In this short video, originally produced for the Ken Wilber Tribute earlier this month, we present some hard-cutting photographic evidence that once and for all dispels many of the rumors surrounding Ken Wilber's origin. Contrary to popular belief, he was not cultivated in a test tube or assembled in a top-secret cybernetics laboratory, nor did he arrive upon this world as a fully-formed bald ectomorph from the planet Uranus (though we cannot entirely rule out the Krypton hypothesis—Ken may or may not derive his powers from the light of our yellow sun, but has so far proven to be completely impervious to Kryptonite.) No, Ken's origins are quite ordinary indeed: he has a loving mother and father, he attended public school, he went to the prom, and he even enjoyed a short but glamorous modeling career before he could form his very first word (which we can only assume was "AQAL").

A (Very) Brief History of Ken Wilber

  

In November 2012, Ken Wilber and Kurt Johnson sat down to discuss integral spirituality and interspirituality, a decade after Ken's substantial discussions with the founder of the modern interspiritual movement, Bro. Wayne Teasdale (author of The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions). Kurt is co-author of a new book, The Coming Interspiritual Age, which joins the vision of interspirituality with the integral paradigm. The book's foreword includes the views of over fifty major spiritual and world transformation leaders. After a ringing endorsement by The Parliament of the World's Religions, TCIA has been among Amazon's Top 10 releases in Spirituality. Listen as Ken and Kurt suggest an exciting new role for spirituality and religion in the 21st century, rekindling our hope for a wiser, kinder, and more peaceful world.

You can listen to this discussion for free by signing up to the Integral Life mailing list. Just fill out the form on the right side of the page.

The Coming Interspiritual Age: An Integral View
Kurt Johnson and Ken Wilber 

  

One of the greatest highlights of the recent What Next conference was a very special 3-hour tribute to Ken Wilber on New Year's Eve, where many of us who have been so touched by Ken's work and friendship had the opportunity to express our love, admiration, and gratitude. Today we thought we would share one of our favorite moments with you all: Kermit the Frog's Tribute to Ken Wilber.   

The following are two long endnotes, and one excerpt, from my recently finished book, Sex, Karma, Creativity, which is volume 2 of the Kosmos Trilogy, whose first volume is Sex, Ecology, Spirituality.  They were written, in part, in response to recent articles on Critical Realism and Integral Theory, and, while appreciating certain aspects of Critical Realism, come out strongly in favor of Integral Theory.

Response to Critical Realism in Defense of Integral Theory

  

Today's cities are without a doubt the largest and most complex adaptive systems that evolution has ever produced, buzzing and bustling with millions of individual perspectives, psychologies, lifestyles, activities, and behaviors. For countless generations our cities have sheltered all of our inherited cultures, beliefs, traditions, and histories, sustained by a finely-tuned symphony of intermeshed systems—transit systems, legal systems, economic systems, political systems, energy grids, telecommunications networks, and so on.

It's hard to fully comprehend the extraordinary complexity and magnificence of today's globally-connected cities. This dialogue offers you the most comprehensive bird's-eye view of city living, city planning, and city governance that we've ever seen—a beautiful and sophisticated new vision of the Integral City, revealing all the features and dimensions that compose these modern epicenters of culture, creativity, and commerce.

Listen as Marilyn Hamilton and Ken Wilber take us on a guided tour through Integral City—drawing from the most up-to-date maps, pointing out the most significant landmarks, and steering us toward a far healthier, more productive, and more sustainable civilization.

Integral City: A Guided Tour
Marilyn Hamilton and Ken Wilber

  

Steve McIntosh and Jeff Salzman discuss Steve's new book, Evolution’s Purpose: An Integral Interpretation of the Scientific Story of Our Origins—a powerful and exciting argument for the progressive nature of evolution in matter, life, culture and personal development. He demonstrates how these fundamental dimensions of life are called forward into more complex and intelligent forms by the gravitational pull of Goodness, Truth and Beauty. Ultimately Evolution’s Purpose reveals a radical spiritual teaching, and it succeeds not by relying on established religious lineages but by pointing out the profound creative forces that are demonstrably at work in our world and in our lives.

Evolution's Purpose: A Creation Story for Our Time
Steve McIntosh and Jeff Salzman

  

Back in early July 2012 Greg Thomas attended the Montréal Jazz Festival, the largest such event in the world. Greg especially looked forward to meeting and hearing artists new to my ears. One such musician was the Norwegian pianist-composer-band leader Tord Gustavsen, 41. While his music certainly intrigued me, his intellectual background piqued Greg's interest too after having the conversation below. He wondered where Tord's depth of insight into himself and his music came from, because he very fluidly articulates a clear conception that we may well call Integral.

Tord Gustavsen's Vision and Praxis: The Dialectics of Jazz Improvisation
by Greg Thomas

  

For over a year now, Mark Allan Kaplan has been producing a groundbreaking monthly Integral Post series: the much-acclaimed Integral Cinema Studio. In this remarkable exploration, Mark walks us through all of the main elements of Integral theory—using some of our favorite movies to illustrate the basics of the Integral approach, while noting how each of these elements has shaped the cinema experience since the invention of film itself. Not only does this series offer a wealth of perspective and insight to film, filmmakers, and audiences alike, but it also brings more color, more sound, and more awesome explosions to Integral thought and practice! Listen as Mark and Ken Wilber take an in-depth look at one of Integral Life's longest-running series, Integral Cinema Studio.

Integral Cinema Studio: A Comprehensive Guide to the Cinema Experience
Mark Allan Kaplan and Ken Wilber

  

We are very happy to feature a new Integral Life Art Gallery by Michael Welch.

Allowing the creative process to uncover questions regarding my own true nature and my relationship to the world has become a freeing experience. Through the recognition of my personal role as an artist, I have learned to trust in the varied and unpredictable ways my work manifests itself. Although my skills have evolved since childhood, my communion with form and color has remained consistent and beyond explanation.

Birds and the human figure have been appearing in my work of late. I find birds vulnerable, mysterious and beautiful; and, like people, they are varied in their shapes, sizes, color and personalities. It's our shared vulnerability that interests me. We are all dependent on circumstances that are beyond our control. While people spend their whole lives struggling to find security in an increasingly insecure world, birds seem to live carefree embracing the moment not worrying what the future will bring. –Michael Welch

Untamed
by Michael Welch

  

Being close to our partner feels so good, so heartwarming and enlivening, that it’s easy to make a problem out of times when we don’t feel close to him or her. What we’re telling ourselves at these times we need to learn not to take so seriously — unless there’s physical or emotional abuse involved — for it is mostly just the voice of hurt or self-importance in reactive headgear. Our challenge, our ongoing labor of love, is to be as intimate as possible with whatever is occurring, including our and our partner’s stuckness, reactivity, or closed-off-ness. It is, of course, easier to spot the other’s stuckness and hold it accountable for ours. Why this is not funnier simply highlights the stickiness of our stuckness.

Keeping in Touch When We're Out of Touch
by Robert Augustus Masters