🌱 🤝 The Age of Integration - Part 2
This is part 2 of an essay about hopeful trends I’m seeing in the world, which together indicate to me the rise of a more cooperative, peaceful world. I’d recommend first reading part 1 here.
Now that I’ve laid out why we can and must step into the Age of Integration, let’s dive deeper into the concrete changes I’m seeing that suggest it is already upon us!
1) The rise of the feminine, and the integration of masculine and feminine
A peaceful, thriving society will require a healthy balance between masculine and feminine that allows for the gifts and perspectives of both to lift up and magnify each other, instead of the current oppression of the feminine by the patriarchy which has caused so much violence and trauma. The #metoo movement has sparked a lot of this transformation, reopening many deep wounds so they can be finally (hopefully) be cared for and healed. I see this energy only continuing to create a sea change in gender dynamics across nearly every arena of society. I believe that this is the most important area where healing must occur in our society, and that this process is well under way.
Other positive signs: we nearly had a female president here in the US, the Woman’s March instantly became a major movement post Trump and continues to rally huge numbers of women across the country, there is growing attention put on the importance of emotional intelligence (a more feminine quality) in education and the workplace, gender binaries are breaking down as we open up to the recognition that all humans carry both feminine and masculine qualities to varying degrees (see the big fight for trans rights), and I have heard a growing chorus of elders and wisdom teachers recently focusing on the need to embrace feminine wisdom as what’s required to lead us out of the patriarchal mess we find ourselves in.
2) Racial justice front and center
#BlackLivesMatter is forcing us to confront the longstanding failure of our society to integrate our racial and cultural diversity, and to heal from our history of colonialism and slavery. As with the patriarchy we must truly see and acknowledge the societal traumas and blind spots we still have around race before we can change, and I am hopeful that this new round of civil rights protests and spreading awareness will lead to us finally bridging our racial divides. The massive conversation around immigration right now is similarly putting race front and center. Of course there has been a backlash and an emboldening of the white nationalist and xenophobic parts of our society, but again my belief is that shining a light on the reality that these ideas are still very present will force us to face down hate and fear, devote real energy towards truly healing these wounds, and choose as a society that we actually believe all races are equal.
Also note that we did in fact have our first black president, there’s a slowly growing focus on diversity awareness in the workplace (see Starbucks’ recent company wide trainings), conversations and events around white fragility are spreading (see in particular Robin DiAngelo’s books) and people of color are soon to become the majority in our country, so I see it becoming harder and harder to avoid true integration in the coming years.
For those who hold white privilege a great place to start your personal journey investigating and integrating internalized racism and any ways you might be complicit in systems of racial oppression is Layla Saad’s workbook Me And White Supremacy.
3) Government/governance for and by the people
Politics is becoming a part of our daily lives. Donald Trump is forcing America to face our shadows. Every day he does or says something so horrible that we can no longer avoid paying attention to politics. We also see it bleeding into sports, as in the national anthem protests across the NFL which required fans to engage instead of just using sports to disassociate. Furthermore, politics is now completely integrated into the conversations happening around technology, triggered in part by the Russian use of social platforms to effect our elections, and more generally by the massive influence that big tech platforms have on the information we receive.
I believe all of this is forcing us to truly face how broken our current systems are and will accelerate a movement to stand up for our values and get more involved in how our country governs itself. If we all decide we want to do things differently and actually get involved in our political systems, change will happen. Already we see way more women getting into politics, trans persons winning elections, and a powerful new wave of progressive activism born out of the Occupy Movement, and the Obama and Bernie Sanders’ campaigns (even Hillary inspired more women to get involved). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has quickly become the face of this movement.
There is also a lot more conversation and experimentation happening around how we actually could reinvent our democracy and govern in ways that incorporate and include all voices, as opposed to our terrible two party system that disenfranchises half the population and breeds division. Positive signs include the adoption of ranked choice voting in a number of cities and states, and growing campaigns for campaign finance reform, elimination of the electoral college, increased voting rights, etc. Even more radical are explorations of entirely new governance models like liquid democracy (democracy.earth, liquid.us) and the use of technology to enable more voices to be included in the political process (check out what Taiwan is doing with vTawian.)
