand’s legacy, the human potential movement, romantic love, self-esteem, self-transcendence, and the art of conscious living.
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.
Bringing Perspective to Climate Change
Michael E. Zimmerman and Ken WilberThe problem of climate change is so big, so complex, and so politicized, it is almost impossible to know what to think about it, let alone what to do. Michael Zimmerman, co-author of Integral Ecology, helps cut through the partiality and propaganda that are so rampant on both sides of the argument, offering a more sober perspective on the current status of the climate change debate.
Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoying Your Own Deepest Experience
Sally Kempton and Ken WilberIn this extraordinary dialogue, Sally Kempton helps us to approach meditation from a position of abundance—as an expression of abundance—rather than from a position of lack, need, or obligation. If you are a long-time meditator, this dialogue will offer some key perspectives to help deepen and strengthen your practice. If you happen to be new to meditation, or have perhaps experienced a lapse in your daily practice, this dialogue will give you the jump-start you need to take the next crucial steps toward recognizing the radical freedom and eternal spaciousness that rests at the heart of everything you have ever known.
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!
Living an Ethical Life
Roger WalshHow do you live your life free of regret? How do you take the wisdom of the Integral vision and exercise it in your day to day life? How do you move beyond the blame and guilt that so often festers in the basement of your psyche? And why can it be so hard to simply be good? Roger discusses this and more in his presentation on Integral Ethics, delivered at the 2010 Integral Theory Conference.
Demons & Deities
Kelli BickmanKelli Bickman’s art is characterized by vivid shapes, dynamic patterning, minimal modeling, and luminous color, all of which generates a childlike style of directness and immediacy. This is an art that weaves together religious, natural, and popular imagery, written characters from various languages, archetypal figures, and diagrammatic signs into coherent communicative wholes. Diverse modes of symbolization are integrated into scintillating orders of revelatory meaning.
The Empty Flute: Translating the Ecstatic Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi
Coleman Barks and Stuart DavisColeman Barks and Stuart Davis explore the powerful cultural and spiritual legacy left by one of the world’s most famous and most beloved spiritual writers, as well as Coleman’s own creative process as he works with this fascinating material.
The Integralist’s Guide to Understanding Art
Ken WilberHow should we go about finding meaning in art? Should we ask the artist herself, or is everything we need to understand a piece of art already contained in the artwork itself? Does meaning exist only in the observer, thereby varying from viewer to viewer? Or is the meaning of art determined by the circumstances surrounding the artist? Listen as Ken Wilber describes each of these major schools of interpretation, how they originated, and how they all fit together into a more cohesive vision of art and aesthetics.
Bringing Legitimacy to UFO Research
Leslie Kean and Stuart DavisLeslie Kean talks with Stuart Davis about her book UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On the Record, the result of a ten-year investigation into one of the world’s most mysterious (and most marginalized) phenomena. Whether you “want to believe” or you want to roll your eyes at the mere mention of UFOs, we invite you to open your mind, open your heart, and allow yourself to sit in the radical, unknowable Mystery for just a little while. The universe is so much bigger and darker than we can ever imagine. Good thing we’ve got a flashlight.
The Shadow Vignettes: A Tale of Reintegration in Six Parts
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers what’s got to be one of his most hilarious teachings to date. His focus is on shadow, but this time he adopts a more practice-oriented perspective, offering examples of shadow at each of six levels of development—featuring conversations with a stripper, a monster, a man burning in eternal flame, a radiant being, an oil tanker, and Gaia. As for what these conversations entail, you’ll just have to experience them yourself….
Recollecting Divinity
Pamela Sukhum“I open myself to all experience as a path to remembering divinity. In my desire to share my experiences along this path, I paint that which I find difficult to express in words. May you find yourself feeling invited into experience.”
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.
Synchronicity: A Post-Metaphysical Interpretation
Corey deVos and Ken WilberSynchronicity (or “meaningful coincidences”) is a word that has become all to susceptible to new age gibberish and the pre/trans fallacy. But in this gem from the “Integral Post-Metaphysics” chapter of the Integral Spirituality: A Deeper Cut series, our own Corey deVos engages Ken Wilber in a lively and provocative discussion of synchronicity — demystifying much of the supernatural claptrap that so often surrounds this word, while reframing synchronicity as an entirely natural part of the evolutionary fabric.
