The Daily Evolver

If there's one thing that people on both ends of the political spectrum can agree on, it's this: the system is rigged. But an integral view asks, “which system?” A historical survey reveals that over time humanity has created a series of political/economic systems, each designed to right the wrongs of the previous system. Essentially, the workings of any system is seen as corruption by people at the next stage of development. This bigger “System” of cultural evolution continues to create “systems” that are ever more equitable and humane. In this podcast Jeff explores what corruption looks like now, and how it relates to the US presidential election.

Hey gang, I couldn't stay away another minute. There's just too much happening with this crazy, mixed up election. So here is a new Daily Evolver podcast I recorded over last couple days, to share some of the evolutionary impulses I see arising out of this astonishing play of events. I focus on a new Integral sensibility that I see emerging among the Democrats. Their convention in Philadelphia was a beautiful example of a Green multicultural gathering, with every creed, color and progressive identity well-represented, including the first woman presidential nominee of a major party. I expected all that. What I didn’t expect was a gathering that was also lit up by Amber traditionalist values, old-fashioned values such as patriotism, humility, faith and optimism. But there they were: the flags, the prayers, and the sense of promise, even progress — all Integrated into a green, postmodern worldview that used to have antibodies to each of these things.

Years ago, a love relationship changed the course of Patricia Albere's life. "We entered into a very intensive awakening that we shared…and together we were being purified and processed by whatever this thing was." The Sufis refer to it, she says, as red sulfur, an intense awakening that can't be stopped. "It's like an orgasm that just keep going and going." Peter, her lover, died suddenly in a car accident, but Patricia was forever changed and her curiosity about this experience of mutual awakening has just kept growing. Can it be practiced with groups? Can it be cultivated? Yes, and yes. For the past several years Patricia's been at the helm of an extraordinary spiritual experiment called the Evolutionary Collective, which is asking these questions and exploring the territory of a post-autonomous enlightenment, transcendence in the interpersonal realm. Patricia has brought many years of spiritual practice into her facilitation, from the years she spent with Werner Erhard to her studies with A.H. Alm

Jeff begins this episode with a heartfelt reminder of just how valuable integral theory is for opening our hearts and understanding our world. It helps us to see and accommodate more of reality, to make sense of competing worldviews and conflicting truth claims. "All schools of human wisdom find their place in the bigger integral view," he says. Jeff invited special guest Theo Horesh on to the show to talk about candidate Bernie Sanders and the progressive movement he's leading. Theo is an integrally-informed author and thought leader. He’s been a political activist since the days of Ralph Nader and the Green Party, and is especially savvy about using social media to organize (check him out on Facebook). Jeff and Theo talk about: -Money in politics and income inequality: Sander's message of a moral economy -Sander's policy proposals are not radical or untested: the European model of socialism -The critique of Sanders: he's not integral -Bernie or bust: supporting Sanders as a referendum on Hillary Clinton

For many of us in progressive, postmodern cultures, our spiritual evolution follows a similar trajectory: we move from the conventional religion of our childhood (which in the West is theistic) to secular humanism, which eventually gives way to postmodern explorations of Eastern philosophy and practice (which tend to be nondual in nature). From a developmental perspective, this journey represents movement through the traditional, modern and postmodern stages. For some the journey continues with a new receptivity to God's love—a welcome next step to a post-postconventional relationship with the divine. Steve explores this idea in depth in his 2015 book The Presence of the Infinite. This upwards spiral is fueled by what Steve calls an interdependent existential polarity – between the nondual and the theistic – and he wants to teach us how to consciously use it to deepen our relationship to Ultimate Reality: to God and to Emptiness. Listen as Jeff and Steve discuss how this formulation of an integral, evol

Jeff begins the podcast by playing an excerpt from a commencement speech given by President Obama at Howard University recently, which had a distinctly integral feeling to it. Before challenging the graduates, Obama puts their place in history in context: "If you had to choose one moment in history in which you could be born, and you didn't know ahead of time who you were going to be ... What nationality, what gender, what race, whether you'd be rich or poor, gay or straight, what faith you'd be born into ... You wouldn't choose 100 years ago. You wouldn't choose the '50s, or the '60s or the '70s. You'd choose right now." It's an uplifting introduction based on the big picture, the arc of history, so often lost to us amid our daily toils as the cable news hijacks our amygdalae. "People realize," says Jeff, "that for all of our problems, that this is indeed the best time to be alive and that it's getting better." Such a vision of progress is a stark contrast to the everyday attitude of first tier consciousn

