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Integral Studies:
A vision statement for the emerging integral culture
"I consider the ambition of overcoming opposites, including also a synthesis
embracing both rational understanding and the mystical experience of unity, to
be the mythos, spoken or unspoken, of our present day and age".
- physicist & Nobel laureate Wolfgang Pauli.
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Integral spirituality, deep science, and the emerging ecological awareness
There is a growing understanding that addressing the global crisis facing
humanity will require new methods for knowing, understanding, and valuing the
world which transcend the fragmentation, extreme relativism and nihilism of
(post)modern culture. Narrow, disciplinary, and reductionist perceptions of
reality are proving inadequate for addressing the complex, interconnected
problems of the current age. The pervasive materialist worldview, which is
based on the metaphor of the universe as a machine, promotes fragmentation in
our thinking and perception of the cosmos. This divisive, compartmentalized
thinking fosters alienation and self-focused behavior.
The field of Integral Studies promotes an integrated epistemology that embraces
both the rational, quantitative knowledge of external relationships (scientific
empiricism) and the intuitive, qualitative knowledge of essence and
meaningfulness (spiritual experience). This transrational awareness transcends
the illusion of separateness to discern the unity, the "unbroken wholeness"
which underlies the diverse forms of the universe. Our perception of
connectedness, of our integral place in the web of life, emerges as an
attribute of our connection with the eternal, beatific source of all existence.
This awakened spiritual vision "widens our circle of understanding and
compassion, to embrace all living creatures in the whole of nature". Our
behavior, as it emerges naturally out of our perception of the sacredness of
the natural world, will naturally embody love and respect for all life forms.
This vision promotes the healing of our long-standing alienation from the
natural world and offers hope for renewal in the midst of widespread cultural
deterioration and environmental destruction.
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Introspective examination of human consciousness reveals a
spectrum of subtle levels ranging from the most gross/ordinary to the most
subtle/contemplative, which are delineated rather precisely on the basis of
actual experience.The subtle levels of
consciousness, occasionally experienced spontaneously and developed through a
sustained and dedicated meditation practice, provide insight into facets of
reality which are inaccessible to the measuring apparatus of science, revealing
levels of significance that are hidden from ordinary scientific interpretation.Subtle
sapiential experience, which Einstein calls the "sower of all true art and
science",reveals a numenous presence in
which we "live and move and have our being"- described by Heisenberg and
Plotinus as the "translucent splendor of the eternal One shining through the
material phenomena".
Extending the empirical method to include the full spectrum of consciousness allows for
consensual validation of truth claims based on sapiential knowledge, supporting
an integrated epistemology that embraces both the rational knowledge of
scientific empiricism and the inner knowledge of contemplative experience.On
this basis we envision a nested holarchy of "integral sciences" ranging from
the most rigorous and reductionist at the lowest level of significance
(traditional natural science) to the most unitive at the highest level of
significance.This approach answers
Wolfgang Pauli's call for a "synthesis embracing both rational understanding
and the mystical experience of unity" while providing a remedy for the
spiritual impoverishment of scientific materialism.The
fundamental sacredness and profound meaningfulness in all life is realized,
giving rise to a more integrative, holistic, and
ecological
perception of the cosmos.
Published in the Teleological Origin of Biological Information econference.
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There is considerable evidence that the current age of materialist culture is
ending as a new structure of consciousness emerges, giving birth to the next
stage of cultural evolution. This nascent integral consciousness structure
embodies a new mode of perception which transcends the illusion of separateness
to discern the unity which underlies the diverse forms of existence. It
supports an integrated epistemology that embraces both the rational knowledge
of scientific empiricism and the inner knowledge of spiritual experience. It
realizes fundamental sacredness and profound meaningfulness in all life, giving
rise to a more integrative, holistic, and ecological perception of the cosmos.
The ethos of materialism and selfishness gives way to ecological sensitivity,
reverent care for all life, dedication to world healing and transformation,
spiritual awakening, and celebration of the wonder of the universe. Individuals
move beyond the limits of their personal vantage points to embrace their unity
with all sentient beings and their participation in the conscious evolution of
the humanity. This paper describes the characteristics of the emerging integral
"worldspace" and its potential to transform modern culture.
Published in MetaNexus Journal 2002.06
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There is a growing understanding that addressing the global crisis facing
humanity will require new methods for knowing, understanding, and valuing the
world. Narrow, disciplinary, mechanistic, and reductionist perceptions of
reality are proving inadequate for addressing the complex, interconnected
problems of the current age. This divisive, compartmentalized thinking fosters
alienation and self-focused behavior.
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There is increasing awareness that our society is approaching a "turning
point", a shift away from the mechanistic worldview of classical physics. The
emergence of modern physics in the 20th century triggered a revolution in
thinking which initiated a fundamental paradigm shift in our understanding of
the nature of matter and its relation to the human mind and heralded the
emergence of new forms of cultural integration. The proposed "deep science",
which integrates spiritual modes of knowing with scientific empiricism, can
produce a more balanced, ecological vision of the cosmos.
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This paper describes the development of a "deep science" which embraces both
the rational knowledge of scientific empiricism and the inner knowledge of
spiritual experience. It will require that, in addition to sensory experience
and its empiricism and mental experience and its rationalism, we add spiritual
experience and its mysticism (spiritual practice and its experiential data).
These contemplative modes of knowing may be able to provide insight into facets
of reality which are inaccessible to the measuring apparatus of science. In
this view, the transrational faculties support the spiritual science of
essence, absolutes, and unity, an essential complement to the material sciences
(e.g. physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) of substance, relativity, and
multiplicity.
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An integral spirituality will recognize the universal transcendent core of the
world's spiritual traditions while simultaneously embracing the multiplicity of
religious practices and beliefs. It will provide an integrating framework,
grounded in spiritual experience, which unites the disparate theological
systems by representing each as a unique but partial view of the same infinite
divine reality. Contemplation of the transcendent One develops the spiritual
faculties which enable the realization of the immanence of the One in all the
actual entities of the cosmos. As we recognize God in ourselves we are able to
recognize God in the phenomenal world. Nature is viewed as a focus for the
divine manifestation, as the medium par excellence through which that uncreated
beauty reveals itself and exercises creative activity. In this awakened state,
all of nature is viewed as sacred, as an expression or reflection of the
splendor of the One. This realization transforms one's relation to the rest of
the cosmos.
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In the awakened state, all of nature is viewed as sacred, as an expression or
reflection of the splendor of the One. This realization transforms one's
relation to the rest of the cosmos. Our perception of connectedness, of our
integral place in the web of life, emerges as an attribute of our connection
with the eternal, beatific source of all existence. This perennial wisdom
widens our "circle of understanding and compassion, to embrace all living
creatures in the whole of nature". Our behavior, as it emerges naturally out of
our perception of the sacredness of the natural world, will naturally embody
love and respect for all life forms. This awakened insight promotes the healing
of our long-standing alienation from the natural world and offers hope for
renewal in the midst of widespread cultural deterioration.
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Summary of an integral view of conscious evolution -embracing both rational
knowledge and contemplative spiritual experience- which presents all phenomena
as creative self-expressions of the eternal, beatific One: the source of all
existence.
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Slides from a presentation given at the
Interpreting Evolution: Scientific and Religious Perspective workshop.
It outlines an integral view of conscious evolution -embracing both rational
knowledge and contemplative spiritual experience- which presents all phenomena
as creative self-expressions of the eternal, beatific One: the source of all
existence.
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References for all papers on this site.
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