Why God Needs Your Spiritual Intelligence
Ken WilberKen Wilber outlines two required steps for bringing religion and spirituality into greater accord. He’s guided by a vision of a fully functional and healthy religion—one which institutionalizes a care and concern for spiritual intelligence that grows in two directions: waking-up and growing-up.
Heavy Light
DE ES SchwertbergerDe Es’s art de-familiarizes our taken for granted sense of what it means to be human. Please take your time to allow these subtle and profound images to crack your soul wide open to the sheer mystery and extraordinary gifts of being here now, just as you are.
Spiritual Bypassing: When “Enlightenment” Becomes Escapism
Robert Masters and Ken WilberRobert Augustus Masters talks to Ken Wilber about some of the common traps of spiritual life that have become sadly common in many of today’s spiritual communities.
The Seeker’s Guide to Self-Deception
Ken WilberKen Wilber discusses the many kinds of self, the nature of identity and enlightenment, and the spectrum of deceit that keeps us from knowing who we really are.
Albert Murray Defines Art
Greg ThomasWhether or not Albert Murray’s thought and frameworks of analysis are Integral remains to be seen and decided by Integral readers and scholars; however, what’s indisputable is his deeply pluralistic and interdisciplinary approach to knowledge. A prime example, in which he elaborates definitions of art and aesthetic statement, follows.
Perls of Wisdom: Introflection, Retroflection, and Other Games People Play
Ken WilberKen Wilber offers insight into the high-level features of two major therapeutic approaches, the role that a defense called “retroflection” plays in the process of projection, and some of the ways in which we can objectify the role-based psychological games we play while interacting with each other.
Spirituality, Purpose, and Meaning in Higher Education
Alexander Astin, Helen Astin and Ken WilberAlexander and Helen Astin are the some of the most widely-quoted authorities in the field of higher education—as Ken alludes early in the dialogue, whenever these two talk it’s generally a good idea to pay attention. Listen as Ken, Alexander, and Helen discuss the complex role of spirituality among college students, the important differences between religion and spiritual life, and the effects religion, spirituality, and academics have upon our worldviews and political ideologies.
Living the Apostles’ Creed
David Steindl-Rast and Ken WilberBrother David Steindl-Rast offers a fascinating re-interpretation of the Apostles’ Creed. In his carefully thought-out, lovingly rendered, phrase-by-phrase translation of the Creed, Br. David liberates the hidden meaning of the text from the yoke of mythic symbolism, revealing the silent, timeless, esoteric core at the heart of the Christian tradition—the very same core that lies at the heart of this and every other moment.
Crossing Lines
Michael Bergt and Ken Wilber“I’ve always been fascinated with the figure beautifully rendered and by pattern and decoration. In my new work, I focus on these two interests: my figure studies are given a context within the designs found in erotic Japanese “Shunga” prints, Persian miniatures and the pattern traditions of Eastern Art: realism and pattern/Eastern and Western aesthetics.”
Avatar: The Many Levels of Pandora
Ken Wilber and David RiordanKen Wilber is the Olo’eyktan of the AQ’AL clan. He is the teller of many tales, all of which can be accessed at your local Tree of Souls. Here he offers a long-awaited review of James Cameron’s sci-fi blockbuster, Avatar! (Warning: spoilers…!)
Love and Evolution
Ken WilberIn order to uncover love’s future, we need to explore love’s past. So Ken Wilber looks all the way back to the Big Bang, retracing love’s role throughout the history of evolution. Rather than just a mere human emotion, love is cast as a central driving force in the Kosmos—the force of Eros itself, pushing all of us along our inevitable return to Spirit.
The Art of Tribal Leadership
Dave LoganIf you really want to fulfill your dreams, one of the best ways to improve your chances is to do a bit of work to understand and upgrade your culture. Author Dave Logan talks to Ken Wilber about the five levels of our professional tribes, offering a glimpse into the values and strategies of the world’s most effective leaders—and some of the ways you can become one of them.
She
Sheri Munce“My art is a true expression of the creativity that lives inside of me. This creativity is a gift, and I am honored to have been chosen for it. My hope is that my art identifies with the creativity that lives within you, and that it somehow inspires you to seek your creative self.”
