Marilyn Hamilton's Blog, page 10

IEC23 – Nomali Perera – Integral: Let’s Not Vanish Into Thin Air!

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Nomali Perera say about – Integral: Let’s Not Vanish Into Thin Air!?

Nomali is from the East – Sri Lanka.

n 90s the death of father …he was surgeon … from back ache symptom to  diagnosis of cancer from liver … he died in 5 months.

This great personal loss led to deep grieving, and through this process she gained spirituality.

In Sri Lanka in a local library where there were few books, Nomali found 2 books …one was by Ken Wilber:  One Taste.

In a meditation centre in Colombo Sri Lanka, Nomali googled Ken Wilber (and the Book One Taste)

From this one book, Nomali gained a shelf of Wilber books.

She then moved to Boulder Colorado so she could study at Naropa University.

She met Colin Bigelow (KW’s PA) and through Colin met KW. Soon after the group started first website of Integral Naked and started offering seminars.

Fast forward to today: This IEC2023 event has sold fewer tickets than the last ICE …like the Integral Sedona event who also sold fewer than expected tickets.

What is happening?

Nomali invites us to take a critical look …do we want a succession plan [for Integral Movement]?

Integral theory offers useful tools.

But Ken Wilber is a recluse … the only time he was relatively available [to wider audience] was from 1999 to 2006 – mostly in the Boulder-Denver area.

After that serious health issues forced Wilber into being a recluse again…ICU virtually rescued Ken from death at that time … we almost lost KW.

So we (Integral Institute?) decided to make organization less KW-centric….we looked for a CEO.

We realized that we had lost the rock star that attracted Integral institute.

Since then the organization has mutated, changed, shrunk.

Integral has even felt obsolete [as the VUCA world has challenged us all].

KW predicted all this including about the impact/responses of postmodernity … he pointed out the influence of the mean green  meme … and ~Meto#, political correctness, cxl culture +++

But who were the [integral] voices we heard responding to these challenges? …Jordan Peterson and the Dark Web.

The Integral movement was mute.

The Voices we are hearing are not Integral messages/messengers.

In age of likes shares, tweets, retweets, tik toks … it is hard to keep up.

We hear some critics/criticisms from startups.

But our original Integralists are dying – we see the deaths of many: like Father Thomas Keating, Don Beck, Terry Patten etc

Ken has also slowed down and is aging …. We are witnessing the aging of the Integral community…so we must take some stock.

How do we come together … for life giving and life ending?

Our responses to the world are not inclusive enough – that is a recurring mistake.

Who knows Rebel Wisdom…Daniel Schmactenburger? … the Metamoderns? [a few hands for each].

How can we commit to the beautiful message of Integral? Both in responses that centralise AND decentralise?

How can we celebrate with others?

How can we strengthen Integral community…breathe in out?

It is good to see younger faces in Europe  IEC 2023.

Nomali uses polarity management as Integral life practice.

Don’t get stuck …look at options through polarity lenses.

So what could this mean?

Nomali has identified the demographics of the early Integralists. The aging of the originators – especially Ken Wilber – rightfully asks us to consider if we have a “succession plan”?

Perhaps Nomali is seeing more Integral movement from American fulcrum and the visit to Europe reveals younger cohorts of Gen X, Y, Z?

As a movement Integral is not centralised. IMO (Marilyn Hamilton) the decentralised nature of Integral has great value. But Nomali asks: How can we build both on the centralised “loose structures” that exist (like the Integral Institute and Integral Hungary) as well as the many decentralised structures in emergence (like Indra Adnan’s Alternative UK/Planet 4 incubators,  Integral City, The Hague Centre, Living Cities.Earth, Integrales Forum, IFIS, Ubiquity U, etc)?

As a movement Integral does not easily integrate AQAL and often marginalizes significant expressions like Spiral Dynamics (who also lost its 2 Founders in the last few years).

Is it possible Integral gets stuck in the flatness of the AQAL model, forgetting its basis of consciousness and biological/social expression that give Integral vertical Aliveness? This is a message/worldview that Integral City Meshworks  and Living Cities.Earth have continuously emphasized from the beginning.

Others at the conference dove into the Shadows of Integral that Nomali points to (including Cindy Lou Golin’s Shadow Playbook). Throughout the IEC 2023 conference I heard ongoing reference to these shadows – including the marginalization of people of colour, women, global South/East, hierarchical power.

Is it possible that the Integral Movement is not equally distributed? That means the trajectory of waking, growing, opening, cleaning, showing up are at different stages around the world – and we need to be sensitive not to connect the dots with the assumption of one approach/strategy for all?

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to ensure Integral: Does Not Vanish Into Thin Air!

Go back to prior IEC2020 recommendations from Roger Walsh – how to translate and apply your work in an Integral Way.Consider that the Integral City GPS opens up the multiple intelligences of cities – including Meshworking so that we can align the differing stages to which our work/life worlds are connected to enable resonant, coherent, emergent strategies and developments (for succession and other issues/challenges).Translate the classic Integral Map into the 5 variations developed by Integral City Meshworks so you can gain insights into relationships, Micro-Meso-Macro Scales, organizational structures and spiritual/evolutionary impulses.

