What we’re about
We are people whose lives have been enriched by the broader perspective we gain through the Integral Theory of Ken Wilber and those who have built on his work. Integral provides the biggest possible map of reality, and encourages us to find our place within it. In the TED talk below, Rob Smith, co-founder of Integral Life, lays out a vision for a life based on Integral principles.
https://youtu.be/X3X6YYapemM
Here is one of the many ways Ken Wilber himself describes Integral.
"It simply means whole, complete, full, all inclusive. It is both a theory and the basis of a life practice. It demonstrates how to integrate and include body, mind, and spirit in self, culture, and nature. This means ... a life that “makes room for everything,” from wild rock star to devoted family man, from bodily pursuits to spiritual practice, from nature worship to meditation, from business practices to play and fun.
Experience the wholeness of the world and your relation to it and as it—that is, find your True (and Unique) Self, the union of infinite and finite, Emptiness and Form, this moment and your Awareness of it—let them all be one, and rest in that ongoing Oneness.
Integrate the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, even in the smallest gestures. Help others until it hurts. Leave the world a little more whole than you found it, and thus join evolution in its Divine destiny, awakening your Unique Self as well.” - Ken Wilber
In another talk to Integral leaders, Rob Smith described how such an Integral Life Practice looks for him.
I believe that it is your radiant way of being that will always and everywhere be your greatest contribution to the world. And when it comes to actual social and leadership action in the world, this is a recursive challenge because every action can readily be seen in its partiality. Yet we have to act, surrendering to the fact that we can only ever be whole in this moment, and can never be so when we dwell in the mind-constructed world of psychological time.
So for me I’ve had to get simpler in what I know. I’ve learned to practice every day the basics of being a decent human being: meditation in the morning so throughout the day I’m not resisting what is naturally arising in my life; eye gazing with my infant daughter Emerson so I can be swept away by the infinite joy that our children can uniquely inspire; ending each email with love so as not to let my communication become mechanized and rote; every week reading something from the great minds of history to deepen my humility and my capacity for reflection; actively looking for ways to extend a generous surprise to someone who wasn’t expecting it; investing time every day doing nothing but wasting it, which reminds me that my grand plans are magnificent temples in my mind. All of these activities and dozens more produce joy, abundance, freedom and love, and in my view cultivate radiant leadership as a way of being.
Through this Meetup, we come together to inquire into the implications of this perspective for our lives, and to share our Integral journeys.
Nextread: A wealth of references and links at DC Integral Emergence Pages
