The Daily Evolver

American politics is riveted on bombshell accusations involving Judge Roy Moore, who is running for U.S. Senate from the state of Alabama. In a story reported in the Washington Post, he is accused by five women of molesting them when they were 14 – 16 years old. He proclaims his innocence, claims he always “got their mother’s permission” when dating young girls, and calls the charges a political smear. Regardless of the political outcome, our culture is getting a lesson in moral development in real time. Old Testament values that accept older men being with adolescent girls is today seen as creepy and abusive. Childhood itself has become reified as a stage of development that is sacred and in need of protection. Are children safer today than in 1970’s Alabama? Yes, and ever more so as stories such as Judge Moore’s spur us forward (but don’t tell that to Mike Barnacle, Maureen Dowd and the other wailers of woe).

Today we are joined by Greg Thomas, who has thought and written extensively on one of the most vexing conundrums in our culture: race relations. Greg attempts to chart a new course, one that includes the postmodern insight into oppression and its effects, but challenges its fixation on racial and victim identity. He appeals to us to appreciate the lived history of black folk and how traditional black expressions of the values of family and character provide a foundation for present day excellence. Ultimately Greg challenges the very concept of race itself, inviting us into a deeper transracial human identity, one that is being revealed by genetic science and which allows us to embrace the good, bad, ugly, and beautiful roles that all peoples have played in the history of humanity.

Most integralists are waist to neck deep in the postmodern world view, which we refer to as the Green altitude of development. Our emerging Integral sensibility chafes against the limits of Green, yet we remain deeply identified in ways that are worth carrying forward. The upsides of Green are astonishing: after countless centuries of brutality, culminating in the horrors of World War II, a new leading edge of humanity emerges whose ethos is sensitivity and whose mission is to rehabilitate the victims of history: the slaves, the sinners and the losers, as well as to grant a new moral status to the domains of animals and nature. The downside of the Green altitude is that it has lost faith in humanity. It is allergic to truth claims, it ridicules convention and is deeply suspicious of power. It’s role is deconstructive, which it often plays so thoroughly that there is nothing left for its adherents to hold on to. Welcome to the cutting edge of human evolution in the 21st-century! In this episode Jeff is intervi

Dr. Keith Witt talks to Jeff Salzman about the negative effects today’s polarized politics are having upon people’s psychological health, and the strategies you need to become more resilient — and less reactive — to the many stresses of our time. Topics include: The psychological effects of Donald Trump’s “bully” style of leadership, and how to counter those effects. Clearing up the confusion between the notions of resilience and of sensitization. How to create and play with polarity, without allowing yourself to become politically polarized. Caution against slipping into the sort of leftist overreach that is largely responsible for the rise of Trump in the first place. Encouragement to become more civically engaged in our political systems.

Jeff and Corey answer some questions from our listeners in this special Q&A episode of The Daily Evolver. Comment #1 from Michael, who recommended that when we have difficult conversations with other people to not just “be willing to be influenced” (an upper left quadrant activity) but to “pay attention to your nervous system” (an upper right quadrant activity). Question #2 from Howie: how do we talk to non world-centric people about climate change in a way that is meaningful to them? Question #3 from Jennifer: doesn’t Trump’s (and Jared Kushner’s) association with Saudi Arabia raise more red flags over the Crown Prince’s weekend purge?

Climate change is one of the most difficult and complex problems the globe is facing right now — one that requires a certain degree of development to even perceive, yet poses a potential existential threat to billions of people across the planet. And yet, it has proven very difficult to create the political will within the United States to actually do something about it — largely because of the ways many environmentalists try to bring attention to the issue, which often comes across more like an apocalyptic religion than a still-maturing science. When trying to communicate about climate change and sustainable initiatives, how can we find a way to convey the tremendous urgency of the problem without falling into the sort of overwrought alarmism that only ends up tuning people out of the conversation?

The end of ISIS as an occupying army is official with the fall of Raqqa, Syria two weeks ago. ISIS’s defeat was never in question: holy warriors led by God were never a match for the Goliath of modernity. But ISIS lives on in the minds and hearts of its true believers, some of whom would be oh so happy to take jihad to the Great Satan using modern weapons they could never themselves create. This time in New York it was a truck. Next time it could be much, much worse. How should modernity fight back now?

In this episode I take a look at a paradoxical move in vertical development: where we embrace our own radical uniqueness and express it in relation to other beings who are also utterly unique. It’s a new and more vivid integration of the individual and collective realms of reality, and out of it emerges a possibility for a more fruitful, happy and fulfilling life. Once again we are helped out by Sarah Silverman!

