Occupy Integral Interview (Part 2)

03.11.2012 By
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"Occupy Integral!" was originally published in the online magazine Beams & Struts by my friends Terry Patten and Marco Morelli.  In Part 1 of the interview I asked them to describe what’s really happening to our world from an integral perspective.  Here in Part 2 of the interview, I ask them to elaborate on how the Integral Movement might have a greater impact for positive change during this time of significant transformation. Brett: Historically, the "integral movement" has been largely characterized by people interested in spiritual/philosophical/psychological theories, maps and models, along with a large focus on personal development. Your blog at IntegralRevolution.com suggests that integralists might play a significant role in the changes we are seeing on the planet. What mental or attitudinal shift, or what realization do you think integralists need to make in order to move from "watching from the sidelines" to getting "out onto the field" and into the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Culture and Society, Current Events, Integral Movement, Leadership, Worldviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Occupy Integral (Interview)

03.11.2012 By
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In this two-part interview, Brett Thomas asks the authors of Occupy Integral to explain what’s really happening to our world from an integral perspective and how the Integral Movement can have a greater impact for positive change. [Occupy Integral! was originally published in the online magazine Beams & Struts by Terry Patten and Marco Morelli.] In Occupy Integral! Terry and Marco write : We post this manifesto in what feels like a moment of calm before the storm... it seems to be the quiescence or exhaustion following a complicated year. From revolutions in the Middle East to the Occupy protests in the US and globally, there is an upheaval brewing . . . and spilling over. We are four years into the global economic crisis, yet the fundamental issues relating to sustainability, debt, inequality, and so on have not been truly addressed, let alone resolved. Our political systems are in stalemate. Environmental signals are growing more distressing. Not only melting ice … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Culture and Society, Current Events, Integral Movement, Integral Theory and Methodology, Leadership, Worldviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Modern Sports and Premodern Worldviews

01.15.2012 By
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Christ! Where was God when Tim Tebow and the Broncos lost so badly? Did Jesus take the night off or has he forsaken poor devoted Tebow! USA Today asks, "When Tebow loses, does God too?"  I'm so confused! For some, the answer to this question lies in the now-famous Saturday Night Live Skit featuring Tim Tebow and Jesus Christ.  If you haven't seen it, it is highly recommended. Perhaps my favorite is this recent national poll of over 1,000 registered U.S. voters that reveals that 43 percent of people polled think Tim Tebow’s success is due to divine intervention… including 54 percent of Republicans. We have written extensively here at Integral Thinkers, and in other publications, about the power of worldviews. There are four primary worldviews in the developed world: Modern, Postmodern, Traditional and Imperial. Tim Tebow's biblical worldview seems at odds with modern sports in a postmodern media environment. Why is it so fascinating?  The answer to that question is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture and Society, Current Events, Religion, Worldviews

New and Improved Worldview Lenses

11.25.2011 By
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  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: , , , , ,

Integral Reflection on Occupy Wall Street Protests

10.22.2011 By
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As I sit typing on my iPhone from my seventh floor apartment overlooking the Amstel river, embedded in one of the most sustainable and beautiful cities in the world, with the sun gently caressing my face and a full tummy from my delicious gourmet musleix, the souls of 3,000 people are readying themselves to be released from their bodies today due to malaria ravaging their body, two billion people will scramble to earn their average one to two dollars in earnings today, another long-term unemployed person will just turn over in bed using sleep as an escape from their brutal reality, a trillion dollars in US student debt will remind its owners of its presence, and many millions of people will physically or emotionally suffer from the reactions of a contracted, under-resourced individual in their lives who is struggling just to live a dignified life. How do I respond? I see the foundations of our economic and political systems crumbling. The faint signals that portend significant … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture and Society, Current Events, Home, Worldviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Reaction to Gay Marriage = Litmus Test for Worldview