IEC23 Bence Ganti Keynote – How Do We Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Bence Ganti say about How to Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?

Integral is global

What is Integral?

Hungarian Academy has unified certification.

Integral is AQAL.

Schools of Psychology (West) plus Spiritual Traditions (East, South, North) – both contribute to Integral Theory.

5 Branches of Integral Theory: 4 Quadrants, Levels, Lines, States, Types

Several different maps parse levels of development: Wilber Numbers (W0-W10), Wilber Colours, Spiral Dynamics

Wilber built on 110 models of developmental stages of West and East (Developmental Psychology, Philosophy, Spirituality)

Some of these models mention the integral stage itself …

We ask: Is Integral a Model or a Stage?

Bence gave example of “Integral Singer” Bobby McFerrin – who just acts/sings/performs in an implicitly integral way (showed film clip) but is not necessarily explicitly Integral-Aware.

Is Integral: Being developmentally aware with a model of full spectrum development (including psychological and spiritual stages?)

Integral is a Tent with a central pole provided by Wilber’s Full Spectrum Integral that can include all other integral expressions.

Now we have many types of players in the integral world: newcomers, committed long-timers, long-term quiet loners, associated circles and mix-ups, Wilber-critics, Post-Wilberians, Parallel “Integralists”

Integral Community: What is a community?

Community has relationships…not the same as a housing district in USA (who are often described as communities) .

Real Community spends time together.

Integral accepts all levels – In that way different than Green.

Is Integral worldview centralised or decentralised?

Bence says we need more structure centralised Integral approach in the movement.

CULTURE …creates different flavours of integral

AT IEC 2023 400 people (250 in person, 150 online) 40 countries.

Only 2 people not paid  …Bence and Hanna – they have stayed since the beginning of IEC (2014).

Integral must not be run on Orange.

So what could this mean?

Integral is not just a theory or philosophy – it is now a movement.

Integralists of many types (see Bence’s list above) encounter each other at IEC – both online and in person and keep the movement developing and evolving.

If we accept that Integral embraces all whole/holistic worldviews then the conversation of whether there is just one tent or multiple expressions may better be explored through spiritual, biological, consciousness lenses to notice structures that are evolving in different ways because of differing life conditions.

Into the understanding of Integral meaning-making let us remember Graves’ proposition that developmental levels will evolve in multiple places parallel to one another. Because of Culture they may look different on the outside – but they will derive from similar patterns on the inside. Graves’ model of adult development stated that it would be a Never-Ending Quest.

Like all framings Integral must anticipate that the life force driving Evolution will impact the Integral  Frame, the Framers and the Framed – and thus how we understand the world through Integral Lenses, with/as co-practitioners and with/as the world in which we live/think/corelate/cocreate.

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to improve the Health of the Global Integral Movement:

Use the 5 Maps of the Integral City to notice the cosmic addresses of the Psychology and Spirituality of the City and how they impact any issue you wish to address.Consider that the Integral Map reveals how the communities in the city are practising both Placecaring (left hand quadrants) and Placemaking (right hand quadrants) and how both impact the wellbeing of the city and all its social holons.For Integral City Integralists honour the 4 Voices of the City so that Integral is translated into the bio-psycho-cultural-social influences of the Voices on individuals, collectives, the city as a whole.

Here are the blog links in this series inspired by Integral Europe Conference 2023:

I Am Addicted to IEC Awakening a Planet of Living Cities The Sounds of Change as a Planet of Living Cities Awakens IEC23 Presences on the Change Curve IEC23 Ken Wilber Ketnote – Planetary Awakening IEC23 Robert Kegan Keynote – Shadow & Light in Adult Development IEC23 Vivian Dittmar Keynote – Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World IEC23 Mariana Bozesan Keynote – The Future, AI and ConsciousnessIEC23 Bence Ganti Keynote – How Do We Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?IEC23 Nomali Perera Keynote – Integral: Let’s Not Vanish Into Thin Air!IEC23 Gabor Mate Keynote – It’s All One: Awakening to Reality Within and WithoutIEC23 Gail Hochachka Keynote – Finding One’s Own Soul-Centric Climate ActionIEC23 Terri O’Fallon Keynote – The Evolution of Planetary Awakening

IEC23 – Bence Ganti – How Do We Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Bence Ganti say about How to Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?

Integral is global

What is Integral?

Hungarian Academy has unified certification.

Integral is AQAL.

Schools of Psychology (West) plus Spiritual Traditions (East, South, North) – both contribute to Integral Theory.

5 Branches of Integral Theory: 4 Quadrants, Levels, Lines, States, Types

Several different maps parse levels of development: Wilber Numbers (W0-W10), Wilber Colours, Spiral Dynamics

Wilber built on 110 models of developmental stages of West and East (Developmental Psychology, Philosophy, Spirituality)

Some of these models mention the integral stage itself …

We ask: Is Integral a Model or a Stage?

Bence gave example of “Integral Singer” Bobby McFerrin – who just acts/sings/performs in an implicitly integral way (showed film clip) but is not necessarily explicitly Integral-Aware.

