Multi-Perspectivalism in the Paradox Zone

For a moment last night I felt a bit like Neo in the Matrix....well, maybe I felt a bit more like Keanu Reeves in one of those moments when he goes, "whoa.." in his seemingly semi-stoned skater personality.

Whoa...some sort of realization about holding more than one perspective, seemingly diametrically opposed, each the kind of perspective that could not exist if the other were true. Yet, here I am, holding both as if I'm a non-drinker staring at the bottom of an empty beer glass as the last of the liquid eases down my throat.

Dictionary.com describes a paradox as (1) a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth, (2) a self contradictory or false proposition, (3) any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature, and (4) an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion. Close enough.

Religious truths are often expressed in paradox, and paradox can also be a self-contradictory proposition, such as I always tell lies. I think we may be getting closer.

The paradox I'm holding revolves around a present-tense singularity and two distinctly different (or are they?) possible futures. In the present, I have finished my book and I am actively working hard to make the book tour successful and meaningful for everyone, including myself, making all these wonderful connections. I have also been working diligently on preparations around the potential of collapse in terms of economics, environment, and energy. It is because we have paid attention to the possibility of collapse that I am able to relax into the work with my book.

If I really believed everything is collapsing (it is) then why am I planning and executing a book tour that will take me all over the country? If I really believe my book tour is going to happen (it is), and I'm going be traveling around the country, why do I bother to be prepared for collapse? Both things cannot happen, at least not at the same time.

James Fowler, the author of Stages of Faith, explores the parallels between psychological and spiritual growth and development and claims that beliefs, as opposed to faith, are polar perspectives. Paradoxically, those who tightly cling to their beliefs or dogma rather than open themselves up to the possibilities of new truth may never experience the wonder of spiritual reality. In the 5th stage of faith, called Conjunctive Faith, people begin to realize the limits of logic and start to accept the paradoxes in life, that life is a mystery. Unfortunately, this is also a stage that can paralyze people by the huge gap between reality and the view would like to hold as real, or by the fear of being out of their comfort zone or for their own well-being.

Another author and philosopher, Alan Watts, explores the nature of paradox in his classic, The Wisdom of Insecurity. According to Watts, holding onto security is like trying to grasp water in your hands — it is futile. Like it or not, life is a fluid experience, not a fixed entity. Life is continually changing, and it is only when we understand this truth, that we can navigate life in a more meaningful manner.

This paradox, for me, is really nothing more than an insurance policy, not a declaration of what will happen, but rather,  what might happen. The same reasoning applies to all of us when we carry auto, life, and home insurance. It's because we realize how bad our life conditions could suddenly turn if something were to go wrong.

Oh, yeah...there's also this little thing about doing your sacred work regardless of the outcome. So in collapse mode,  and with the growing tide of totalitarianism on the rise, those who see the reality of what's happening in the physical and systems planes, and how those things affect individuals, communities, and nations, more of us can identify with the call to overcome the action/inaction paradox of the 5th stage and step into the 6th stage of Universalizing Faith.

After all...more and more of us are asking "what have we got to lose?"

Applying Integral Consciousness to Occupy

There seems to be increasing awareness around moving integral theory from the map into the territory. Not that it wasn't being done by some---see Terry Patten and Marco Morelli's excellent article "Occupy Integral" on the online magazine Beams and Struts---but when you log on to sites like Integral Life, there seems to be a huge disconnect between the reality of what's happening in the world and "feel good" articles that promote the meta-theories on integral. It's as if there's a sort of spiritual bypass that's going on in the mainstream integral community, or what Terry and Marco refer to as "integral inaction."

For me, Terry and Marco's article---they call it a "manifesto"---is a call to action for us to get up off and out of our arrogance and complacency and into the world. In other words, become the Sacred Activists that are called for at this point in mankind's evolution.

So what might that look like in the real world? Terry and Marco call for us all to "Occupy Integral," and I call for us to occupy Occupy.

Bringing the Map to Occupy

I'm an occupier. I work with the local OccupyWNC group where I live. I'm there because that's where the action is and if we're going to be able to successfully navigate (whatever that means) the coming chaos, then we must first get out of denial and into acceptance that it's happening. Denial could kill you. This requires that we pay attention to what is actually happening in all four quadrants, in the interior, exterior, individual, and collective quadrants. I speak to this in earlier blogs here and here.

But this article isn't about why we should get involved with the Occupy movement, it's an article about how we bring integral consciousness to an awakening phenomenon whose participants span the traditional, modern, postmodern, and post-post modern worldviews. And when you get all these people in the same room, trying to solve problems, there are bound to be conflicts.

First, I think it's important to note that I am not in a "big city" Occupy group. I'm in Western North Carolina, and for those of us living in the rural mountains, Asheville is a big city, never mind New York City or Washington, DC! The tactics of a small town Occupy group and how OccupyWNC interacts with our community is very different from how a big city occupy would interact. People with very different worldviews are our neighbors, not faceless masses.

One of the first things I did when I joined OccupyWNC was to propose a Visioning Work Group that would attempt to provide a small city vision of how we connect with our non-occupy neighbors. I framed the invitation in a way that spoke to post and post-postmodern consciousness so that the people who needed to be there would come. I also spoke of how, in a small town environment, we could build bridges across the local political spectrum rather than dividing the community, and told them I would be showing them a system that revealed how to reach across and communicate with people who had radically different worldviews.

About ten people showed up and I introduced them to Spiral Dynamics integral. Much to my pleasure, they all got it! For the next four hours we talked, discussed, and honed their understanding of how SDi could help them, not only in the community, but within the occupy group itself. I reminded them that these are not people within systems, but complex multifaceted systems within people, and then stressed the importance of not labeling people as one element of that system and showed them why. I've done this presentation many times through my men's groups, the Integral Warrior.

This has proved to be extremely useful in our meetings and our continuing Visioning Work Group, which will probably now morph into a Strategic Planning Group. The following part of this article will demonstrate how this has been valuable.

Competing Worldviews

In the last couple of weeks one of our members proposed that we begin each General Assembly (GA) meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag to show our loyalty to our country. This suggestion triggered some of our members, and a passionate discussion ensued, after which a consensus was asked for to adopt the pledge resolution, which, in turn, was "blocked" by another member. In the consensus model of governance used by Occupy, everybody must agree or the resolution fails. Well, this, in turn, triggered the person who proposed it, and we ran out time to discuss it so it was tabled to the next GA meeting a week later.

