The Integral Cinema Studio series is a pioneering exploration of film and cinema through an integral lens, in which Mark Allan Kaplan shows how all the various elements of Integral theory have been expressed on the big screen through some of our greatest and most cherished pop-culture landmarks. For those not yet familiar with Integral Cinema Studio, we wanted to take a moment to re-introduce this extraordinary series to you all; so we are featuring the very first part below: The Holonic Lens.

Integral Cinema Studio: The Holonic Lens

This week's Daily Evolver looks at the recent election year ruckus concerning the Obama's administration attempt to get religious-affiliated hospitals and university health centers to pay for contraception. Although the question of whether women should have access to contraception was settled long ago and supported by the majority of women in the United States (including Catholics), the media war continues as both sides seek to define the issue of contraception as an advantage for them in an election year. The question remains whether Republican men are out of touch with the female electorate concerning this issue, and how that might affect Republican chances to unseat President Obama in the general election. What is being worked out in this discussion as it relates to our ongoing cultural evolution?

The Daily Evolver: Body Politics - Contraception and the Separation of Church and State

In the Artist's Words: "Fundamental to me is the importance of a foundation in the discipline of a trained hand, which not only helps keep the scriptural traditions alive, but also gives the confidence to allow the creative freedom to emanate through the medium.

The whole creative process is likened to meditation, where calmness is essential for clarity to manifest untainted.

I like to think that my work provides windows, through which others can see the symbolic world, that may provoke to question and even to wake up, if not to be pleasantly inspired. All I wish, is for people to be happy. If I can simply cheer people up, then my intentions are rewarded." –Tashi Mannox

Integral Life Art Gallery: Iconographies of Dharma

What if we took everything that all the various cultures have to tell us about human potential—about spiritual growth, psychological growth, social growth—and put it all on the table? What if we attempted to find the critically essential keys to human growth, based on the sum total of human knowledge now open to us? What if we attempted, based on extensive cross-cultural study, to use all of the world's great traditions to create a composite map, a comprehensive map, an all-inclusive or integral map that included the best elements from all of them? In the following series of articles, Ken Wilber shares an overview of this map: The Integral Operating System (IOS).

Integral Post: The Integral Operating System

We are very happy to feature the first of a series of excerpts from Keith Martin-Smith's new book, A Heart Blown Open: The Life and Practice of Zen Master Jun Po Kelly Roshi—a playful, occasionally depraved, yet utterly liberating chronicle of Jun Po's life, whose story has been described as part Hunter S. Thompson, part Timothy Leary, and part Eckhart Tolle. A Heart Blown Open is now available for sale on Amazon.com. Pick up your copy today!

Integral Post: Trungpa - Crazy Wisdom, or Just Plain Crazy?

Robert Augustus Masters shares the introduction to his new book, Transformation Through Intimacy: The Journey Toward Awakened Monogamy.

Intimate relationship has over the last four or five decades evolved so far from its long-established ways—mutating in diverse directions—that its very nature and structuring, once a largely unquestioned given, is clearly up for some deep questioning and reformulating.

Reformulating, revisioning, restructuring, reinventing—how we tend to look at intimate relationship is changing almost as rapidly as intimate relationship itself.

One result of this is that many of us do not have a particularly clear view of intimate relationship and its possibilities. Nonetheless, we have to admit that something is different about intimate relationship now. We look back just two generations, and it seems as if we’re looking back many hundreds of years. Things are shifting that fast.

The Evolution of Intimate Relationship

by Corey deVos: Sutras is a recording of a very special set I played at this past Integral Spiritual Experience: Kosmic Creativity event, which accompanied a live painting presentation by Alex and Allyson Grey (see the videos below, including a really cool time-lapse recorded by our good friend Mathias Weitbrecht).

Alex has been a tremendous inspiration and influence for me for over fifteen years, so the opportunity to share a stage with him—and making even a tiny imprint upon his creative flow and upon this extraordinary piece (which will most likely be titled "Cosmic Creativity")—was one of the greatest and most meaningful experiences I've ever had. I send deep gratitude to Alex and Allyson Grey, to the ISE design team for allowing me to offer this gift, and to everyone who was able to be there that night. I hope y'all had as much fun as I did.

I am very happy to now be able to share the first part of the soundtrack to that spectacular evening with you all. This is the entire first half of the set I played that night (with a few new wrinkles thrown in), and includes spoken word pieces by Alex Grey, Ken Wilber, Lama Surya Das, Sally Kempton, and Alan Watts. Some elements may be familiar to those who have hear my previous Empty Spaces and Dark Matter mixes. I hope you enjoy! 

Sutras: a mix by dj rekluse

For someone who likes to talk so much about spirituality, we don't get to hear about Ken Wilber's personal spiritual life very often. In this extraordinary clip, Ken offers an intimate recounting of his own subtle state experiences and spiritual practices, past and present, offering us a unique insight into Ken's ongoing spiritual life.
 

Ken Wilber's Spiritual Practice

This discussion of strength training goes way beyond the conventionally-stated benefits of slimmer waist lines, well-toned arms, or being able to bench press your own body weight. Your physical health and vitality are absolutely fundamental for a happy and well-lived life—your body truly is a temple, and you want your temple to be as strong and solid as possible. But a more contemplative approach to strength training (such as the one developed by Rob) not only helps you rebuild your temple from the ground up, but can also have as much of an impact upon the interiors of your temple as it does upon the exteriors....

Strength to Awaken

Our very own Stuart Davis talks to his Sex, God, Rock n Roll co-host Kandyse McClure about her childhood experiences of South African Apartheid, her time playing Anastasia "Dee" Dualla on the extraordinary science fiction drama Battleship Galactica, and how contemplation and meditation have helped her relate to her acting career as "a journey of self exploration and self discovery."

Apartheid, Battlestar Galactica, and Contemplation: The Journey of an Integral Artist