Is Integral: Being developmentally aware with a model of full spectrum development (including psychological and spiritual stages?)

Integral is a Tent with a central pole provided by Wilber’s Full Spectrum Integral that can include all other integral expressions.

Now we have many types of players in the integral world: newcomers, committed long-timers, long-term quiet loners, associated circles and mix-ups, Wilber-critics, Post-Wilberians, Parallel “Integralists”

Integral Community: What is a community?

Community has relationships…not the same as a housing district in USA (who are often described as communities) .

Real Community spends time together.

Integral accepts all levels – In that way different than Green.

Is Integral worldview centralised or decentralised?

Bence says we need more structure centralised Integral approach in the movement.

CULTURE …creates different flavours of integral

AT IEC 2023 400 people (250 in person, 150 online) 40 countries.

Only 2 people not paid  …Bence and Hanna – they have stayed since the beginning of IEC (2014).

Integral must not be run on Orange.

So what could this mean?

Integral is not just a theory or philosophy – it is now a movement.

Integralists of many types (see Bence’s list above) encounter each other at IEC – both online and in person and keep the movement developing and evolving.

If we accept that Integral embraces all whole/holistic worldviews then the conversation of whether there is just one tent or multiple expressions may better be explored through spiritual, biological, consciousness lenses to notice structures that are evolving in different ways because of differing life conditions.

Into the understanding of Integral meaning-making let us remember Graves’ proposition that developmental levels will evolve in multiple places parallel to one another. Because of Culture they may look different on the outside – but they will derive from similar patterns on the inside. Graves’ model of adult development stated that it would be a Never-Ending Quest.

Like all framings Integral must anticipate that the life force driving Evolution will impact the Integral  Frame, the Framers and the Framed – and thus how we understand the world through Integral Lenses, with/as co-practitioners and with/as the world in which we live/think/corelate/cocreate.

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to improve the Health of the Global Integral Movement:

Use the 5 Maps of the Integral City to notice the cosmic addresses of the Psychology and Spirituality of the City and how they impact any issue you wish to address.Consider that the Integral Map reveals how the communities in the city are practising both Placecaring (left hand quadrants) and Placemaking (right hand quadrants) and how both impact the wellbeing of the city and all its social holons.For Integral City Integralists honour the 4 Voices of the City so that Integral is translated into the bio-psycho-cultural-social influences of the Voices on individuals, collectives, the city as a whole.

IEC23 Mariana Bozesan Keynote – The Future, AI and Consciousness

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Mariana Bozesan say about The Future, AI and Consciousness ?

AI Future is 2nd Tier.

Consider: Tech optimism. Climate pessimism. Consciousness.

Rumi …love life consciously…we know it without words

What is scientific and spiritual perspective

Check out Rupert Spira…

Consciousness does not arise out of matter.

Space time is a brain construct.

Consciousness is fundamental. (Prof. Don Hoffman, Neuroscientist)

Most exciting time to be alive – Think exponential not linear.

Our Challenge ..history must not repeat self [in a linear way].

The Law of Accelerated Returns – Ray Kurzweil – The speed, the cost effectiveness and the power of Evolution increases exponentially over time.

Mariana journey from AI to Internet – in 1983 was with IntellCorp (Cybernet) and then to Integral Investing.

What is driving force behind the current abundance – it is exponential growth (vs linear growth).

In 2007 Smartphone successful because of convergence of:

Computing powerNetwork capacityDigital imagingBattery technologySensorsMiniaturization (cameras, GPs, Dictaphone etc.)

Leaving the AI Winter – demystifying AI

1956 Artificial Intelligence – non-biological1986 Machine Learning – algorithms learn while exposed to more data1982 Deep Learning – multi-layered, natural networks

Classification AI

Narrow AI – no consciousness, no self-awareness, no emotions, (LLMs (ChatGPT, Deep Mind AlphaGo & AlphaGo Zero)General AI – achieves complex goals, high-level reasoning, solve complex problems, learn, plan, thinking in an abstract manner, strategize, innovate, create, make judgments based on uncertainty. Passing the Turing test as well a human – by 2029 Ray Kurzweill

The Future of Life Institute – sign the Asilmov (sp?) AI Principles (to avoid an inconvenient truth and not accept a reassuring lie)

So what could this mean?

Aligning with worldview that consciousness is fundamental enables release from tyranny of matter – and all the worldviews that have arisen from that from pre-modern, modern and post-modern.

An Integral perspective of 2nd Tier arises out of the Quantum Leap (Graves) from 1st tier to 2nd Tier – the primacy of consciousness is what releases the fears and traumas of 1st tier hierarchies and Power Over (and Power With) into Power As.

Consciousness opens the doors to exponential reality (beyond space-time into non-duality).

Consciousness enables a whole world view which calls forth the Unitive Narrative (for all and applied to cities).

