What Is Integral

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What is Integral?

Integral means whole, complete, inclusive, having all parts that are necessary to be complete.

An integral view includes as many perspectives as possible, so that nothing is left out. Connections implies the ability to relate to others and to explore ideas and relationships.

An integral world view emphasizes compassion in a polarized world.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community. (Source: Charter for Compassion at www.charterforcompassion.org).

Respect and oneness vs. unsolvable stalemates

We live in a fragmented world with colliding worldviews - Democrats against Republicans, pro-lifers against pro-choicers, the NRA against those in favor of the Brady Bill, environmentalists against loggers and developers, hunters against PETA, Upstate against Downstate—and these colliding worldviews create seemingly unsolvable stalemates. These worldviews that collide are all limited, incomplete, and marginalizing. They are perspectives that leave things out, sometimes with disastrous results. Like other great thinkers who are pondering this stalemated and unproductive consciousness, we are exploring ways to view the world in a more cohesive way to bring about peace and acceptance. See http://ervinlaszlo.com/worldshiftcommunity.

A Worldview of Many Perspectives

Integral is a worldview that is inclusive, and able to reflect on all perspectives. In our Western culture body and mind are often separated, sometimes to the point of having the two dissociated. The health crisis in this country is not just about access and costs. Most of the illnesses are rooted in excessive eating, smoking, stress, drinking, and lack of exercise. Even when people become ill from these behavioral diseases, most do nothing to change. We are disembodied rather than embodied. Our overall growth and health is affected by dealing with our body, mind, and spirit in a unified, integral way where no aspect of our life is left out and ignored.

Body, Mind, Spirit, Shadow

At Integral Connections we begin by exploring four areas or strands of an integral life: body, mind, spirit, and shadow. These are all interrelated and any change in one affects the others. All are important and none can be ignored. We learn effective and efficient exercises that strengthen and grow our integral life.

Our body is our exterior. It is made up of 100 trillion cells, each of which performs six trillion functions per second. Ten million cells die and are replaced each second. Our bodies are amazing entities that we usually take for granted. Most of what occurs goes on outside of our awareness. Like all precious things, it needs care and feeding. At Integral Connections we learn ways to increase our awareness of all aspects of our body as well as exercises to encourage health and growth in all areas of our life.

Our mind is our interior. While it is obvious to most that children’s minds grow and develop, it is less obvious that adults have the potential to have their minds grow and develop. Our mind can evolve to higher structures of consciousness that permit us to see and understand more, become more effective, and (paradoxically) live with greater ease. As with our bodies, health and growth can come with care and feeding. Learn about the mind strand here and discover some mind tools.

Spirit deals with areas of ultimate concern. In the West with the rise of rationality and science, spirit often got thrown out because it couldn’t be measured even though it has been thoroughly investigated in the world’s contemplative traditions for thousands of years. Rather than dissociate spirit from body and mind, Integral Connections reconnects these three aspects of ourselves through awareness of the interconnections and practices, like meditation to assist in the process.

Finally, Integral Connections recognizes the significance of our shadow parts that are often hidden from us but all too recognizable by others. A rule of thumb is that any time we react strongly—either positively or negatively—to a person, situation, feeling, or sensation, we are in contact with our shadow. At Integral Connections, we will learn tools to uncover our shadow aspects and integrate them into potentially useful (or at least neutral) parts of ourselves. A byproduct of the process is that energy used to keep the shadow in place is released for more productive functions.

So....What does it feel like to have integral consciousness?

There's a feeling of amused anticipation, like knowing a big secret that’s about to be revealed. There’s a feeling of pleasure associated with a sense of wonder.

And there is a feeling of conviction, a sense of confidence in ”the way forward” that arises from the new truths of the integral worldview. This new feeling of confidence is accompanied by a sense of optimism about the inevitability of evolution, and as this feeling of confidence matures, it can be recognized as a form of moral courage.

But perhaps the most significant feeling associated with integral consciousness is the way it makes you feel about other people. The practice of integral consciousness definitely results in an increased sense of compassion, sympathy, and respect for those about whom you previously felt consternated. However, accompanying this enlarged feeling of compassion is also a new sense of realism about the inherent limitations of those who dwell in these older worldviews.

Source: Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution: how the integral worldview is transforming politics, culture and spirituality by Steve McIntosh (Paragon House, 2007, p. 92).