Integral Perspectives
"We are nowhere near the Millennium. In fact, at this point in history, the most radical, pervasive, and earth-shaking transformation would occur simply if everybody truly evolved to a mature, rational, and responsible [world centric] ego, capable of freely participating in the open exchange of mutual [concern and] self-esteem. There is the "edge of history." There would be a real New Age." -- Ken Wilber Up from Eden, p. 328
New Ways to Make Sense of LifeThere are many more of us on the planet today than ever before, and our numbers continue to grow rapidly. We have the capacity to do unprecedented harm, as well as good, to each other and to the planet that supports us all. The old recipes that provided security and safety to small local groups in the past have run their course. The earth is too small, and the energies released by the scientific era too great, for us not to find new ways of living with ourselves and with each other. It seems more necessary today than ever before that many more of us begin to transcend the way we normally experience ourselves as separate from each other and from the world. We must find a new foundation for a global identity that is deeply rooted in a web of connection which can no longer be limited by our physical location. It seems vital for us to develop the capacities for meaningful lives and skillful relationships spoken of by the great saints and sages of every tradition.
We must focus on how we relate to the world, and on our inner experience of our self. Taking up the notion that what we do flows from who we think we are, we are called to explore the various ways that we might experience our self on the evolutionary journey to our deepest purpose. In the West we are told to “Know Thyself.” In the East we are asked “What was your face before your mother was born.” The question of our true identity is central to all of the world’s wisdom traditions, ancient and modern. What is called for is a Global Evolutionary Spirituality. Such a way of making sense of life expresses deep truths about the human condition, but is not a one size fits all endeavor. Such a system of meaning facilitates a direct experience and a clear understanding of life's deep truths, within a framework that allows each individual to develop an inner life appropriate to their particular conditions. Such a stance toward existence is at home in every circumstance, and expresses itself as inner peace, wisdom, compassion, and skillful action in all aspects of life. Such a spirituality provides a nurturing container that offers a mix of theory, practice and experience to challenge and support each of us to find the truest expression of our soul as we wake up to both our fullness and our emptiness on the journey home. 
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It is the integrative power of vision-logic… and not … tribal magic or the imperialism of mythic involvement that is desperately needed on a global scale. For it is vision-logic with its …planetary worldview that… holds the only hope for the integration of the biosphere (the natural world) and
the noosphere (the human world)…. [What we most need are]: 1) the supranational organization of planetary consciousness 2) the genuine recognition of ecological balance and 3) the production of genuine world citizens... [which] are… the platform for the … higher transpersonal states of consciousness lying in our collective future — if there is one Ken Wilber Sex, Ecology & Spirituality |
The Great Conveyor Belt of Consciousness
If religion lives up to its promise as being that endeavor in humanity that allows Spirit to speak through it, and Spirit is indeed evolving in its own manifestation, then religion becomes a conveyor belt for humanity, carrying it from the childhood productions of Spirit to the adolescent productions of Spirit to the adult productions of Spirit … and beyond that into the great tomorrow of Spirit’s continuing display… It’s a new day, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new man, it’s a new woman. The new human is integral, and so is the spirituality. -- Ken Wilber, Integral Spirituality
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