Integral: to integrate, to bring together, to join, to link, to embrace. Not in the sense of uniformity, but in the sense of unity-in-diversity.

An integral approach acknowledges and addresses mind, body, soul and spirit; the individual and the collective; as well as the interior and exterior aspects of Life. It includes approaching any subject matter from biological, neurological, societal, cultural, psychological, and spiritual fields of study, research, and wisdom.

Next Step Integral utilizes Ken Wilber’s integral model as a guiding, organizing, inspiring and evolving matrix for studying, exploring and then embodying next steps in consciousness evolution. We therefore provide here a brief description of this integral map and what it encompasses for those of you not yet familiar with it. More »

Consciousness:

"The nature of consciousness is in knowing and thinking. The virtue of consciousness is in love. Knowing, thinking, and love are the fundamental functions of human consciousness, the full realization of which constitutes the fulfillment of humanity, of what it means to be human." (Yasuhiko Genku Kimura)

“The functions of consciousness include perceiving, desiring, willing and acting. The structures of consciousness, some facets of which can be unconscious, include body, mind, soul, and spirit. The states of consciousness include normal (e.g., waking, dreaming, sleeping) and altered (e.g., nonordinary, meditative). The modes of consciousness include aesthetic, moral and scientific. The development of consciousness spans the entire spectrum from prepersonal to personal to transpersonal, subconscious to self-conscious to superconscious, id to ego to Spirit. The relational and behavioral aspects of consciousness refer to its mutual interaction with the objective, exterior world and the sociocultural world of shared values and perceptions.” (Ken Wilber)

And from the dictionary….

con·scious·ness ( kŏn'shəs-nĭs) n.

1. The state or condition of being conscious.

2. A sense of one's personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual or group: Love of freedom runs deep in the national consciousness.

3. a)Special awareness or sensitivity: class consciousness; race consciousness.

b) Alertness to or concern for a particular issue or situation: a movement aimed at raising the general public's consciousness of social injustice.

4. In psychoanalysis, the conscious.

The Good, the True and the Beautiful are equally honored forms of truth, as formulated by Plato. These three correlate with Wilber’s four quadrants if we put the two objective exterior quadrants together:

“So that is exactly what we will want to watch for: ways to integrate mind and culture and nature in the postmodern world. Which is to say, ways to honor Spirit in all four quadrants, to recognize the four faces of Spirit — or simply the Big Three — and thus attune ourselves to, and situate ourselves in, and give blessings for: the Good, and the True, and the Beautiful.” (Wilber, 1996 :131)

Integral Practice (IP) or Integral Life Practice (ILP) is a spiritual practice that makes use of the full range of human transformational wisdom and insight. It therefore consists of lighting up and developing in healthy ways all relevant aspects of reality both within ourselves and within any context we find ourselves in. The term "Integral Transformative Practice" was coined by Michael Murphy and George Leonard. It is also used to mean any balanced practice that includes the many levels and dimensions of human potentials. The Integral Institute has applied its Integral Theory to this approach and calls it "Integral Life Practice." For easier reading we will simply refer to this form of practice as Integral Life Practice (ILP) from here on. More »