My Philosophy of Life Begins with “Awake-ness”

11.05.2012 By
awakened-human

What's my philosophy of life? Being awake, alive, and aware. This is a tricky topic to talk about in our contemporary world because the way we use language around philosophy, spirituality, and belief systems has become so confusing. Nevertheless, it is a good jumping off point for a conversation about some awfully important matters. Today I want to talk about awake-ness. For starters, the dictionary definition of "awake" implies a rousing from sleep which stirs us into action and cognizance. As a philosophy of life, it's clear I'm saying something more than that I get out of bed in the morning. I'm saying that all my life I have blessed or cursed with a desire to know things and to live according to what is true. As a precocious child raised Roman Catholic, I thought that life is a great school, God is the teacher, and we are all pupils who will be graded on how well we performed on life's test after we die. Not every philosophy of life values the intellect, and there are even … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Integral Practice, Integral Theory and Methodology, Spirituality

Integral Should Be More Like Apple

11.29.2011 By
Integral should be more like Apple

Integralists that have been following the blogosphere are noticing a growing current of conversations on the theme, or question, of "Why isn't Integral more popular?"  There are many variations on the theme, including "Why isn't Integral more relevant?" and "What does Integral need to do to make more of a difference in the world?" Many of my friends and colleagues have weighed in on this important question in recent weeks. Jason Digges just published a thoughtful, nuanced article on this very question in Beams and Struts. He suggests, "In short we need to take personal responsibility for formulating integral philosophy in a way that exemplifies simplicity beyond complexity." I couldn't agree more. In fact, simplicity beyond complexity is a theme I wrote about in my recently published online Integral Leadership Manifesto. Robb Smith has suggested some possible reasons why Integral isn't more popular in the Facebook discussion group Integral Institute Global Design. Not entirely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Integral Movement, Integral Theory and Methodology, Leadership, Technology Tagged With: , , , , ,

New and Improved Worldview Lenses

11.25.2011 By
InaccuView thumb 150

  Worldviews can be thought of as lenses through which we perceive and interpret our subjective experience. This "worldview contact lens" advertisement spoof highlights how worldviews color our interpretation of reality. For readers less familiar with the concept of worldviews... a handy worldview primer is offered below that correlates them with the style of leadership each prefers. This is a central aspect of Integral Leadership. These crucial lenses are a primary way human beings filter subjective experience (of objective reality) and interpret those experiences in terms of: how things appear to be; how things should be; what's right and wrong with how things are, and what, if anything, should be done about it. Clearly then, this is of paramount importance if we are interested in understanding how people make sense of the world we share, and especially as leaders, how we can better understand what people care about, their priorities, their motivations, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Culture and Society, Featured, Leadership, Psychology, Worldviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why Does Democracy and Freedom in Egypt Leave Out Women?

03.08.2011 By
women-egypt-530

Here we have a very clear situation where an integral understanding brings clarity into an otherwise utterly puzzling situation. The question we are solving for is this: Why Does Democracy and Freedom in Egypt Leave Out Women? As the world witnessed, throughout the protests in February, women were at the forefront. Their courage and sacrifice of the Egyptian women was equal to the Egyptian men. Yet, during the protests they not emphasize gender rights in a country where women have faced rampant discrimination and received little legal protection against widespread violence and sexual abuse. Egyptian women were careful not to display any intention of wanting to advance one groups rights over those of another. Why? "We did not speak of our gender rights during these protests because it was not the right time. We spoke for the political and social rights of all Egyptians. If we were to campaign for our rights as women in parallel with the revolutions national goal, that would … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Current Events, Featured, Worldviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,