Evolving Our Approach to Sexual Harassment
Diane Musho Hamilton and Ken WilberDiane Musho Hamilton talks with Ken Wilber about ways to evolve our moral and legislative approach to sexual harassment so we can better protect men and women alike from harm and abuse, but without presupposing women as perpetual victims without agency of their own.
It’s Time to Jump!
Jean HoustonJean Houston invites us all to take the next evolutionary jump into greater consciousness, greater complexity, and greater love.
Consciousness Explained Better
Allan Combs and Ken WilberAllan Combs, a pioneer of Integral thought and practice whose name may be familiar if you’ve ever heard of the “Wilber-Combs lattice”, speaks with Ken about a better way to explain the mystery of consciousness.
Divine Pride and the Integral Movement
Ken Wilber“Divine Pride” is a simple recognition of our holy heritage, and an acknowledgement of the tremendous responsibility that comes along with this recognition. This is not the braggadocio of a new age narcissist — it is a pride stripped of all arrogance, tempered by humility, and held with unwavering devotion to an intelligence infinitely greater than our own.
The Need for Men’s Liberation
Warren Farrell and Ken WilberDr. Warren Farrell talks with Ken Wilber about power, oppression, and the urgent need for men to begin redefining their roles for today’s world.
Full Enlightenment — Now What?
Ken WilberIn Zen Buddhism, the Ten Ox Herding Pictures is a series of short poems and images intended to illustrate the various stages of enlightenment. The very last image of the series is often called the “return to the marketplace,” as it represents the final stage of enlightened living when the individual returns society with open hands and an open heart, seeking to spread the clarity of ever-present consciousness with as much of the world as possible.
Why Be a Buddhist, When You Can Be the Buddha?
Lama Surya DasWhy be a Buddhist, when you can become the Buddha? With this simple question, Lama Surya Das cuts directly to the heart of the integral spiritual impulse, hinting at a secret that lies at the center of all the world’s spiritual traditions. An exemplary teacher of Dzogchen Buddhism, Lama Surya delivered this presentation with diamond-tipped clarity, precision, and wit, suggesting a few ways we can carry this realization for ourselves through our day-to-day lives while reminding us how simple it all really is: the most sublimely ordinary experience you will ever know.
The Extraordinary Commonplace
Bo Bartlett“An Artist romps around in the mystery like a child plays alone in his own backyard, imagining and making up his own rules and reality. An Artist romps around in the mystery like an animal roams the woods, curious and wide-eyed and alert. An Artist romps around in the mystery like an explorer traversing an unknown land, excited, careful and fully alive.”
The Power of Premonitions
Larry Dossey and Ken WilberMore than an examination of case studies, The Power of Premonitions reveals the world of science and research that proves the human capacity for knowing the future. Experiments consistently show that human beings are as wired to know what’s coming next as we are to see, feel, hear and think. Dossey uses cutting-edge science to prove the value of what had long been considered the provenance of mystic charlatans and to show readers how to cultivate their natural abilities.
Religulous: The Baby and the Bathwater
Ken WilberWhen we face religious fundamentalism with scientific fundamentalism and dismiss religion altogether, we are also dismissing history’s greatest source of liberation, compassion, and transcendence — the powerfully transformative practices and interpretations of spiritual reality that form the esoteric core of all the world’s religious traditions, East and West. Listen as Ken Wilber explores what Bill Maher (and the rest of the “New Atheist” crowd) are missing in this otherwise provocative and entertaining film.
Esoteric Christianity: Two Kinds of Religion
Father Thomas Keating, Rollie Stanich and Ken WilberFather Thomas Keating, Rollie Stanich, and Ken Wilber discuss the “inside” and the “outside” of the Christian tradition, exploring the rich contemplative legacy that exists at the core of the world’s largest religion.
The Integral Movement: Past, Present, and Future
Roger Walsh and Ken WilberRoger Walsh offers one of the finest overviews of the integral movement that we have ever seen — where we’re at, where we’ve been, and where we’re going. Now more than ever, the integral movement is poised to make a tremendous impact upon the world.