The following week the discussion continued, with passion rising once more, even though a majority of the members were calling for compromise. With not much practice at using SDi in context, the group was, once again, at a bypass. At the end of the discussion, I had an opportunity to briefly speak to what a compromise would look like and why it was in the best interest of the entire group, and wrapped it up with a promise to write up a deeper exploration and suggestion on how to compromise so that everyone got what they wanted. Here is a partial transcript of my email:

The single most powerful thing we have is each other, this community. But there is no prototypical model of what the OccupyWNC member looks like. We are the 99%, and that encompasses a lot of different opinions, beliefs, and worldviews. It's not just the 1% who are different than you. It's all of us, and that is also our strength.


There are two primary opposing worldviews at play here (there four generally at play in the US).

Worldviews are composed of values and universal beliefs. Values are perceptual filters minds use to determine (“evaluate”) what is important in any given situation. Universal beliefs are broad-based beliefs about self, others, and system (how the world is perceived to work). I wish the two members who are carrying those opposing worldviews most profoundly would have been there last night, so I'm going to muddle on without the benefit of their comments.

Neither of  these two worldviews are wrong, and, in fact, they are both right...to an extent. The worldviews I'm talking about are traditional and postmodernism. The traditional worldview wants to honor the flag, while the postmodern view wants nothing to do with it. They are both right, for their own reasons.

So now I'm going to ask everyone, including anyone at odds with someone else around this issue, to pretend you have a jetpack strapped to your back (indulge me) and you are suddenly able to leave the horizontal viewpoint of standing where you are, and suddenly jet up to about 50,000 feet where you can get a glimpse of the larger picture, not just what's in front of you.

What we can now see is that the 99% includes those with traditional values (I love the flag and all that it stands for) and that if we don't include and honor (we don't have to agree) those values, we are not inclusive and can't claim that we are the 99% because we just excluded someone, and that's just not right!

Likewise, we can also see that the 99% includes those with postmodern values (I resent the flag and all that it stands for), and that if we don't include and honor them, again, we can't claim that we are the 99% because we also just excluded someone.

If we are to be successful with this movement, if we are to ever to build bridges between us and those with whom we have more in common with than differences, we must learn how to honor everyone's beliefs, no matter how wrong they may seem to us.

So how do we do that? How do we make room for different worldviews without compromising our own belief systems? How can we honor differing perspectives without dishonoring our own?

First and foremost, we must never force our worldviews on others. Everyone has the right to be who they are. I don't want to force my worldview around this upon you, but hope that you're open enough to hear what I'm saying and to find your piece of truth within my words.

So if we have someone who wants to stand up and say the pledge at the beginning of the meeting, even though we may not want to do that, let them do that. I suggest that we stand with them (that we stand together in the largest sense of the word), and honor their wish to do this, standing silent if we need to, not to honor what we may resent about how we are individually triggered by it, but to honor the person.

And if we have some among us who cannot say the words because of their worldview, that we honor them standing in silence, honoring whatever experiences they have had that brought them to where they are, and that we know they are honoring us by standing with us (again, in the largest sense of the word) and thereby we also stand with them.

It's about connecting across belief systems and differing worldviews, and it's great practice for building empathy and compassion for each other. And in a world of compassion and true empathy, there is no 99% and 1%.....there is only 100%.

If we are to succeed, we must do it together, 100%.

Invite them in, one and all.

Gary

The response has been extremely positive with the caveat that the two people who were triggered at opposite ends of the worldview spectrum have not yet responded. I assume there are wrestling with letting go of what needs to be let go of, and we shall see if they are able to do that.

Occupy Occupy.

Worldview graphic from http://integralthinkers.com/featured/new-and-improved-worldview-lenses/

Guest Blog: What in the World are They Spraying?

Water, Fire, Earth…now Air: What in the World are They Spraying?

This blog was written by my wife, Anyaa. The facts presented here are true and can be fact checked. The question is why? And will we wake up and put a stop to this before it's too late? This must be passed on. - G.
Posted by Anyaa on Tuesday 14 February 2012 at www.goddessontheloose.com

by Anyaa McAndrew: I received a link to a long documentary today, one that my sister~friend sent to me a few days ago, and asked me to watch it and get back to her about what I thought. Her tone in the email caught my attention, as she was evidently upset about the content.  I emailed her back and told her I did not have time to watch it and asked her what it was about. Then on a hunch, I suggested to Gary that we watch it this evening. I was ready for one more documentary on what we are doing to the planet, more info on Chem Trails, something I know very little about. I expected to be better informed and enjoy some popcorn!

Then, as we got deeper into the subject, my mind was blown once again, a regular occurrence in these times! I realized that again, our sacred elements, our elementals, are being hijacked from where they belong, and in this case, sprayed from the air in the form of toxic aluminum, barium and strontium, called GeoEngineering. We have mounds of evidence now that we are being poisoned with these substances in alarming amounts, and it does not matter how clean our diets or environments or habits…it is everywhere in our soil, our food, our water and is coming from our air.

One of the most interesting yet believable phenomena regarding Chem Trails is that everyone sees them but no one really knows what they are or what they do or who sprays the stuff, including our representatives in Washington DC who are oblivious.  Most elected officials seriously had no idea about what the filmmakers were even talking about. Yet the levels of toxic aluminum in our environment and the associated diseases are on a very dramatic rise.

Several folks interviewed pointed out the crazy cloud formations that have never been seen before, the crisscrossed web of  trails in the sky that we all barely notice. What are we doing to ourselves? The official answers are that we are protecting ourselves from global warming, reflecting aluminum into the skies to deflect heat. Wonder how that interacts with the sunspot activity and solar storms that are coming at us from the sun? Some say it is weather manipulation, others say it is population control, making us sterile and sick.  Then there are the Monsanto crops that are genetically engineered to be aluminum-resistant.  All say that you simply have to follow the money to find out where it all starts. And, you guessed it, it all traces back to big money because it is apparently very profitable to spray us.

I personally love the 2nd dimension, the beings, bacteria, minerals, rocks, crystals, microbes, and the roots of all things that lie beneath the surface of the earth. I love the 3D plants, the trees, insects, and animals that interact with the earth and what is beneath it. In the last few years we have seen the horrendous assault on Mother Ocean in the form of the Gulf Oil disaster, which is said to be much bigger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill a few years before that, then the Fukashima nuclear meltdown that is still happening, which some say may also have been the HARP work of the Big Bullies that have been running our planet. These are two of the reported major assaults….most don’t hit the news corporation or the people. But there are many documentaries out there on every form of environmental abuse. All you have to do is Google.

I guess we really have been asleep, or maybe we are all just late teenagers finally hitting our first Saturn Return as a species, and some of us are finally realizing that we cannot ignore these bad-boy shenanigans anymore….we are going to have to get real, get angry and pick an issue! Any issue you like, but it’s time to get off our butts and get involved in some kind of Sacred Activism. Some are already on the streets for us, and some write books and articles, others talk about it and make films and teach and work in the trenches of activist groups like Occupy, and some hold space in meditation and prayer. Others rescue the innocent ones and prevent more needless deaths in the animal world, allowing the innocent ones to teach us about unconditional love. I am personally so proud of the young people, those who are not taking denial for an answer and are demanding to know the truth, to unveil every last stinking bit of it, so we can start to repair the earth and build the new world. What i know is that i have to do more, and more, with my heart and soul passionately involved in what has heart and meaning for me.

