Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Institute

Everyone, please read this message from Ken Wilber.  This explains the basic intent of this pod - adastra

Hi friends,

With Integral Institute now gone live, and its various forums starting to rapidly build their communities, I thought I would share with you our Road Rules, or general guidelines, for all of our forums (and, indeed, for all of our commons spaces, which are our own Lower-Left quadrants in intersubjective resonance, with a validity claim of rightness or justness, aimed at mutual understanding). These Road Rules are designed not just to regulate traffic, but to call all participants to their own highest awareness.

Most forums anywhere in cyberspace are a type of sharing commons. People simply get on, post various material, share it with each other, and boogie on down the road. But I-I has guidelines that invite people to act and speak from their own Highest Self, however they understand that. These guidelines are simple, easy to understand, and remarkably effective. Moreover, they do not impose anybody's idea of “higher” on you. The main guidelines are all variations on, Let the next words out of your mouth (and into this forum) be from your Highest Self as you understand it.

That guideline, along with a few others, make the forums at I-I unique, in that they subtly, slowly, but profoundly help one not just translate, but transform, to one's own higher truth and goodness and beauty. We have provided these forums as a space for just that: a beautiful space in which everybody's individual higher truths interact to create a greater social good. Of course, we totally invite people to also just play and dance and free associate, to criticize and judge and rank if they wish. Just every now and then, let those activities flow from your deepest well of life and inspiration and your highest source of luminous clarity and delight.

And then guess what? We all grow together. Not according to any fixed stages or levels or models or whatnot, but following the highest resources according to your intuition. I mean, I have proposed plenty of professional psychological models for levels of consciousness, but those are not part of these forums. I personally believe that when people act from their own highest resources as they see them, all those stages will take care of themselves. In any event, those models are categorically not a requirement or a model for these basic Road Rules.

At I-I, we act from I-I, and we grow together in the process. This is the world of I-I squared, where transformation is not an empty promise but a way of life. Come join us! We're having too much fun…………

Community Basics: Salon/Forum Participation Guidelines

Integral Institute strives to provide a commons space that is integral (which simply means comprehensive, open, inclusive, transparent; and which is also known by many technical names: centaur, turquoise, vision‑logic, second tier and third tier, holarchically ranking, post‑postmodern, and so on). The quality of this integral space (and this integral sanctuary and integral playground) depends on the quality of your participation.

Therefore, like all forums, we have guidelines or Road Rules, and ours are integral. The following guidelines are designed to help make everyone's experience in this “We-space” a fulfilling one:

1.    Let the very next word out of your mouth (and into this forum) be coming from your Highest Self. If you understand what “integral” means, then let the next words out of your mouth be from your own integral mind or integral awareness. (Turquoise or higher, vision-logic or higher, second- and third-tier, etc.) If you don't know exactly what integral means, then use “Highest or Higher Self,” “True Self that is no-self,” “Spirit Mind,” “Big Mind,” or whatever you are comfortable with that evokes the highest or deepest or brightest You. Try to think/act/speak integral. This is at the cutting edge of evolution - what is it to think/act/speak integral?

2.    Feel the thinker. Feel your self, feel your ego, feel the self-contraction. That which feels the thinker is beyond the thinker, that which feels the self is beyond the self, that which feels the ego is beyond the ego, that which feels the self-contraction is free of the self-contraction. When you feel the thinker (or ego, etc.), you engage your Higher Self. You take the stance of the Witness, the I that is aware of I, the I-I in you that is beyond you. And the Witness, although itself empty, takes on and speaks integral at any level.
       Therefore, feel your ego, or feel your self-contraction, and then speak and act from the awareness that's doing the feeling; that sees the ego as an object like any other; that impartial Mirror Mind reflecting and embracing the universe in its brightness and luminous equanimity, the higher perspective that is no special perspective but open to all. Make the subject object whenever you can, and this will help you come from your Highest Self.
       Thus, when you become a member of I-I, begin to engage your I-I: the I-I “out there” is your integral community, and the I-I “in here” is your Highest Self. Welcome to I-I squared.
       But don't make a big deal out of this. Simply try to feel the thinker or feel the self-contraction every now and then, and sooner or later it will make sense and feel natural to act from a higher level that is not the ego but is aware of the ego.