States, Stages, and the Three Kinds of Self
Ken WilberKen Wilber discusses the three kinds of self: the False Self (the broken or illusory self image), the Actual Self (the “authentic” or healthily-integrated self at any particular stage of development), and the Real Self (the timeless Self behind and beyond all manifestation).
The Dangers of “One Person, One Vote”
Ken WilberDemocracy is inherently a world-centric system of governance, and “one person, one vote” an ideal way to enact the democratic process. But if the majority of the voters have not themselves achieved a world-centric level of consciousness, it begins to fall apart pretty quickly.
Stairway to Heaven: Honoring Dr. James Fowler
Rollie Stanich and Ken WilberIntegral Institute paid a formal tribute to Dr. James W. Fowler’s extraordinary body of work, an incredibly moving 2-hour presentation of Dr. Fowler’s body of work led by Rollie Stanich, with additional commentary by Ken Wilber.
Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World
Sean Esbjörn-Hargens and Ken WilberSean Esbjorn-Hargens and Ken Wilber take an in-depth look at the book Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World (recently published by Integral Books) which identifies and situates over 200 different schools of ecology .
Beauty and Feminism
Vanessa Fisher and Ken WilberVanessa Fisher, a long-time student of Integral theory and contributor to the Fall 2008 edition of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, speaks with Ken about the tenuous relationship that often exists between feminist thinkers and modern conceptions of beauty.
Exploring the Architecture of Happiness
Alain de Botton and Stuart DavisAlain de Botton and Stuart Davis discuss the many ways architecture affects our moods, minds, and identities, shaping our experiences and bending our will according to the patterns of society. Together they help us recognize all the ways we are influenced by our surroundings, allowing us to deepen our relationship with history and more consciously engage our environment in the present moment.
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.
Lucid Dreaming and the Causal Body
Ken WilberHere a seminar participant describes a recent state experience he had, in which he was suspended in the empty, limitless release of the [glossary_parse]causal body[/glossary_parse], and watched his own thoughts and intentions crystallize right before his eyes. The tone of the experience was somewhat similar to lucid dreaming, during which we can actually witness ourselves manifesting our dreamscape in the moment, so he asks Ken whether there is any relationship between these sorts of experiences as they manifest in the causal body and in the subtle body.
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.
Video Games and the Future of Interactive Entertainment
Ken WilberKen Wilber and Moses Silbiger discuss the artistic, educational, and transformational potential within the medium of video games, and how they can act as “trojan horses” of human development.
Integral Zen
Diane Musho Hamilton and Ken WilberDiane and Ken discuss the ways the Integral vision has helped enliven and enrich Zen practice by taking a multi-perspectival approach to spirituality, culminating in the “1-2-3 of Spirit” and the “3-2-1” shadow process. They then explore the potential dark side of evolutionary spirituality — most notably the threat of “spiritual fascism” — as well as the dangerous collapse of hierarchical thinking and the rampant anti-intellectualism that can be found in today’s modern and postmodern spiritual practices.
Exploring Stages of Sexuality Through Buddhism
David DeidaDavid Deida explains how the three major schools of Buddhist thought reflect the stages of psycho-sexual maturity, and how these stages play themselves out in our spiritual practices and in our relationships.
Integral Christianity: Panentheism, Gratitude, and the Three Faces of God
David Steindl-Rast and Ken WilberIn this lively discussion, Br. David Steindl-Rast and Ken Wilber suggest an exciting new path for the Christian tradition, discussing the concepts of panentheism (as contrasted with pantheism), the “Three Faces of God”, and the miracle of gratitude.
Integral Trans-Partisan Politics
Ken WilberWe do not live in two Americas, but in a single America composed of at least four or five different sets of values, all crammed together into a two-party political system that is becoming increasingly incapable of representing these wildly different perspectives. Many are beginning to recognize this systemic inadequacy and are searching for a genuinely integrative “Third Way” politics.
In the Zone: The Hidden Religion of Sports
David Meggyesy and Ken WilberFormer NFL linebacker David Meggyesy talks to Ken Wilber about the extraordinary overlap that exists between sports and spirituality — and how professional athletes may be more familiar with experiences of spiritual transcendence than any of us might assume.
