Is There More? A Koan with Diane Musho Hamilton

Diane Musho Hamilton is a gifted mediator, facilitator and teacher of Zen and Integral Spirituality. She is a co-director of the Integral Life Spiritual Center and has worked with Ken Wilber and Integral Institute since 2004. Diane is the Senior Teacher for Integral Recovery. She is the lead trainer on Integral Life Practice. She is [...]

Redefining Sexuality: An Interview with Sofia Diaz – www.iEvolve.org

Sofia Diaz is a gifted teacher of Hatha yoga, sacred movement, and feminine spiritual practice, deriving her form of teaching and body philosophy from the South Indian Temple Arts and their accompanying scriptures. She has apprenticed with dance and music masters of the Balasaraswati lineage of Devadasi Sadir. She is also a core founder and [...]

NEW: Unique Self Dialogue with Dr. Marc Gafni, Ken Wilber, and Sally Kempton

Marc Gafni, Sally Kempton, and Ken Wilber discuss the notion of the Unique Self, which represents the deepest possible expression of consciousness—a subject that can never be made object, the union of ever-present consciousness and individual perspective at a radically fundamental level.
The Unique Self is the substrate of our 1st-person experience, the subtlest patterns of [...]

Blessings to Adi Da…May He Swiftly Journey

The Secret to Great Sex: How to Embody Deep Passion and Nourishing Intimacy in Relationship: Part 3 by Kelly Sosan Bearer

In this next clip we’ll explore a few practices to re-polarize your relationship and re-ignite that energetic spark .
Sofia Diaz, a gifted teacher of Hatha yoga, sacred movement, and feminine spiritual practice, offers insight into the nature of sexual polarity.  First, she’ll talk about how our relationships become de-polarized. Then, she’ll explain the benefits of [...]

The Secret to Great Sex: How to Embody Deep Passion and Nourishing Intimacy in Relationship: Part 2 by Kelly Sosan Bearer

First, let’s define the two extremes of sexual polarity. Then, we’ll help you assess which pole you most resonate with in relationship. Finally, we’ll offer a series of practices that you can use to re-polarize your relationship. In the end, by purposefully cultivating an embodiment of your polarity, you and your lover can enjoy passion [...]

Love and Suffering: Dr. Marc Gafni Reemerges By Robb Smith

We recently began preparations for a new annual event called “Integral Spiritual Experience” in collaboration with integral spiritual leaders Swami Sally Kempton, Diane Musho Hamilton, Sensei and Dr. Marc Gafni. Ken Wilber and I both felt it was important to transparently investigate and address the current state of affairs as it relates to the alleged [...]

The Secret to Great Sex: How to Embody Deep Passion and Nourishing Intimacy in Relationship: Part 1 by Kelly Sosan Bearer

“The secret to great sex….” You’ve most likely seen this promise, or one like it, plastered on the cover of magazines since you were old enough to read. So, how is an Integral approach to embodying passion and great sex different from the approach of Cosmo, Vanity Fair, or Men’s Health magazine that claims to [...]

Toward an Integral Treatment Methodology for Schizophrenia: Part Eight

Discussion
Now that we have seen the mental status exam applied to a client, let’s look at this evaluation in
terms of Integral Theory. In the Upper-Right quadrant I was able to access Matt’s dress, grooming, age, weight, posture, body movements, speech, eye contact, affect, eating, sleeping, memory, medication, and alcohol and drug use. In the [...]

Toward an Integral Treatment Methodology for Schizophrenia: Part Seven

Case Presentation
I work at a community mental health center. The mental health center provides treatment for individuals who are indigent, on disability insurance, or are low-income. I am on the Emergency Psychiatric Services team at this mental health center. On this team, the client population consists of people with severe mental illness, such as [...]

Brilliant Blogs

Hokai Sobol of h~log has put Black Plum on his list of seven brilliant blogs. Many bows Hokai! I have to say I’m a bit shocked, as Black Plum was birthed a mere two weeks ago. I’m honored to be in the line-up with these other reputable blogs. And here is a list of the [...]

Toward an Integral Treatment Methodology for Schizophrenia: Part Six

Lines of Development
People have different lines of development: cognitive, emotional, moral, artistic, etc. Individuals tend to do really well in some areas of their life, such as musical and cognitive abilities, but perform poorly in other areas, like morality or interpersonal relationships. This is due to their varying lines of development. These lines “unfold [...]

End Notes and References: Toward an Integral Treatment Methodology for Schizophrenia

I am including my endnotes and references per requests to have these available along side the article posts. I was going to post these at the end, but I see the value to having them upfront. I hope these are helpful…This article was originally written in 2005 and published in 2006.
- Kelly Sosan Bearer
Endnotes
1 [...]

Toward an Integral Treatment Methodology for Schizophrenia: Part Five

States of Consciousness
There are two general types of states, ordinary and non-ordinary. Virtually all human beings have access to ordinary states of consciousness. These include: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states.  The waking realm is that of our everyday relative world. The dreaming realm consists of images, visions, and emotions. The deep sleep realm consists [...]

Toward an Integral Treatment Methodology for Schizophrenia: Part Four

The Integral Model
The Integral approach organizes and resolves the competing truth claims declared by various therapeutic schools. “Integral theory distinguishes itself by its ability to successfully situate and systematize the full range of therapeutic approaches within a coherent and organized set of mapping principles.”25 The Integral framework offers more than a piecemeal approach of diverse [...]