The Daily Evolver

If God didn’t want us to eat animals, why did He make them out of meat?

How much consciousness do animals possess?

Rivers are people, my friend. And they’ve lawyered up.

This week I’m sharing another episode of what I plan to be a regular feature: my conversations with Stephen T. Harper. Steve and I are calling this new offering “The Integral Chat”, a series of topical conversations we’ve been having on politics and culture, and which we will cross-post to both the Daily Evolver and Steve’s new podcast, “What’s your Theory?” This week the topic was obvious: Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the dual storms that battered Texas and Florida in the last couple weeks. In this episode we look at how the climate debate has exacerbated the polarization of our culture, particularly between traditionalists and postmodernists. How is it that the political right and left can have such radically different views of what’s happening with our global climate, and what, if anything, should be done about it? Are we deadlocked? Can we fight our way forward? And why can’t science just settle things? As always integral theory helps us sort things out. I hope you enjoy the podcast!

In today’s episode I am the guest of Stephen T. Harper as he kicks off his new podcast, “What’s Your Theory?”, where he interviews people who have “good answers to big questions about how the world works.” And do I have a theory for him! One of the key tenets of integral theory is that human consciousness and culture evolve, and that’s where Steve and I focus. With his enthusiastic curiosity and flex-flow mind, Steve helps me map the “evolution of the interior” from the dawn of humanity to the present day where integral theory is so helpful for making sense of our world. While this podcast is an introduction to the principles of consciousness and cultural evolution, we use plenty of up-to-the minute topics and headlines to tell the story. Established students of integral theory will get a refresher, and newbies will get a good download of a foundational integral insight. If you have friends who are interested in an integral on-ramp, this is a conversation you might consider sharing with them as well. Here’s more about Stephen Harper and his new podcast: “What’s Your Theory…?” is a conversation and interview podcast featuring smart people with good answers to big questions about how the world works. Science, spirituality, politics, philosophy, physics, metaphysics, current events and culture… no topic is off limits as long as there is an interesting theory behind it. Are human beings only flesh and blood? Do we live, die… and that’s it? What is consciousness? What is the soul? How did we get here? What are we supposed to be doing while we’re here? Is life a school? A prison? A particularly awesome vacation spot? Is anybody actually driving this boat? Why can’t science and spirituality get along…? My name is Stephen T. Harper. I am the author of the Kings X Saga, a series of novels blending contemporary fantasy and world history to imagine the single greatest conspiracy of all time – the only conspiracy – the ancient and ongoing work to prevent you from knowing who and what you truly are. A lot of research goes into writing these books – a lot of questions and then a lot of answers that often create more questions. This podcast is my chance to ask and discuss them all with very smart and interesting people.

In this episode of Shrink and Pundit, integral psychotherapist Dr Keith Witt and I talk about how intimacy, longevity and happiness are programmed into the human genome, and accessible to all of us. But at a cost. Keith recently participated in an extraordinary conference called Plenitude near Sintra, Portugal. The conference brought together experts from around the world to explore a multidimensional approach to aging well. Join us in our discussion of some surprising and not so surprising data about the current state of longevity research and how it relates to intimacy and happiness from an AQAL perspective. What is the secret of the “Blue Zones,”–the five places on earth where people live the longest, happiest, most active lives? Why is social isolation more deadly than all the other problems of modernity? Why does it get progressively more challenging to satisfy our instinctual needs for satisfying social embeddedness as we develop? How do we maintain the marital friendship, marital love affair, and quick repair capacities in modern marriages? Join us as we discuss all this and more!

