I have been watching the DNC convention like I did the RNC’s and despite the interesting news that its computer was hacked in the spring by Putin’s “Trump Super PAC” revealing emails of the DNC plotting to sabotage Bernie’s campaign, the night’s activities have been going smoothly with Sander’s speech unlike Cruz’s rallying his supporters to vote for Clinton. I have been up early listening to MSNBC’s The Morning Joe Show, and its take on the convention so far is upbeat compared with what was seen as the dark-knight-rising experience at the RNC convention.
When the convection coverage ended the other night, I passed by my bookcase and there was Ken Wilber’s book No Boundary looking up at me ‘vibrating’ with its cover of overlapping waves from drops falling into a pool of water. I first read this book in Beijing in 1989 underlining many points and after examining its table of contents turned to re-read Chapter 9, The self in transcendence, wondering why had I not been fully living these principles? It may be that I was not then experiencing Wilber’s ideas such that they left a mark on me in writing about what was then happening. However, only by looking back at my journals can this be confirmed.
The idea of no boundary reminds us of the recent experience of Pope Francis saying we need bridges between Nations not a Trump wall between Mexico and the US. No Boundary is about understanding boundaries first within one’s Self and then between Self and Others, which is about understanding “our selves in transcendence”. What seems to be emerging in our current political climate is that Republicans seem intent on erecting boundaries which Wilber writes goes against the evolutionary unfolding movement to no boundaries. The evolutionary movement of mankind is outward toward greater Globalization, not moving back to Nationalism and trying to re-capture our exported manual jobs from China. The evolutionary-logic of Trump’s party is not on the sound Darwinian ground as pointed out by Wilber.
It has been several years since I last read this book and so I looked up Ken Wilber on Wikipedia and also an update on his Integral theory. I then watched Wilber’s introduction to integral spirituality published on Aug 4, 2015. This clip is long-running an hour 45 minutes but I found it so accurate in laying out a framework to understand our World NOW – especially interesting is its insight into the reality of terrorism. It even addressed what the emails the DNC got tagged on, whether Bernie was an atheist, indicating a lower level of spiritual thinking by these staffers. Wilber sees the processes of our political life as retarded and offers an interesting developmental framework, centered in part on Carl Jung’s individuation, Abram Maslow’s self-actualization, and Eric Fromm’s to have or to be.
Wilber’s introductory Youtube clip’s description says: “Ken Wilber offers an introduction to a spirituality that honors the truths of modernity and postmodernity—including the revolutions in science and culture—while incorporating the essential insights of the great religions. You will learn how this new evolution in spirituality combines the enlightenment of the East, which excels at cultivating higher states of consciousness, with the enlightenment of the West, which offers developmental and psychodynamic psychology—each contributing key components to a more integral spirituality. On the basis of this integral framework, a radically new role for the world’s religions is proposed. Because these religions have such a tremendous influence on the worldview of the majority of the earth’s population, they are in a privileged position to address some of the biggest conflicts we face. By adopting a more integral view, the great religions can act as facilitators of human development: from magic to mythic to rational to pluralistic to integral—and to a global society that honors and includes all the stations of life along the way.”
Enjoy Wilber’s thought as we finish experiencing the DNC convention and then get ready for the election ‘reality show’ unfolding next? More at http://www.interspirituality.com.
SAScherling
Ken Wilber | Introduction to Integral Spirituality
Dialectic Analytical Man 
About Ken Wilber: One of Wilber’s main interests is in mapping what he calls the “neo-perennial philosophy”, an integration of some of the views of mysticism typified by Aldous Huxley ‘s *The Perennial Philosophy * with an account of cosmic evolution akin to that of the Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo . He rejects most of the tenets of Perennialism and the associated anti-evolutionary view of history as a regression from past ages or yugas .[15] Instead, he embraces a more traditionally Western notion of the great chain of being . As in the work of Jean Gebser , this great chain (or “nest”) is ever-present while relatively unfolding throughout this material manifestation, although to Wilber “… the ‘Great Nest’ is actually just a vast morphogenetic field of potentials …” In agreement with Mahayana Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta , he believes that reality is ultimately a nondual union of emptiness and form , with form being innately subject to development over time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber#Mysticism_and_the_great_chain_of_being (red letter emphasis mine)
As to “the work of Jean Gebser” mentioned above*:*
Gebser believes that mankind has mutated through four previous structures of consciousness and that we are currently experiencing the breakdown of the fourth structure and the first stirrings of a fifth and final, ‘integral’ structure that will integrate the previous four and re-unite our alienated ego with the world, while retaining our independent, conscious ‘I’. Gebser calls his earlier structures the archaic, the magical, the mythic, and the mental-rational, and each is characterized by an increasing separation from what Gebser calls ‘origin’. This is a non-spatial, non-temporal ground or matrix, similar to the Hermetic ‘One and All’, out of which the different structures emerge.