I also want to mention the nascent Metamodernism movement, especially as it relates to politics. Metamodernism is an attempt to integrate the best parts of modernism and postmodernism, to create a holistic philosophy and cultural framework that when applied to politics will allow us to overcome our divides through a commitment to consensus and depoliticization. I believe this philosophy will be part of the intellectual underpinnings that define the age of integration. Check out the group Alter Ego in the UK, and the book The Listening Society.
4) New economics
While our political systems are clearly broken, the true driver of disintegration is our scarcity and competition based, extractive, destructive, neo-liberal capitalist economy. Disintegration occurs in large part because of how so many of our interactions have become transactional instead of humanistic, and because of our increasingly commodified and thus distant relationship to the earth, which we view as just “natural resources”. However, there has already been a ton of thinking, research and experimentation done on how we can move to a holistic economic system that connects us to each other and the environment we depend on, integrates the full impact of our actions on the world, and allows all people to thrive, sustainably. Check out Doughnut Economics, The Institute for New Economic Thinking, Sacred Economics, Whole Person Economics, the platform cooperative movement, policy ideas like like Universal Basic Income/Assets, alternative & local currencies, etc. Here’s a great list of resources:https://www.facebook.com/notes/bay-area-new-economic-thinking-community/books-projects-topics/1452941271429775/.
There’s also a lively conversation happening around the globe about the Future of Work, or how we design our companies and lifestyles for this new economy, especially as increasing automation eliminates jobs in the current economy. Young people in particular are not on board with working in corporate, bureaucratic, mind-numbing jobs and committing to one company for many years. We want our professional life to support us as whole human beings, empower each of us to find our true purpose in the world, and be integrated into our lives and the world in healthy and satisfying ways. We want jobs that we know are making a positive impact, enable us to grow, allow for working remotely or from home (see the growing trend of digital nomadism), and respects our diverse physical, psychological and emotional needs. This is the type of organization we are trying to create at the Terran Collective, and we have learned a lot from forward thinking organizations like Enspiral, the cooperative movement, and books like Reinventing Organizations.
5) Decentralization of resources and power
One of the biggest problems caused by our economy is the increasing centralization of wealth and authority in the hands of a few (mostly powerful white men), while so many struggle to just get by. We must do everything we can to redistribute this power and break free of oligarchy and corporate dominance, so that more people and communities can be empowered to take charge of their lives. At the center of a new movement towards decentralization are the cryptocurrency and blockchain communities. While I’m skeptical of a lot of this space which includes far too much hype and speculation, I do believe that the core technologies being created for distributed ledgers (blockchains) and their kin like distributed hash tables, are going to be important tools in helping us breaking free from the consolidation of power in the major institutions that rule us.
Distributed software based on platforms like Ethereum or Holochain have the power to release us from the walled gardens of the major tech companies (Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple) and give individuals ownership of their own data. Innovations in decentralized currency design and distribution could eliminate large, extractive private banks and financial institutions that act as middlemen and don’t provide positive value to society. Decentralized governance models like those being pioneered by DAOstack and Aragon, and the above mentioned democracy.earth, could help end corruption in government (maybe). I’m also very excited about the potential of new organizational models with more decentralized power structures, like Holocracy, Sociocracy and DAOs.
Finally, the move towards decentralized, renewable, clean energy sources is hugely important and well under way! The spread of solar and wind can’t be stopped and innovation in energy storage and micro-grid technologies is happening at a rapid pace and will be key to mitigating climate change.
6) Eco-systemic thinking
The idea that our planet and all life on it are really one holistic, interconnected, synergistic system is an ancient idea, but one that only really came into the awareness of our western culture starting in the 1960s through the modern environmental movement and Dr. James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis. Since then as we have continued to develop deeper understandings of the incredible genius of our natural ecosystems, we are learning that we can and must redesign our human systems to work in harmony with earth, which requires making them work more like nature: resilient, adaptive, closed loop networks of energy and resource flows. You can see this growing realization through the shifts in the language used by the environmental movement from trying to be more “green” to then focusing on “sustainability” to now working on “regenerative” solutions that actually give back to the systems they are part of.