As humans evolve we are able to empathize with more and more life forms, beginning with other people and eventually extending to other species that may be very different from us–from elephants to insects. Jeff talks about new research into the interiors of tiny critters and explores the idea that consciousness is an irreducible aspect of reality. The Wilberian notion that consciousness extends all the way up and all the way down, from humans to atoms, is rich for exploration. Jeff is joined by a special guest who is working to implement basic rights for the elephants that have been held captive in temples and zoos and ill-treated for generations. Due to the controversial nature of her activism she has requested to remain anonymous. We’ve called her Annie. When we reach a green, postmodern consciousness, the idea of stealing a baby animal from its family and training it for our own amusement–a process called phajaan–literally "crushing"–is abhorrent. Thank God for green! Working only through social med

Carl von Clausewitz famously said “war is the continuation of politics by other means.” From a developmental standpoint, Dr. Keith points out, it’s the other way around: politics is actually war by other means. The 1800 election between Adams and Jefferson was the first ever peaceful transition...

In this week's Daily Evolver live Jeff takes an in-depth look at the beautiful and mysterious desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which he refers to as "our Arab frenemy". President Obama spent several days there last week—his 4th visit, more than any sitting president. Saudi Arabia is our biggest customer in terms of arms sales, and we rely heavily on their oil. And yet, recent legislation would provide U.S. citizens with recourse to sue Saudi Arabia for culpability in the September 11 attacks (Obama says he'll veto it). There is also a growing chorus of voices demanding the US government declassify 28 pages of a congressional investigation said to detail Saudi relations with, and support for, the Al Qaeda terrorist network before September 2001. Most Americans know that of the 19 hijackers who carried out the 9/11 attacks, 15 were citizens of Saudi Arabia. Needless to say, the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is complicated. The Saudi peninsula was populated by Bedouin nomads for thousands of

In this short episode, Jeff speaks with Bence Ganti about the 2nd Integral European Conference taking place in Hungary next week, at beautiful Lake Balaton. Bence explains the multiple wisdom streams converging at this event: Wilberian integral theory, Don Beck's Spiral Dynamics, the teal movement inspired by Frederick Laloux, circling practitioners, and Stan Grof's transpersonal psychology. As the refugee crisis continues, it's a particularly poignant time to think about what it means to be a European. Bence and Jeff talk about how integral theory can help illuminate, and maybe even ameliorate, the humanitarian crisis engulfing the continent. Tickets are still available for IEC 2016, "Reinventing Europe". Find out more at http://integraleuropeanconference.com/. "Mutuality and love...that's the essence of Integral." –Bence Ganti Send your questions and comments for the show to jeff@dailyevolver.com. Record a voice memo on your smartphone or use the Speakpipe button on dailyevolver.com.

Jeff often talks about how politics offers us opportunities to do integral practice, because politics has a lot of juice. "It really reaches down to our lower strata of development, down to our power and security chakras, which determine how we see the world," he says. Interestingly, and perhaps for the first time ever, we have presidential candidates whose developmental centers-of-gravity span four entire stages of development. Hence, they each speak to different parts of ourselves. Trump, for instance, has classic Red (warrior) tendencies. Red is chaotic, unpredictable, and often sees the world as divided into predator and prey, perpetrators and victims. Trump doesn’t talk about policy ideas or his vision for the country. He brags, and postures, and says "I'm going to be the best jobs president God ever created." No need to explain how. When asked why he would torture, he replied they did it to us first. Which is perfectly reasonable to an eight year old. Senator Ted Cruz represents the traditional, A

In "Wicked and Wise", Alan and Ken use climate change as an example of a wicked problem. “Integral coherence”, or applying the integral map in a coherent fashion, is the essence of the solution. In the podcast, Jeff and Alan discuss climate change, the problems of globalization and democracy, getting CEO’s to do the right thing, and even Donald Trump!

Dr. Keith has been working with men for decades as a psychotherapist. When he talks about masculinity, he focuses on the Warrior archetype, and beyond that, what he calls the “Man of Wisdom”. The Warrior is that part of us that is willing to...