06.25.2011 By
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In what Mayor Michael Bloomberg called "a historic triumph for equality and freedom," New York joined the growing number of states that have legalized gay marriage, including: Massachusetts (2004), Connecticut (2008), Iowa (2009), Vermont (2009), New Hampshire (2010), and Washington, D.C. (2010). Modern, postmodern and integral thinkers nationwide celebrate New York's decision to take its place on the "right side of history." Traditional thinkers obviously don't agree with this view—which I will elaborate on below. Bloomberg also offered support to the Republicans who voted for the measure, stating that he believetheir actions were consistent with GOP ideals of liberty and freedom, "The Republicans who stood up today for those principles I think will long be remembered for their courage, foresight and wisdom" He added, "Ten, 20, 30 years from now, I believe they will look back on this vote as one of the finest and most proud moments in their life." Indeed. The Human … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Culture and Society, Current Events, Home, Integral Theory and Methodology, Leadership, Morality, Politics, Psychology, Religion, Worldviews

The End of the World May 21, 2011

05.11.2011 By
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Judgment Day is May 21, 2011.  This is the day that Jesus will claim his true believers and everyone else will be cast into hell. Don't believe me? Well the Bible guarantees it. Quite a few news stories have shown up in several news outlets over the past week about, as the Associated Press says, "a movement of Christians loosely organized by radio broadcasts and websites, independent of churches and convinced by their reading of the Bible that the end of the world will begin May 21, 2011." End of Days in May (MSNBC) Apocalypse Soon: Christian Movement Says 5/21/11 (CBS News) Hundreds of Google News articles on End of World in May 2011 (Google News) I love the NPR.com article by Barbara Hagerty "Is The End Nigh? We'll Know Soon Enough." She interviews several true believers and reports on the mega-million-dollar Family Radio network, one of the many "news" outlets we have to thank for providing us such valuable interpretations of the 2,000-year-old text. "People need to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture and Society, Current Events, Religion, Worldviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Heaven and Earth

04.20.2011 By
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Oscar Wilde wrote, “In the wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures.” It’s a common aspect of the human journey, inside and outside of religion, that we seek things that endure. Within religion, the afterlife is often seen as the enduring hope. Grand Rapids pastor Rob Bell has caused a stir with his new book Love Wins. He begins the book by hinting that there is no hell and goes on to outline a Christian universalist perspective that everyone is saved by the sacrifice of Jesus and ends up in heaven, no matter what it turns out that heaven is. Of course it’s not a new theory, but it’s significant that a prominent evangelical pastor has gone on record and landed the lead story in this week’s Time magazine. Even though I came to this perspective many years ago, and have now gone much further than universalism, I am encouraged by the development. Kudos to Rob for helping to expose large numbers of people to a more expansive belief about God and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Religion, Spirituality, Worldviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Communicating Sustainability to Different Worldviews

04.04.2011 By
communicating-sustainability

Why care for the environment? Ask this question of people from around the world and myriad responses will return. You might hear "Do it...." For your children For the technical challenge of achieving sustainability Because the Glorious Qur’an states that this is man’s obligation To save Gaia Because it is the ancestral way For the opportunity to make money To preserve the beauty of Nature So I don’t get cancer from pollutants Because it is honorable and is our responsibility to be stewards To stop the greedy industrialists by any means necessary Because pollution is a sin against Creation To sacredly express love for all of existence. What is your answer? Do any of these responses feel true to you and appeal to your deepest sensibilities? Which responses, if any, fail to strike a chord or feel uncomfortable to you? How and where does that discomfort show up in your body? Place your attention in those areas of your body and feel into how you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ecology, Integral Theory and Methodology, Leadership, Psychology, Sustainability, Worldviews

Go Wash Clothes, This is Against Islam!

03.08.2011 By
Egyptian woman protestor

A group of Egyptian men yelled, "Go wash clothes! This is against Islam!" while attacking a group of women this week who were part of a demonstration urging Egypt to give women a voice in building its future. Thus a traditional worldview delivers a stinging slap to the women of Egypt who are aspiring for a more modern way of being treated. The violent opposition these women faced suggests that Egyptian women may have to fight their own revolution to achieve equal rights. “We fought side by side with men during the revolution, and now we’re not represented,” said Passat Rabie, a young woman who came with friends, after men aggressively dispersed the protest. “I thought Egypt was improving, that it was becoming a better country. If it’s changing in a way that’s going to exclude women, then what’s the point? Where’s the democracy?” The demonstrators, who gathered in Tahrir Square—the epicenter of the revolution—had much to complain about: The military council … [Read more...]

