The Daily Evolver

A year away from the US Presidential election, Ankur Delight and I ponder the spectre of Donald Trump being the odds-on favorite to win. Our muse this week is Rick Wilson, the founder of the Lincoln Project, who sounds the “Never-Again Trump” alarm in his recent Substack article, Red Caesar and the Next Regime. As Wilson points out, “Red Caesar” is a term used by “the New Right, to mean a leader whose post-Constitutional rule will restore the strength of his people.” Ankur and I discuss an integral perspective, which would categorize Trump’s ruling philosophy as pre-Constitutional but no less “Red”. It looks like we are fated to live a very interesting next year. Enjoy the episode! — Jeff Salzman Ankur Delight: 10,000 Heroes Podcast

Is America really getting stupider? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt makes the case in his influential essay in The Atlantic Magazine titled “Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid”. I challenge his thesis from an integral perspective. Growing from a cultural conversation dominated by a modern worldview to one where many perspectives are online may feel like going backward (kind of like a sweet 12-year-old becoming a sour 13-year-old). But every new stage of development looks like a regression to the stage it is emerging out of. In this episode I make my case. Enjoy!

In this episode, I take another look at the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once in light of its popularity and controversy – including in the integral community. I also consider how taking one new perspective on the play, The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno, turned it from infuriating to infatuating. And more on the ongoing saga of pronouns. Enjoy the episode! From a Live Fireside Chat at Integral Life, this recording is from earlier in the summer of 2023.

On today’s Daily Evolver Live (every Thursday @ 10am PT on YouTube) Ankur and I discussed the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. He’s a fundamentalist Christian who supports Trump and the election deniers. He’s also for Covenant Marriage and against porn, two views that may be evolutionarily potent. Ankur and I tease apart what is good and what is retrograde in his views.

If a debate isn’t about facts and arguments, what is it about? In this episode I look to a high school debate Tournament of Champions for the answer. As you will hear this next generation is Green, they’re mean, and they are discovering new territories of being human that are essential for the coming Integral stage.

Ankur Delight and I talk about the major new deal the UAW struck with the Big Three automakers in the US. The three pillars of the deal are 1) a 25% wage increase, 2) equalized pay for the same job, and 3) the ability to strike in response to plant closings. All represent a further move into green postmodern culture. But, Ankur objects, did we need to be enemies to get here? That’s when the discussion gets really interesting.

Hey folks, In this episode, Ankur kicks off our discussion by asking: “What can we do for Israel and Palestine? What really helps?” We discussed a Kosmo-centric view and how it transcends (and includes) the world-centric view of green postmodernity. Also the evolution of empathy, the role of meditation, Sam Harris’s “presentism” error and more. Enjoy the episode! Jeff Salzman Jeff Salzman – The Daily Evolver Ankur Delight – 10,000 Heroes TWO WAYS TO JOIN ME LIVE: Fireside Chats with the Integral Life Practice Community First and Third Wednesdays of every month @ 1 PM Pacific / 8 PM GMT It’s a relaxed and free-flowing discussion of current events and cultural evolution. Zoom link to join Join other live events at Integral Life. The Daily Evolver Live, with Ankur Delight Thursdays @ 10 AM Pacific / 5 PM GMT Join here on YouTube Live For the last few Thursdays, my buddy Ankur Delight and I have been quietly showing up on YouTube Live to “talk integral” about what’s happening in the world. It’s been fun and fruitful, and we love for you to join us!

Transcending the dueling perspectives of history, politics, religion and race, the insights of cultural development offer a more integrated, evolutionary understanding of wicked geopolitical problems like the conflict in the Middle East. PART 1 of this podcast is my talk to the Developmental Alliance, a monthly Zoom group sponsored by the Institute for Cultural Evolution. PART 2 is a more personal chat with my weekly conversation partner Ankur Delight, host of the 10,000 Heroes podcast. Thanks for tuning in! – Jeff Salzman Join the ongoing conversations … The Developmental Alliance, every 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7pm ET. My chat with Ankur Delight is live every Thursday at 1pm ET on the Daily Evolver YouTube Channel. Live Fireside Chat with the Integral Life Practice Community, every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, 4pm ET. And follow me on Twitter/X!