The gradual breakdown and reorganization of the prevailing world order–“the great release”–continues. In today’s Daily Evolver Jeff, Corey and Robb look at today’s groundbreaking headlines to explain how Red and Amber-centered populism, led by President Trump, gained power in order to combat the stagnation brought on by too much cultural and economic power consolidated in too few hands. Today, with indictments being leveled at three people working for the Trump campaign (one of which confirmed collusion with the Russian government), the Orange, Constitutionally-centered rule of law fought back. Orange is beginning to combat the hijacking of the national power by tribalist elements. What’s ahead? More fighting, or the beginning of a new integration of both sets of value? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

In the wake of the Trump election, many progressives are realizing that one way forward is to reach out to their political opponents, at least to establish a basic human connection. Today Jeff looks at four recent attempts to do that: by comedian Sarah Silverman, philosopher George Lakoff, Vox political correspondent Liz Plank and New York Times columnist David Brooks. Corey also adds some of his own integral tips for good interpersonal hygiene.

In this segment I review my new favorite horror film: “The Witch: A New England Folktale”. Created by young filmmaker Robert Eggers, it feels like something new in the genre, no only in how it was made, but it also in terms of where it takes the viewer. I nominate it for consideration as a work of integral art — as well as for your Halloween horror movie weekend (but watch it with the subtitles).

In a political system that is so polarized and seemingly rife with conflict between irreconcilable views, how do we make the best and most integrally-informed choices possible?

In this episode I review the movie “Dunkirk”, a wonderful new film by Christopher Nolan which I offer for consideration as a work of lntegral art. As I say in the podcast (and accompanying transcript), “Dunkirk” expresses traditional values in a postmodern voice. The resulting integration is both cool and drenched with meaning. The effect is that we lower our guard to become directly vulnerable to the predicament of the soldiers fighting the battle onscreen. I was thrilled by the movie and left feeling enlarged, as if I had experienced not just the suffering and heroism of the characters, but the suffering and heroism of humanity. Thus inspired, I offer this review to propose that “Dunkirk” achieves and transmits an emergent, post postmodern aesthetic. And to encourage you to see it!

In this segment I respond to a listener who makes a urgent request for relief from a bad case of “Trumpinosis” (fear and loathing of our President). I end the episode by sharing 15 minutes of a video of spiritual teacher Byron Katie as she helps a woman metabolize her distress at Trump. It’s a brilliant integral transmission. You can see the whole thing at “I’m Afraid of Trump – The Work of Byron Katie”

If Buddhism is a religion of peace, what explains the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, where the Rohingya Muslims minority is being killed and driven out by Buddhist militias, incited by Buddhist monks?

The Transpersonal Workout — I think I have stumbled upon a way to transform my morning workout from something I dread and suffer through, to something that has become quite meaningful and rewarding. In the process I have upped my weights, reps and results – and leave not just physically but spiritually strengthened.

Male domination of women is nothing new. Though modernity and postmodernity seek to dismantled it, pockets of patriarchy continue to flourish in the strangest places, even liberal Hollywood. Till last week …

In the wake of the Trump election, many progressives are realizing that one way forward is to reach out to their political opponents, at least to establish a basic human connection. Today Jeff looks at four recent attempts to do that: by comedian Sarah Silverman, philosopher George Lakoff, Vox political correspondent Liz Plank and New York Times columnist David Brooks. Corey also adds some of his own integral tips for good interpersonal hygiene.

Hey Folks, Today I’d like to share a conversation I had with one of my favorite evolutionary teachers, Patricia Albere, about her beautiful new book: Evolutionary Relationships: Unleashing the Power of Mutual Awakening. Patricia is the founder of The Evolutionary Collective, a group of committed integral practitioners who are investigating relationship itself as a means of spiritual awakening. I hosted Patricia as she started the Collective several years ago at Boulder Integral. I loved working with her; Patricia has a special, right-on-schedule realization, and the gift of real spiritual leadership in sharing it with others. Here’s the blurb I wrote for her book: “Patricia Albere has been conducting basic research into what it is to evolve in mutuality with other people. This book is a report from the frontiers of her explorations. What she has discovered is that love is not just an emotion but an evolutionary force, a force that drives all the fragments of the universe – including us – toward greater co

In this episode I attempt once again to plumb the shallows of Donald Trump's mind. I was spurred by an article in The Atlantic magazine about children who have been diagnosed with “callous and unempathetic traits.” In many ways Trump fits the profile of these children, who to a surprising degree do not respond to disapproval or punishments, but do respond to praise and rewards. The article reports on interesting new treatments that are helping these kids grow into better adults. Unfortunately, at age 71 Trump may be a lost cause. In the last part of the podcast I look at some of the ramifications of his psychological profile, specifically as it relates to North Korea.