An integral approach to faith development
Welcome
God be in our heads and in our understanding;God be in our eyes and in our looking;God be in our mouths and in our speaking;God be in our hearts and in our thinking;God be at our ends and at our departing.
-- from the Sarum rite
Invitation to engage
“I appreciate that everyone’s perspective is both true and partial, including my own”
Invitation to engage
“When feeling contracted, I will explore my assumptions”
Invitation to engage
“I will notice that which arises; I will make an object of my own awareness”
Invitation to engage
“I will attempt to fly a little higherand support others to do the same”
Invitation to engage
“I will watch the Thinker and feel the Watcher”
Why “integral”?
“It is apparent in our time that…all world cultures are going through a dark phase of internal transformation. Perhaps, at the same time, there are spiritually advanced individuals who are pushing ahead to new spiritual frontiers. What we see more evidently is that old religions and social structures are breaking down, patterns of community and family life are disintegrating, and compensatory efforts are being made to shore up the certainties of the past.”•Murray Stein, “Transformation”
Why “integral”?
Can we reconstruct “old religions and social structures”?
Is the breakdown of community patterns inevitable?
Is this necessarily even a problem?
Why “integral”?
“There will not be one best way of being human, but a rich ecology… though it is clear to me that a paradigm shift is required if we are to reinterpret the present as the prelude to better futures.”•James Ogilvy, “Creating Better Futures”
The essence of the integral project
Midwifing the integration of all human knowledge, experience, wisdom and reflection from all human civilizations—premodern, modern and postmodern – by transcending the limitations and preserving the value of everything humans have understood so far.
An integral journey into Christ
Any truly integral approach will:Turn always toward ChristGather and consider all ways of experiencing and understanding GodEmbrace the movement of created toward Creator and the gifts of Grace bestowed
The 3-2-1 of God
Dimensions of Reality
All human languages have structures to indicate “I” and “WE” perspectives and “IT”perspectives on experience
Dimensions of Reality
These dimensions are present in all human situations whether or not you have a mental model that supports you in recognizing them
Dimensions of Reality
All languages therefore recognize at least these dimensions as inherent in human experience, including experiences of the Divine
`̀
BehavioralIndividual
Objective:Measurable
viability
Collective
Intentional
StructuralCultural
We can map these We can map these experiencesexperiences
Subjective: Interpretedvalidity
Guiding distinctions
“We live in and through a complex interaction of spirit and matter, a complex interaction of what is inside us and what is ‘out there’”••Parker Palmer, Parker Palmer, ““The Active The Active LifeLife””
`̀
ObjectiveFactsTangibleSimple location“Visible” forms and surfacesEmpirically measurable
What are the age, weight, size of the manuscript? (i.e., Dead Sea scrolls, NRSV Bible)
`̀
SubjectiveInterpretationIntangibleNo spatial locationInvisibleSelf-sense & consciousnessMeaning/values validity
What is the meaning of the parable? For the authors? Now?
Subjective
These are the “theories”that determine what facts we see and that, in turn, are influenced by what we encounter “out there”
Objective
Medical “facts”:Demons to humors to bacteria/viruses to mind/body
Physics:Aristotle to Galileo to Newton to Einstein
Both/And
While the attention and intention of the observer affects what is observed…
…regardless of how else they are interpreted, diamonds will always cut glass
Two other Two other dimensionsdimensions
INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUAL AGENTAGENT
COLLECTIVE COLLECTIVE CONTEXTCONTEXT
Upper
Lower
Novelty, innovation generation
Stability, consistency generation
INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUAL AGENTAGENT
COLLECTIVE COLLECTIVE CONTEXTCONTEXT
I
WE
IT
ITSITS
SUBJECTIVE INTENTIONAL
OBJECTIVE BEHAVIORAL
CULTURAL INTERSUBJECTIVE
SOCIAL INTEROBJECTIVE
Beautiful
Good
TrueTrue
SUBJECTIVE INTENTIONAL
OBJECTIVE BEHAVIORAL
CULTURAL INTERSUBJECTIVE
SOCIAL INTEROBJECTIVE
The 3-2-1 of God
Seeking God in the third person:
Contemplating, thinking, studying, talking aboutGod
`̀
It/ItsIt/Its
“True”“True”
The 3-2-1 of God
Seeking God in the second person:
Listening to, praying to, receiving from, communing with God
`̀
We (I/Thou) “Good”
The 3-2-1 of God
Seeking God in the first person:
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5-11
`̀I (witness)
“Beautiful”
Another set of “both/and” dimensions
and involution
both evolution
`̀
SPIRIT - SOUL
HUMANS - MIND
ANIMALS - BODY
LIFE - CELLS
EARTH - MATTER
QUANTUM - ENERGY
Eros Eros (Ascendant)(Ascendant)
AgapeAgape(Descendant)(Descendant)
SPIRIT - SOUL
HUMANS - MIND
ANIMALS - BODY
LIFE - CELLS
EARTH - MATTER
QUANTUM - ENERGY
Eros Eros (Ascendant)(Ascendant)
AgapeAgape(Descendant) (Descendant)
Evolution as transcendence
SPIRIT - SOUL
HUMANS - MIND
ANIMALS - BODY
LIFE - CELLS
EARTH - MATTER
QUANTUM - ENERGY
Eros Eros (Ascendant)(Ascendant)
Natural drive “upward” toward increasing differentiation, consciousness, depth, complexity, adaptive capacity, holism and integration
Involution as manifestation
SPIRIT - SOUL
HUMANS - MIND
ANIMALS - BODY
LIFE - CELLS
EARTH - MATTER
QUANTUM - ENERGY
AgapeAgape(Descendant)(Descendant)
The “downward” grace “in which we live, move and have our being”that gives actuality to forms in all their particularity and invites these into ever-more inclusive fields of potentiality
Seeking Christ
SPIRIT - SOUL
HUMANS - MIND
ANIMALS - BODY
LIFE - CELLS
EARTH - MATTER
QUANTUM- ENERGY
How do we meet Christ in each other?
Where are others looking to find Christ?
The Spectrum of Faith
What is universal?
Each of us seeks to make Each of us seeks to make meaning of our experience meaning of our experience as creaturesas creatures
What is “particular”?
Each of us is a unique Each of us is a unique creature to whom Christ is creature to whom Christ is closer than our own breathcloser than our own breath
““The perfection of the universe is The perfection of the universe is attained essentially in the diversity attained essentially in the diversity of natures in it.of natures in it.”” St ThomasSt Thomas
Universal
Each of us is a whole entity with identifiable boundaries that is also a part of some whole more inclusive than itself
Electron > Atom > Molecule > Cell > Organism
Adapted from Ken Wilber’s “Sex, Ecology and Spirituality”
Universal
SPIRIT - SOUL
HUMANS - MIND
ANIMALS - BODY
LIFE - CELLS
EARTH - MATTER
QUANTUM - ENERGY
Eros Eros (Ascendant)(Ascendant)
AgapeAgape(Descendant) (Descendant) Lower contained in higher, but not
vice versa (at least, recognizably)
Physics > Biology > Psychology
Higher levels more inclusive not “better” than lower
Greater numbers at lower levels; fewest at highest
Bacteria > Mammals > Anglicans
Adapted from Ken Wilber’s “Sex, Ecology and Spirituality”
Particulars within universals
6 billion humans: a spectrum of meaning-making frameworks with identifiable distinctions
Mixed uniquely in each of us, and expressed in infinite ways
Seeing What Others See
Our understanding of mindsets helps increase our empathy for the views of others.
Levels that transcend and include
Increasingly complex waves of differentiation and integration
“Invariant” unfolding
With rare exceptions, we crawl before we walk, we walk before we run. Each of us begins at the start, but we may end very differently.