So, I plan to purchase this film, which is what the filmmakers suggest, copy it, as they suggest (no marketing, just consciousness-raising!), and distribute the link and the film widely. I also plan to get more intimately connected with my soil this year, my inner terrain too, and get to know more healthy minerals and microbes and 2D elementals that are here to assist us to get through this. I have been taking Diatomaceous Earth for awhile now and am looking into other minerals like Zeolite, as well as greens that attract and bind heavy metals. We must get proactive…think probiotics!

I encourage you to find ways to get more involved with your inner and outer planet….and please take an evening to watch this documentary….it is really important for us to know about this!

To find out more about aluminum poisoning from Chemtrails, click here

To view the documentary, click here

The Integral Warrior and Shamanic Astrology

In my book, Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior, I've included some new material I have not previously used in the process. As I consider the Integral Warrior Men's Process an evolutionary approach to men's "work," that goes to new places other men's work has not gone, it only makes sense that it evolves and goes deeper as I evolve my understanding around how all these processes and modalities fit together.

One of the new modalities I've added---to the book, first, and to the workshop, next---is Shamanic Astrology. One of the few shortcomings of Integral Theory is that some of its well-known proponents don't recognize the value of anything archetypal. However, I'm claiming that if I can put archetypes in a developmental context, the door opens to placing them in an integral context. That is not to say Shamanic Astrology is integral, but that it can placed inside a larger integral perspective and that it adds value to that larger perspective.

To give you a feel for Shamanic Astrology, I'm going to use my own chart as an example. I was stunned to see my chart and how it fits together with the work I'm doing around the masculine. It is literally a map that explains not only why I do what I do, but how.

"Well, of course that's why you're on the path you're on!" It's another tool for discovering our Sacred Purpose and its validation.

Shamanic Astrology uses a mythic and archetypal storyline that runs counter to "behaviorism," saying we don't come in to this life as a blank slate, but, rather, that we bring an "original essence" with us that is revealed by our birth time as it relates to the position of the moon. In my case, my moon was in Sagittarius at the time of my birth, which means I used to be a Sagittarius. It is my lineage. It is where I come from. My birth time also reveals that I have the Aries Job in the Sag Tribe. Sagittarius' main issue is the desire to find meaning and purpose. It is a Jungian approach centered around the quest for meaning. The spiritual higher octave of Sagittarius is the love of truth, not as a mental concept, but reality,  or what is true in the moment. Sagittarians have historically been explorers, adventurers and philosophers.  If a Sag were a mountain climber, he wouldn't climb it to get to the top, but to see what lies beyond.

When we add the Aries Job, it is the rugged individualist, or lone wolf of the Sagittarian tribe. It is also the warrior adventurer, but not in the sense of a soldier, but as a commitment to a noble cause or purpose. Again, this is all about what I came in with, and it's helpful to know this, both for the individual and with those who love them.

So, according to my chart, how does my lineage fit in with my current life intent? My chart has a lot on it that has more similarities to my lineage rather than something different, and there are some interesting additions. Less focus is placed on the sun sign than in other systems. I have Mars in Aries and my sun is in Gemini. Aries is the most masculine of the astrological archetypes as it is described in the culture as a mission and purpose oriented individual who has a 100% complete identification with a noble cause or purpose. This is exactly the man that David Deida writes books for. Mostly yang, the Aries man is classic, pure warrior male. With the lineage of the spiritual explorer warrior, this current life intent brings the warrior to being more in the world. My chart says I came into the world at this time in history to investigate an authentic expression of Aries, the masculine. Andrew Harvey is another example of the leading edge expression of how we're re-visioning the masculine archetype. What is the new archetype? Well, that's what my book is about! Shamanic Astrology tells us, "no surprise, there!"

Next, we look at current life purpose, which for me is the Rising Sun, or the Capricorn Mystery School. Here I have the Libra Job in service to Capricorn Rising, which means, instead of the lone wolf warrior of my lineage, I am now here---one of my purposes---to be in a non-hierarchical equal life partnership. It is about responsibility and getting results. The challenging part of this is that for thousands of years, the Capricorn Mystery school has been usurped by the extremely strange aberration known as  hierarchical patriarchy and monotheistic religion which resulted in that pathology instead of evolution of the masculine. But the essence of Capricorn is similar to the Native American view of making no decision without considering seven generations to follow. It is the proper custodianship of  resources that serve the planet and its people. It is the wise elder working with the circle of grandmothers. Mars in Aries/Capricorn Rising is a combination of the new evolving masculine, noble images of responsibility, and my chart says I can't do it alone. Conscious equal partnership is essential....and none of what I'm doing would have been possible without stepping into conscious equal partnership with my wife, Anyaa (who is also a Shamanic Astrologer) because she was the reason all this came up for me and why I found this path. It is this conscious collaboration that allows me to learn more about myself. It is this combination of conscious partnership and being able to demonstrate the capacity to embody the new masculine and the willingness to take on the responsibilities to become a teacher/elder.

But we're not done....My Venus archetype, the feminine, also in Aries, is the warrior amazon. The leading edge of the Aries archetype in the feminine is actually the very same quality that is generally projected on 80% of the yang masculine: the capacity to have this noble cause and purpose. It is also what I project upon my partner.

There's a lot more, of course. But everything in my Shamanic Astrology chart points me to being exactly who I'm being. It confirms everything in my life: my work with the masculine and how it leads to developing the leading edge of that masculine, my relationship as a leading edge of conscious relationship and partnership, and my book. I can look at this and say to myself---as Anyaa has said to herself and to me---"well, that explains a lot!" And then....did I choose what I'm doing around awakening the new masculine and the Integral Warrior, or did it choose me? What does it matter? It is who I am.

While I use the reading to validate what I'm doing, most men I work with will use the Shamanic Astrology reading we'll do in the Integral Warrior Men's Process to get them thinking in a deeper way about finding their purpose and their mission. Also, for most men, this will be the first time they have ever looked deeper at, or even considered, their feminine.

From Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior:

One of the best ways to work on the masculine and feminine energies within is through  Shamanic Astrology, which gives us a very helpful map for moving through the cultural and societal changes we have entered. In addition to the larger perspective needed for the immensity of the acceleration and intensity of our interior realm, and the cultural, societal, and survival tools that Shamanic Astrology provides, it’s also a way to use and bring forth the archetypal qualities of the masculine and the feminine. These archetypes are called the mediating energies between heaven and earth—a metaphor for interiority and exteriority, the top two quadrants and the bottom two quadrants of the AQAL model. To do this with women, we’d look at their Mars so they can get in touch with their masculine side, and with men we look at their Venus so they can get more in touch with their feminine.

