The Daily Evolver

Today many pioneers of consciousness are experimenting with new ways for people to form more powerful, fulfilling relationships with each other. Some are focused on mutual spiritual growth while others are more interested in practices and processes that help people in workgroups be more effective together. Today’s guest, Llyod Fickett, is dedicated to the latter. Through his company, The Collaborative Way, he has developed, in his words, “an intentional way of working together that harnesses the collective intelligence, imagination and spirit of a company’s workforce.” The five-point method is simple: 1) be for each other, 2) listen generously, 3) speak straight, 4) honor commitments and 5) acknowledge and appreciate each other. But Lloyd, a long time student of integral theory, has elevated them to what I consider a second-tier level. In this conversation, he shares his insights from over three decades of work in organizational development, and how his methods can be applied to create healthy, fruitful relationships in all areas of life.

Dr. Keith talks to Jeff Salzman about Integral Life’s recent “Tap Your Power” event in Denver, CO, which featured exquisite teachings from himself, Ginny Whitelaw, Beena Sharma, and Ken Wilber on the many facets of power in today’s world — interior and exterior, individual and collective, all the way up and down the spiral of human development.

Today I’m sharing my I my guest appearance on Radio Evolve, a German podcast hosted by Tom Steininger. We talked world politics, and focused on neoauthoritarian movements that are challenging the neoliberal systems that have been in place for decades. Are they entirely regressive? Or are they also doing the work of progressive emergence? Join Tom and me as we try to sort it out.

Today we take a look at a significant new installation in the American cultural landscape: The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened in Montgomery, Alabama on April 23. The museum memorializes the legacy of America’s Jim Crow era, where black people were systematically oppressed and often terrorized, most tragically in over 4400 public lynchings. Our guide is Curtis Mitchelson, a Daily Evolver listener who suggested I look into the Memorial, the creation of which he has supported as part of his decades of work for social justice. Curtis attended last month’s opening ceremonies, and offered a first-hand account so vivid and integrally-informed that I invited him on the show to share it with you.

It seems that last week, during my “staycation,” I wandered my way into a five-day food fast. What started as a low-commitment experiment on Monday morning ended on Saturday with me in appreciation of some surprising and powerful results. I was inspired by friends and motivated by a book they recommended, The Complete Guide to Fasting, by John Fung, MD. The book focuses on the physiological benefits of fasting; it turns out our evolutionary history of often involuntary fasting means we’re built for it. But I was most amazed by the psychological and ”subtle body” effects I experienced. My hunger, which throughout my life has often been gripping in ways I can’t (or don’t) control, is for now relaxed. A week past the fast I still feel in a place of choice with food. The ten pounds of belly fat I lost is still gone, and I feel better all around. I’m on an extended state experience, no doubt, and state experiences are temporary. But when practiced and made conscious states create traits. So in fasting I feel that I have found a potent new (yet ancient) tool for growth and health. And it was actually fun! Here’s the story ….

In this episode integral philosopher Steve McIntosh takes us on a tour through the origins of integral theory, starting with Georg Friedrich Hegel, who first explained the mechanisms of evolution in human history, and on through a stream of philosophers who unified the evolution of matter, consciousness and spirit. He also considers a line of developmental psychologists, such as Jean Piaget and Clare Graves, who defined the distinct stages of human growth including the emerging integral stage. Bringing us to the present, Steve appreciates and critiques leading contemporary integral philosopher Ken Wilber, whose AQAL Model is the touchstone of current integral thought. He concludes by sharing what he considers to be his own contributions to integral theory, as well as ideas from other new thinkers who are adding to the canon. Understanding the history of integral thought helps us to situate ourselves in a lineage of philosophy that has itself evolved – and continues to with our participation. Steve McIntosh is author of Integral Consciousness, Evolution’s Purpose, and The Presence of the Infinite. He is co-founder of The Institute for Cultural Evolution.

It is an ironclad principle of human development: you can’t skip stages. Each stage of development builds upon the gains of the previous stages, and if the previous stages are not well installed things don’t work right. Unstable and uneven growth is a feature of today’s world, where four or five stages of development are online competing for dominance. In some places we see people with traditional identities trying to function in modern economies while watching their children be enticed by a globalized, postmodern culture. We may see in ourselves that we do not have some traditional qualities, such as self-discipline, well installed. Or maybe we are weak on modern qualities such as ambition. Environmental factors may be that we were raised in a chaotic, pre-traditional environment, or by postmodern parents who were themselves polarized against earlier value sets. Many forms of bypassing can occur in individuals and cultures today. That’s why integral practice includes a form of reclamation, where we identify and rehabilitate skills from previous stages that are absent or unstable in ourselves, our families and our communities. In this podcast Jeff explains with examples.

In this episode Jeff takes a look at three towering examples of postmodern art, and how they can aesthetically “move us” forward. Cirque de Soleil – a thrilling display of surface without depth The Seinfeld TV Show – a show not “about nothing”, just nothing meaningful The Saatchi Gallery in London — fine art that dares us to say it’s not fine art One is pretty, one is aggressively ugly and one doesn’t care one way or the other. But all are beautiful in the way they move the aesthetic line of development forward by liberating us from ideas of what art should be or do. Featuring a couple dozen images, this episode is best watched as a video.

In this episode of The Shrink and Pundit, Dr Keith Witt talks with Jeff about how to better support children’s development. Dr. Keith argues that the healthy expression of a person’s type (their preferences, gifts and built-in challenges) is based largely on their early relationships. The earlier in development we go, the more impactful the biological and social factors are in determining a child’s personality and typology. Before conception and during gestation, variables in parents will determine who their babies will become. Birth and bonding in the first year have huge impacts with multiple critical periods. This continues throughout childhood, with typological variables forming, being interactively reinforced, and then self-amplifying in personality development. Abuse and neglect are catastrophic to the developing child, increasing the odds of every form of psychological, relational, and physical problem. The less trauma we absorb the healthier the expression of our natural type. We can all get involved in preventing and remediating childhood traumas by providing more attuned care to children of all ages, as well as by supporting their mothers, fathers and the creation of a healthy environment.

Today Jeff is the guest for another in a series of “Integral Chats” with Stephen T Harper, creator of the What’s Your Theory podcast. In this conversation, Steve and Jeff discuss the enduring values of postmodernity (the green altitude of development). Postmodern thought gained traction after World War II and achieved fruition in the 1960’s, as a counter-culture arose to challenge the grand narratives of the previous stages of history, including the religiosity of traditionalism (amber altitude) and the rationality of modernity (orange altitude). Postmodernity called for a sensitivity to the plight of those who had been left out of the march of history thus far, and gave rise to the great movements of civil rights, feminism, gay rights, animal rights and environmentalism. The postmodern altitude of development is widely criticized for its excesses and political correctness (every stage has them), but as developmental theorist Clare Graves said, it also provides the values that “make us worthy” for the momentous leap into second tier integral consciousness.