This talk invites a courageous inward turn: to recognize the subtle mechanisms by which we divide the world into “us” and “them,” and to reclaim the sacred agency that can see through those divisions—without needing to dissolve difference.

By weaving together adult development theory, identity psychology, and real-life reflection, David Arrell and Keith will explore what it means to become someone who can hold more complexity without collapsing into reactivity.

We’ll track how identity forms in relationship with culture, and how our developmental journey asks us to grow from being shaped by our cultural worldview to seeing it as a part of us—no longer the whole of us. Rather than labeling this as a problem “out there” in others, we’ll explore how each of us can gently uncover the places in ourselves where difference feels threatening, where righteousness takes hold, or where we subtly dehumanize those we disagree with.

Through this lens, the movement “beyond us and them” is not just social evolution—it is soul work. The path to sacred individualism invites us to see every person, including ourselves, as embedded, biased, and projecting… and still capable of deep presence, responsibility, and love.

About Integral Edge

Welcome to a world on the edge.

AI is rewriting the rules. Politics are more polarized than ever, with the far right and left in an endless clash. The metacrisis looms, late-stage capitalism is unraveling, DEI is evolving, and strongmen are rising once more.

But that’s just the beginning.

This podcast takes an integral look at the forces shaping our reality—from cutting-edge neuroscience and biohacking to cryptocurrency, global economics, and the ancient wisdom of awakening, mindfulness, and embodiment.

Keith Martin-Smith brings a deep, multi-perspective lens to the chaos, cutting through the noise to find what actually matters.

This isn’t just another commentary on the world. It’s a guide to seeing—and living—beyond the divide.