Cali Claptrap: Integral Conversations

Brandon is the creator of the comic book Green Monk and host of the podcast How to be an Artist. 

I'm a firm believer that our greatest art is the life we live. Ken Wilber shared on the audiobook Kosmic Consciousness that Integral art is all art that comes from the Integral structure. This is an amazingly open and liberating statement if true. It also redirects the grand question of "What is art?" to "What is the integral structure?". 

I am very drawn to the art world and especially comics. Like Brandon, I shared a desire to get into animation and comics in middle school. I eventually decided to go a different path but my love of comics and art are still very much a part of my life. The archetypal comic book is a magical place in my dreams. It is often a hub for special characters and messages. So when I get to meet a real life artist/writer with a spiritual bent-sign me up!

Brandon is admirable in his transparency and openness to the experinces in his life. On his podcast and Medium page he shares his peaks and valleys he's had on his spiritual journey and what drives him as an artist. I found him serendipitously on Twitter after searching for Daniel Ingram of Practical Dharma, who was recently a guest on Brandon's podcast. Brandon's handle was a recommended follow.

Brandon and I share similar passions: spirituality, art and community. We discuss examples of present day art that integrates art and spirituality, future projects and existential questions. I am in awe of Brandon's talent and I look forward to see how he continues to incorporate spiritual insights into his work.

You can find Brandon on Twitter @brandondayton

YouTube @https://www.youtube.com/c/BrandonDayton/featured

and his podcast How to be an Artist @ https://open.spotify.com/show/4ZgamPKDf8s8rNlZ6ewnlX?si=nzwisqv6QP-LO-7UHwXNew

In today's episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with guest Ann Gleig. Ann Gleig is an associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of Central Florida and author of American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity. Her book presents Buddhism's introduction to the West and its manifestations through America’s cultural evolutions.

In 1968, Chögyam Trungpa said that the West needed a different approach to Buddhism.  What became of this approach? 50 years later, American Dharma examines Buddhism's integration and dissociation in American culture viewed through a post-modern lens: sexual misconduct, the exclusion of people of color and the commodification of mindfulness are just a few of the topics investigated in the book. 

Listeners familiar with Integral Theory will appreciate the section on Integral Zen. Diane Musho Hamilton sensei and husband Michael Mugako Zimmerman discuss how they incorporate the integral map at the Two Arrows Zen community in response to these post-modern crises. 

The triple gem of Buddhism are the Buddha, the Sangha and the Dharma. 

In the book, there are many references by Buddhist scholars and practitioners such as, "gentrification of the dharma", "decolonizing the dharma", "hack the dharma", "debug the source code of the dharma" to list just some examples. So, what exactly is the Dharma? If it is true that we are transitioning into a metamodern era, what changes have the Buddhist communities in the West made to adapt to this new age? 

Regarding the Sangha, Thich Nhat Hanh said that "the next Buddha might take the form of a community". How can the post-Boomer generations answer this call and have they lived up to their self-declarations? 

Towards the end of our conversation, Ann and I reflect upon the issue of class, neoliberalism and the response of the Buddhist communities. 

To find out the answers to these questions and much more, please tune in and enjoy! 

Ann Gleig can be found on Twitter @agleig 

As part of the Buddhism and Race speaker series sponsored by the Harvard Buddhist Community, Ann will be a guest speaker on 4/22. Check out this magical poster and description here: https://buddhismandrace.com/5-ann-gleig

Tim and Matt return to talk about their favorite songs of the year 2020. 

Backstories to things sometimes are essential to the entire story. We attempted this same recording a week ago but I am technologically challenged. Hence, the mythic proportions referenced of that recording in this episode. 

 Fate is a groove on eternal wax. We set out to talk about our "best" songs. I admire those skilled writers who can describe music. It is a bit of a challenge; which, as I write this, question my ability to describe what goes on inside of me when I listen to music. I believe I come closer to the soul. Jean Gebser said that music comes from the magical structure of consciousness. Statues of this period depict mouthless faces. Perhaps, it is because music transcends what can be put into words. With this in mind, Tim and I free dive into the music of 2020- sharing the love of what songs mean to us. 