According to Daniel Giamario, the creator of Shamanic Astrology (and the person who did my reading), the readings “provide clues within an archetypal and mythical framework creating greater awareness for conscious participation with life purpose and the great mystery.” In addition to the prerational— magic and myth, the framework and foundation of all astrology—is added what [Ken]Wilber refers to as the “as if” framework of the rational level of consciousness and the very high metaphoric or “interpretive” framework of the transrational to events and how they shape and inform our lives.

With Shamanic Astrology, we explore the archetypes of each man’s lineage, refining and integrating the dance of his inner feminine and masculine and his best enlightenment and relationship paths. Each man also creates an experiential medicine wheel to acknowledge all of his personal archetypes, deepening his understanding of who he is. Last, each man co-creates a Sacred Marriage ceremony. This is not about telling the future; this is about gaining a deeper understanding of who we are.

To find out more about Shamanic Astrology visit:  http://shamanicastrology.com/
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The Integral Warrior Introductory Weekend

The Integral Warrior Men's Transformational Process is just that: A transformational process. The full process doesn't happen in a day, but rather over a lengthy period of time that includes an Introductory Weekend, and three 4-day segments that happen about two months apart. The process is full, holistic, and complex, and demands a lot from the men who choose to walk this path, including shifting perspectives. Not an easy thing to do. The two month period between the 4-day segments is intentional so that men who emerge themselves in the Integral Warrior have plenty of time to process and integrate each of the segments.

But what I'd like to address in this article is the Introductory Weekend, a 2-day workshop intended---as the name implies---to introduce the Integral Warrior Men's Process so men can experience and discover what it is about and to see if they resonate with it and my teaching. 

I'll be upfront with you: This is not for every man. It assumes that an emerging developmental perspective is present in the men who choose do the process. Unfortunately, this developmental perspective is only even beginning to emerge in about 20%, or less, of  men. The process also "self-selects" men who do the process because men who are not yet at or beyond a post-modernist viewpoint simply won't be interested in it. For those men, I point them toward other workshops which are closer to their particular needs. And all men need to do their work with other men, regardless of any perceived stage of development.

This will sound arrogant to some. That's okay. The Integral Warrior recognizes that there are natural developmental hierarchies at play in the world and does not strive to be "politically correct" (please don't confuse "natural" hierarchies with "dominator" hierarchies). The process moves men from power to empowerment.

That said, let's actually talk about the Introductory Weekend so you have a better understanding of what happens in it.

First, this is the only weekend that women will be allowed to attend. There are several factors at play, here, and I think it's important that you understand the reasons. First, both men and women carry masculine and feminine energies and I've described those in another article here. As I said in that article, masculine and feminine energies are not the same thing as gender, or sexual orientation. Everyone carries them both in different combinations. Consequently, there's a lot here for the feminine, and their masculine, as well, but that's not why I'm inviting them in. I invite women in to the Intro Weekend, because about half of the men who do the full process come at the urging of their women partners. I want women, who are emerging into later stage consciousness a little faster than men (sorry, guys, it's true, but that's another article), to see the value of this work so that they can urge their men to do this critical work. Many women understand that in order for the masculine and feminine to come together in Sacred Union, each must do their own work, but men have some catching up to do. I address many of the reasons why men are playing "catch-up" in the introduction of my book, Awakening the New Masculine.

Some women may bring a man who might not otherwise attend or have any desire to attend or to do this process, and that's okay, too. And last, women, it's good for women to have a better understanding of what your man might be going through should he choose to.

The weekend consists of music, movement, interpersonal group meditations to enhance communication and our listening and speaking skills, a fairly detailed overview of the four primary Jungian archetypes with special attention the shadow aspects of our King archetype so we begin to see and understand why we have blockages that slow down or prevent our further awakening and how they're related to our early childhood and family of origin. We also examine the continuing evolution of masculine archetypes. Over the weekend we also learn about the integral approach---and why it's so important to our maturation---and developmental systems theory about how and why we change, how the masculine grows and how it differs from the feminine. And, there's a whole lot more, which is why there's a couple of months in between segments: so there's time to process all of this.

The weekend also consists of a lot of experiential work, guided meditations, shamanic journeying, and exploring the interior world of the post-modern shaman. The balance of cognitive and experiential, missing in so many other approaches, actually anchor each other in our pysches, further enhancing our development.

The introductory weekend gives men---and women---a chance to experience the process, to find out more about how it can benefit them, and to decide if the men want to continue the complete process spread out over several months. Read what one man had to say about a recent introductory weekend in North Carolina: 

 "I have worked with archetypes before and done shadow work but never worked with the two together, releasing one while embracing the other. I feel this is very powerful work and just what I need at this point in my life. I feel that when we complete this series of workshops that I will finally become the man I was meant to be. Thanks again and I look forward to this journey with you and my new found male friends." - John

We are all intensely aware that we are in the midst of the global shift humankind has been waiting for. At the very time this huge Global Awakening is going on, we're also in the midst of our darker side trying to gain control. It's why everything is breaking down. It's the oldest battle on the planet, and why it's more important now than ever for men to step up and embody the new masculine---the Divine Masculine--- as Integral Warriors following the path of Sacred Activism.

Here are some links to what other men are saying about the process:

http://www.awakeningthenewmasculine.com/endorsements 
http://garystamper.blogspot.com/2010/09/another-review-for-integral-warrior-in.html 

and a review about the introductory weekend:
http://garystamper.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-for-integral-warrior-in.html 

I hope you'll join me at an Introductory Weekend coming to a city near you.


Gary

The Integral Warrior Book Talk to an MKP iGroup

Last night I did my first official "book talk" and my book hasn't even been released. Oh, we're not too far off from that happening, maybe 4 weeks from this writing, but I was invited and I went. I'm very glad I did.
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I first want to say thanks to this Mankind Project mens' group for allowing me to present my book, "Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior." I hope the 25 or so men who attended got as much out of the evening as I did. I learned quite a few things. Slow down, relax, and perhaps most important, framing the discussion of masculine and feminine outside of gender aspects and labeling.

One of the criticisms I got from a couple of the men about my presentation last night was that it lacked a multicultural viewpoint. They were right. It did. I flat forgot to set up the conversation with the caveat that---although I would frame the conversation within a gender context, because that's the perspective I come from---all references about masculine and feminine transcend gender and apply across the board, regardless of our sexual essence, but strongly informed by it. If you don't know, sexual essence is a complex subject all about how we each identify more with either masculine or feminine qualities, and more, and nothing to do with gender (this is a simplistic telling, as books have been written around this subject)

So all of us can carry a preponderance of masculine or feminine sexual essence, in spite of our physical gender. This is also known as the two fundamental energies of the Universe in Chinese Philosophy: Yin and Yang, with Yang being masculine, and Yin being feminine (again, somewhat simplistic). This is also where it gets interesting.