Lachman, Gary (2011-06-09). The Quest For Hermes Trismegistus (Kindle Locations 2535-2544). Floris Books. Kindle Edition.
So the original idea to that train of thought regarding consciousness “spiritual” evolution comes from Jean Gebser. There are other variations to Gebser’s thought besides Wilber’s. Also, Giegerich’s thinking would fall under Gebser’s Mental rational. Oops! Still one to go, Dr. Wolf.
Ubi
On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 10:40 AM, Dialectic Analytical Man wrote:
> Steven Scherling posted: “I been watching the DNC convention like I did > the RNC’s and despite the interesting news that its computer was hacked in > the spring by Putin’s “Trump superpac” revealing emails of the DNC plotting > to sabotage Bernie’s campaign, the nights activities have” >
Keep also in mind that the narrative *mythic and magical* is not *mystical* *Mystical is not narrative but a direct experience and would belong to higher levels of integration.*
On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 12:21 PM, Ubaldo Morales-Ramos wrote:
> About Ken Wilber: > One of Wilber’s main interests is in mapping what he calls the > “neo-perennial philosophy”, an integration of some of the views of > mysticism typified by Aldous Huxley > ‘s *The Perennial Philosophy > * with an account > of cosmic evolution akin to > that of the Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo > . He rejects most of the > tenets of Perennialism > and the associated > anti-evolutionary view of history as a regression from past ages or yugas > .[15] > Instead, he > embraces a more traditionally Western > notion of the great chain > of being . As in the > work of Jean Gebser , this > great chain (or “nest”) is ever-present while relatively unfolding > throughout this material manifestation, although to Wilber “… the ‘Great > Nest’ is actually just a vast morphogenetic field > of potentials …” In > agreement with Mahayana Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta > , he believes that reality > is ultimately a nondual union of > emptiness and form > , with form being > innately subject to development over time. > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber#Mysticism_and_the_great_chain_of_being > (red letter emphasis mine) > > > As to “the work of Jean Gebser” mentioned above*:* > > Gebser believes that mankind has mutated through four previous structures > of consciousness and that we are currently experiencing the breakdown of > the fourth structure and the first stirrings of a fifth and final, > ‘integral’ structure that will integrate the previous four and re-unite > our alienated ego with the world, while retaining our independent, > conscious ‘I’. Gebser calls his earlier structures the archaic, the > magical, the mythic, and the mental-rational, and each is characterized by > an increasing separation from what Gebser calls ‘origin’. This is a > non-spatial, non-temporal ground or matrix, similar to the Hermetic ‘One > and All’, out of which the different structures emerge. > > Lachman, Gary (2011-06-09). The Quest For Hermes Trismegistus (Kindle > Locations 2535-2544). Floris Books. Kindle Edition. > > So the original idea to that train of thought regarding consciousness > “spiritual” evolution comes from Jean Gebser. There are other variations to > Gebser’s thought besides Wilber’s. > Also, Giegerich’s thinking would fall under Gebser’s Mental rational. > Oops! Still one to go, Dr. Wolf. > > Ubi > > > > On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 10:40 AM, Dialectic Analytical Man comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote: > >> Steven Scherling posted: “I been watching the DNC convention like I did >> the RNC’s and despite the interesting news that its computer was hacked in >> the spring by Putin’s “Trump superpac” revealing emails of the DNC plotting >> to sabotage Bernie’s campaign, the nights activities have” >>
I am remembering you and our dialogues this morning after a full night of dreaming that i am still writing that book about. I hope you and your family are well! We are all doing fine, especially after a 3-week vacation back to Taiwan, just at covid19 was breaking out in China. I have just posted the blog titled ‘Health and Self-Actualization’ and am now writing ‘Health and Individuation’ and hope you are ‘healthy’ in both dimensions. Happy New Year. Steven Scherling
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