Ankur and I take an integral look at the Russel Brand sex scandal and how it is raising consciousness. We talk about: Presentism: a moving target * The power (and limits) of consent * Green sexuality’s great contributions and what it keeps in shadow * Cancellation, big media, and the evolution of collective consciousness * The emerging practice of holding multiple opinions. Enjoy the podcast!! Jeff Salzman, The Daily Evolver Ankur Delight, 10,000 Heroes Announcements Check out my Twitter feed for up-to-the minute observations. My friend Ankur Delight is hosting an in-person coaching event in Seattle this fall (December 7th-10th). It’s called The Night Vision Summit and the point is to help every participant make major breakthroughs towards their personal and professional goals. You’ll get personal coaching from Ankur in a deeply supportive community environment of authenticity, connection, and delicious food. For more info, check out his description here, or email [email protected] NEXT LIVE FIRESIDE CHAT: October 4th Join me for a live look at current events and culture through an integral lens. Free Zoom link here Join other live events at Integral Life – many free events open to all.

We saw a powerful eruption of red warrior consciousness in the recent saga involving mob boss Vladimir Putin and his renegade enforcer, the late Yevgeny Prigozhin. Rudy Guiliani is also playing with fire. Ankur Delight and I find the integral threads. – Jeff Salzman

Hey folks! The New York Times has published two major columns by columnist David Brooks criticizing the modern meritocracy and the postmodern therapeutic culture. What if We’re the Bad Guys Here? Hey America, Grow Up! It’s always interesting when somebody stops and tries to see the world of their opponents and I deeply appreciate Brooks and the New York Times for doing it. New stages of culture seek to dissolve the value structures of the stages they are emerging out of. Brooks helped me understand how he, I and our cool friends have participated in deconstructing the values of traditionalism with little regard to the price paid by the people who hold them. Based on the readers’ comments, I appreciated Brooks’ columns a lot more than the NYT’s subscribers did. But oh how Brooks and his argument would benefit from an evolutionary view, one that sees culture and consciousness becoming more mature in all its beautiful but not pretty ways. I make my case in the podcast. Enjoy! – Jeff Salzman PS: The next Fireside chat will be on September 20th. Here’s the Zoom link. Check out other Integral Life Live Events here.

In this episode, Ankur Delight and I reflect on the power and purpose of emergence in our own lives and culture. For Ankur, this conversation was sparked as a result of a recent road trip. For me, I contemplate what I am drawn to as I enter semi-retirement. Hope you enjoy!

Hey folks, Barbie tells the story of the cultural evolution of women in three stages. In the traditional world girls play with baby dolls, practicing the sacred roles of domesticity and motherhood. The Barbie doll, introduced in 1959, represents a modern sensibility, first as a fashion doll with which girls could express themselves, then as a feminist trailblazer who could do anything and go anywhere, including the moon and the White House. A billion dolls later, Barbie, the movie, tells this developmental story in a thoroughly postmodern way. It’s a frolicking, hot-pink, meta-mishmash of feminist critique, teenage angst, existential dread, gender-fluidity (asexuality featured), power-dynamics and a perpetual war on the patriarchy. All of which gets us … not very far. Margot Robbie is perfection in the role. More in the episode – enjoy! Jeff Salzman

Evolving your consciousness means enlarging your circle of moral consideration. Who is inside your circle and who is “the other”? In this episode, Ankur Delight and I look at the moral development of humanity, and the integral challenge of including people of different worldviews.

Taking a little summer break from the news, Ankur Delight and I turn our attention to a subject that has fascinated – and terrified – human beings since day one: what happens when we die? What might the integral answer to that question be? Enjoy the episode! Ankur Delight – 10,000 Heroes podcast Jeff Salzman – The Daily Evolver podcast _________________________ Join me at the live Fireside Chat I do two Fireside Chats a month, on the first and third Wednesday. The next one is on Wednesday, August 2nd at 2pm MT, 4pm ET. Join us – it’s freewheeling integral fun! Zoom link here. You can also add it to your calendar here. Join other events at Integral Life here – many free events open to all.

Hey folks! In this episode, I look at the evolutionary significance of our emerging mediaverse, with its gusher of entertainment coming to us from all over the world. How do we navigate it? We ask our friends! In that spirit I offer: My favorite TV series of all time My least favorite movie of the year, and why it’s my fault The Flintstone Effect: projecting modern consciousness onto premodern times The battle (in my head) between Robert Eggers (yay!) and Taylor Sheridan (boo!) This episode is edited from the regular Fireside Chat I host with the Integral Life Practice community. Check out all their offerings on integral living at www.integrallife.com/calendar Join me for the next live Fireside Chat I do two a Fireside Chats a month, on the first and third Wednesday. The next one is this coming Wednesday, July 19th at 2pm MT, 4pm ET. Join us – it’s freewheeling integral fun! Zoom link here. Enjoy the episode! Jeff Salzman

This week Ankur and I share our 4th of July experiences and chart the different routes we took to a more integral appreciation of America. Enjoy! – Jeff Ankur Delight – 10,000 Heroes podcast Jeff Salzman – The Daily Evolver podcast Lee Mead’s Anthem (for a taste of integral patriotism)

