2025 wasn’t just chaotic. It was disruptive, disorienting, and occasionally disturbing.
This isn’t a recap for the sake of nostalgia. It’s a guided orientation through some of the most important conversations Integral Life hosted this year—on leadership, meaning-making, the metacrisis, spiritual intelligence, and what kind of humans this moment is calling forth.
For members, this is a reminder of the depth and coherence of the work we’re doing together.
For non-members, it’s a glimpse of what it feels like to be inside a community dedicated to making sense of complexity — together. A community you are invited to join, if these insights speak to you.
Become a supporting member of Integral Life to access all of these incredible discussions, as well as our full archive of practices and perspectives to help you make this next year the very best year of your life.
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Nick 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.
The Cycles of Time: Mapping Evolution at the Edge of History
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Renowned psychiatrist Roger Walsh expands Maslow’s hierarchy to reveal five “meta-motives” culminating in a profound paradox: the deepest fulfillment requires transcending all motivation and allowing the universe to act through us. He then proposes “Bodhisattva 2.0″—seven upgrades to ancient spiritual ideals—arguing that our global crises reflect collective psychological immaturity requiring integration of contemplative wisdom with modern life.
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The Future Human: Why Spiritual Intelligence Matters
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Cindy Wigglesworth presents spiritual intelligence (SQ) as a vital developmental line alongside physical, cognitive, and emotional intelligence, defining it as the ability to act with wisdom and compassion while maintaining inner and outer peace. Drawing on research, practical frameworks, and her SQ21 model of 21 skills, she shows how cultivating SQ transforms spirituality from abstract potential into concrete behaviors that foster wise leadership, compassionate presence, and greater collective resilience in the face of global crises.
The Turquoise Dialectic: Expand Your Cosmology Through Integral Dialogue
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Tantra Is Not What You Think (And Way Better Than You Imagined)
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The Shadow of Trump
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Andrew Holecek presents dark retreat—extended periods in complete sensory deprivation—as a transformative meditation practice that accesses deeper levels of consciousness typically obscured by our light-obsessed, distraction-heavy culture. He argues that conventional “waking” awareness is actually humanity’s most contracted state, while nocturnal practices like lucid dreaming and sleep yoga offer profound opportunities for shadow work, creativity, and spiritual development.
The Deathless Self
Kabir Kadre and Kimberley Lafferty
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About Corey deVos
Corey W. deVos is editor and producer of Integral Life. He has worked for Integral Institute/Integal Life since Spring of 2003, and has been a student of integral theory and practice since 1996. Corey is also a professional woodworker, and many of his artworks can be found in his VisionLogix art gallery.