The twelve permaculture principles are one of the best descriptions of how we can create holistic, healthy systems. Starhawk’s “Social permaculture” brings these ideas into the world of human relational structures. Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects which integrates deep ecology and systems thinking is another great place to learn how we can each get involved in healing our planet. I’m also excited about the work of Project Drawdown which illuminates the many ways we can work on preventing climate change, and organizations like the Buckminster Fuller Institute and the Regen Network spearheading this way of thinking and acting.
7) Integrative spirituality
We all want to find deep meaning in our lives, that feeling of awe and wonder and connection to something bigger than ourselves. But most organized religions today are anachronistic, divisive, and even mean, not to mention corrupted by money in the same way our politics have been. So all around me I see people investigating new and ancient wisdom traditions of all kinds. We sample and taste different modalities for tuning into that deeper universal energy and mystery, including traditions and teachings from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Paganism, and Indigenous communities from around the world.
Out of these explorations I see many new forms of integrative spirituality forming and growing, including and incorporating deep truths from many sources. Individuals and communities adopt the practices that make sense and work for them, including meditation, yoga, chanting, dancing, praying, rituals, vision quests, sweat lodges, etc. There is of course a danger of appropriation in these explorations, but when the intentions are good and the practices done with real respect (especially when learned from a true elder of the tradition) I think it so valuable for each of us to find our own way to connect with ourselves, with the planet, and with spirit, without the need for dogma. We find our own language to describe and explore the great mysteries, of life, death, and our place in the universe, and through this we become empowered.
Not only are people integrating multiple spiritual traditions, there is also a growing interest in spiritual traditions and practices that themselves integrate all aspects of the human experience from the transcendent to the mundane, not just our mind and spirit but also our body and our heart. This is in response to religions that ignore, control or repress whole areas of human experience like sexuality. The trend is particularly noticeable through the growing interest in the many forms of Tantra — ancient spiritual traditions and practices that holistically include all aspects of the human experience as part of the path to spiritual liberation, including the sensual and erotic. Tantric teachings often deeply honor the feminine and in some places were primarily held and passed down by women, a rarity in modern history. They incorporate embodied mindfulness, an emphasis on ritual, an openness to people of all genders, sexual orientations, backgrounds, religious beliefs, and cultures; and teach of our ability to directly access and experience the divine.
8) Indigenous wisdom
As we look to reconnect with spirit and the earth I have seen a new level of openness and eagerness to reach out to indigenous peoples and look to them for their ancient wisdom. There is a growing understanding that they have a lot of important things to teach us about how to come back into balance with ourselves and the planet. I also see more and more native elders reaching out to us too, even leaving their communities and traveling around the world to offer their teachings, because they know that this is an inflection point in the history of the world and if they don’t help us we are doomed. Standing Rock and the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline was an incredible example of this. Native people’s from across the country coming together to stand up for their rights, but more importantly for all of our rights to clean water and a healthy environment. How could you not cry seeing US Army veterans ask these tribes for forgiveness for the atrocities we committed against them when we arrived in this country? This type of healing and integration of the traumatic history of this country is so important and necessary for us to move forward in a unified way.
One other place I see this connection happening more and more is at conferences and festivals. Over the last few years many of the events I have attended have put concerted efforts into inviting indigenous leaders to run workshops, facilitate rituals, teach us their traditions, and share their potent wisdom. This includes the Global Climate Action Suummit in San Francisco, conferences like Bioneers and NEXUS , festivals like Boom, Symbiosis, Cosmic Convergence, and a growing number of gatherings focused entirely on indigenous wisdom like the Indigenous Wisdom & Permaculture Skills Convergence.