Each of us, men and women, can carry a combination of these energies. For instance, most men in our culture---but not all---carry Masculine, or Yang, as their primary archetypal energy, and most women---but not all---carry Yin as their primary energy. But there are also many of us who do not. Some men carry more Yin energy, and some women carry more Yang energy. It doesn't necessarily mean they are gay, but they may be. To further complicate this picture, there are also men who carry more Yang energy who are gay, and lesbian women who carry more Yin energy. 

So that creates four patterns and here's what that might look like:
*

Men: Yang-Yin

Men: Yin-Yang

Women: Yin-Yang

Women: Yang-Yin
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Gay or straight, male or female, the majority of us are going to pick a partner who represents the polar opposite of who we are, because the polarization of the opposites is one of the qualities that create sexual tension between human beings.

My friend, Joe Perez, writes in his book "Soulfully Gay" (Shambhala 2007):

"If you're not used to seeing the world in terms of archetypal masculine and feminine energies, then you may have doubts that this way of thinking works for queers, You may wonder, does same-sex attraction somehow disprove 'yin and yang?' The answer is it gets a bit complicated. I largely agree with David Deida's perspective."

"Deida acknowledges universal sexual principles, but he also allows for complex permutations of gender and sexual preference. Deida believes there are universal sexual essences corresponding to yin and yang. A sexual essence is an inner psychological and spiritual drive and is not the same as our sex, gender identity, or sexual preference."

Joe then goes on to say that he believes this approach is generally correct, but that he would prefer a more nuanced typology than than Deida's, and points to that approach in another chapter. I have shown a short version of it above as the "four patterns."

For an even more nuanced approach to this subject, I highly recommend Joe's book.

I believe everyone pretty much got where I was coming from by the end of the discussion, although I could tell there were still some men who didn't yet trust me, but it was a valuable lesson for me, one I won't soon forget.

Again, this is part of why I'm doing this and why I wrote the book in the first place: To deepen my own understanding about these issues. And when we go to these places together in a "we" space instead of "me vs. you" duality, we all benefit. I couldn't ask for more.
*

Thank you, men.

Read what one Cincinnati MKP man had to say about the workshop, The Integral Warrior

Awakening Thought of the Day

"With increasing awareness and understandable anger at centuries of patriarchal behavior, or false male power, we have come to believe that masculinity and patriarchy are the same thing. Consequently, we deny and repress the power and gifts of the Divine masculine."

We forget this at our own peril. It is not only women who have suffered at the hands of patriarchy. The vast majority of men who have lived on the planet are also victims of patriarchal consciousness, most often, as cannon fodder for ambition and power. The Integral Warrior no longer buys into it. The Integral Warrior questions authority in all its guises.

A Cowardly Act by the U.S. Marshalls Office in Weastern North Carolina

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am actively involved in the Occupy movement in Western North Carolina. I know....it's not like being at OccupyWallStreet, or in Oakland, Chicago, Boston, LA, or any one of more than 900 Occupy groups around the world, but you work with what you got, right? This is where I live, this is where I occupy....and, I believe the people of Occupy are at the leading edge of consciousness on this planet at this time.

What we are seeking in the movement was shockingly brought home to me over the past few days. OccupyWNC is one of many Occupy groups across the nation that is working with Move to Amend, a national day of action just one day before the second anniversary of the infamous Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which held that corporations (as people entitled to the rights of the U.S. Constitution) can spend unregulated and undisclosed sums of money in order to influence elections. [There are] over 80 rallies at federal courthouses around the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

On Friday January 20th, we are occupying the Bryson City Federal Courthouse, the closest federal courthouse to us.

We're in a rural mountain area where everyone, even if you don't know them, is your neighbor, so we have not used the same tactics that are sometimes used in bigger cities. We followed the rules in applying for our permits. The Bryson City Police Department was a pleasure to work with and I had a great talk with Chief  Rick Tabor, and we had no problem securing a permit to demonstrate on the city sidewalk.

I then continued the process by contacting the Asheville GSA offices who manage the Bryson City Federal Courthouse. From there I was directed to contact Inspector Greg Erdley who is with the Dept. of Homeland Security Federal Protective Services. Needless to say, I was apprehensive about calling and getting involved with the DoHS. When Inspector Erdley returned my calls, he indicated I should talk to the Bryson City Federal Courthouse property manager, Michael Caldwell, with the Asheville GSA.

Initially, we connected by email and Mr. Caldwell sent me the application for the permit. I completed and returned the application by email (attached). A day later, I received a call from Mr. Caldwell and Inspector Erdley informing me of a court order over riding any permit the GSA might give us. They were kind enough to send me a copy of the court order prohibiting any kind of rally, demonstration, or parade on Federal property. Upon inspection, I was shocked to find that the court order was issued in 2003 and was apparently still active. Talk about legislating from the bench! Also, From the wording of the court order in the fourth paragraph, it appears that the U.S. Marshall may stop the rally altogether, even if we're not on federal property, even if we have a city permit. This is exactly the kind of inequality OWS is talking about.

Here I was, being denied my civil rights to demonstrate and address my grievances with the Federal Government of the United States of America, the land of the free. EXCUSE ME...it's not the federal government that owns these properties, it's we the people.

When I asked Mr. Caldwell and Inspector Erdley if we could include their organizations  (the GSA and the Dept. of Homeland Security) on our flyer supporting Move to Amend, there was a deadening silence...The agent began to explain that as Federal employees they could not take political stands, and I said "relax, guys, I'm pulling your leg"...followed by a couple more seconds of silence and then they both broke out in laughter.....Both good guys, and I think we made a couple of friends. They were both polite, friendly, respectful, helpful, and, in my judgment, somewhat apologetic about the court order.

OccupyWNC is an affiliate with the national Move to Amend organization, and we had been directed that if ran into any problems with permits, to let let them know. Apparently, Move to Amend is working with the ACLU for just these kind of unconstitutional actions by the government. I prepared a letter describing what had happened, attached the court order, and sent it off to the legal team at Move to Amend.

Move to Amend and the ACLU has been successful in getting other like court orders overturned, but doubt they will be able to do it by Friday the 20th.

So, as our local Occupy group meets over the next few days to prepare for our rally at the courthouse, one of the things we'll undoubtedly be talking about will be whether to use civil disobedience and occupy the federal court grounds, anyway. 

And we thought our "building bridges" tactics would work...Maybe locally, but apparently not with the feds. This all comes after President Obama signed the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) on New Years eve---while everyone was getting ready to celebrate and not paying attention---which allows American citizens to be indefinitely detained without the right to counsel (nervous laughter...here's where I joke about winning an all-expense paid vacation to a FEMA camp located somewhere near all of us).