Hey folks, welcome to another episode of The Shrink and the Pundit, where Dr Keith Witt, integral psychotherapist extraordinaire, joins me to take a look at our next generation: the kids, teenagers and people entering their twenties. Are they okay? Dr Keith and I explore this question through the lens of cultural development. I hope you enjoy! Jeff Salzman And check out a new transformational offering, The Elephant in the Room, from my friends at Momentum Lab …

In this short episode, we bring an integral lens to a controversial New York Times story, “Nazi Symbols on Ukraine’s Front Lines Highlight Thorny Issues of History”. Jeff Salzman, The Daily Evolver Podcast Ankur Delight – 10,000 Heroes podcast

In this episode, Jeff Salzman and Ankur Delight look at the culture war and explore exciting new insights Ankur has gained from training with mediation master Ken Cloke.

In this episode, Jeff Salzman and Ankur Delight look at some of the questions involving the emerging workplace: Will artificial intelligence be able to create? How do we integrate the goals of achievement and growth with the goals of equity and sustainability? What is the role of people who can’t or won’t fit into the system?

Hey folks, As integral practitioners, we have insights that help us harmonize cultural polarities, which is why it’s too bad Bill Maher didn’t invite me on his recent show with Elon Musk where they decried the “woke mind virus”. Woke is the activist/fanatic arm of the emerging mass culture of postmodernity. Every stage of human development has activists and fanatics whose job is to fully bring forth the worldview (call it the “mind virus”) of their age. Our job is to see what they so desperately want us to see and to critically consider what they want us to do. We do the same with their opponents, cultivating the integrated wisdom that arises when one is able to hold multiple perspectives. I hope you enjoy the episode, edited from the ‘fireside chat” I hold regularly with the Integral Life Practice Community. Next chat is June 7th at 1 pm Pacific Time, Zoom link here. Join us!

A brand new iteration of “This Week in the News”. Ankur Delight, who hosts one of my favorite podcasts, 10,000 Heroes, joins me to bring an integral take to the headlines of the week. This week, we look at the big shakeup in the mainstream news media. Days ago, and within an hour of each other, Fox News and CNN fired two of their biggest stars: Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon. What does this say about the modern news business, the evolution of our culture … and the possibility of a President Carlson? Hope you enjoy.

Hey folks, This week I look at a rising star in the mainstream commentariat: Peter Zeihan. To me he is a good example of a proto-integral thinker in that he is a master synthesizer, weaving compelling narratives about our world that include economics, demography, geography, politics and history. He gives me a far more integrated understanding of a variety of issues from the Russia / Ukraine war to the workings of the drug cartels, to “Is it Oklahoma’s time to shine?” Yet, as with so many contemporary thinkers, his analysis misses the core value of integral thinking: that human consciousness and cultures have evolved and that they continue to. In this episode, I look at this missing piece that integral thinking offers, and which adds an invaluable element to any analysis of human events. I hope you enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman

This week I look at the hubbub surrounding the introduction of large language chatbots, the latest evolutionarily-potent development in artificial intelligence. A long-time listener asked ChatGPT to write a poem expressing Ken Wilber’s developmental stages. The result (below) is mind-blowing. How is it possible for a machine to create three verses that capture the essence of developmental theory so well? Mind-blowing, yes, but is it beautiful? Can it be beautiful when it was written by a machine? Welcome to humanity’s next stage of understanding itself and our place in the cosmos. ALSO, it’s Trump’s turn in the dock with his indictment in Manhattan. Is this good or bad for democracy? For the answer, we look to the old Chinese farmer … I hope you enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman PS – This is an edited version of a live “Fireside Chat” I do with the Integral Life Practice Community every first and third Wednesday of the month. Join me this Wednesday, April 19, at 1 pm Pacific Time (Zoom link).   On Ken Wilber’s Developmental Theory by ChatGPT Ascending the steps, we embark, On a journey through levels so stark, Wilber’s wisdom reveals, That development heals, As we climb, a new consciousness sparks. In the spiral of growth, we find, Our perceptions and thoughts intertwined, With each stage that we pass, A more intricate grasp, Of the depths of humanity’s mind. From the shadows to radiant light, Through these stages our souls take flight, In a dance of ascent, Where our hearts find content, In the wisdom that guides us to unite.

The DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) movement is one of the leading edges of cultural evolution, installing green postmodern values which in part seek to correct hidden power imbalances regarding race, gender and identity in American institutions. My guest today is Diane Musho Hamilton, who has been on the front lines of the DEI movement for over two decades, starting as a diversity trainer in the Utah Supreme Court. Diane is also a transmitted Zen teacher in the White Plum Tradition, and a highly respected leader in the integral community. Diane’s specialty is working with groups under stress, of which there is no shortage when it comes to DEI initiatives. She is a master of metabolizing group energies and emotions thereby making space for new levels of collaboration and community to emerge. Diane is currently enrolling a new cohort in her Real LIFE Facilitator Program, a seven-month training in leadership, Integral theory, facilitation skills and the dynamics of working groups. It focuses on how to engage conflict, polarities and group shadow, as well as how to work creatively with them. We start our conversation by looking at the Integral movement in general and the unique perspectives it brings to the project of diversity, equity and inclusion. I hope you enjoy! – Jeff Salzman

Hey Folks, In this Daily Evolver I explore a variety of topics: A telling difference between green art and integral art – Learn more about the Lost Birds music here. Yes, stages exist but maybe the spiral is spiked Traditionalism’s hot war on modernity in Ukraine Ghosts: an integrally-flavored tv comedy! This episode is recorded from the live “Fireside Chat” I do twice a month (1st and 3rd Wednesdays) for Integral Life. Join us live if you can this coming Wednesday the 29th at 1 PT, 4ET. Integral Life is building an impressive community of integral practitioners, and you can check out all the opportunities to participate here. I hope you enjoy this episode! Jeff Salzman

In this episode, I take a look at three cultural artifacts that present worldcentric ideals of sustainability, egalitarianism and gender fluidity through an ethnocentric lens of good versus evil: Avatar: The Way of Water – James Cameron’s latest movie in his great green myth of Pandora, a pristine planet attacked by modernity (and a few pre-trans fallacies). Bros – A gay romantic comedy produced by Judd Apatow, where the triumph of queer ideology is a moral imperative. Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race – A picture book for preschoolers that shows how we would live in a world without regard for skin color – if it weren’t for white people. All contain developmental truths enmeshed with us-versus-them resentments that power the culture wars. Welcome to the beautiful-but-not-pretty evolution of consciousness! Jeff Salzman PS: I’m posting more on Twitter these days and you can “follow” me there @dailyevolver.

In this episode, I analyze Elon Musk through the lens of developmental theory, which maps the “spiral of worldview evolution” within people and cultures. There are three major worldviews currently in contention in our culture: Traditional (order and conformity), Modern (secular and rational), Postmodern (sensitive and egalitarian). They all have goodness, truth and beauty to offer, and they all hate each other. Most people live in one worldview, can function adequately in another, and polarize against the third. If you can embrace the polarization and inhabit all three, then you are entering the next emerging worldview: Integral (evolutionary synthesis). If you can integrate all that (adequately, not perfectly) and add the lagging-edge worldview, the pre-traditional Warrior/Empire worldview, then you may be Elon Musk. In this episode, I explain. Enjoy! – Jeff Salzman PS: I’m posting more on Twitter theses days. You can “follow” my feed @dailyevolver.

In this episode, Dr. Keith and I take on two hot-button issues in the culture wars, each of us coming up on different sides of key issues. Hopefully our disagreements will be as illuminating to you as they were to us. Transgenderism: The ever-increasing awareness and practice of gender fluidity, particularly among young people, is fueling the culture war. Does it represent cultural evolution? Yes, we agree. If so, what are we learning and how can we bring more wisdom and compassion to the struggle? Here we differ. Abortion: The US Supreme Court’s revocation of the right to an abortion has thrown jurisdiction to the states, many of which are racing to legislate the agenda of their dominant worldview. Is this progress? Keith argues the negative and I take the affirmative.

In this episode, Dr. Keith and I notice a growing attempt in the culture to bring meaning and purpose into the realms of science. We focus on English scientist Rupert Sheldrake, who argues that “science should be set free” from the boundaries of mechanistic materialism. Sheldrake is well known for his theory of the morphic field, an evolving collective mind that all living beings are both accessing and creating. A spiritual practitioner, Sheldrake seeks to include subtle and spiritual dimensions to create a more integral view of reality. He also offers the best explanation yet of how the heck dogs know when their owners are coming home!

There are at least three distinct sources of human suffering, all related, and none reducible to the others. They are: Nature—the unique combinations of temperaments and constitutional strengths and weaknesses that each of us is born with. Trauma—the Big T and small t traumas that are ubiquitous in human development, and which leave us more sensitized and vulnerable rather than more resilient. Nurture—the sum total of our family, cultural, and environmental experiences that help shape who we are and how we deal with the world, for better or worse. Dr. Keith and I dive into these three sources of suffering, explaining how each contributes to the challenges of human existence. We show ways to use this knowledge to grow towards living a happy ending at the beginning of something wonderful.

