Open Source Integral?

[BrightAbyss~]

We've been getting a lot of questions about the concept of "open source integral", so I will say a few things about it:

The term "open source" comes from the history and language of computer programming. The 'open source' movement provided an alternative to Microsoft software - promoting the free and flexible exchange of knowledge and applications.

The Open Source Integral (OSi) Network is similarly designed to help facilitate the flow of information, knowledge and dialogue. We want to promote growth & provide a forum where alternative "integral" thinking can develop.

The term "integral" has a wide range of meanings. Hopefully many will be explored on this site. We suggest 'integral' signifies at least three overlapping phenomena:

- an emergent human capacity for more complex modes of being-in-the-world
- a particular subcultural event
- a growing set of ideas & practices connected by shared understandings of health and development

The purpose of the OSi Network is to help facilitate a critical rethinking of integral theory, practice and discourse. We are providing a 'space' for dialogue and personal expression within a growing culture of creative people, movements & ideas.

OSi is for people who want to build a community where people can meet, discuss, collaborate & co-create alternative "integral operating systems" and applications. For this reason we support a variety of 'integral' projects and approaches.

We know this kind of re:evolution in thinking is not the task of any single person. Research indicates that advanced human intelligence manifests collectively. And we would like Open Source Integral to help cultivate the necessary worldspaces for such growth - together in ways and forms still unknown.

As you will see, this site has numerous opportunities for self expression, through blogging, images, videos, music, creating sub-groups and customizable personal pages.

In short, the OSi Network has the potential to support a whole subculture of alternative 'integral' visions. But this network will only be as fruitful as its members are creative. Potential without action means little.

So the 'floor' is open. We want to hear from you! We are "open" to all kinds of input. We suggest members start with joining in on the discussions. Get to know each other, express your ideas, develop your personal pages - the more each of us participate, the more unexpected things will happen.

Thank you so much, and don't hesitate to contact me any time.

Michael~

[MetroPunk]

This OSI concept really resonates with me. We can "do" so much with this kind of thinking.

For instance, we can "rethink" everything from lines, levels, stages, and states; each with reference to more rigorous mainstream research!

We can pull apart AQAL and put it back together again, using, for example, Jung, Derrida, etc..

Where to begin though?

[MetroPunk]

As Bill Harryman says:

"Ken admits that his view is from 50,000 feet, and that there needs to be people doing the work to flesh things out at ground level. But I don't see that happening within his circle, so it's up to the rest of us to define an "integral theory" that references but does not rely on Wilber."

I think this is the key.

[William Harryman]

From my point of view, I think what many of us are looking for is a way to bring integral into praxis. There is a good new blog called Integral Praxis that seems focused on making integral useful in a real-world context. And Integral Review has been around for a couple of years, also focusing on praxis.

What is most needed is to put integral theory to the test -- does it work? Are its assertions true? Wilber's camp isn't doing that. But Don Beck is -- he has been on the ground in the Middle Wast, (Israel and Palestine) trying to create the conditions for stage shift among people who truly need it. He was successful in South Africa, but this is a much bigger challenge.

Each of us likely comes from a unique field of work/study where we can test the integral tenets. For me, I'll be going back to grad school next year -- and my PhD will attempt to study some specific elements of integral psychology. Even now, as a fitness trainer, I have been seeking ways to bring integral theory into my daily work.

I think this space creates a great opportunity for debate and sharing ideas. I look forward to the journey.

Peace,
Bill

[BrightAbyss~]

I think you 'nailed it' Bill. Those who are beginning to think and act through more complex modes of being are searching for ways to express and articulate their talents and insights in ways which are not limited by jargon and orthodoxy.

I think for people who are just beginning to explore these new forms of 'holism' PRAXIS is always at the center. In our fragmented and dysjunctured civilization people are compelled to seek out a new 'ethos'. But these potential worldviews and related forms of life (life conditions) overflow the established boundaries of tradition and convention in so many unexpected ways.

