The Integral Stage Expanded Universe (ISEU)

For the twenty-sixth episode of the Integral Stage's Author Series, Layman sits down again with Middle Way philosopher and author, Robert M. Ellis, this time to discuss his new book, Absolutization -- the first book in a planned 9-part series on the Middle Way.  

Layman and Robert explore the essential arguments of the book; the many ways absolutizing tendencies in thought show up psychologically, culturally, and politically; and the relationship of Middle Way philosophy to integral postmetaphysics and Layman's Metaphysics of Adjacency.    

From the book's description:  "What do dogma, repression, and conflict have in common? They all result from human judgement blocked from wider understanding by a false assumption of completeness. This book puts forward a theory of absolutization, bringing together a multidisciplinary understanding of this central flaw in human judgement, and what we can do about it. This approach, drawing on Buddhist thought and practice, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, embodied meaning, and systems theory, offers a rigorous introduction to absolutization as the central problem addressed in Middle Way Philosophy, which is a synthetic approach developed by the author over more than twenty years in a series of books. It challenges disciplinary boundaries as well as offering a substantial framework for practical application."  

Robert M. Ellis is a philosopher, writer and teacher. He has produced a series of books about the Middle Way, understood as a principle of judgement that throws us onto experience by avoiding absolutes, both positive and negative. He has also founded the Middle Way Society to support the development and practice of the Middle Way understood in this way, and he has recently opened a retreat center, Tirylan House, in rural South Wales.  

Absolutization on publisher's website: https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/absolutisation/

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Support The Integral Stage on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/theintegralstage 

Special thanks and big love to Shai Newman, Brandon LaChance, Mike McElroy, Brandon Norgaard, Brendan Graham Dempsey, Francesca, and all of our other Patreon supporters!

In a previous video, Everything You Think You Know About Integral Theory Is Wrong, we met with Mark Forman to talk about and address a number of the commonly heard criticisms of Integral Theory and the Integral community.  In this follow-up discussion, we are joined by Mark Forman and Nomali Perera to take a candid look at a number of the teacher-related scandals that have impacted the community, and a number of the community's missteps over the past two decades as it transformed from a small gathering of interested individuals to a global movement.  

Dr. Mark Forman provides psychotherapy in San Jose and online throughout California, as well as developmental consulting for individual adults worldwide. He is the founder and lead trainer of the Certified Integral Psychotherapist (CIT) Global Training Program and actively teaches and supervises both therapists and coaches interested in the direct application of Integral Theory.  He is also the organizer of several previous Integral Theory Conferences, and the author of several books on integral psychology.  

Nomali Perera, MA, PCC, joined the integral world in Colorado in the early, exciting days of 2002 as a volunteer and, later, co-director of the Integral Spiritual Center at the Integral Institute. Professionally, Nomali is an executive coach, certified facilitator of Polarity Management and the Immunity to Change™ process, and is a Master Coach through Integral Coaching Canada. Currently, she’s in a year-long course in trauma-informed Compassionate Inquiry with Gabor Maté’s school.  Currently she also leads study and practice groups through the Integral Life organization.

Anticipated for several centuries by prescient individuals, the Meta-Crisis is the defining challenge of our time -- the convergence of multiple wicked problems, at global scale.  In this special Integral Stage episode, Dr. Roger Walsh, a renowned transpersonal psychologist, integral scholar, and Professor of Psychiatry and Philosophy at UC Irvine, sits down with Layman Pascal to discuss the wisdom skills needed to apprehend, navigate, and respond to the daunting complex of issues, challenges, and changes that confront us.   

Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. DHL. graduated from Australia’s Queensland University with degrees in psychology, physiology, neuroscience, and medicine, and then came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar.  He is now at the University of California at Irvine where he is professor of psychiatry, philosophy, and anthropology, as well as a professor in the religious studies program.  

Professional website https://drrogerwalsh.com/ 

Fathom app https://hello.fathom.fm/ 

Support The Integral Stage on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/theintegralstage 

Special thanks and big love to Shai Newman, Brandon LaChance, Mike McElroy, Brandon Norgaard, Brendan Graham Dempsey, Francesca, and all of our other Patreon supporters!

On The Meta-Podcast (formerly Integral Podcasters), we talk with podcasters, YouTubers, and other media producers who are trying to offer, or who can't help but offer more integrative perspectives.  Who are these people, what do they collectively understand and point towards, and how can they be interlinked, mutually supported, clarified, and amplified?  

Layman is joined by Paul Bloch, the co-founder of Fathom.fm, an AI-driven podcast app, about this innovative new technology (which allows you to search for content inside, and identify themes across, multiple podcasts, and much more); about the promise and risk of AI generally; about the present and future of social media platforms; and about the inner skills necessary to navigate our complex, contemporary information landscape.  

Fathom app https://hello.fathom.fm/ 

Supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/theintegralstage

Having lived in a cave so long, the puppet hermit Adyahanzi sometimes leaves unseemly messes when he goes out in public ... at hotels, restaurants, restrooms ... anywhere, really.  And it is the task of poor Brendan Graham Dempsey to follow behind him and do the dirty clean-up work.  Such is the case with this video.  Listen in as Brendan gives Layman the (re)overview of Emergentism that it truly deserves!  