America as Empire: Politics in the 21st Century
Jim Garrison and Ken WilberKen Wilber and chairman and president of the State of the World Forum Jim Garrison discuss the increasingly dangerous crises happening around the globe, America’s transition from republic to empire, and the capacity for Integral consciousness to face the precarious challenges of the 21st century head-on.
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.
The Fundamentals of Integral Buddhism
Patrick SweeneyIn this extraordinary 10-part series, Patrick Sweeney offers a comprehensive introduction to Integral Buddhism–sometimes called the “fourth turning” of Buddhism. Here you will learn the story of the Buddha, the basic fundamentals of Buddhism, the essentials of meditation and tonglen practices, and some basic tips to help remind you of your already-enlightened nature.
Morphic Fields, Memory, and the Creative Advance
Rupert Sheldrake and Ken WilberThe man behind the theory of morphic resonance shares his impulse to explore the evolutionary impulse behind the Kosmos itself. From physics, to chemistry, to biology, to psychology, to spirituality and more, these two pioneers share their understanding of how Spirit is manifesting moment-to-moment in and through the leading edge of consciousness awareness.
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….
Indigenous Cultures in the Modern World
Tim Black and Ken WilberA published author in the areas of trauma, group counseling, and applied Integral theory in counseling ethics engages Ken Wilber on why it’s so difficult to find Integrally-minded individuals in the indigenous peoples of his native British Colombia—an issue experienced globally, but expressed here as deep interest and care for those living in a modern Canada.
The Integral Transpartisan Imperative
James Turner and Ken WilberJames Turner, a founding pioneer in Integral forms of law, politics, and federal regulation, talks with Ken about his days with Ralph Nader, 18th-century American political history, the essential ingredients of an Integral approach to politics, and the true meaning of “trans-partisanism”.
The Integral Vision: Origins and Applications
Ken WilberGaspar Segafredo, the Editor-in-Chief of Argentinean cultural magazine Myriades 1, interviews Ken Wilber on the origins of the Integral approach, how it applies to important real life issues, the dangers of post-modernity, and the mechanics of growth and development.
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.
Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment
Deepak Chopra and Ken WilberOne of the most popular and successful authorities on how to make the wisdom of the world’s great spiritual traditions accessible, easy, and fun, shares his motivation for writing a fictionalized account of the life and awakening of Gautama Buddha.
The Key to Integral Sustainability
Ken WilberIntegral philosopher Ken Wilber discusses some of the obstacles the world faces in bringing any sort of real change to our current ecological crisis.
The Secret to Transformation
Mike Murphy and Ken WilberMike Murphy, the co-founder of Esalen Institute (America’s pioneering center of transformation) shares his leading-edge thoughts on growth, transformation, and the fascinating life of Sri Aurobindo, a pioneer of Integral consciousness. Mike and Ken then go on to discuss personal transformation, the possibility of reincarnation, and the necessity of an integral approach to fully explore both.
Telling the Story of Development
Susanne Cook-Greuter and Ken WilberSusanne Cook-Greuter, one of the most important developmental psychologists working today, shares her path from a working-class family in Switzerland to academic excellence and innovation at Harvard University, exploring the higher stages of consciousness available to us all. She then shares her thoughts on the current state of academia and the culture at large, and why it‘s so important to encourage flourishing at every stage of development alongside the invitation to keep growing.
Integral Education Reform
Ken WilberTo begin the dialogue on how to create healthy, wise human beings capable of development, we need a map of that child’s potential. The AQAL model is just such a map. It is a comprehensive index of all the things that can go well or poorly in child development. Yet many challenges lie ahead. In this video, Ken Wilber, discusses those challenges. If you work in the field of education, or are merely interested in it, Ken can help you understand what you’re up against.
How to Communicate Integral Sustainability
Barrett BrownOur environmental crisis is clearly an urgent global concern, and demands immediate response from every one of us — and yet it requires a fairly sophisticated consciousness to even perceive the problem, let alone care enough to do something about it. How can we translate a genuine vision of Integral Sustainability to all the different levels of development, meeting people exactly where they are and framing the problems (and possible solutions) in a way they can actually respond to?
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The 10 Original Practices for Enlightened Living
Lama Surya Das and Ken WilberIf you had the opportunity to become a bodhisattva right now, would you take it? Lama Surya Das invites us to learn how to be a bodhisattva, exploring ten of the most important practices of enlightened living, held always in an integral embrace.