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to engage with the Future, AI and Consciousness:

Find a teacher or teachings (such as R. Spira) that open the doors to non-duality practices.Respect the Integral Framework arising from Consciousness and notice how it holds Life in its cosmic addresses (including all aspects of cities mapped into Integral City Maps)Reconsider: Tech optimism. Climate pessimism. Consciousness – Reverse the order and hold Consciousness primary so that both tech and climate challenges become aspects of growing Spiritual Capacity (Map 5). Through Involutionary as well as Evolutionary Flows, amplify Life and Aliveness so that future evolution enables deep intelligence in all its AQAL manifestations – bio-psycho-cultural-social.

Here are the blog links in this series inspired by Integral Europe Conference 2023:

I Am Addicted to IEC Awakening a Planet of Living Cities The Sounds of Change as a Planet of Living Cities Awakens IEC23 Presences on the Change Curve IEC23 Ken Wilber Ketnote – Planetary Awakening IEC23 Robert Kegan Keynote – Shadow & Light in Adult Development IEC23 Vivian Dittmar Keynote – Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World IEC23 Mariana Bozesan Keynote – The Future, AI and ConsciousnessIEC23 Bence Ganti Keynote – How Do We Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?IEC23 Nomali Perera Keynote – Integral: Let’s Not Vanish Into Thin Air!IEC23 Gabor Mate Keynote – It’s All One: Awakening to Reality Within and WithoutIEC23 Gail Hochachka Keynote – Finding One’s Own Soul-Centric Climate ActionIEC23 Terri O’Fallon Keynote – The Evolution of Planetary Awakening

IEC23 – Mariana Bozesan – The Future, AI and Consciousness

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Mariana Bozesan say about The Future, AI and Consciousness ?

AI Future is 2nd Tier.

Consider: Tech optimism. Climate pessimism. Consciousness.

Rumi …love life consciously…we know it without words

What is scientific and spiritual perspective

Check out Rupert Spira…

Consciousness does not arise out of matter.

Space time is a brain construct.

Consciousness is fundamental. (Prof. Don Hoffman, Neuroscientist)

Most exciting time to be alive – Think exponential not linear.

Our Challenge ..history must not repeat self [in a linear way].

The Law of Accelerated Returns – Ray Kurzweil – The speed, the cost effectiveness and the power of Evolution increases exponentially over time.

Mariana journey from AI to Internet – in 1983 was with IntellCorp (Cybernet) and then to Integral Investing.

What is driving force behind the current abundance – it is exponential growth (vs linear growth).

In 2007 Smartphone successful because of convergence of:

Computing powerNetwork capacityDigital imagingBattery technologySensorsMiniaturization (cameras, GPs, Dictaphone etc.)

Leaving the AI Winter – demystifying AI

1956 Artificial Intelligence – non-biological1986 Machine Learning – algorithms learn while exposed to more data1982 Deep Learning – multi-layered, natural networks

Classification AI

Narrow AI – no consciousness, no self-awareness, no emotions, (LLMs (ChatGPT, Deep Mind AlphaGo & AlphaGo Zero)General AI – achieves complex goals, high-level reasoning, solve complex problems, learn, plan, thinking in an abstract manner, strategize, innovate, create, make judgments based on uncertainty. Passing the Turing test as well a human – by 2029 Ray Kurzweill

The Future of Life Institute – sign the Asilmov (sp?) AI Principles (to avoid an inconvenient truth and not accept a reassuring lie)

So what could this mean?

Aligning with worldview that consciousness is fundamental enables release from tyranny of matter – and all the worldviews that have arisen from that from pre-modern, modern and post-modern.

An Integral perspective of 2nd Tier arises out of the Quantum Leap (Graves) from 1st tier to 2nd Tier – the primacy of consciousness is what releases the fears and traumas of 1st tier hierarchies and Power Over (and Power With) into Power As.

Consciousness opens the doors to exponential reality (beyond space-time into non-duality).

Consciousness enables a whole world view which calls forth the Unitive Narrative (for all and applied to cities).

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to engage with the Future, AI and Consciousness:

Find a teacher or teachings (such as R. Spira) that open the doors to non-duality practices.Respect the Integral Framework arising from Consciousness and notice how it holds Life in its cosmic addresses (including all aspects of cities mapped into Integral City Maps)Reconsider: Tech optimism. Climate pessimism. Consciousness – Reverse the order and hold Consciousness primary so that both tech and climate challenges become aspects of growing Spiritual Capacity (Map 5). Through Involutionary as well as Evolutionary Flows, amplify Life and Aliveness so that future evolution enables deep intelligence in all its AQAL manifestations – bio-psycho-cultural-social.

IEC23 Vivian Dittmar Keynote – Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Vivian Dittmar say about Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World?

Vivian Dittmar (VD) asked: How can we shift the state of world?

The “Awakening” fairy tale has not played out.

Instead we have/had painful development with many tipping points.

Humanity is not waking up fast enough to avoid catastrophe.

How can we avoid …find somehow some way? Are we making big mistake?

Planetary Awakening 1.0 has not worked …maybe because we need crisis to change?

Vivian stands naked without models or slides (for this presentation).

She stands because we don’t know …

She asks us: “Take a moment  to say “I don’t know”  ….pause

Acknowledge a place within that is a source of wisdom …face self/the world from within.