Emergentism book: https://www.amazon.com/Emergentism-Religion-Complexity-Metamodern-Spirituality/dp/B0BF28PC2L/

Brendan Graham Dempsey is a writer whose work focuses on the meaning crisis and the nature of spirituality in metamodernity. He earned his BA in Religious Studies from the University of Vermont and his MA in Religion and the Arts from Yale University. He lives in Wolcott, Vermont.  Professional website: www.BrendanGrahamDempsey.com  

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In this new mini-series, Layman Pascal talks with Marc Gafni about an emerging model he is developing together with Zak Stein and others, which they call Cosmo-Erotic Humanism.  

For episode one, Layman and Marc discuss the origins of this project, and Marc's work on exploring and unfolding a model of Certainty and Uncertainty for addressing the meaning crisis, grounding moral value, and wrestling with perennial theodicies.  

Dr. Marc Gafni is a visionary thinker, social activist, passionate philosopher, and author of ten books.  He is the co-founder of The Center for Integral Wisdom, and a rabbinic lineage holder in Bible, Talmud, and Kabbalah.  He self-describes as a “citizen” of both Integral World Spirituality and classical Hebrew practice.  He has been an editor of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice on issues of Integral spirituality and a faculty member of J.F.K. University.  In 2014, Dr. Gafni co-initiated the Success 3.0 Summit and Rise Up movie, with John Mackey and Kate Maloney whose method and movement is to bring together key thought leaders and change-agents to collaboratively evolve a bold new Integral vision of Success, rooted in the entrepreneurial values of Wake Up, Grow Up, Show Up, and Evolutionary Love.  

Professional Website https://www.marcgafni.com/ 

The Center for Integral Wisdom https://centerforintegralwisdom.org/ 

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EVERYTHING?  Well, maybe not everything...  

But, as integral psychotherapist and leader Mark Forman will argue, there are a number of criticisms of the integral movement and community that continue to circulate, that could be put to sleep with a better understanding of many of the changes and developments within, and the many accomplishments of, the movement over the past two decades.  Do integralists think integral begins and ends with Ken Wilber?  Is the integral movement a cult?  Are integralists disembodied eggheads?  Do integralists ignore politics and social issues?  Has integral failed to impact the world?  Tune in as Mark discusses these and other questions with Bruce and Layman.  

Dr. Mark Forman provides psychotherapy in San Jose and online throughout California, as well as developmental consulting for individual adults worldwide. He is the founder and lead trainer of the Certified Integral Psychotherapist (CIT) Global Training Program and actively teaches and supervises both therapists and coaches interested in the direct application of Integral Theory.  He is also the organizer of several previous Integral Theory Conferences, and the author of several books on integral psychology.  

Mark Forman's Professional Website - www.drmarkforman.com  

Please like, subscribe, and consider supporting The Integral Stage on Patreon to make more of these conversations possible! https://www.patreon.com/theintegralstage

In episode 3 of this unexpected mini-series, our Anonymous Host hops on the couch with Miss Rabbit, an integrally informed sexologist-in-training, to talk about the nuances of porn use, psychosexual development, and spirituality.  There's a lot that could be said about this very fine, simultaneously sensitive and explicit conversation, but if you'd like to know why "there's a weird analogy between gang bangs, orgies, and Integral Theory....," well, look no further.  This is the discussion for you.

In TYPOLOGIES OF MEDITATION, Professor Rick Repetti joins Layman & Bruce again for an open dialogue on philosophy, meditation, and the philosophy of meditation.  In this episode, they discuss typologies of meditation -- considering the nature of meditation, its transformative functions, its possible psychological and neurological mechanisms, its possible evolutionary roots, and how to conceive of the relationship of the many forms of meditation and contemplative practice across world religious traditions.  What kinds of taxonomies can make sense of the field?  The dialogue opens more questions than it answers -- a first pass at identifying the complexity of the field and some of the challenges ahead to approaching the topic scientifically and philosophically.

Andrew Rawlinson's "Model of Experiential Comparative Religion" https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1303&context=ijts-transpersonalstudies

 Rick Repetti, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at CUNY/Kingsborough, a meditation teacher, a philosophical counselor, and an author.  Buddhism, Meditation, and Free Will by Rick Repetti https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Meditation-Free-Will-Repetti/dp/036758848X/

Rick's professional website https://www.rickrepetti.com/ 

Please consider supporting The Integral Stage on Patreon to make more of these conversations possible! https://www.patreon.com/theintegralstage

For the twenty-fifth (!) episode of the Integral Stage's Author Series, Layman gets together with Hanzi Freinacht representative, Daniel Görtz, to talk about the forthcoming, and now formerly titled, book, "12 Much Better Rules for Life."  

But while the title may be different on the date of publication, the content remains the same:  a Metamodern homage, parody, incorporation, and principled transcendence of the kind of reflections and advice found in Jordan Peterson's recent bestselling self-help publications.  If you've ever wanted to hear some really good reasons why you should live in a mess, fuck like a beast, and make a practice of quitting, this is your chance! 

Pull up a chair and listen in as Layman and Daniel take a tour of the book's rich and insightful lessons, and find out why Layman thinks this is the most enjoyable and practical of the Hanzi books.  

Daniel Görtz, PhD is a political philosopher, sociologist and author. He is a leader of “the Nordic school” of metamodernism, and one-half of the Hanzi Freinacht character. Daniel lives in Sweden and works for Metamoderna, the publisher of metamodern books, and for Glimworks, an IT-company where he is In-House Philosopher.  

Medium article introducing "12 Much Better Rules for Life"