3.    Those rules help with your Higher Self, however you understand and intuit it. And now, a few rules to help with your lower self (aka, your unconscious, your shadow, the dis‑owned self, the dork self, the self that will sabotage your every move, given a chance).
       Discern your “emotional buttons,” or the things to which you hyper‑react. In many cases, whether or not your judgment is true, a hyper‑emotional recoil often means that shadow elements have been triggered, or as everyday parlance has it, somebody “pushed your buttons.” Simply notice this happening; try to make subject object (which, as we saw, is the fundamental rule of development). In other words, try to make the reactive self (the lower self) an object of awareness. Just see and feel your emotional reaction; you don't have to do anything else. It's that simple. Don't worry whether something spectacular happens or not; that very act has already caused a mico‑transformation and dis‑identification, and repetitions of that simple act will have a profoundly cumulative effect. Of course, you can do more work on it if you choose, but most essentially, they are ways to just further that process.
       You can investigate this more if you want. If someone or some comment gets on your nerves, what are you pushing against? Seek the underlying value in you that is trying to be expressed in your emotional charge. If you're experiencing strong recoil, resistance, or rage, odds are what you are experiencing is a symptom of your own shadow. If this is so, we recommend doing a little shadow work with your response. Again, don't make a big deal out of this, but work on it in whatever way you know how. If you want some assistance, try our own 3-2-1 process (which you can find here), or check out some chapters on the shadow (click here, here, and here to see the PDFs), or get an I-I Mentor to lend you a hand.
       If you don't want to do shadow work, or don't have the time for it, not to worry: as we said, simply feel the self that is recoiling and acting negatively. Simply try to make subject object. And then go on about enjoying the forum.

4.    Don't wait for others to make the experience you'd like; ask explicitly for what you want and take steps yourself to help create it.

5.    Before you offer your wisdom to or about others, remember that your perspective is yours, and just one of many. Can you own your perspective as a limited one? Can you distill out your clear observations from your interpretations and assessments? Are you still curious about other perspectives? Are there any shadow elements in any of your posts in the forum? Before pointing out the negatives in others, we try to clean our own house first. Don't be afraid to make judgments-we want your opinions and judgments very much!-just try to have the next judgment that comes out of your mouth be a discernment from your Higher Self.

6.    Your participation in any I-I forum indicates that you have read and accepted these general Road Rules, and that you will do your best to live up to them. Like forums elsewhere, I-I reserves the right to refuse community service to anyone for whatever reason. We relish diversity of perspective; we also value basic remembering of the I-Thou We-space. If you're routinely causing a disturbance, or not living up the Road Rules, you will very probably be asked to leave the forum. If you enter this forum, you are agreeing that you can be removed for any reasons whatsoever judged necessary by I-I, and reasons that do not have to be argued or explained; you are entering this We-space with that understanding and agreement.
       This mutual understanding is a pledge we all make to each other to engage or live up to the highest, deepest, best, brightest, clearest, caring Self that we can. This is our promise to each other, because we are here not merely to share, but to grow. Other forums share; I-I forums help us grow, because the Road Rules actually foster transformation and help us grow, even as we share. We all want to change the world, and I-I actually does it-and you are now a member of that wonderful I-I, and we dearly welcome you. Just remember the single most basic Road Rule: when in I-I, speak from I-I.
       We are here to grow, but also to play, to practice, to hear, to be heard, to dance, to reflect, to contemplate, to receive and to contribute.
       Stir the pot. Have fun. Debate. Put it out there. Reveal Spirit. It always already Is, and It always already is HERE.