So, here's my challenge to you: I know a lot of people want to create their own reality and don't want to think "negative" thoughts. But if you don't get up and join us, and stop this now, you will be creating your own reality, and you won't like it. Time to reach down and warrior up. Show up at the Bryson City Federal Courthouse on this Friday, Jan, 20th, from 11am to 2pm and stand with us.

Last, this: 2011 will be remembered as a year of revolution, the beginning of the end for an unsustainable global system based on poverty, oppression, and violence. In dozens of countries across the Arab world, people rose up against broken economies and oppressive regimes, toppling dictators and inspiring the world to action. Popular rejection of austerity measures and attacks on worker's rights brought millions to the streets in Greece, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, Chile, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. 

Fueled by anger at the growing disparities between rich and poor, frustrated by government policies that benefit a tiny elite at the expense of the majority, and tired of the establishment’s failure to address fundamental economic inequalities, OWS offered a new solution. They built a People’s Kitchen to feed thousands, opened a People’s Library, created safer spaces, and provided free shelter, bedding, medical care, and other necessities to anyone who needed them. While cynics demanded they elect leaders and make demands on politicians, they were busy creating alternatives to those very institutions. They were busy creating the new model of what this country should stand for They were busy creating the world most of only talk about. "A revolution has been set in motion, and we cannot be stopped."

And if you don't show up, don't ever talk to me about change, again.....It's not like you have to camp out.

Thought of the Day

"Patriarchy" is the consciousness of fear, and it is fueled by shadow. Men's lives are violent because their souls have been violated. It is past time for men to do their work.

Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior

"Awakening the New Masculine" is available on Pre-Order

My Dear Friends, new and old:

Great news about my book, Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior:

I am finally to the point where I can see the "book publishing on the wall" and expect to have a published copy in my hand very soon! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your support, your comments, and mostly all the men who went through my men's process, The Integral Warrior, in 2011!

I'm very excited to announce that I am taking pre-release orders off my website for the soft cover version of the book at the Special Pre-Order Price of $11.87 + Shipping and Handling (retail value of $16.95)! There's also a hard cover version that can be purchased at a special price as well. 

I so appreciate all of you who kept asking, "when's the book coming out?...I want to buy it!" Well, it's almost here! By pre-ordering the book now, you'll be one of the first to get it, you'll get it at a special price, and you'll be helping promote the book as I hand all of your prepaid orders to my publisher on the day it's released.

Not to mention supporting this work with men that is so needed on the planet today.

Not sure you want to move this fast? Want to wait to read some reviews? Well, here's what some of my friends and teachers—and my heroes— who are supporting the book are saying:

"Gary Stamper's vision of the new integral man is a refreshing departure from mythic visions of the past, but without abandoning their power or magic. — Allan Combs; Author of Consciousness Explained Better, The Radiance of Being, etc.

"Awakening the New Masculine is a brave, exciting and significant contribution to one of the most important aspects of our time- the birth of a New Sacred Masculine capable of being fiercely and tenderly protective of the world and human life."—Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope a Guide to Sacred Activism

“Something very ancient and very new is being presented here! Gary Stamper is bringing together many disciplines, much experience, fine scholarship, and good writing style too.” — [Fr.] Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Author of Wild Man to Wise Man and Adam’s Return

Gary Stamper has done a masterful job of pulling together various integral and visionary shamanic approaches to assist the change that is greatly needed for not only men of all ages but also for the masculine that is ready to be activated within us all.” — Linda Star Wolf, author of six books, including Visionary Shamanism: Activating the Imaginal Cells of the Human Energy Field

My book tour will begin shortly after the release and I hope to see all of you at one or more of the book talks I'll be doing around the country as I try to live up to these great comments by these heroes. Another good thing... I love being on the warrior's quest for a noble cause...and in front of people talking about my passion for this work!

Come join me on this journey!

Gary

The Lifting of the Veil

I have to admit I'm not a "feel good" kind of integralist. If you come to my part of the conversation for soft consoling words of comfort or pats on the back, you might as well stop reading now. I'm the kind of integral thinker that asks you to step into the abyss. Shaking things up is clearly part of my masculine purpose and the heavy warrior archetypes I carry.

It's interesting that--- more often than not---whenever I talk about what seems to happening in the realm of collapse, the conversation inevitably turns to the apocalyptic. When I talk collapse, people seem to hear "the end of the world." Andrew Harvey says it's rooted to a deep shadow fear of death that comes up for people. However, collapse is not necessarily the end of the world, although depending on which of several possibilities in this perfect storm of economics, ecology, and energy, it is one possibility. But rather than talk about what we can do about it, the conversations seem to usually go to the "end of the world" scenario. It's much easier for people to deny it when they frame it in that context.

My background with the Apocalypse was Southern Baptist, so I'm no stranger to the co-opted term used by mythic Christianity to scare the bejesus into us and to control us. I say co-opted because the original meaning is from the Greek (ironic, ain't it? See the next paragraph) meaning "lifting of the veil" or "revelation:" a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and perception, i.e., the veil is to be be lifted. This term has come to mean, in common usage, the end of the world, but originally meant the end of an age. The lifting of the veil is happening all around us. As I said before, everything is transparent: The patriarchal powers that want to dominate us, the greed of Wall Street and consumerism, the politics of the right and the left who are becoming indistinguishable because we've opened our eyes, the idea that what's important can be measured by GNP instead of happiness ratios, the loss of our indigenous souls who once loved the planet....the veil is lifting.

I agree there's no way to tell if an impending collapse will happen suddenly or over a long period of time, and, whether it's slow or fast, it appears to largely depend on who you're talking to. Ask the people of Greece whether their "collapse" was sudden and unexpected or a slow decline that everyone could see coming. Another irony is that even the people who caused it and could see it coming were powerless to stop it in their greed and quest for power and control. Hence, we once again see the lifting of the veil. While everyone can see the problems that caused the economy to crash in late 2008, nothing has been changed except to further exacerbate the problem by not fixing the obvious problems, the continuing loss of jobs, record foreclosures, and the continuation of the greatest transfer of wealth ever to the very people who caused it, and who are now losing control. The veil is lifting. #Occupy Wall Street, and the satellite Occupy groups around the world--including the local Occupy group I work with--see this for what it is, and are calling it out. We threaten the infinite growth monetary paradigm money machine at all levels and are being pounded into evolving from occupying locations into occupying hearts and minds and into what looks like one of the leading edges of consciousness. But we're not just sitting around talking about it. We have far to many Caesars who are willing to fiddle while Rome burns.The thing about collapse is that it can no longer be talked about in future tense. It's happening all around us: government, politics, nations, economics, populations, climate change, weather, earthquakes, water shortages, peak everything, health care, employment....You name it...some statistics:

• There are more hungry people in the world than the combined populations of the US, Canada, and the European Union
• Hunger kills more people than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined
• 925 million people do not have enough to eat  and 98 percent of them live in developing countries. (Source: FAO news release, 14 September 2010)
• Women make up a little over half of the world's population, but they account for over 60 percent of the world’s hungry.
  (Source:  Strengthening efforts to eradicate hunger..., ECOSOC, 2007)
• 10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths;
  (Source: The State of the World's Children, UNICEF, 2007)
• 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease

I believe, based on several years of study and observation, that we are coming to the end of an age, and by definition, the beginning of a new one. So, the question begs to be asked: The veil is lifting, and what are each of us doing about it?

