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

What is Integral Practice?

03.26.2011 By
integral practice collage 150px

Practices have accompanied humans from our first steps up from Eden to the present. A practice entails some form of disciplined action, repeated custom, or regular exercise performed with intention. Spurred by the irresistible desire to improve oneself and the world, each generation of human beings have invented new practices for growth. Thanks to the globalization of knowledge, a person can access the world’s entire collection of growth techniques—across cultures and through time. The diversity of transformative practices is truly astounding, from the complex to the simple, the mainstream to the obscure, the scientific to the artistic, the traditional to the outrageous. All of these are available to us right now. An Integral understanding of practice honors all forms of health. On the one hand, an Integral view is an evolutionary perspective, one that implicitly values practices that transform capacity and spurs humans to progressively more complex stages of development. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Integral Movement, Integral Practice, Integral Theory and Methodology Tagged With: , , ,

Evolution of Civilization

11.01.2010 By
futuristic city metropolis

The American archeologist Howard Winters defined civilization as “the process in which one gradually increases the number of people included in the term ‘we’ or ‘us’ and at the same time decreases those labeled ‘you’ or ‘them’ until that category has no one left in it.” Civilization today includes a rainbow of perspectives along this spectrum.  Each step along civilization’s spiraling evolution involves deeper and wider perspectives – from egocentric (“I matter”) to ethnocentric (“My group matters”) to worldcentric (“All humans matter”). To glimpse the civilization of tomorrow, one need not look further than the most comprehensive and inclusive perspectives of today.  The integral frameworks created by worldcentric pioneers foreshadow a new civilization that works for everyone, where all perspectives—though far from equal—have a right to exist. Integral mapmakers aim to find a place for the horizontal and vertical diversity that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture and Society, Development, Integral Practice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Choosing Practices

11.01.2010 By
integral practice collage 150px

When you’re choosing developmental (transformative) practices, remember: more is not necessarily better. The point is not to add practices upon practices until you get sick of practicing. Having too many practices can actually be counterproductive. When starting a meditation practice, for example, it’s far superior to commit to five minutes a day—and to actually follow through—than to commit to sixty minutes a day and skip it entirely. Scheduling short, manageable blocks of time is more effective that over committing and giving up in frustration when you miss your goals. One simple strategy suggests that you focus on your highest developmental lines (to leverage your strengths) and your lowest developmental lines (to alleviate your most limiting weaknesses). By giving special attention to the one or two lines where you most excel, and expanding your greatest potentials, you can more fully offer the world your deepest gifts. Directing practice energy to your weakest lines may … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Integral Practice

Full Spectrum Human Development

11.01.2010 By
integral-practice-collage-150px

"Practices" have accompanied humans from our first steps up from Eden to now. A practice entails some form of disciplined action, custom, or regular exercise performed with intention. Spurred by the irresistible desire to improve oneself and the world, human beings has never ceased to invent practices for growth. Two special circumstances coexist to allow this historical period to birth a new breed of practice. First, thanks to the globalization of knowledge, a person can access the world’s entire collection of growth techniques—across cultures and through time. The diversity of transformative practices is truly astounding, from the complex to the simple, the mainstream to the obscure, the scientific to the artistic, the traditional to the outrageous. All of these are available to us right now. Second, a comprehensive vision of reality—an Integral vision—is taking form through the efforts of pioneers around the world. Integral mapmakers chart the many dimensions and waves … [Read more...]

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On the Use of the Term Integral

08.08.2010 By
use of integral thumb

The dictionary definition of "integral" is: possessing everything essential; indispensable; required; essential or necessary for completeness of the whole; entire; constituent." And that's exactly what we mean by integral. Integral perspectives (including those found on this site) are more comprehensive and more complete than conventional perspectives. Does that simply mean integral thinkers are smart or especially knowledgeable about their field? No, that is not what we mean by integral. While the dictionary definition is adequate, there is an additional meaning of the word integral. Many of our readers (although not all) know that all of the integral thinkers featured on this site have one thing in common. And no, that one thing is not that they are smart or knowledgeable about their field although most would agree they are.... the important thing they have in common is that they are scholar-practitioners of the field of "integral theory and methodology." So in this case, the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Integral Movement, Integral Practice, Integral Theory and Methodology Tagged With: , ,