In this podcast we’ve spliced together the audio from three Facebook Live videos I’ve done over the last couple weeks. I’m really liking these quickie videos as they are giving me a chance to comment on current events in real time, particularly handy now that the news is coming at us so fast. Here are the three topics I explore in this podcast: (02:36) Trump is Irredeemably Red – There is just one thing that Donald Trump likes better than winning: fighting itself. His lashing out is hurting his agenda but he can’t seem to stop himself. (This segment was previously posted as a single, so if you’ve already heard it just fast forward to the other two segments.) (19:18) Loyalty vs Law – Pre-modern government is built on patronage and loyalty, while modern government is built on law and bureaucracy (the “deep state”). Trump operates in the former system and is at war with the latter. (37:53) The Uncivil War – Every developmental shift in consciousness and culture is accompanied by great conflict — including the political polarization of today. A few decades ago both the left and right occupied the same established developmental territory, traditionalism and modernism, so policy differences could be compromised. Now the left is occupying an emergent stage, postmodernism, and the fight is about identity. Full Podcast

Beena Sharma is one of the leading practitioners in the field of adult integral human development, specifically in mapping and assessing the levels of adult maturity. Beena has founded The Center for Leadership Maturity, in collaboration with Susanne Cook-Greuter, internationally known authority on adult development. Beena and Susanne have been working together since 2004. They work with individuals, teams, and organizations to facilitate vertical adult development. She is also a dear friend, who I have known and worked with for over 10 years. Beena brings to her work the rigor of a practitioner-scientist focused on good theory, concrete evidence, robust research and lived experience. She combines that with the reverence of a true spiritual practitioner who is herself in awe of the dynamics and the miracle of human growth. In this podcast, Beena and I discuss what she and her team are learning about how adults grow through the predictable stages of adult development while still remaining true to their own journey. We examine how we can consciously participate in our own evolution and growth in a way that creates a more fulfilling, healthy, conscious and fruitful life. I particularly appreciate Beena’s focus on mapping the later, Integral stages of development and how they show up in herself and people she works with. She offers some insights on how we can actually grow to those later reaches of maturity while also appreciating the triumph of where we have already arrived. Beena and I also touch on one of the essential tools of the developmental journey, that of working with polarities – the interdependent and seemingly opposite qualities we continually encounter on our path – and how we can begin to meaningfully navigate those qualities and paradoxes in an increasing profound way. Beena, as you will hear, is actively engaged with advancing both the theory and practice of vertical development in practical, profound and creative ways. For those of us who fancy ourselves as Integral practitioners, Beena provides illuminating insight into the territory that we aspire to explore and ultimately inhabit. If you are interested in engaging with Vertical Development, you can contact Beena Sharma at beena@verticaldevelopment.com.  

In this episode I am the guest of my longtime friend and integral comrade, Jason Lange, on his new podcast Do The Evolution. We hit some juicy territory in our conversation so I’m sharing it with you here on The Daily Evolver. There are certain questions that evolutionary thinkers ask themselves and each other constantly: What does integral consciousness feel like? How is it different from the postmodern worldview? Can we develop integral capacities through intention and practice? How does integral thinking apply to everyday life and of course … sigh … Trump? Having a good conversation on topics like these is itself a form of integral practice, and I felt literally expanded by this one with Jason. I hope you do too!

Diane Musho Hamilton is at the forefront of one of the most significant spiritual emergents in contemporary culture: the realization of the power of our everyday relationships, even troubled ones, as a means of awakening. For many progressive spiritual practitioners it no longer feels like enough to merely follow an individual meditation practice, as valuable as that is. We want to apply our enlarged selves, skillfully and in real time, to the circumstances of our complex lives, and particularly to our relationships with others. The spiritual potency of relationship is a subject Diane Musho Hamilton explores in her new book, The Zen of You and Me: A Guide to Getting Along with Just About Anyone. Diane grounds her teaching in the enduring cosmic polarity between difference and sameness. It is the sameness we share with others that provides comfort and safety, and the differences we have with them that bring liveliness and creativity. As integralists we are called to integrate these polarities into a deeper mutuality. Diane’s approach is particularly relevant to the contemporary social challenge of relating to our American family as it continues to polarize both culturally and politically. I always feel a little bit wiser after a conversation with my dear friend Diane. I hope you do too! Diane Musho Hamilton is a Zen teacher in the White Plum lineage as well as a renowned professional mediator. She is the author of Everything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution. She, along with Terry Patten and Jeff Salzman, host The Integral Living Room, an annual weekend gathering in Boulder, Colorado.