The Story of Us

Where have we come from? Where are we going? These questions are as relevant today as they have ever been. As the older stories we have told each other about 'us' become increasingly irrelevant & sometimes dangerous, it becomes necessary that we evolve new stories, new visions and practices that will help us adapt to our global life conditions, and move forward into an uncertain future.

A first step towards evolving more comprehensive, adaptive and meaningful 'stories of us' is to help people everywhere understand the interconnected complexity of our existence.

The Story of Stuff is a fast-paced, fact-filled video that looks at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It intelligently exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and attempts to bring people together to create a more sustainable and just world. The Story of Stuff helps to increase the imaginative capacities of people everywhere by demonstrating the interconnected complexity of our existence.

WATCH & LEARN MORE: HERE

In 2008, challenge yourself to learn more about the world you live & to make a commitment to change your life by embracing the most authentic realities of nature, self and culture.

“To maintain a skillful balance between the inner and outer aspects of our lives is an enormously challenging and continuously changing process. The objective is not to dogmatically live with less, but is a more demanding intention of living with balance in order to find a life of greater purpose, fulfillment and satisfaction.” --Duane Elgin

Integral Theory into Integral Action: Mark Edwards & Russ Volckmann in Dialogue

In a series of ongoing, in-depth dialogues Mark Edwards and Russ Volckmann attempt to rethink the potential of integral theories, maps, models and their applications. Their dialogues are guided by the hope of making two important contributions: first, to increase the clarity and level of critical analysis of integral theory - particularly as it applies to the subject of leadership; and second, in comprehending how to use integral theory as an integrating device for the many innovative concepts and ideas coming from a variety of mainstream disciplines.

READ MORE HERE: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6 – Part 7

Mark Edwards is a leading voice and innovator in the field of Integral Studies. Russ Volkmann has a Ph.D. in Political Science and Public Administration from U.C., Berkeley, and has taught at the University of Arizona and several other universities. Volkmann is the publisher/editor of the Integral Leadership Review.

Unleashing Creativity

In an insightful keynote address at a Smithsonian event Paul MacCready, a pioneering inventor of the first practical flying machine powered by a human being, talks about “inventive creativity” and the importance of socially responsible entrepreneurship for our collective future.

As MacCready, who passed away in August, 2007 says, "Civilization is in the midst of unprecedented growth. This presents unprecedented opportunity and responsibility. Creativity and the associated invention/innovation and entrepreneurship, benefiting both individuals and society, are essential elements if civilization is to move to a desirable, sustainable condition".

In this speech, MacCready draws on his own experiences in unleashing creativity, and talks about the need to be aware of and integrate motivation, preparation, opportunities, positive attitude, teamwork, fun, daydreaming, perseverance, and luck into a more sustainable & healthy approach to life and work.

READ PAUL's SPEECH: HERE

“We are all too much inclined to walk through life with our eyes shut. There are things all around us, and right at our very feet, that we have never seen; because we have never really looked.” --Alexander Graham Bell

Watch Paul MacCready give a TED Talk on his life's work: HERE

Ancient Wisdom, Post-Modern Living

Don Alverto Taxo of the Atis people of Ecuador is dedicated to bringing ancient wisdom into modern living. He travels and teaches in the United States and Europe, encouraging individuals to bring more heart and intuition to their daily lives. "We all feel the need to live in harmony with all the manifestations of life," shares Don Alverto. "My invitation is to do it."

WATCH HIS INSPIRING VIDEO HERE:

Integral Review ISSUE #5

The December 2007 issue of the Integral Review is now available online. The Integral Review is an online, peer-reviewed journal focusing on transdisciplinary and transcultural perspectives that, taken as a whole, model integral ways of perceiving, thinking, researching, and serving the world we live in. The Integral Review provides artists, researchers and practitioners from around the world with a forum that encourages crossing conventional boundaries and scales.

READ THIS NEW ISSUE: HERE

Stress Reduction and Bodymind Awareness in Schools

As the principal of Needham High School, Paul Richards is making some radical changes. Among them -- homework-free weekends and holidays, and mandatory yoga classes! Mr. Richards asks his teachers to help develop healthy minds and bodies - teaching awareness for the WHOLE person. It's all aimed at reducing stress.

Many students were so stressed out about grades and test scores -- and so busy building résumés to get into the small number of brand-name colleges they equated with success -- that, he said, they could not fully engage with school. "One of our big goals is to try to help students become more resilient," Mr. Richards said. "So they don't fall apart if they get a B-minus."

READ MORE: HERE

Spirituality in Higher Education: Part 2

By Michael Waggoner

An emerging phenomenon on campuses and in the broader culture, spirituality in higher education reasserts the importance of a holistic understanding of life, one that acknowledges the place of spirit among ways of knowing. At the founding of the universities almost one thousand years ago, the prevailing worldview was grounded in religious ideas. This way of knowing guided the development of knowledge and society well into the 18th century, when the successes of modern science began to challenge the seeming inadequacies of religion's explanations of the physical world. The idea of unlimited progress through the advance of science evolved from the application of scientific discovery to quality of life improvements in health, technology, agriculture, and industry.

READ MORE: HERE

The Theory and Practice of Integral Sustainable Development: Part 1 – Quadrants and the Practitioner

By Barrett C. Brown

This is part one of a two-part paper that offers an overview of Integral Sustainable Development. The paper explains the rudiments of a practical framework that integrates the crowded conceptual and operational landscape of sustainable development and enables practitioners to 1) identify the full-range of needs and capabilities of individuals and groups, and 2) tailor the specific developmental response that fits each unique situation.

The fundamentals of this framework are four major perspectives and three waves of natural evolution. The framework maps out and integrates human consciousness and behavior, culture, systems, and the physical environment.

READ MORE: HERE

Prospects for an Integral Culture

by Paul Ray

All the ingredients are in place for a new "integral" culture, according to researcher Paul Ray. Paul's public opinion research suggests some 50 million people in the US alone are becoming what he calls "Cultural Creatives".

This article is adapted from his report to the Fetzer Institute and the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and from an article on the report that appeared in the Noetic Sciences Review.

READ PAUL'S ESSAY: HERE

See Also: Paul Ray's "RISE OF INTEGRAL CULTURE"

A Natural Philosophy of Agriculture

Masanobu Fukuoka is the author of One-Straw Revolution and The Natural Way of Farming, and has become a towering figure in the revolutionary field of sustainable agriculture. In an interview, he describes how his "Do-Nothing" farming methods might be applied to the world's deserts.

READ ENTIRE INTERVIEW: HERE

Read more about Fukuoka's unconventional farming HERE.

"Almost everyone thinks that 'nature' is a good thing, but few can grasp the difference between natural and unnatural." --Masanobu Fukuoka