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.
Integral Mahamudra: The Mandala of Awakening
Patrick SweeneyPatrick Sweeney, the holder of the Karma Kagyü lineage, offers a powerful mahamudra teaching. The term mahamudra literally means “great seal” or “great symbol”, a body of teaching that represents the culmination and fulfillment of all the practices of the new schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Mudra refers to the fact that each phenomenon appears vividly, and maha refers to the fact that it is beyond concept, imagination, and projection.
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.
A Course in Miracles and an Introduction to Integral Spirituality
Marianne Williamson and Bert ParleeThe author of A Return to Love and Everyday Grace shares her experience with a modern expression of timeless spiritual truths — A Course in Miracles — as an Integral Spirituality weaves the pattern that connects.
Introduction to Ego Development
Susanne Cook-GreuterSusanne Cook-Greuter is an internationally recognized researcher in mature ego development and self-actualization. You may have noticed her name alongside Robert Kegan’s, Clare Graves’, and Jane Loevinger’s in Ken’s book, Integral Spirituality. Her sentence completion tests are sophisticated enough to tease out the subtle differences between Teal, Turquoise, Indigo, and Violet altitudes of development.
The History of Voice Dialogue
Hal Stone, Sidra Stone and Bert ParleeThe pioneers of Voice Dialogue (a major component of Genpo Roshi’s Big Mind Process) discuss aging, relationships, and their very first experimental sessions together.
Nonviolence, Genocide, and the Quest for a U.S. Department of Peace
Marianne Williamson and Bert ParleeAcclaimed author, lecturer, and Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson discusses the Spirit of passive resistance.
The Direct Approach
Adyashanti and Bert ParleeA modern mystic known for spontaneous and direct nondual teachings shares the sudden insight that changed his life forever, and his evolving understanding of the student-teacher relationship—both as a student, and a teacher.
To the Best of Our Knowledge: Science, Spirituality, and the Future of Technology
Ken WilberIn his first interview for NPR in over 20 years, Ken Wilber offers one of the finest, most sweeping introductions to his work he has ever recorded, presenting a profound new way to integrate science, spirituality, and technology — along with every other facet of the single ever-expanding gem of human knowledge.
The End of Faith
Sam Harris and Stuart DavisMythic-literal fundamentalist religion is quite possibly the single most destabilizing force on the face of the planet. Not only is each religion at war with the other religions, but they are also at war with the modern world as we know it. Listen as Sam Harris and Stuart Davis explore the many challenges faced by religion in the 21st century.
The Three Faces of Spirit
Diane Musho HamiltonIn this practice we contemplate, think, and know about Spirit in the 3rd-person; we relate, dwell, and commune with Spirit in a 2nd-person relationship, and we meditate, feel and know ourselves as Spirit in a 1st-person apprehension of our source and substance.
Integral Ethics: How to Practice an Integral Life
Roger Walsh and Ken WilberRoger Walsh and Ken Wilber discuss one of the most important — and least discussed — aspects of integral practice: how to live an ethical life.
Does Quantum Physics Prove God?
Ken Wilber and Corey deVosThis conversation sheds clarity on a very confused notion in the area of spirituality today—namely, the “tao of physics” and all its variations, as exemplified by the recent film What the Bleep. So what relationship, if any, does God actually have with quantum physics?
State of Fear — Science, Ethics, and the Impossibility of Prediction
Michael Crichton and Ken WilberMichael and Ken discuss some of the rather extreme reactions to State of Fear, ranging from venomous outrage and smear campaigns to hearty applause and an invitation to the White House. In fact, Michael is a self-described “political agnostic,” and simply advocates that policy drafted by any party be based on the evidence of today, not the speculation of tomorrow. As he points out, there is a profound moral and ethical dimension to how science informs our national and international agendas: “If it [the environment] is not a genuine problem… and we go and spend a kazillion dollars on that instead of feeding hungry people, then we have done a terrible, terrible, terrible thing.”
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?
Gratefulness as Great Fullness
David Steindl-Rast and Ken WilberBr. David Steindl-Rast and Ken Wilber discuss the many ways that we can recognize and express the radical abundance in our lives.
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….
