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For some time now, I’ve been feeling that I should throw my hat in the ring on the subject of ethics. A lot of my ideas and intuitions crystallized around a talk I attended, given by Roger Walsh at the Conference for Integral Theory at JFK University. In my soon-to-be-published book (SUNY Press), I even…

Traditionally, in AA terminology, the transformational event that leads to the willingness to do the work necessary to begin the journey of recovery is called “hitting bottom.” This is when the shame, failure, and suffering caused by using drugs are simply no longer an option, no longer acceptable to the addict. The precipitating transformational motivators…

The Worm’s WakingThere is a worm addicted to eating grape leaves.Suddenly, he wakes up,call it Grace, whatever,something wakes him, and he is no longer a worm.He is the entire vineyard, and the orchard too,the fruit, the trunks,a growing wisdom and joythat does not need to devour. This poem by Rumi is so good that it…

About three weeks ago, I attended a workshop on Integral Christianity at the Boulder Center for Integral Living in Boulder, Colorado. This center is housed in a former church building (with a storied past), and is the brain child of Jeff Salzman, who is an extraordinary Integral teacher in his own right (see video clips…

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. ~ Sir Winston Churchill…

Jesus said, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” This is a quotation from one of the “lost gospels.” This quotation comes from the Gospel of Thomas that was…

In previous posts, I’ve discussed how to include ethics and morality in your inner meditative work. But inner moral awareness necessitates outer moral behavior. For our ethics to be Integral, they must include ethical action in all 4 quadrants from our highest current level of development. An Integral Life Practice without ethics is foundationally weak. To choose…

One way to get at one’s shadow motives is to simply look deeply into any emotions, thoughts, or feelings that arise in meditation—or any other time. As we continue to let awareness penetrate the objects of consciousness as they arise, they will reveal themselves to us ever more deeply, until they too are empty or…

Here’s another practice to help with your ethical line. I’ve been working with and adapting the 3-2-1 method developed by Ken Wilber for making sure one is covering all the fundamental perspectives (I, We, and It; or 1st-person, 2nd-person, and 3rd-person) in one’s meditative practice. When an issue or emotion arises (and will they ever!) I visualize…

“Being a cynic is so contemptibly easy… you don’t have to invest anything in your work. No effort, no pride, no compassion, no sense of excellence, nothing.”– Molly Ivins I’ve been struggling with the idea of adding Ethics as a fifth line of our Integral Recovery Practice. Not because I don’t think Integral Ethics is…