As William Gibson pointed out, "there are no maps for these territories".

And, of course, convention and the existing systems of power and meaning react negatively to such novel outgrowths, and move to entrench themselves in the current state of affairs.

Yet, in this time of global crisis the old ways just won’t do. Necessity can often make tyrants of us all, but when nurtured in a more embracing context, 'necessity' becomes the very force that propels us forward into more adaptive modes and lifestyles.

This is why ‘integral’ is still relevant. Our time is a time is in need of linking - of coming together to address challenges on a scale that our species have never encountered before. And therefore is it a moral imperative to include and analyze as much knowledge, wisdom and compassion as we have available.

What say you?

M~

PS-I think your blogging efforts at Integral Options Café contribute much to this movement.

[marmalade]

At integralworld, I just came across a recent paper by Kazlev. It seems like a new attitude/vision of collaboration is beginning to develop amongst inegral folk.

Evolutionary Allies
An Integral Approach
http://www.integralworld.net/kazlev15.html

Synopsis: In earlier essays I've made it known where I stand regarding Sri Aurobindo and Wilber. Now, a number of converging factors have brought home to me the importance of working together with mainstream Integralists in a more harmonious manner, while at the same time retaining my status as a strong independent voice. Various individuals and groups can serves as "evolutionary allies" and thus constitute an "integral alliance" of progressive thinkers and teachers that can help establish a new collective paradigm ("Spiritual Creatives"). But this is only possible if we adopt a non-sectarian approach. My (re-)definition of Integral can contribute to a larger definition of Integralism than that of traditional AQAL. The AUM 2007 conference, while not actually part of the "Integral Movement" as such, is nevertheless proposed as an example of how dialogue between different "evolutionary allies" can occur. I would especially like to thank Professor Charles Flores of JFK University, who was a panelist at AUM 2007, for his report of that seminal event.

[BrightAbyss~]

Check Out: A Plea for Solidarity

[William Harryman]

Kazlev is good -- he essentially sides with Sri Aurobindo's version of integral yoga, but he is very well-versed in the whole integral field.

Michael said: "Our time is a time is in need of linking - of coming together to address challenges on a scale that our species have never encountered before. And therefore is it a moral imperative to include and analyze as much knowledge, wisdom and compassion as we have available."

Compassion, I think, being a Buddhist, is a huge part of it. What often seems lacking in Wilberian theory is the focus on compassion that we need in order to affect change. But of course, this must be integrated with knowledge, wisdom, and an open spirit.

We have reached a place, to paraphrase Einstein, where the thinking that created all the problems we face as a species can no longer be solved by the same thinking that created them. We need to look at the bigger picture, see new and unpredictable options, and find ways to implement real change from the local level.

As they say about politics, it's all local. Integral praxis, in my mind, must begin at the local level. There are lots of great integral salons around the country, but are they just sitting around discussing this stuff with each other, or are they working to create change in their communities?

That, it seems to me, is the area where we need to be focused.

Peace,
Bill

[BrightAbyss~]

MICHAEL: Compassion starts with an appreciation between people (at whatever level of complexity they are at) - and becomes mutual dialogue & mutual growth.

BILL: "We need to look at the bigger picture, see new and unpredictable options, and find ways to implement real change from the local level."

MICHAEL: Indeed; and beautifully written Bill.. Where would you begin to focus your attention first?

BILL: "There are lots of great integral salons around the country, but are they just sitting around discussing this stuff with each other, or are they working to create change in their communities?"

MICHAEL: That is the $1,000,000 question Bill. Do you think it is possible to do both? Community is the most basic unit of social organization in my opinion. Everything must converge at the community level - so it is there that we will find the basic forms of power and collective creativity.

[marmalade]

Compassion, I agree. I've often used love as metaphor for(and fundamental archetype) of integral. To be compassionate implies empathy and relationship... but I would say that this goes a step further than just human relationships.