Evolutionary Panentheism: A Godview for Today’s World
David Steindl-Rast and Ken WilberBrother David Steindl-Rast, the author of Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer and a practicing Benedictine monk for over half a century, discusses why a new understanding of God is needed to carry spirituality into the future.
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 Evolving Self
Robert Kegan and Ken WilberDr. Robert Kegan, the author of The Evolving Self and In Over Our Heads, explores the vital role of interior development in creating a more inclusive and integrated world, as well as the importance of the appropriate use of discriminating awareness.
The Higher Reaches of Success
Tony Robbins and Ken WilberTony Robbins discusses his model of human needs and motivations, and his intervention strategy for change. From emotions to relationships to finances to physical health, Tony covers the bases. His model allows him to spot a person’s leverage points, identify their barriers to change, and redefine their challenges in a way that allows for the most effective action.
Integral Sex and Gender Studies: Beyond the Blame Game
Warren Farrell and Ken WilberIt is always important to recognize genuine cases of abuse and discrimination. But it sometimes seems like modern feminism simply claims the status of victimhood, wholly dismissing the masculine perspective. Both perspectives must be honored and accepted as having an essential role to play in furthering understanding within and between genders. Listen as Warren Farrell and Ken Wilber discuss a more integrated approach to sex and gender.
A World in Crisis: Practicing For Peace
Deepak Chopra and Ken WilberAIDS, global warming, terrorism—how do we respond in an Integral way? Few issues are as crucial as those discussed in this conversation. And almost nothing is more important than meeting the world’s problems with truly integral consciousness and action. In a world gone slightly mad, how do we begin to cultivate sanity and peace? One of the world’s most successful spiritual teachers offers his own answers….
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?
Centering Prayer: Origins, Practice, and Contributions to an Integral Spirituality
Father Thomas Keating and Ken WilberFather Thomas Keating and Ken Wilber discuss the scriptural and historical roots of contemplation within the Christian tradition. They also talk about the history of Fr. Keating’s spiritual path, and how while he was abbot of St Joseph’s he invited Eastern meditation teachers to instruct Christian monks in meditation.
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.
10-Minute Practices to Reconnect with Spirit
Roger WalshA quick and easy way to recontact the sacred dimensions of this and every moment.
Centering Prayer: Its History and Importance
Father Thomas Keating and Ken WilberDistilled from the profound teachings of the Christian contemplative heritage, Centering Prayer has aimed to bring a living spirituality into an age where God is typically reduced to the New-Age vicissitudes of emotionality, if not simply pronounced dead. Listen as Fr. Thomas Keating and Ken Wilber discuss the remarkable history and importance of Centering Prayer.
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.
Smoke
Stuart Davis and Ed KowalczykStuart Davis and Ed Kowalczyk offer a stunning performance of Stuart’s “Smoke” — a song Stuart originally wrote with Ed in mind.
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….
The Supermind
Mike Murphy and Ken WilberIn this fast-paced and demanding dialogue, Mike and Ken discuss the nature of the “supermind”: its meanings, why it has not appeared previously in history on any sort of widespread scale, and why glimmers of its emergence are starting to happen now, today. This dialogue is warm, witty, loving, and vibrant. It is not, however, for the intellectually faint of heart.
Selling Water By the River
Caroline Myss and Ken WilberCaroline Myss, one of the best known (and highly researched) medical intuitives, presents a fast, wild, rich, and rollicking narrative of her personal struggles with spiritual intuition and the dramatic growth and unfolding that often resulted.
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.
A Personal Journey to the Ever-Present
Lama Surya Das and Ken WilberIn this lively conversation Lama Surya Das recounts his own personal story on the spiritual path, from seeking to realizing, with all the trials and tribulations inherent in a journey without a goal.
Sexual Kinks in Consciousness
David Deida and Ken WilberIn this two-part series David Deida gives one of the finest summaries of his work ever recorded, offering a provocative and insightful exploration of the intersection between sex and spirituality.
A Natural History of Supernormal Powers
Mike Murphy and Ken WilberMike Murphy is the leading integral theorist of his generation; Ken Wilber is the leading integral theorist of his. Their conversations are unlike anything you will hear anywhere else. These dialogues are warm, witty, loving, and vibrant. They are not, however, for the intellectually faint of heart.