Awaken from a feminine perspective? Because feminine POV missing in action (MIA) even here …what does it matter if most speakers are men?

Science Magazine 2010 (MIT)  explored collective intelligence (CI) …reserachers asked, what is CI in a team?

Teams with higher CI did not have individual IQ correlation.

Sympathy had no correlation.

What is/was the elephant in the room?

Decisive factor was number women on each team.

Ideal team with greatest CI was 80% women.

Women brought the ability to empathise – that is what increased CI.

CI went down when individuals tried to present themselves.

It turns out that women spend much time with people who can’t talk yet …i.e. babies …Women learn to read faces.

We can’t figure out (our greatest challenges) individually …CI needs all of us.

Men have opportunity to catch up (to women’s capacity to read faces and greater CI). Men are raising babies (like Living Cities.Earth cofounders Lev Gordon and Pieter Wackers).

A researcher (Vivian?) visited a Masai tribe …When asked, a man said men’s and women’s roles were separated in the tribe.  Men spent their time with cows and beautifying bodies. Women do less relevant tasks like building houses and raising children (!).

White privileged people are in the same trap.

They delegate the raising of children to a nanny …that pains VD… she considers it a huge mistake.

VD was born in Germany. At age 4 she went to Asia …moved to Balinese culture…but she was white and this was not her culture…so she returned to Europe and then USA..

VD notices her disidentification with culture …

This has led to her rejection of culture authority.

Many traditions have influenced her.

VD went on a radical quest for truth …not via traditional education. (And it seems rare to not take studies and same cultural path as most others in culture.)

She reminds us that we cannot figure out crisis – We are all frontier researchers through indigenous, multi-theory, AQAL … but now we must go beyond that.

VD invites audience to a quiet place within … where quiet simple knowing has no words.

Quiet wisdom has strength … find a force of Peace in you, the voice of evolution and LOVE.

As you contact this place find a gesture that expresses it … perhaps we can access (this place of peace and wisdom) by realizing we don’t know.

So many voices are marginalised in the world.

Green development [often uses] cultural appropriation …listen to their voices [and your own voice].

 

So what could this mean?

Vivian’s stories of a multi-cultural hybrid life reveal that one of the ways to become “integral” is to travel and have multiple experiences with different people and cultures.

Ironically experiencing this kind of fragmentation can open the doors to discover the unity of all.

Without notes and models one has the opportunity to share stories, observations, curiosities and invite others to do so as well.

One can notice who is marginalized and break open those boundaries/barriers that separate us.

Listening the quiet voice within can reveal wisdom, love and peace.

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to defragment our world:

Be quiet, go within and listen to the inner voice. (Consider that you may be listening to the voice of Gaia’s Reflective Organ.)Be curious about others who are different than you – present in all the 4 Voices of the city – invite their stories.Try reading faces without talking – maybe as a dyad, triad practice where you “read” silently and then check what you have noticed with the other person(s).

Here are the blog links in this series inspired by Integral Europe Conference 2023:

I Am Addicted to IEC Awakening a Planet of Living Cities The Sounds of Change as a Planet of Living Cities Awakens IEC23 Presences on the Change Curve IEC23 Ken Wilber Ketnote – Planetary Awakening IEC23 Robert Kegan Keynote – Shadow & Light in Adult Development IEC23 Vivian Dittmar Keynote – Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World IEC23 Mariana Bozesan Keynote – The Future, AI and ConsciousnessIEC23 Bence Ganti Keynote – How Do We Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?IEC23 Nomali Perera Keynote – Integral: Let’s Not Vanish Into Thin Air!IEC23 Gabor Mate Keynote – It’s All One: Awakening to Reality Within and WithoutIEC23 Gail Hochachka Keynote – Finding One’s Own Soul-Centric Climate ActionIEC23 Terri O’Fallon Keynote – The Evolution of Planetary Awakening

IEC23 – Vivian Dittmar Keynote – Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Vivian Dittmar say about Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World?

Vivian Dittmar (VD) asked: How can we shift the state of world?

The “Awakening” fairy tale has not played out.

Instead we have/had painful development with many tipping points.

Humanity is not waking up fast enough to avoid catastrophe.

How can we avoid …find somehow some way? Are we making big mistake?

Planetary Awakening 1.0 has not worked …maybe because we need crisis to change?

Vivian stands naked without models or slides (for this presentation).

She stands because we don’t know …

She asks us: “Take a moment  to say “I don’t know”  ….pause

Acknowledge a place within that is a source of wisdom …face self/the world from within.

Awaken from a feminine perspective? Because feminine POV missing in action (MIA) even here …what does it matter if most speakers are men?

Science Magazine 2010 (MIT)  explored collective intelligence (CI) …reserachers asked, what is CI in a team?

Teams with higher CI did not have individual IQ correlation.

Sympathy had no correlation.

What is/was the elephant in the room?

Decisive factor was number women on each team.

Ideal team with greatest CI was 80% women.

Women brought the ability to empathise – that is what increased CI.

CI went down when individuals tried to present themselves.

It turns out that women spend much time with people who can’t talk yet …i.e. babies …Women learn to read faces.

We can’t figure out (our greatest challenges) individually …CI needs all of us.