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

Why Does Democracy and Freedom in Egypt Leave Out Women?

03.08.2011 By
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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: , , , , , , ,

Moving 10-Minute Video Collage of Egyptian Revolution

03.08.2011 By
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What do you think about this video? Share your perspective (below). Or click here to read more Integral Thinkers articles about leadership, current events, or to read Google News articles about Protests in the Middle East. … [Read more...]

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

Hundreds of Thousands Protest Across Arab the World

02.25.2011 By
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A picture is worth a thousand words. Click photo to enlarge full screen. Iraqi riot police officers prevent anti-government protesters from entering the heavily guarded Green Zone during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 25, 2011. Thousands marched on government buildings and clashed with security forces in cities across Iraq on Friday, in the largest and most violent anti-government protests here since political unrest began spreading in the Arab world several weeks ago. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) See Associated Press article and gallery of stunning photos here. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Current Events, Worldviews

Gaddafi’s son warns: “We will fight to the last Bullet”

02.21.2011 By
Seif Gaddafi

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif Gaddafi warns protesters of "rivers of blood" in live televised broadcast, stating: "Libya is not Egypt, it is not Tunisia... Muammar Gaddafi will remain and things will go back to the way they were by using any means possible... We will fight to the last Bullet". Wow, the Gaddafi's are giving Autocratic Leadership a bad name! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture and Society, Current Events, Worldviews

Egypt’s Stage of Development (Modern lens)

02.11.2011 By
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Speaking about the need for a leader popularly elected in free and fair elections, former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski states, "Egypt is now at a stage of development in which it is reasonable and expected by the population.” The term "development" means many things to many people, and it is — as Ken Wilber has suggested — the "backbone" of integral theory. As I blogged about in a recent posts (Worldviews in Conflict and New-Breed Leader Uses Facebook to Start Egypian Revolution), there appears to be a clear shift occurring in Egypt in particular and in this region in general as development accelerates and the Modern worldview increasingly seeps in and displaces the longstanding Traditional and Imperial worldviews so common in this region. As I often discuss with my students of Integral Leadership, there is an opportunity here for us to notice how people with different worldviews (and preferred values dialects and leadership styles) frame these … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture and Society, Current Events, Development, Economics, Integral Theory and Methodology, Leadership, Worldviews

New-Breed Leader Uses Facebook to Start Revolution

02.09.2011 By
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The "leader" of the Egyptian Revolution, Wael Ghonim states, "The time to negotiate with the Mubarak government has passed." Wael Ghonim, a 30-year-old Egyptian Google marketing executive, used a Facebook page (along with other modern methods) to start a protest-turned-revolution that aims to overthrow the Egyptian government. Integral thinkers see this spectacular incident as representative of a much larger pattern, possibly even a new emergent form of leadership. Young leaders with modern and postmodern worldviews who deeply care about social issues are using cutting-edge communication tools to challenge traditional leaders and institutions. Many parts of the world have leaders (and governments) who hold an Imperial and/or Traditional worldview and who insist on using autocratic and authoritarian means. In some cases these worldviews and leadershp methods are, in fact, a good "functional fit" for the people, culture, and techo-economic realities of those regions. (More on this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Current Events, Leadership, Worldviews

Worldviews in Conflict: Egypt

02.08.2011 By
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Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians poured into Cairo's Tahrir Square in February calling for Hosni Mubarak's government to step down. How might we view these important events through an integral lens? Worldview – a core concept in integral theory – would be a good place to start.  In leadership theory and practice, we look closely at individual and group worldview because it is indicative of people's values and beliefs about how the world is and should be, what they care about, and what motivates them. Can an entire society change (or attempt to change) worldviews? Of course. History is full of examples and we need to look no further than the current (Feb 2011) protests and government crisis in Egypt. For generations, Egyptians were more or less accepting of government rule by leaders that used "autocratic" and "authoritarian" leadership styles. These approaches to leadership tend to work well (be resonant) with people and cultures that have predominately "Imperial" and … [Read more...]

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