Archetypes are what structure our psyche. So, its through archetypes that we experience the world and hence relate to others. But its also through archetypes that we think at all. If our theories aren't created out of love, if our beliefs aren't motivated by love, if we aren't lovers of wisdom... then our relationships will reflect this(and vice versa).

So, the question to ask is... what is the purpose of integral theories(and all of these websites, forums, blogs, institutes, salons, etc)? If theories lead to argument and divisiveness, then what are we creating. Integral theories aren't just ideas, but visions of possible realities.

"MICHAEL: That is the $1,000,000 question Bill. Do you think it is possible to do both? Community is the most basic unit of social organization in my opinion. Everything must converge at the community level - so it is there that we will find the basic forms of power and collective creativity."

I agree. Collective creativity is the key. Even a forum as this reflects community and every discussion is an imaginative play of possibility.

[William Harryman]

This may sound like a strange approach, but I think we can learn a few things from the evangelicals and conservatives. They realized that all politics is local, so they systematically worked to put their people on city councils, on school boards, in state positions, and so on. One way we could begin to create change at the local level might be to become politically active at the city council level, or in school boards. The more integrally minded people involved in making decisions at the local level, the more likely we are to create viable change.

In the meantime, I'd like to see more integrally minded folks getting involved in non-profits, community groups, volunteer agencies, and so on. I'm going to volunteer here in Tucson for a wildlife rehab facility, and hopefully introduce some integral conservation ideas. If nothing else, these are the types of people who can create change in this realm, and I can possibly have influence on them. I'm sure most of us can spare a few hours here and there to volunteer for causes that are important to us, and in doing so, spread integral ideas into new realms.

The ways in which we go about this must be non-jargoned and easily explained, which poses problems for people like me who like complex ideas and enjoy the conversation. But to generate influence, we'll (I'll) have to dumb it down for the non-integrally informed.

I'll think more on this topic and see what I can come up with -- I totally agree that the community level is where we need to be working.

Peace,
Bill

[marmalade]

Bill: "This may sound like a strange approach, but I think we can learn a few things from the evangelicals and conservatives. They realized that all politics is local, so they systematically worked to put their people on city councils, on school boards, in state positions, and so on. One way we could begin to create change at the local level might be to become politically active at the city council level, or in school boards. The more integrally minded people involved in making decisions at the local level, the more likely we are to create viable change."

This doesn't sound strange to me. I've heard this kind of argument before.

The difficulty is that there are some major differences between integralists and those such as evangelicals and conservatives. For one, integralism isn't a mainstream social identity. At the moment, integralism is mainly a set of partially-related theories. There isn't a central Integralist organization nor an integralist political party. I live in a very liberal college town and I'm unaware of any kind of integral group existing, and if they do exist they're hiding themselves well. Integralists are only beginning to even agree on what 'integral' means.

Even if integralists get involved individually, it won't have a powerful effect until integral organizations begin developing in local communities(especially major cities and college towns). I'm sure many individual integralists are already involved, but the next step is to organize towards collective influence even if only on the small-scale of city councils and school boards.

I think you're right about local politics being where to start. I also agree with you on your last point about the problem of easily explaining a complex theory to people who might have little understanding or interest; and if they don't understand it, then there is no reason it should interest them. Evangelicals and conservatives don't have to explain themselves because even those that disagree with them already understand their basic viewpoint.

Marm

[William Harryman]

Hey Marmalade,

I don't think we need an "integral party" to get involved in politics. There are conservative integralists and there are liberal integralists. We may not have a coherent theory, yet, but there is enough of a foundation to introduce some integral thinking into local politics. We don't have to run as "integralists," but if we introduce some integral solutions to local problems, much is to be gained.

I live in a cowboy town, here in Tucson, and even we have an integral salon. I haven't been able to attend due to schedule issues, but the group is composed of people who could be potential candidates (doctors, business people, etc.).

Maybe I'm too idealistic, but then, why not? And why not now?

Peace,
Bill