A wine-tasting
First, simply notice what arises in you…
…neither rejecting nor embracing – fully tasting and letting go…
…returning to NOW over and over
Symbiotic
Undifferentiated/Instinctive“Survive by automatic responses”
A state of natureAct much as other animals
Tension and release100,000 years ago
infrared
Symbiotic groups
“Leaderless”herd behavior
Symbiotic “spirituality”
Pre-verbal, undifferentiated “faith”
Nearest to “ground of Being”Virtually no intentional sense of spiritual engagement or interpretation“Trailing clouds of glory” but primarily biological or instinctual responses
Seeks God in…
No awareness of God; instinctual draw to source of food, water, sex, warmth
May be vested in hunter or caretaker or biological stimuli
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
• Awakening of sense of dependent self• Experiencing mysterious and frightening
world• Being with others is safer than being
alone
magenta
Impulsive
Safety in our clan’s ways
Magical, animistic thinkingImmediate needs gratification
Powerful shamans, wisewomen50,000 years ago
magenta
Impulsive groups
Focal point: center of circular structure of clan, tribe or family
Impulsive spirituality
Intuitive-Projective MagicalFaith closely associated with priest, minister or other leaderEarthly leader makes ritualistic requests of magical God to secure safety and security for the people. Drawn to powerful symbols, especially of good and evilNeeds dependable ritualDeeply influenced by examples, moods, actions and stories of powerful others
Seeks God in…
Little choice: Threatening world of mostly magical forces and lack of fully separate “self” cause embeddedness in family, church group
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
• Awakening of one’s sense of agency• Experiences of powerlessness • Testing the bonds of family/clan safety• Budding sense of one’s individual
power
red
Opportunistic
Express self, blind to the self-hood of others
Egocentric/exploitativeImmediate pleasure/pain responses
Power focused10,000 years ago
red
Opportunistic groups
Volatile packs led by “empire-builders”manipulating lieutenants
Opportunistic Spirituality
Mythic-Literal faithTransactional: Granted prayer requests signs of God’s approval“God of power and might” as source of fear, respect, strengthDivinity may have location and physicalityInspirational symbolism taken as literalDesire to internalize relationship with God leads to story-telling narrative as path of understanding
Seeks God in…
Anthropomorphic, stern but just “parent”Discovery that myprayers have powerStory and narrativePhysical, emotional confirmation
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
• Exhausted by the impossible task of relentless energy expenditure and alertness
• Questioning the reasons for life and death• Being drawn by desire for clarity, direction,
meaning or purpose
amber
Diplomat
Serve according to higher authority
Purpose in causesAbsolutistic, ethnocentric; by the Book
Guilt-based sacrificeBelongingness/Group Approval
5,000 years agoamber
Diplomatic groupsHierarchical structures reliant on protocol to fulfill mission through
deferred positional authority
Diplomatic Spirituality
Synthetic-Conventional faithInternalized mythos woven into all aspects of life as cohering orientation“By the Book” consistent, but non-reflexive ideologyGod loves “us,” but you can join usGood and evil clearly defined but redemption is possible
Seeks God in…
Divine authority speaking through positional earthly authorityThe One Truth that offers answers delivered through a chain of command Trust in purpose, duty, honor resident in authority of churchThose who are “nice” or “good”Experiences God largely in interpersonal terms
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
• Noticing that some truth resides in self• Renewed sense of independent self• Increasing pragmatism challenging higher
authority• Scientific experimentation, research into other
possibilities
orange
Expert/Achiever
Individual striving to better the self and society, and to live well
Determine best among many approachesSelf-directed, goal-oriented
Empirical, materialistic, multiplistic300 years ago
orange
Achiever groupsOrganized around efficient access to proven expertise. “Authority” earned and conferred.
Achiever Spirituality
Individuative-Reflexive faithLate-conventional stage translates inspirations into actionable conceptsEarlier constructs examinable; self beyond rolesDoubt, opposition are non-threatening; critical reflection seeks the defensible construed as demythologized insight“Attainment” aspect can lead to spiritual materialism; overconfidence in reductionist, rational mind leads to minimal attention to non-conscious or transpersonal factors
Seeks God in…
Study and other rational analysisPersonal relationship with JesusInspiration by charismatic or otherwise socially influential ChristiansExternal evidence such as prosperity theologies, science or verifiable historical support
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
• “How can everyone else be wrong?”• Rational self noticing “non-conscious”
hungers, voices and guidances, or disruptions
• Emerging sense of the truth of the other
• New openness to subjectivity
green
Individualist
Everything is relative;many perspectives reveal more of reality
Socio-centric emphasis on consensus, sensitivity to feelings and human needs
Everybody’s experience is equally validPluralistic perspective taking
About 150 years ago
green
Individualist groups
Pluralistic, like-minded “circles”of mutual regard
Individualist Spirituality
Conjunctive faith Post-conventional, non-rational reunion with conceptual meanings: “re-mythologized”Open both to many “selves” and recognizing the “truth of the other”More porous, permeable boundaries capable of accepting paradoxesWorldcentric freedom gives rise to catalyzing transformation in others Complex, creative pluralism can lead to spiritual dilettantism
Seeks God in…
Any source of peace, love, growth and harmony, including – if not privileging – non-Christian, Eastern or indigenous traditionsNeo-pantheistic nature mysticism; “web of life” or “Indira’s net”Dialogue, social justice, non-violent activism, liberation Increasing self-awareness; greater empathy and tolerance
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
• “Are there no enduring principles?”• Noticing new paradoxes that relativism
can’t resolve• Process-weary, “compassion burn-out”• Inquiring, interdependent self emerging• Lessening interest in approval; urgency lies
elsewhere
teal
1st Tier, 2nd and 3rd Tier
Stable non-dual statesEgo-aware
CentaurStrategist
IndividualisticAchiever
DiplomaticOpportunistic
ImpulsiveSymbiotic
First tier Second tier
Second tier Third tier
Distinguishing 1st and 2nd Tier
The first-tier “tyranny of should”Our meaning-making frameworks themselves finally become an object to our subjective selfWe act mindfully on behalf of the health of Spirit-in-action as our way of beingFully post-conventional, heading for post-conceptual, transpersonal
Strategist
Autonomously responsible agents expressing as instruments of
adaptation
Paradox and ambiguity as sources of inspiration
Reflective action in the face of multiple time horizons, complexity, & change
Parabolic languageAbout 50 years ago
teal
Strategist groups
Situational, competence-based “flex-flow”
What’s needed when and for how long?