9) Plant medicine
One particular indigenous tradition that has truly been exploding is the use of plant medicines for healing and personal growth. The biggest recent change is of course the legalization of marijuana in numerous states and some countries, opening up the many healing properties of this plant to a much greater percentage of the population. Furthermore we are seeing a renaissance in the research and investigations into the benefits of psychedelics and empathogens. For the first time since the 1960s there are many studies happening on the therapeutic properties of psilocybin, MDMA, Ketamine and others, showing great results in helping people with anxiety, depression, PTSD and addiction. There is also a massive interest right now in the powerful healing possibilities of Ayahuasca.
I believe that these plants, when taken as medicine, have the power to dramatically increase our capacity to heal and that we are just scratching the surface of the benefits they can provide society. Of course to receive the most benefit they should be consumed either in a therapeutic environment with well trained therapists, or even better in a ceremonial space held by true shamans, healers, and keepers of the tradition. When taken properly these substances have been shown to dramatically increase people’s openness to new ideas and ability to adapt and evolve, which are hugely important traits in our fast moving world. Particular kudos to MAPS, Johns Hopkins and the California Institute for Integral Studies for pushing this research forward. It is also exciting to see mainstream attention brought to them through Michael Pollan’s new book How to Change Your Mind, as well as an increasing number of popular articles, television shows, and podcasts.
10) Awareness of trauma and the need for personal and societal healing
More generally I see a deeper recognition that some of the most important work right now is healing the deep wounds that each of us hold from centuries of war, patriarchy, racism, homophobia, poverty, and from the many violent acts large and small that we carry out on each other every day. The large scale generational traumas are in some cases being addressed through things like truth and reconciliation commissions, while on an individual level there is a growing acceptance that therapy is an important and useful tool, along with relationship counseling, addiction support groups, personal growth workshops, meditation retreats, yoga, men’s work, etc. So many more people are taking psychological and emotional health seriously and committing to the hard work required to raise generations of healthy, secure children who don’t know violence. I want to honor all the healers who have committed themselves to taking on this effort right now, it is difficult work, but so necessary. I will also highlight the growing energy behind restorative justice as a powerful, holistic alternative to our punitive justice system which only creates more disintegration of our communities.
11) Love free from fear and new relationship paradigms
Another major area of human experience where I see deep integration and healing happening is around love, sex, and partnership. There is so much shame, guilt, abuse, pain, jealousy, anger and violence caused by our repressed and unhealthy views of these core aspects of human existence, stemming from patriarchal suppression of the feminine, homophobia, puritanical organized religion, and fear of vulnerability. Therefore many people don’t get their deep needs for connection and intimacy met in healthy ways, or at all. However, this is changing and we are beginning to see new possibilities for and models of romantic and sexual relationship that are free from fear and control. First, there is the growing acceptance of the LGBTQ communities, especially since the long hard fight for gay marriage was finally won in the US, and queer people have been stepping into positions of power across the country, including our first openly gay governor in Colorado. Plus the last few years have seen a growing awareness and acceptance of previously unacknowledged or unnacceptable sexual and romantic preferences like asexuality, pansexuality, and kink.
Also pioneering in the arenas of love, sex and relationship are the various communities exploring non-monogamy, polyamory, relationship anarchy, and free love. I don’t think non-monogamy is a better model for all people, but I do think that a cultural understanding of romance and partnership that isn’t based on fear, dogma and control, where people can express their authentic desires and find the model of relationship(s) that works for them, will create so much healing, love, security and joy across our society. These ideas are not mainstream yet but are certainly very common in the Bay Area, and something that I see coming more to the forefront in the coming decades .I want to particularly mention the amazing leadership in these areas by the community Tamera in Portugal, and I would highly recommend the book More Than Two if you want to explore this more.