2020 wasn't a normal year by any means. Pandemics tend to increase abnormalities, as history can attest to. "Love in the time of Covid" anyone? This is not a quintessential "best of" list. Songs can sometimes be bookmarks in our experience of life. Sonic resonations of a time that is-all things considered: the past. Perhaps, they function best as time machines capable of transporting us back in time as craftfully as a 1985 Delorean equipped with the flux capacitator. 2020 will soon be a blur, but with its mountainscape still in the rearview mirror let's reflect on that was...

Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/653krwp2FZPJlaTmMvlerr?si=DuqlHvBAQ8uI9QRMaADiuw

Matt's best of 2020 (106 songs): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ozbOuLCJoSxj6r2BN2F7E?si=r0maS8EqRdq-tPhtsuu1Qw

We

As a spiritual practioner, Tantra fascinates me. I am an an amateur but I am eager to learn more. How can the embrace of our own inner feminine and masculine energies be a key to inner alchemy? The shadow, taboos and sacred sexuality-oh my! 

Caitlin Rose is an intuitive wellness coach and tantra teacher. On this episode, Caitlin shares what led her to Tantra and how this ancient non-dual philosophy might be the key to spiritual liberation.

You can find her on Instagram @ animarising. 

Book a session with her at her website: animaintuitivehealing.com.

Luke Healy is a co-founder of the Integral Christian Network. The Integral Christian Network (ICN) is a global platform that invites practioners to deepen their connection to Christian spirituality through transpersonal practices, such as WeSpace groups, Integral Prayer and "Whole Body Mystical Awakening" guided meditations. 

As someone raised in the Catholic faith, the Christmas season has special meaning. Immersing myself in the integral community and practice has given me the perspective (or aperspective, if you prefer) to integrate the magical, the mythical, the mental structures of Christianity. "On Earth as it is in Heaven" is not only a prayer but a commitment. God should not be imprisoned in the mythical or dismissed as invalid in the mental. Jorge Fererr writes there are many shores on the Ocean of Emancipation. Christianity is but one. 

Luke answers the questions I have grappled with on my own Christian journey:

 Is it blasphemous to identify with Christ/God? 

How do we address the shadow/devil? 

How do we integrate womb/genitalia/Eros as Christians?

... And we discuss what the Christmas season mean to him. 

I took part in a WeSpace group in February/March of this year. If you identify as Christian and wish to deepen your practice subtly and communally, I'd highly recommend it. Warning: Be prepared to to activate the right-brained, intuitive, improvisational part of your brain! 

Lastly, to all of you: I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays. May 2021 be slightly better than 2020! 

You can find out more about Luke Healy and the Integral Christian Network here: 

https://www.integralchristiannetwork.org

Dr. Alzak Amlani is a transpersonal psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Integral Counseling department at the California Institute of Integral Studies. 

I came across Dr. Amlani's when looking for any current networks that may have been influenced by Jungian psychologist Robert Johnson's work. As fortune would have it, Dr. Amlani was a friend of Mr. Johnson's for almost thirty years. Alzak shares how this relationship influenced his life and his work. 

What influences an individual to choose a transpersonal psychologist over one from another school of thought? 

How can transpersonal psychology help us reconnect to the sacred? 

Please listen to find out the answers. 

A boon of social media is the ability to connect with others you may have never met in the past because of distance. I found Meegan on IG. I wanted to ask about tarot and what drew her to tarot. While I think it is important to have healthy skepticism in life, it is also as important to keep an open mind to the things we can't explain. A balance between our left and right hemispheres of our brain can produce a harmony we all seek. Can tarot provide clues to this balance? Tune in and find out!   Find Meegan here: https://www.instagram.com/the.travelling.tarot/?hl=en  PS: I apologize for the technical problems experienced in this episode. Thanks!

I met Ryan a couple of years ago on Integral Life, a hub for followers of Ken WIlber's Integral theory. At that time of my life I sought out a sangha to help develop and enrich my own integral practice. Ryan welcomed me into a weekly zoom call he was participating in at that time and as the saying goes-the rest is history. Eight months ago Ryan, Jeremy Johnson and I created an integral political podcast named Growing Down. Ryan has described himself as a political animal. In his new project "Perspectivepedia", he reaches out to folks that come from different political perspectives in an attempt to find common beliefs.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0GTEGZCM97STPur-lPKQdw