Men have opportunity to catch up (to women’s capacity to read faces and greater CI). Men are raising babies (like Living Cities.Earth cofounders Lev Gordon and Pieter Wackers).

A researcher (Vivian?) visited a Masai tribe …When asked, a man said men’s and women’s roles were separated in the tribe.  Men spent their time with cows and beautifying bodies. Women do less relevant tasks like building houses and raising children (!).

White privileged people are in the same trap.

They delegate the raising of children to a nanny …that pains VD… she considers it a huge mistake.

VD was born in Germany. At age 4 she went to Asia …moved to Balinese culture…but she was white and this was not her culture…so she returned to Europe and then USA..

VD notices her disidentification with culture …

This has led to her rejection of culture authority.

Many traditions have influenced her.

VD went on a radical quest for truth …not via traditional education. (And it seems rare to not take studies and same cultural path as most others in culture.)

She reminds us that we cannot figure out crisis – We are all frontier researchers through indigenous, multi-theory, AQAL … but now we must go beyond that.

VD invites audience to a quiet place within … where quiet simple knowing has no words.

Quiet wisdom has strength … find a force of Peace in you, the voice of evolution and LOVE.

As you contact this place find a gesture that expresses it … perhaps we can access (this place of peace and wisdom) by realizing we don’t know.

So many voices are marginalised in the world.

Green development [often uses] cultural appropriation …listen to their voices [and your own voice].

 

So what could this mean?

Vivian’s stories of a multi-cultural hybrid life reveal that one of the ways to become “integral” is to travel and have multiple experiences with different people and cultures.

Ironically experiencing this kind of fragmentation can open the doors to discover the unity of all.

Without notes and models one has the opportunity to share stories, observations, curiosities and invite others to do so as well.

One can notice who is marginalized and break open those boundaries/barriers that separate us.

Listening the quiet voice within can reveal wisdom, love and peace.

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to defragment our world:

Be quiet, go within and listen to the inner voice. (Consider that you may be listening to the voice of Gaia’s Reflective Organ.)Be curious about others who are different than you – present in all the 4 Voices of the city – invite their stories.Try reading faces without talking – maybe as a dyad, triad practice where you “read” silently and then check what you have noticed with the other person(s).

IEC23 Robert Kegan Keynote – Shadow and Light in Adult Development

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Robert Kegan say about Shadow & Light in Adult Development?

I /we are living a lifetime of unfolding systems of meaning.

All development is vertical…AQAL … I am a levels guy …I extend my work/views into social collective realm.

Integralists are over indexed on late stages of development 

Today, I look at middle stages of  development …so I am not talking today about the top of ladder… I am down where all ladders start in the ragbone shop of heart.

Kegan illustrates his talk with film clip of play “The Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen. From the film he offers these pointing out instructions.

Nora says:

I have to stand on my own 2 feet.I am a human being.

Keegan says this is a powerful scene…we see a dramatic change in Nora herself …She has new beliefs where beliefs come from …and who authorises them.

Her ideas are made by her …they show her shifting from socialised mind to self-authorised mind.

Socialised mind emerging in a person’s teens is a triumph over self-code (me, me, me).

Consider how socialised mind has a less favoured quality as a sub-dominant category …socialised mind takes in toxins …self-poisoning  occurs as it takes place on margins.

When, like Nora, we emerge into self-authoring mind this allows us to detoxify.

We learn to read the political text …like the civil rights movement…in small shafts and huge landscapes

Then we move from amber/blue to orange – and we discover the Gift of modernism.

Integralist interest is in postmodern and metamodern … but all are going on at the same time.

All “changers” (people growing through development stages) needs Allies…self-recognition…reknowing oneself.

We may create a psychological distance from those around us …others may not recognise us …we may have to leave to save our lives!

An example in today’s world from Japan – 30% of Japanese young women don’t want to have children or get married.

These are Japanese Noras…separating from their culture…disengaging from their society.

Thorvald (Nora’s husband) is actually trapped in a traditional narrative… he holds the power position (as a fact) – his circumstances don’t reveal an equal developmental reality (as Nora’s).

We need to extend compassion to the Thorvalds of the world … his world order is threatened … his shadow side impedes changes (to him and world).

We are living in a world-wide power struggle.

Kegan finishes his talk with 3 Stories:

When Trump was elected, Kegan was having difficulty reflecting on the result – so Kegan drove to a poker room in a group where people are not equal…there is always a mix of genders ages politics etc. (This is Kegan’s way of relaxing on a regular basis ) In the room were MAGA hats, Kegan heard that these people felt (the Trump result) meant that they had found their country again.In the Post 911 time – a Muslim student said that Muslim men felt the virus of the west related to the sexuality of women…this was so disturbing to the self-definition of men …that it lead to the explosion of 911.A (Jewish?) congregation had set out to reshape its liturgies. A rabbi heard from a woman who had sat in the same seat as an adult as she had as a child. The woman asks, “The way we said our prayers when I was a child – you changed all this – is the way that we prayed and talked to God – was it wrong? So what could this mean?