12) Transformational gatherings
So where does all this integration happen? Where do we see the results? When we gather in community to share, teach and learn from each other, play together, support one another, heal and grow together. All of these things are increasingly happening in integrated ways at an exploding number of events worldwide including transformational festivals like Burning Man, purpose driven gatherings like the Permaculture Convergence and integrative conferences like Bioneers. At a recent Lucidity festival for example you will find (alongside music, art and play) workshops on feminine empowerment and systems thinking, discussions of new, more equitable economic models, indigenous elders from around the world leading ritual and sharing wisdom, healing sessions using bodywork, yoga, sound, or any modality you can think of, explorations of plant medicine, people from every kind of spiritual tradition, and (at Burning Man in particular) a lot of decentralized organization and co-creation. And festival culture is no longer a niche. There has been an explosion in recent years of festivals large and small across the globe, check out http://everfest.com to get a sense. The main things I see missing at these festivals are not enough focus on racial/cultural inclusion and integration, and oftentimes an avoidance of the political sphere perhaps to the detriment of greater impact (this is changing though as I do see politics starting to infiltrate here too.)
I have also been seeing conferences become more like festivals with an increased focus not just on content but also play, art, connection, healing, and holistic human experience. Bioneers for example brings together environmentalism, science, social justice, art and more in a powerful and inspiring mix focused on how we heal our planet. Another great example is a smaller event called CoCap (Community Capital) in Oakland which is organized by mostly women of color and focuses on new economic ideas for our communities, while also integrating spirituality and eco-systemic thinking.
13) Living in community
Of course gatherings are temporary and we are talking about creating an integrated world, so we have to figure out how to live it every single day. My core theory of change is that one of the best ways to do this is through living in community, and rebuilding the idea of “village”. It is well documented how our individualistic western society has created a crisis of loneliness and disconnection, core features of the Age of Disintegration. To re-integrate we need to remember the power and joy in human relationships and our interdependence, we are social beings after all. Strong communities can help meet our deep psychological needs for love, intimacy and trust, creating a sense of security that can prevent us trying to fill our voids through addiction and consumerism. Through community we can more easily meet our basic physical needs by sharing resources, which is also more sustainable for the environment. Living together we can support each other in our healing processes and hold each other accountable when we slip up. We can experiment with local currencies and savings pools to build economic resilience and provide a social safety net. The benefits are many and I could go on.
The good news is that there is a significant new wave of excitement and energy around intentional communal living. The last major wave was in the 1960s and the few communities that still remain from those days have a lot to teach us, including Tamera, Findhorn, Twin Oaks, Damanhur, Auraville, Hummingbird Transformational Living Center, and up the road from where I grew up the Sirius Community. Recently there has been an explosion of newer communities worldwide which you can find through the Global Ecovillage Network directory, the Fellowship for Intentional Community, or the platform http://numundo.org. I will also shout out to the growing co-housing movement, and the Tribalize conferences and events which are doing great work to bring together community builders to share knowledge and help each other start, grow and sustain more intentional communities. In San Francisco there has been a large crop of new cooperative houses starting over the last few years and a growing meta-community called the Haight Street Commons where we share ideas and information and do projects together as a city wide movement. This is what gets me most excited right now :)
So, there is hope! The Age of Integration is nigh! Of course despite these positive signs, there is still so much work to do in all these arenas. These trends are not inevitable, we all have to commit to figuring out our own way to work for the world we want to live in, as well as to practice living it right now. That’s where things get really radical because it is hard to live outside of today’s societal norms. We have to take risks and support each other when we fail, and we have to truly embrace these values and join these movements even when people tell us we’re crazy.
I also want to be clear that while I believe that integration is a key to the next phase of human civilization, it is not the answer to everything. We are in desperate straits right now, and there is a lot of work to be done at every scale. In particular we need as many people as possible acting right now to protect, sustain and regenerate our planet while the process of healing and integration is going on, otherwise we won’t have enough time. And we have to do all this in the face of continuing disintegration and the pain associated with that, so we also need to learn how to be resilient in ourselves and in our communities. But despite the challenges we can all find ways to participate in this process right now, and the more we can act from wholeness and integration in each moment, the better the decisions we will make. Even if each of us just does the work to heal our own wounds of separation, and helps those around us do the same, we will soon find ourselves living in a world where all people are thriving in complete harmony with each other and the planet: the Age of Integration.