–Ken Wilber

~~~~~~~~~~~

We also suggest the following supplemental guidelines:

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Hello Arthur and welcome.

Wilber's rules are fine.

One suggestion though:
You posted a lot of posts with each a video link. This made the first page of the “recent post” crowded with your messages. I suggest that all those links could be put in one post. Why?

actually, the “recent post” button is very effective to see with a quick glance the evolution of the discussion. To have to go to page number two or three is something of a hassle.
You came in noisy…but that's good, 'cause it was dead quiet.

That's all.
Appart from that I hope you'll bring new impulse and that this pod is going to be more active.

P.S. Wilber's rules don't say we cannot drink a beer! what a relief.

Patrick

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Thank you, Patrick - that is an excellant point.  The only reason I did it that way was because I was transferring posts over from another thread, one-by-one.  However, there is no reason I couldn't amalgamate into one, I just didn't think of it.  There are other such posts I'll be transferring over, and will use your suggestion for those.

I also hope that this pod will be more active, and will be doing my best to help that along.

spirals,
arthur

p.s. In my interpretation of Wilberian integral theory, judicious drinking of beer or other spirits is not only permitted but actually encouraged - transcend and include beer drinking!  See my intro post “I'm Here, I'm not queer, I drink beer” for more insight on this.  :)

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Bravo  to ALL of that - I would not have expected otherwise of Ken Wilber -  &  welcome to this particular zPod thread on behalf of all like-minded zaadsters.

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

aloha! —–

doing my best to speak from my Highest (and the only) Self … it seems to me that we may be embarked here on a mission to transform something untransformable!

quoting from the I-I + *Zaadz page: our purpose is “…the transformation of the Self…” !!!

can the Self really be transformed?  i've heard of Self-realization before, but never Self-transformation!  i thought the Self was perfect and complete and immutable…!

i'm definitely onboard for transforming the world – and it seems to me, the very best way we can do that is 'merely' to be fully present and HAPPY in every moment!!

quoting Don Miguel Ruiz, in The Voice of Knowledge:

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Hi Source (are you Open Source, btw?  Just wondering)

My understanding is that, because Nondual is the union of the eternal unchanging Ground of Being with the ever-evolving world of form, that as the latter evolves or transforms, so does Nondual.  So in that sense you can not only realize your true Self but actually Self-transform.  Does this make sense?

Happiness is a worthy goal, but these days my primary goal is Awakening.  You can't guarantee that you'll attain happiness, but it is possible (and, IMO, desirable - perhaps even, ultimately, inevitable) to let everything - everything - serve your Awakening.  

spiral on,
arthur

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

arthur —–

thanks for the clarification!  i just happened to look here, to see if anything had been added (i was guessing there would be an automatic email notification whenever a reply was posted; apparently not, eh?).

your definition of Nondual does make sense to me.  is Nondual the same as Self, though?

i agree with your goal of awakening; i can't think of a better one!  i also agree that our  awakening is probably inevitable….  happiness just happens to be my preferred method of awakening : ^ ) — and, it seems to me, we can live in a constant (or very nearly so) state of happiness … because we are always in charge of our feelings.  if we stay aware of what we're feeling at every moment, as soon as unhappiness arises, we can identify the internal source of it, and restore the happiness.  we can realize that, whatever drama is playing-out in the external world, it's “only a movie” – and that the Reality behind it (the only Reality, ever) is always Love; and, as soon as we tap into that Love, we feel HAPPY again! 

my guess is, when we do reach full awakening, by whatever means … our experience of everything becomes … total HAPPINESS!!  and i just figure, why aim for awakening through some other means?  why wait for happiness?  why not start being happy right now?!?!

as far as myself being an open source — i'm doing my best to be transparent; i guess that's the same thing! : ^ )

also, i do my best to help others open the Source connection in themselves, energetically, with a simple empowerment called reiju (please check it out, if you feel any interest there).

be well and happy! ——
_||_
 db

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

These are very interesting questions, but we're branching far away from the topic of “Road Rules for Transformation” I think…

Possible new threads that could be spawned:
 
- Is Nondual the Same as the Self?
- Awakening and Happiness

The first would fit nicely into Chapel Perspicacious I think - I'd love to hear what Balder might say on that topic…Awakening and Happiness…I'll ponder that topic and maybe start a thread later in another board here…feel free to initiate that yourself if you like.

Thanks for bringing up these interesting topics.  :)

arthur

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

arthur —-

thanks for reminding me of the original topic….  i do tend to wander, as one thing always leads to another, to another…!

“Self” and “Nondual” and any other word … is just that, a word; and we can define it any way we like.  so, if the consensus definition here is that “Self” is something that can be transformed – then it is! : ^ )

thanks for suggesting a new thread on “Awakening and Happiness”.  i will consider starting one….  i've been exploring that subject, from various angles, at beyond.johreiki.net … and will continue exploring it, more exclusively, at source-energy.net also….


be well and HAPPY! ——
_||_
 db

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

count yosyama ~ in



 

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Hi yosama - duly counted.  Welcome.  :)

arthur

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Hi yosyama - duly counted.  Welcome.  :)

arthur

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Shining forth from my soul within,I agree! Jumps in whole heartedly. Lets roll!

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

I want to comment on this part of KW's road rules:
”Don't be afraid to make judgments-we want your opinions and judgments very much!-just try to have the next judgment that comes out of your mouth be a discernment from your Higher Self.”

