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:
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