Kegan pointed out to IEC23 that as Integral Thinkers we are too concerned with late stage development. He reminds us that middle stage development is continuously occurring as well. Estimates (from Kegan, STAGES, Memenomics, etc.) show that the majority of the world is moving through Purple, Red, Blue into Orange/Modern). The examples that Kegan gives with his 3 stories illustrates that in America the realities of middle stage dominance impact everyone’s life from professors (like Kegan), non-Christian non-liberal students and traditional faith practitioners.

Therefore, if we want to meet people where they are at, if we want to encourage acceptance we must practise being with others of differing (often less complex views) with respect, tolerance and acceptance. We must be willing to listen, play and respond to the Thorvalds of the traditional world, even as we see the Nora’s of the world emerging into modernism from their positions of little or no traditional power.

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to find the Light in the Shadows of Development:

Seek out people who demonstrate socialized-mind (amber/blue) and find ways to enjoy their world(s) – often at ritual/seasonal times of gathering or sports events. Invite people representing the 4 Voices of the City.Listen to women emerging into self-authoring mind (healthy red/independent orange) and support them as they express interest in and seek opportunities for acting with power. (Consider we might have a Triple Helix of Change in play.)Read the news through lenses of compassion for victims, tyrants, rebels, rescuers, witnesses and be curious about the roots of Shadow and Light in the lives of all people.

Here are the blog links in this series inspired by Integral Europe Conference 2023:

I Am Addicted to IEC Awakening a Planet of Living Cities The Sounds of Change as a Planet of Living Cities Awakens IEC23 Presences on the Change Curve IEC23 Ken Wilber Ketnote – Planetary Awakening IEC23 Robert Kegan Keynote – Shadow & Light in Adult Development IEC23 Vivian Dittmar Keynote – Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World IEC23 Mariana Bozesan Keynote – The Future, AI and ConsciousnessIEC23 Bence Ganti Keynote – How Do We Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?IEC23 Nomali Perera Keynote – Integral: Let’s Not Vanish Into Thin Air!IEC23 Gabor Mate Keynote – It’s All One: Awakening to Reality Within and WithoutIEC23 Gail Hochachka Keynote – Finding One’s Own Soul-Centric Climate ActionIEC23 Terri O’Fallon Keynote – The Evolution of Planetary Awakening

IEC23 – Robert Kegan Keynote – Shadow and Light in Adult Development

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing  What  the speaker said,  So What  could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Robert Kegan say about Shadow & Light in Adult Development?

I /we are living a lifetime of unfolding systems of meaning.

All development is vertical…AQAL … I am a levels guy …I extend my work/views into social collective realm.

Integralists are over indexed on late stages of development 

Today, I look at middle stages of  development …so I am not talking today about the top of ladder… I am down where all ladders start in the ragbone shop of heart.

Kegan illustrates his talk with film clip of play “The Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen. From the film he offers these pointing out instructions.

Nora says:

I have to stand on my own 2 feet.I am a human being.

Keegan says this is a powerful scene…we see a dramatic change in Nora herself …She has new beliefs where beliefs come from …and who authorises them.

Her ideas are made by her …they show her shifting from socialised mind to self-authorised mind.

Socialised mind emerging in a person’s teens is a triumph over self-code (me, me, me).

Consider how socialised mind has a less favoured quality as a sub-dominant category …socialised mind takes in toxins …self-poisoning  occurs as it takes place on margins.

When, like Nora, we emerge into self-authoring mind this allows us to detoxify.

We learn to read the political text …like the civil rights movement…in small shafts and huge landscapes

Then we move from amber/blue to orange – and we discover the Gift of modernism.

Integralist interest is in postmodern and metamodern … but all are going on at the same time.

All “changers” (people growing through development stages) needs Allies…self-recognition…reknowing oneself.

We may create a psychological distance from those around us …others may not recognise us …we may have to leave to save our lives!

An example in today’s world from Japan – 30% of Japanese young women don’t want to have children or get married.

These are Japanese Noras…separating from their culture…disengaging from their society.

Thorvald (Nora’s husband) is actually trapped in a traditional narrative… he holds the power position (as a fact) – his circumstances don’t reveal an equal developmental reality (as Nora’s).

We need to extend compassion to the Thorvalds of the world … his world order is threatened … his shadow side impedes changes (to him and world).

We are living in a world-wide power struggle.

Kegan finishes his talk with 3 Stories:

When Trump was elected, Kegan was having difficulty reflecting on the result – so Kegan drove to a poker room in a group where people are not equal…there is always a mix of genders ages politics etc. (This is Kegan’s way of relaxing on a regular basis ) In the room were MAGA hats, Kegan heard that these people felt (the Trump result) meant that they had found their country again.In the Post 911 time – a Muslim student said that Muslim men felt the virus of the west related to the sexuality of women…this was so disturbing to the self-definition of men …that it lead to the explosion of 911.A (Jewish?) congregation had set out to reshape its liturgies. A rabbi heard from a woman who had sat in the same seat as an adult as she had as a child. The woman asks, “The way we said our prayers when I was a child – you changed all this – is the way that we prayed and talked to God – was it wrong? So what could this mean?