Strategist spirituality
Universalizing faith “Neo-deistic” mysticism prevalent; grounded in particular, open to universal Recognizes partial or attenuated truths, and qualitative differences Integrated “centauric-self”; contagious incarnators of the Kingdom of GodCherishes ritual, myth and symbol as mediators of Being
Seeks God in…
Source of universal principles guiding functional ways to be and coexist as colonists of the kingdom of God On-going process of kenosisDynamic panentheismTranscendent, transpersonal repository of burden for self-integration, self-justificationActive “dark night of the senses”
States: Wilber-Combs lattice
Not simply increasing “horizontal” complexity of spiritual awareness…
States: Wilber-Combs lattice
…but increasingly stable awareness of and access to states of spiritual experience
Gross NondualSubtle Causal
States: Wilber-Combs lattice
Gross Subtle Causal Nondual
Nature Diety Formless Nondual
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
• Awakening of experiential self• Increasingly interested in deep
processes of “being”• Applying knowledge of many kinds to
reconstruct systemic flows• Seeking to add to the creation of new
harmonies
turquoise
Centaur
Ruthlessly compassionate/contemplative self in service of higher Self
Planetary concernsConstruct-awareness
Harmonistic/ContemplativeDeep processes rule principles
30 years ago
turquoise
Centaur groups
Context-dependant, holistic informational networks weaving all previous structures.
Artwork by Alex Grey
Centaur spirituality
“Subtle”or early post-conceptual faithFormless mysticism prevalentGuided by “path of sainthood”Soul experienced as being mediated, as undeniable nature, as flowing stream and the one still unmoving center at the hubEmbodied, transmental, post-conceptual gnosis in partnership with the Divine No longer simply figure imposed on background of being, but also more closely identified with the Divine manifesting as figure
Seeks God in….
Serving as both a gift and a challenge to the “clan of sentient beings”Inspired by prospects of realization for self and othersNon-dual state experiences of mind, bliss or beautyActive “dark night of the soul”
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Phase transition
indigo
• “Self” or ego increasingly anchored transpersonally
• Increased humility and acceptance of joy/pain; perfection/disharmony and other paradoxes
• Increasing experiences of pure awareness and resulting “no-perspective” wisdom
Ego-aware
indigo
The Way can be known, but not by conceptual mind alone
Fully emptied presence and boundless radianceSubject-object duality transcended
Still center as source10 – 15 years ago?
Ego-aware “groups”
Relative realm: All previous structures (AQAL)
Absolute realm:Formless awareness or “the simple feeling of Being”
Ego-aware spirituality
Non-dual “faith”Post-conceptual unity awarenessFormless to non-dual mysticism prevalentOne-taste, ego-death Christ-consciousness embodied as changing states of awareness within timeless SpiritRecognize that any further gifts of insight and development are not achieved nor pursued, but arise as the will of the Divine
Seeks God in…
Magnetized by twin movements of agape and eros as vessel of evolution for later generations God-head: No-self, no-God, no-“thingness” – subject-object duality transcendedWitnessing “suchness” as flux and emptiness; awareness just another phenomenonDark night of the self
What Do You Notice?
What emotional or physical response did you notice?What thoughts or images arose? How does this show up in your family, church or work situation?Two or three questions…Cleanse your palette, please…
Distinguishing 2nd and 3rd Tier
Post-conceptual, fully transpersonal Subject/object duality transcended: “not one, not two”Stable access and navigation of gross, subtle, causal and non-dual states
Stable non-dual statesviolet
Increasing awareness, experience and gnosis of formless awareness: “no-perspective”
3rd tier spirituality
Instrumental injunction:“If you want to know this, do this…”Intuitive apprehension:Direct experienceCommunal confirmation(or rejection): Check with those who have adequately completed the injunction
This presentation is deeply indebted to the pioneering work of Ken Wilber, Susann Cook-Greuter, James Fowler, Robert Kegan, Don Beck and Chris Cowan to whom we are profoundly grateful.