.... and if I hear "things are perfect just as they are" one more time, I'm going to lose my cookies! What a new age load of spiritual bypass that allows one to disconnect from the suffering in the world. If things were perfect, why would we want to change anything, why would we value cognitive dissonance, why would we pick up a child who wanders into the street? Zen quotes:

• Don't wish for perfect health. In perfect health, there is greed and wanting. So an ancient said, " Make good medicine from the suffering of sickness."
• Don't hope for life without problems. An easy life results in a judgmental and lazy ind. So an ancient once said, "Accept the anxieties and difficulties of this life".
• Don't expect your practice to be clear of obstacles. Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out. So an ancient once said, "Attain deliverance in disturbances". Zen Master Kyong Ho [ 1849-1912], in Thousand Peaks.

It's amazing that some of us continue to confuse the celestial realm with the manifest realm. While it's true that things are perfect just as there in the celestial realm, the manifest realm needs a lot of work!

Sometimes we're just too intellectual for our own good. It's time for us to stop talking and theorizing about integral and to be integral. To take what we've learned from the map and put into practice so we can see the rocks and trees, actually jumping in and seeing what's happening in our own interior and the exterior world. That we pay attention to what's happening in the physical world in front of us, what's happening in the breakdown of all of the systems in the LR quadrant, and the inevitable collapse of the LL cultures that comes with it. I'm among those who think we've already passed the tipping point, that we are in collapse, so for me, the question is now "how do we prepare the new systems to fill the void caused by the failure of the old systems?" And they are failing. It's one more reason why it's important for the integral community to move beyond competency of yellow's intellectualism into turquoise community, building new systems that support new ways of living our lives. And the first thing we must absolutely do is to get out of denial about what's happening, whether it's slow or fast.

The lifting of the veil is our opportunity to end 5,000 years of patriarchal rule and to be more fully human. The veil is lifting. Don't turn away.Occupy your heart.

Awakening Thought of the Day: Peter Pan and Post Modernism

"We’ve created a world of Peter Pans, or puers--the eternal boys--who never grow up and want to marry trophies instead of wives, and girls who want someone to take care of them instead of bold partners. The current older generation of men, especially in the United States, has, to a great extent, not been mentored by their own fathers"--Awakening the New Masculine
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Awakening Thought of the Day: Masculinity and Patriarchy

With increasing awareness and understandable anger at centuries of patriarchal behavior, or false male power, we have come to believe that masculinity―and men―and patriarchy are the same thing. Consequently, we deny and repress the power and the gifts of the Divine Masculine.--Gary

Visit the website for my book, Awakening the new Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior.

Why I'm an Occupier, and why you should be, too....

(Gary's note: this is a letter I submitted to two local papers, neighbors, and various FB websites. This is an example of how we reach across the memetic, political, and personal boundaries of the separation of duality.)

You've undoubtedly seen the news about #Occupy Wall Street and the other 1500 or so Occupy Groups that have organically sprung up around the US, including my home in Western North Carolina, and in 84 countries around the world.

What you may not know is that the vast, vast majority of people in the Occupy movement are not unwashed, incoherent, directionless, lazy, or very different from you and me in spite of how they are being presented on most news reports.

It may surprise you to know that I'm one of them. I'm a minister, a family man, a homeowner, a soon-to-be published author getting ready for a book tour, a workshop facilitator, and I care about my community, our constitution, and our country.

In Western North Carolina, we're your neighbors and your friends. As confessed members of the 99%, we care about the same things you do: quality of life, low taxes, opportunity, and equality, just to name a few.

I'd be willing to bet that you're part of the 99%, too, and in fact, there's only a 1% chance you're not!

Like most of us, you can't afford your own personal politician or judges, and you're probably feeling that your voice is being lost to big money, big banks, big religion, and big business and big crooks. We believe in a fair shake for everybody. We're not anti-capitalists, socialists, or communists, but we think people are more important than profit. We believe Jesus felt the same way.

But don't take my word for it. I'm inviting you to come to a local Occupy WNC meeting (or one in your town) and meet the people who care about the same things you care about. Maybe not all of them, but I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts we have more in common than differences.

What I do know is that if we don't stand together we'll fall apart. And that's just not acceptable. So, right or left, tea party or occupier, come find out for yourself what we're all about. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Mission Statement: OccupyWNC is a diverse and non-partisan coalition that acts to promote economic and social justice for the 99+1%

• Open to all people -- we are the 99%
• Consensus gained through shared leadership
• Change unsustainable systems that benefit the few at the expense of the many
• Use all possible non-violent means of action
• Prioritize people over profits
• Yes! We are united to preserve our constitutional right to equality.

We also believe in building bridges.

Image: http://morgaine.multiply.com/journal/item/249/Duality

A Rant About Penn State and the "Fake Warrior Culture"

By James Howard Kunstler
on November 14, 2011 7:42 AM

"The intersection of America's fake warrior culture of football with the nation's fake moral and ethical culture is instructive. It has many levels, like a convoluted freeway intersection of on-ramps, off-ramps, and merge-ramps."

Read the whole article http://kunstler.com/blog/2011/11/-the-penn-state.html.

I love James Howard Kunstler. He has been absolutely prescient about where our society is headed in a world of finite fossil fuels, the suburban debacle, even the crash of Wall Street. He does this with a stiletto-sharp mind, a penchant for biting metaphor, and the best sense of humor in the blogosphere. Kunstler has long warned of the horrendous hangover we're going to wake up with after our "cheap oil fiesta," but he's not gloating as global instability and climate destabilization become the new not-so-normal. Unlike some dystopians, he's motivated less by the desire to say "I told you so" than by the hope that we might still manage to reinvent the American dream on a scale that better suits our current circumstances.