Kegan pointed out to IEC23 that as Integral Thinkers we are too concerned with late stage development. He reminds us that middle stage development is continuously occurring as well. Estimates (from Kegan, STAGES, Memenomics, etc.) show that the majority of the world is moving through Purple, Red, Blue into Orange/Modern). The examples that Kegan gives with his 3 stories illustrates that in America the realities of middle stage dominance impact everyone’s life from professors (like Kegan), non-Christian non-liberal students and traditional faith practitioners.

Therefore, if we want to meet people where they are at, if we want to encourage acceptance we must practise being with others of differing (often less complex views) with respect, tolerance and acceptance. We must be willing to listen, play and respond to the Thorvalds of the traditional world, even as we see the Nora’s of the world emerging into modernism from their positions of little or no traditional power.

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take to find the Light in the Shadows of Development:

Seek out people who demonstrate socialized-mind (amber/blue) and find ways to enjoy their world(s) – often at ritual/seasonal times of gathering or sports events.Listen to women emerging into self-authoring mind (healthy red/independent orange) and support them as they express interest in and seek opportunities for acting with power.Read the news through lenses of compassion for victims, tyrants, rebels, rescuers, witnesses and be curious about the roots of Shadow and Light in the lives of all people.

IEC23 Ken Wilber Keynote – Planetary Awakening

This is part of a series of blogs reflecting on the program of Integral Europe Conference 2023,  whose theme was Planetary Awakening 2.0. This blog introduces a Keynote  from the conference – curated in an Action Research Format – summarizing What the speaker said, So What could we take as the meaning? and Now What are options for action. What did Ken Wilber say about Planetary Awakening?

Waking up,  growing up, opening up, cleaning up, showing up – all co-emerge in 4 quadrants.

What can you do?

Make short videos re Integral applicationHave Integral conferences in neighbourhoodTake Integral approach to all issues and problems

Integral framework maps everything.

Small Gatherings grow into larger conferences and gatherings …Like Integral Africa.

Thanks to IEC …to Bence Ganti and IEC team for long history of conferences.

Bring in problems, stages of development…POV as filters even for clothes you choose to wear .

Showing up following AQAL 8 zones …use questions in Integral model.

There is room for anything in Integral framework.

Start continent wide conference as part of planetary perspective.

Opening up refers to multiple Intelligences….open up to all of them and incorporate them into your lives.

Cleaning up is psychotherapeutic…

“Where it was … I shall become” (Freud).

I to it …Freud wanted to take it and return to I.

Reidentifying with symptoms … Fritz Perls cured neurosis as he created/used gestalt therapy.

There are many ways multiple Intelligences help to create emotional wholeness …we live [in/with/as ] moral, aesthetic intrapersonal, social, spatial intelligences.

Each intelligence develops through stages

We/I become full and whole.

In the fullness of unity of the whole,  life embraces multiple intelligences.

So what could this mean?

We have much opportunity as beings with AQAL capacities. We can develop and express multiple intelligences. There is no challenge or problem too small or big that we cannot use an Integral approach – the Integral Framework maps everything.

This enables us to gain a wholistic perspective and worldview.

We can work with others who have different multiple intelligences to expand our capacities even further.

When we remember Freud’s insight to move out of the objective “it” into the subjective “I” we expand our capacity to become more of who we are.

Gestalt practice enables us to clean up our shadows by having direct conversations with them (as “its” and “I’s”) and moving from dissociation to owning all of who we are.

The cycle of waking, growing, opening, cleaning, showing up gives us a natural path of development that allows us to awaken as a planet of Integral Beings – both individual and collective.

Now what can we do?

Here are 3 possible actions/responses we can take for Planetary Awakening:

Set an intention and create a practice to assess and grow our capacities for waking, growing, opening, cleaning and showing up. Map your intention one one or more of Integral City Maps.Start locally with group gatherings – including the 4 Voices –  to discuss issues or challenges using Integral lenses – then grow the gathering over time.Join with others to create Integral Conferences that over time grow along a path locally, regionally, nationally, continent-wide to develop globally as Gaia’s Reflective Organs. 

Here are the blog links in this series inspired by Integral Europe Conference 2023:

I Am Addicted to IEC Awakening a Planet of Living Cities The Sounds of Change as a Planet of Living Cities Awakens IEC23 Presences on the Change Curve IEC23 Ken Wilber Ketnote – Planetary Awakening IEC23 Robert Kegan Keynote – Shadow & Light in Adult Development IEC23 Vivian Dittmar Keynote – Awakening to Unity in a Fragmented World IEC23 Mariana Bozesan Keynote – The Future, AI and ConsciousnessIEC23 Bence Ganti Keynote – How Do We Support the Health of the Global Integral Movement?IEC23 Nomali Perera Keynote – Integral: Let’s Not Vanish Into Thin Air!IEC23 Gabor Mate Keynote – It’s All One: Awakening to Reality Within and WithoutIEC23 Gail Hochachka Keynote – Finding One’s Own Soul-Centric Climate ActionIEC23 Terri O’Fallon Keynote – The Evolution of Planetary Awakening