Integral Life Practice

Book in 1 sentence:

“Integral Life Practices” by Ken Wilber offers a transformative roadmap for holistic personal development, integrating body, mind, heart, and soul through a comprehensive framework that transcends traditional self-help approaches.

key take-Away’s

1. Holistic Integration: Address all aspects of your being – body, mind, heart, and spirit – recognize that true personal development involves a balanced and interconnected approach to life.
2. Shadow Work and Self-Discovery: “Integral Life Practices” underscores the importance of shadow work—confronting and integrating the hidden or repressed aspects of one’s psyche. By delving into the depths of the shadow, individuals can unlock profound self-discovery, leading to personal growth, healing, and a more authentic understanding of themselves.

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Notes & Quotes

The holistic approach encapsulates 4 core modules:

• Body
• Mind
• Spirit
• Shadow

Additional:

• Ethics
• Work
• Emotions
• Relationships

Key activities that lead to a progressive module are depicted in the image below:

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4 dimensions of being

1. I- (individual interior)- thoughts, feelings, intentions, psychology.
2. IT- ( individual exterior)- your physical body, facial expressions, behavior.
3. WE ( collective interior)- relationships, culture, shared meaning.
4. ITS ( collective exterior)- social structure and systems, society and nature.

5 min module– expand your awareness to all 4 quadrants

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SHADOW

It is the dark side of psyche- rejected denied hidden from ourselves- repressed unconscious. Become aware of your repressed unconscious, drives, feelings, needs and potentials to become able to make freer choices.

Module: 3-2-1 process– To deal with Shadow

• 1^st person identification– Aware and Acknowledge + accept primary emotion or drive. Here the one speaking is “I”.
• 2^nd person identification– Disowned aspects of our self that we fear, ashamed of, disapprove, become part of what I see, not me. Here the one being spoken to is “you”.
• 3^rd person identification– by making it an it, we punch the rejected farthest from awareness. The one being spoken about is “him/her/it”.

Reverse the process- 3-2-1: we face it—talk to it—embrace it!

• Choose what u want to work with-Recognize shadow in 2 ways:
  • Makes u negatively hypersensitive, easily triggered, reactive, irritated, angry, hurt or upset or it may keep coming up as an emotional tone or mood that pervades your life.
  • Makes you positively hypersensitive, easily infatuated, possessive, obsessed, overly attracted- maybe an ongoing idealization that structure your motivation or mood.

• Face it– Observe the disturbance closely, write in journal. Describe the person, situation, image or sensation in vivid detail using 3^rd person pronoun. He/him, she/ her, it.

• Talk to it.– Enter into simulated dialogue using 2^nd person pronouns. Talk directly to the person, situation, image or sensation. Eg: who u are? Where do u come from? What do u need to tell me? What gift are u bringing me?

• Be it– Write in first person pronoun (I, me mine) be the person/ situation/ image. Not only the similarity between you and it but u are it. I am anger or anger is me etc.

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Original shadow form———————————————————symptom

• Drive———————————————————resentment of outward pressure
• Rejection(I reject them)———————————————–nobody likes me.
• Resentment (of another’s demand)————————— guilt (u make me feel guilty)
• Excitement——————————————————————anxiety
• Outward focus on others——————————————–self-consciousness
• Hostility (am angry and attacking without knowing it)————-fear(they’ll hurt me)
• Mad—————————————————————————sad
• Rejecting——————————————————————–withdrawn
• I wont. Dammit————————————————————–I can’t
• Desire(want to)——————————————————-obligation (have to)
• Self hatred——————————————————————-hatred
• I am better than I realize———————————————–envy (you are so great)

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Authentic emotion———————-transmute into———————-liberated energy of emotion

• Anger, critical mind——————————————-clarity, integrity, penetrating intelligence
• Pride & arrogance————————————————-equanimity, contentment, ease
• Passion & grasping————————————————-wisdom, effortless intelligence
• Restlessness , jealousy, paranoia————————————sanity, efficiency, effectiveness
• Stubbornness, ignorance, dullness————————————–spacious, relaxed awareness
• Fear—————————————————————–raw, present embodied awareness
• Terror—————————————————————–awareness of an animal mortality
• Sorrow———————————————————————–care and connection
• Greed and gluttony——————————————————-satisfaction and generosity
• Ambition and lust———————————————————-skillful powerful action
• Doubt———————————————————————–inquiring intelligence
• Jealousy————————————————————- equanimity, self love, generosity
• Numbness and rigid——————————————–non-attachment and big perspective
• Insecurity & anxiety—————————————————surrender and spaciousness
• Avoidance & denial——————————————————-wonder, simple presence
• Self hatred—————————————————————–intuition of transcendence
• Rage———————————————————————energy to overcome obstacles

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MIND

• Quadrant 1- I- emotions, thoughts, meditative states
• Quadrant 2- IT– behaviors, energies
• Quadrant 3- WE– shared meaning, relationships, mutual understanding
• Quadrant 4- ITS– systems, environments, technology

Clean exterior(room) when trying to focus on interior (mind)

Identify your Top 2 Strengths and strengthen them.

Ask yourself:

1. Cognition—what am I aware of?
2. Needs – what do I need?
3. Self identity— who am I?
4. Values – what is important to me?
5. Emotional intelligence – how do I feel about this?
6. Aesthetics – what is beautiful or attractive to me?
7. Moral development – what is the right thing to do?
8. Interpersonal development – how should we interact?
9. Kinesthetic ability – how should I physically do this?
10. Spirituality – what is the ultimate concern?

 Note down your peak experiences.

1 min module: Use your 5-senses to touch into the physical realm, sensations & emotions, mental plane (thoughts, ideas), again back to physical realm.

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Body module

body is further composed of three dimensions:

1. Gross body- Flesh bones organs, cell saliva and blood.
2. Subtle body- Energy
3. Casual- Infinite stillness

Journal- emotions, feelings.

Feeding all aspects of body:

• Gross body- weight lifting, running, aerobics, sports, dance, exercise
• Subtle body- yoga, visualization
• Casual body- meditation, big mind, prayer

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Ethics/ values module

Journal– how do I treat things, people, situations, food, hard work, challenges, colors, pen , page.

Here are few values to prioritize:

• Feminine compassion– acceptance, care, nurturance, sweetness.
• Masculine compassion- discrimination, challenge, setting limits, ruthless truth, all motivated by love.
• Discernment– unflinching courage to face unpleasant realities.
• Discipline- willingness to choose and explore new behaviors and habits.

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