This is The Tipping Point: Giving Death

by Anyaa McAndrew and Gary Stamper

A couple of years ago we lost Anyaa's fifteen year-old Westie companion, Miss Lily, a shamanic healing dog if there ever was one. Miss Lily had already been through a couple of "shamanic deaths" where we almost lost her, but this time there was no saving her. Anyaa felt strongly that Miss lily was ready, and she made the heart-breaking decision to gift Miss Lily, and our community, with consciously "giving death' to her. In a beautiful ceremony at one of Miss Lily's favorite places, we gathered community, many of Anyaa's Priestesses, the circle of men that were at the Cove, and with the help of our vet, Tami Shearer, we all said our goodbyes as we ushered in the conscious passing of this beloved friend, as the painless process took place. There was not a dry eye to be seen.

It seemed as if Miss Lily understood the process and surrendered to it, as we all did. Her passing was her last living gift to us, although her gifts continue to this day for all who hold her memory.

We all now face similar challenges, only on a global scale never before seen.

Classic Shamanism, as opposed to Core Shamanism, is generally entirely involuntary. The individual is chosen by the spirits, often with no warning, and is not allowed to refuse the "gift", or they will suffer illness, and/or insanity, and/or death. Classic Shamanism is nearly always accompanied by a traumatic death-and-rebirth experience, after which the personality is radically changed.

Core Shamanism, on the other hand, is generally entirely voluntary. The individual chooses the path, rather than being chosen for it by the spirits. Although the seeker may feel "drawn" to shamanic practices, they are not in danger of illness, insanity or death for refusing to follow a particular path. They may choose their own human teachers, and they may stop at any time; although their lives may be poorer for it, they will not usually be penalized by the spirits unless they have made specific bargains.

Our "Collapse" will be approached through both paths. We must choose to change or the change can choose us. One is consciously "giving death," and the other is entirely out of our control.

Anyaa and I have chosen the marriage of the two paths to help birth in a new world using a process we're calling "Integral Shamanism." From the Integral path, it requires the widest perspectives possible, which means that we absolutely must step out of denial about what's happening today: the collapse of the industrial age and the battle for control of the planet. From the Shamanic path, it means we must welcome and mid-wife in the death of the old so the new can emerge.

There's a strong tendency around denial to think that if we just envision the future we want to live in, that we can make it happen, and to a degree, that's true. We need a vision of where we want to go, but it cannot happen through reform or incremental change. Because our culture is so death phobic, and because we don’t really relish losing our lifestyles, we don’t want to focus on the death of the old. It's important to understand that we must also die in the process, and that this deathing process is good and right. It frees us from the tyranny of a debt-based, consumerism at the expense of the rest of the world lifestyle that keeps us stuck and far from free. Once we can really get that, we can cheer on the coming demise of the old way, we can re-learn from the shamanic traditions that death has a season and a cycle and is our ally. We can learn from death, and grieve, and then begin to move on into regeneration and rebirth with the new energy that we have gathered in the process.

The time is now and the cycle is complete. We need to "give death" to the old power structure that has controlled the planet, and we cannot give up or stop standing for what we believe. This is where the Integral Warrior lives. The reason we now have the ability to do this is because those power structures are crumbling through their greed and their actions are becoming more and more transparent by the minute: FEMA camps, GMO foods, vaccinations, surveillance, giving up our rights for safety, the outright theft of trillions of dollars going to the elites as they attempt to push the rest of world deeper into global totalitarianism. We recommend the recently released film "Thrive" to see the whole picture from a compassionate and well-informed perspective, although we think the ending and its suggestions are partial, and not from the highest perspective. Those who have bought and sold our country have been openly talking about "The New World Order" for quite some time. Even with all this information that is available to us, because of our denial, we still cannot stop thinking about these things in terms of conspiracy theories. We don’t want to seem ‘crazy’ or like some kind of extremist, and we don’t want to think that the power elite could really be that malevolent, so we put our suspicions away and go back into a semi-sleep. That's their plan: to keep us asleep long enough to implement their plans.

Our job now, men and women, as Integral Warriors, is to fight them with everything we have. We cannot stop with only a vision of the future, we must gift the planet with the death of patriarchy and the power elite. We must be actively giving death to an already dying, but not dead, empire. By consciously entering into our planet’s Dark night of the Soul, we engage the SacredActivist as championed by Andrew Harvey as expressed in his recent book, “TheHope".

The spark was ignited in December of 2010, following Mohamed Bouazizi'sself-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment. A series of protests and demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa has become known as the "Arab Spring" even though not all participants in protests identify as Arab. To date, three governments have been overthrown as a result of the Arab Spring. It's not hard to include the current OWS movement, first in the US, and now spreading across 80+ counties, as part of a greater whole, the hundredth monkey, the tipping point so desperately needed to shift us into the creative power of the next structure of consciousness that wants to emerge on the planet. As the Nation magazine points out, "After decades of exploitation, murder, and fraud, the corporate state is facing a genuine uprising of the people." It's about time.

Now, not all of these movements want the same thing. In the Arab Spring, most people want more freedom, better wages, and a chance at a middle class lifestyle. It doesn't take a genius to understand that 7 billion people are not going to enjoy the same version of the middle class that we in the U.S. are in the process of losing.  In 2004, the United States accounted for 4.6 percent of the world's population and 33 percent of global consumption--more than $9 trillion U.S. dollars.

Our role, as integral thinkers at the Strategic level of consciousness, or higher, is to first mid-wife in the death of the elite power structures, to hold the vision of those corrupt systems crumbling, and do whatever is needed to help them along as quickly as possible. Don't be an observer in this drama. Don’t go back to thinking that we just need some good reforms, some band-aid fixes to help us hobble through to the next crisis. We have gone far beyond that, folks. Instead, if you are not informed, if you are avoiding reality, commit yourself to seeing the biggest possible picture of what is really happening on the planet. The number of information resources out there is staggering. Jump on board this very fast-moving train of consciousness, and don’t get lost in utopian visions of the future just yet. The time is NOW to help the shamanic deathing process. We must engage, because it's only through sheer numbers of consciousness that we can break through to the other side where we have a chance to do everything differently.

We are winning, as is evidenced by the fact that the power elite can no longer hide anything from us, but we have to open our eyes and be willing to look at it. The outcome is not settled, and we can't give up, and we can't yet focus on the rebirth. We must focus first on Giving Death to the old ways. If we act quickly, we may be able to mitigate some of the pain of powering down as opposed to collapsing.

In the meantime, we must remember that we can only help others if we first take care of ourselves. We are reminded of this every time we fly when we get our emergency flight instructions before taking off: "Put your drop-down oxygen mask on first." In other words, give others the gift of your presence and wisdom in the new frontier....whatever that may look like.

Graham Nash and David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, and Nash,  like Roger Waters from Pink Floyd,  are part of the celebrity voices that are starting to speak out. Listen to what they have to say about the #Occupy Movement.

Gary and Anyaa live and work in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Gary's Book, "Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior," is scheduled for release in January 2012.