Activity in the Mormon church seems to be declining – particularly in the West – and Thomas McConkie is witnessing what he calls a "faith crisis." Many people are questioning the stories being passed down to them, especially Millennials, who are effortlessly modern or even postmodern. Gold plates with Egyptian writing on them? Lost tribes of Israel in the Americas? Where is the proof? (And what about the sexism, racism and homophobia?) Thomas, who was born and raised in the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City and comes from pioneer ancestors, left the church at thirteen. This was unprecedented in his family at the time – a major transgression. When he returned to the Mormon church twenty years later, he brought an awareness of Buddhism, integral theory and adult development with him. It became clear that this faith crisis was systemic, and not just isolated to the individual. He was moved to find a way to re-integrate his Mormonism, perhaps providing a bridge for a new generation of Latter-day Saints to aut

The ability to remember the past and to imagine the future sets us apart from other animals. A zebra doesn't worry about the lion until the lion is upon it, at which time it reacts. If it escapes it will shake for hours afterwards to release the trauma, and then it's free. But humans have the special ability to imagine that lion attacking over and over again. It must give us some kind of evolutionary advantage or else we wouldn’t have developed this ability. Anxiety is part of the price we pay for our imaginations, and a self-aware consciousness. This subject is close to Jeff's heart. He describes a four-year period in which he suffered debilitating anxiety as "a black hole of self-focused rumination". He tells Dr. Keith about the medications, the treatments, screaming his head off, and what finally drew him out of that terrible place. Chögyam Trungpa used to say that anxiety is just the feeling of being a separate self. Research has shown that when we’re connected to each other our anxiety goes way down.

In this conversation, Steve talks to Jeff about the new paper he released through the Institute for Cultural Evolution, titled "Overcoming Polarization by Evolving Both Right and Left: How Polarity Theory Provides a Path to Political Progress." Looking at the current political climate in America, Steve writes, "Polarization now extends far beyond the uncompromising logjam in the legislature. Numerous studies have shown that much of the American public is afflicted by 'affective polarization' wherein opposing political camps increasingly dislike, and even loathe, their opponents." The American political landscape is a big polar contest between the political left and right, and inside these polarities exist other, more refined polarities with values that tug and pull at each other—a "dialectic fractal". Realizing that these naturally-occurring polarities exist, and that they’re meant to be there, can make the whole system friendlier and open up space for greater cooperation. The ideas that Jeff and Steve ex

Einstein's general theory of relativity got its final proof this month as scientists detected the bending of space and time that he predicted one hundred years ago. The world that Einstein showed us is so much stranger than what we could have imagined. It blew up our safe perceptions about time and space and light and gravity. But the mechanistic universe we inhabited until then wasn't wrong, it was just partial. General relativity includes and transcends Newtonian physics. So what effect does a four-dimensional reality, one that is interpenetrated with time, have on our view of the world? Is everything that has ever happened still reverberating in this very moment? Jeff looks at general relativity through the lens of integral theory and considers the implications. In the second segment Jeff is joined live in the studio by Steve McIntosh, integral author and president of the non-profit Institute for Cultural Evolution (ICE). It's a perfect time to discuss Steve's new paper "Overcoming Polarization by Evol

With Donald Trump currently leading the Republican presidential field, the race is finally getting interesting. Few people think he will ultimately prevail, but Trump can absolutely affect the outcome...

There are good reasons why, traditionally, politics and religion are not discussed in polite company. "It's because they express very deep patterns of our thinking and feeling," Jeff says, "if you start screwing with my spiritual beliefs and my politics, you're screwing with me and my whole sense of identity." In the podcast, Jeff talks about what he calls "integral political practice," the act of observing our attractions and aversions to different political ideas and even to particular candidates. In so doing we are engaging in the most potent practice of consciousness evolution: turning subject into object. He describes what he calls "the remote control test", which is noticing his instant compulsion to change the channel when Ted Cruz appears on the TV. What exactly is happening there, and more importantly, what's underneath it? Jeff plumbs the depths of his revulsion and finds some surprising truths! Also in the podcast Jeff talks to author Thomas McConkie about his new book, Navigating Mormon Faith C

In a healthy intimate relationship, the partners don't have to be turned on by each other all the time, says Dr. Keith, "but they do need to be turned on by each other regularly." Every couple has a balance of how much sex is needed to keep things vibrant, and it's the responsibility of each partner to make it happen. For many couples, this is something that must be learned and practiced. In the days of our grandparents, there wasn't much need for sex therapy. Sexual fulfillment was not an expectation for a traditional marriage; it was how you made babies. The dawn of modernity (orange) brought with it a value structure that focused more on the individual. With changing morals and the advent of birth control, the focus of sex became less about procreation and more about pleasure. Our personal sexual fulfillment took priority over social convention, and divorce began to skyrocket. With the dawn of the postmodern age, couples are faced with additional challenges. The main challenge is how to keep the erotic