This is what I truly call a double bind…You know, one of those injunctions that drives ones mad (cf. Palo alto school)

I totally disagree with that. Judgement is ok, as long as it comes from a non judgmental state: your higher self!!!!!! Terrible mistake.

A case of stage/state mixing in Wilber's road rules?

Again and again, I much prefere this rule:

Say what you think: your opinions are needed. But if you see that it has hurted someone or created some problems, find the ressources in your higher self (or lower) to resolve the problem.

Who can truly say that he'stalking from his higher self? And what will we do with the people who'll say they do? Argh…

This “episode” on the “Andrew..”thread is an example of it. The result is that everybody learned something… the hard way… but it happened. That's good and fruitfull. I like that.


Patrick

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

For me it's fine that Ken also may not always appear totally coherent. I prefer people that dear to show that they are human. I don't know how helpful it would have been with a teacher just sitting on a pillow speaking from and about the awakend state. These guidelines seems like good guidelines, espescially as they do not appear as strict rules. We are all stumbling, and trying to find our way, and communicating good and bad. Some of what I like with Wilber is that he is so clear about the fact that you can both be open for higher states and stages, but you can still be fucked up in a lot of your personality. That's even the most common thing. Then we are all on our way, and there could also be more room for real compassion for the human struggle, in oneself and others. Even if we are drilled to compete and compare. Am I good enough? Are they more evolved? Or am I maybe better….. Shit. It's very helpful to see that shadow work is part of spiritual work etc. But it is also fair enough to try to have a direction - both in ones own process, and in a forum like this.

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Pantergnosis: “These guidelines seems like good guidelines, espescially as they do not appear as strict rules. We are all stumbling, and trying to find our way, and communicating good and bad. Some of what I like with Wilber is that he is so clear about the fact that you can both be open for higher states and stages, but you can still be fucked up in a lot of your personality. That's even the most common thing. Then we are all on our way, and there could also be more room for real compassion for the human struggle, in oneself and others.”

Hallelujah, brother.  :)  Yes, this is something I've been thinking about a lot - having compassion for the human struggle.   I feel like such an embryo (with a long long way to go) when it comes to such matters.

We're all bozos on the bus,
so we might as well sit back
and enjoy the ride.
-Wavy Gravy
Even better if the bus is, like, going somewhere.  Especially somewhere cool.  And if we can help it along, that's best of all.  :) 

spiral out,
arthur

p.s. the leaves on the tops of the trees are always yummiest, don't you think?  I look forward to chewing the integral cud with you. 
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Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

The leaves on the top may be best, but if you are not true to your roots and stem, you will only be dizzy on the top - at least after a while. Or feel like a fake. Or be stupid. Then it may be wise to return down, to check the roots and stem again. Be friend with them, and return up, but with a different attutide than the first time.

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

I agree with allah that  - the trunk is also important…not to mention the forest of which it is a part…

arthur

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

I like the guidelines, which is to say that they resonate harmoniously with the vibrations I feel from the “highest” part of me of which I am aware.

There is room to move and the sign over the door says “Do The Best You Can.”  I'm in.

best,
Michael

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Wow.  Road rules/ground rules/objective feedback.  I support happiness and growth in all of its forms every chance I get.  When I feel compelled to offer feedback that might be considered “negative” or “constructive” I work within the “objective feedback” framework.  Be specific and non-judgmental!  If your words might hurt someone, rethink it.  Ah, yes, do not forget intent.  To always intend to offer something that might assist the other, and to be kind, gentle, and caring, in that offer, can be of great value.  If you are offering the feedback simply to express yourself, or to be heard, and do not care for the growth or improvement of another, then maybe, a shrink would be a better avenue of expression.  If all of that is taken into consideration, and someone still gets hurt, well, then maybe it had nothing to do with your words or your intent.  Thank you for having site rules. 

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

You're welcome, Rannah, and thanks for the feedback.  :) Overall, response to having rules and moderation has been very positive.

In addition to what you are saying, I would add that when strongly taking exception to something, addressing the content of what someone is saying, or the way they are expressing it - and not attacking the person themselves - is a good way to proceed.

I also find that taking into account how your words are likely to be percieved by a third party who may be reading them is worthwhile.  What I mean is, I might say something to a close friend that could be misperceived by a third party as an attack, which can affect the wespace negatively.  (Example: Liz and I will sometimes say to the other, with great affection: “Shut the fuck up!” - usually in response to the other saying something in a joking manner - but put those words down on a screen without the smiles, laughter, and warm body language, and it can look a lot different.)

In cyberspace it's easy to forget just how much of the normal type of human interaction is missing (body language, voice tone, eye contact etc.), and consequently how easy it is for things to spin out of control.  On the other hand, if you take that factor into account, approach the space mindfully, and work with your own emotional reactions, this kind of forum can be a great place to do shadow work.  I know I've learned a lot in that way, and continue to do so.

I see a lot of mutual respect and affection in this pod, and it's a beautiful thing to behold.  A lot of people are holding the space and staying engaged in the process.  Doubleplusgood.

spiral out,
arthur

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

I've just re-read the Road Rules, as per my advice elsewhere; it's still great stuff.  :)  I personally find this part particularly relevant:

~~~~~

Discern your “emotional buttons,” or the things to which you hyper‑react. In many cases, whether or not your judgment is true, a hyper‑emotional recoil often means that shadow elements have been triggered, or as everyday parlance has it, somebody “pushed your buttons.” Simply notice this happening; try to make subject object (which, as we saw, is the fundamental rule of development). In other words, try to make the reactive self (the lower self) an object of awareness. Just see and feel your emotional reaction; you don't have to do anything else. It's that simple. Don't worry whether something spectacular happens or not; that very act has already caused a mico‑transformation and dis‑identification, and repetitions of that simple act will have a profoundly cumulative effect. Of course, you can do more work on it if you choose, but most essentially, they are ways to just further that process.  from Ken Wilber's Road Rules for Transformation

~~~~~

Sometimes I experience it as feeling the space around the reactivity (while still feeling the reactivity).  Participating in integral forums has been helpful for my own growth and transformation, though I still have a long way to go, I reckon.  :)

spiral out,
arthur

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Here is a pertinent quote I received today…
****************************************************************************************************************
”We’ve come to believe that the core capacity needed for
accessing the field of the future is presence. We first thought of presence as
being fully conscious and aware in the present moment. Then we began to
appreciate presence as deep listening, of being open beyond one’s preconceptions
and historical ways of making sense. We came to see the importance of letting
go of old identities and the need to control and, as Salk said, making choices
to serve the evolution of life. Ultimately, we came to see all these aspects of
presence as leading to a state of “letting come,”of consciously participating
in a larger field for change. When this happens, the field shifts, and the
forces shaping a situation can shift from re-creating the past to manifesting
or realizing an emerging future.”
Peter Senge from: Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future
Page: 11-12

Contributed by: ~C4Chaos

*******************************************************************************************

Cheers, Doug

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

“letting come,”  hmmmm … oh-kay-eee …
 
not recreating the past, that would be good.
 
Allowance, via studious non-interference, causes stress to build in the field.  At a certain point, the essentially geometric elements in the field, will spontaneously, almost instantaneously rearrange themselves into a new order.  Wahoo!
 
Thanks for this Doug

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Senge is cool, I am appreciating him more and more.

I don’t experience it as “letting come.” I experience it as “allowing and cooperating with the emergence, of which I am one element.”

What you described, Michael, is the same as crystal formations, yes??

Blessings, OM

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

OM,
 
My studies in crystallography are rudimentary at best, but I have been on this phase-transformation/domaine change business from several angles for a long time.
 
Its kind of how a ‘crystal’ in a radio (the old ones) works.  The crystal is ‘charged’ or pressured electrically and the micro-crystals inside realign themselves under a more-or-less pressure regime depending upon the electrical load.
 
The frequency that the crystal is capable of recieving is dependent upon micro changes in the alignment of the individual cystals that make up the wafer. (I think)
 
Now this steps out there aways past that, but I suspect that grammar, or the tense of verbs in particular, causes “tension” in the field of thinking.  More particularly, the words we employ in our ‘thinking’ apply more-or-less ‘pressure’ or ‘tension’ on the (crystalline) lens of perception and thereby condition the intention/message that we exude (for lack of a better word) as we entertain whatever falls under the gaze (focused by the ego, I think).
 
For instance, if I am thinking “I won’t” as opposed to “I wouldn’t” the pressure is more intense as present tense grammar is more in-tense than the future tense of “I wouldn’t.”  (I think)
 
Another example of how powerful this can be is when we say “I am grateful.”  That is powerful and present, but no where near as powerful as saying ”Being Gratitude …” which is to claim, in the present, the capability and not just the affect.
 
love,
maxie

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Nice comments…
I especially liked, ”appreciate presence as deep listening, of being open beyond one’s preconceptions and historical ways of making sense.” It feels like listening at that ‘edge’ between Relative & Absolute where emergence arises…difficult to put in words.
Best Ya’all,
Dougie

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

You said it very well, Doug. It feels like listening at that ‘edge’ between Relative & Absolute where emergence arises…

Puts me right into that space. I’m smiling at you from that edge in-between now… Can you feel it?

m

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

A Sparkling…Yes!

I can feel the same ‘thing’ HERE …

Thanks Dear,
Dog…oops, Doug

Re: Road Rules for Transformation: Guidelines for Integral Instit

Yeah, you got it, Doug. Being put into that space by your words inspired me to make that post.

Amazing connectivity can happen via exchanges in cyberspace like this. I’m fascinated by essence-to-essence communications independent of locality or previous knowledge of the other person. I’ve been subjectively studying this phenomenon for a while, and I believe (tentatively) that you can enhance latent remote-viewing abilities by posting in forums such as this.

Multitudinous sparklies to Annie and yourself,

m