Dr. Keith and I marvel at an exciting new (to us) typology system developed by Kibeom Lee and Michael Ashton: the HEXACO system. Lee and Ashton researched the popular 5-factor system and identified a new human trait, honesty/humility, which determines the adaptiveness and social worth of the other five. Briefly, the HEXACO factors are: H—honesty/humility. E—emotional resonance/empathy. X—extraversion. A—agreeableness. C—conscientiousness. O—openness to new experiences. This system raises important questions about human development, and what influences success/failure, intimacy/alienation, and happiness/misery.

In this episode, Keith introduces me to his theory of human sociability. As he sees it, human relationships can be seen on a spectrum of playing and fighting. Playing is a cooperative activity with an agreed-upon set of rules. Sometimes play is pure fun, and sometimes winning/losing dynamics are painful. But any engaged activity under an external set of rules is considered play. Fighting is trying to dominate the other, with little or no regard for a shared set of rules. Three outcomes of fighting are domination, submission, or a shift to cooperation (play). Both playing and fighting are human superpowers that can be used for better or worse. Dr Keith and I explore the play/fight current through all of humanity, delivering surprising insights into intimate relationships, politics, and evolution.

In this short episode, I am joined by Jose and Lynn Fuentes, who are producing an exciting conference for the integral community this November in Sedona, Arizona. The event is called Integral: What’s the Future and What Can We Do About It? It is designed in the spirit of a lineage of powerful gatherings that I (and perhaps you) participated in many moons ago. Jose and Lynn bring up golden memories for many of us when they write on their website: Somewhere between an Integral Living Room, an Integral Incubator, and a What Next Conference, there is a field – meet us there! Especially touching for me is that Lynn and Jose are invoking the spirit of our dear, departed Brother Terry Patten, who was integral to those historical events, and they are explicitly carrying on Terry’s transmission of joyful activism. As they write about the upcoming conference: We are gathering to consider how we can make a positive difference in the world. Come prepared with an open heart and mind, some great ideas for strategically inserting an integral consciousness into the world, and a desire to have fun doing it. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Lynn and Jose Fuentes and are inspired to check out the conference! Integral: What’s the Future and What Can We Do About It? November 3-6, 2022 Poco Diablo Resort, Sedona, Arizona $499 early bird ends August 15th

Who’s Inside Your Circle of Compassion? – A key marker of consciousness development is an ever-expanding circle of people (and other living beings) who you consider to be worthy of moral consideration. Full episode: Psychopaths are People Too.

The Left’s Split, Embracing More – The political Left is differentiating into “woke” and “non-woke” contingents – and fitfully integrating into a larger emergent identity. Full episode is here.

Reflections on Death – An evolution-inspired contemplation on what dies and what … maybe doesn’t. Full episode here.

Do We Care More About People Who Look Like Us? – Some thoughts about moral development from my series of episodes on the war on Ukraine. Full episode is here.

This week political philosopher Steve McIntosh joins me to discuss global warming through the lens of cultural evolution. We focus on solving the “political will problem” that is currently stymying our collective response to the climate crisis. Steve argues that the progressive agenda on climate needs an upgrade: “Preserving the health of our natural environment is crucial for our collective well-being, which is why we can no longer indulge in the idealistic fantasy that America’s economy and energy systems can be immediately and radically transformed. Some prominent progressive voices are calling for the overthrow of capitalism, but this kind of absolutistic rhetoric only serves to block the formation of a larger national consensus around the most timely and realistic near-term approaches.” Steve’s ideas are fully fleshed out in the Institute for Cultural Evolution’s Policy Paper on Climate Change. It is one of a series of innovative “Win-Win-Win” policy analyses created by the think tank that address the issues of the day with the goal of providing key “wins” for each of the three major worldviews. I hope you enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman **** Steve McIntosh is president of the Institute for Cultural Evolution and author of Developmental Politics, How America Can Grow Into a Better Version of Itself. I am a senior fellow of the Institute and a member of its board of directors.

This week I share our collective outrage and heartbreak over the shooting of the Texas schoolchildren and teachers, and manage to offer some hope that this time it will be different, that this shooting will heighten a social pain-point – unstable young men equipped with weapons of war – sufficiently to transcend political polarities. In this episode I ponder: America’s enneatype, frontier culture, “traditionalism with guns” Integrating the MSNBC and FOX News worldviews Recognizing budding criminality Matthew Yglesias’s positivity blowback How about the first part of the second amendment? The ever-widening circle of moral consideration What our grandchildren will know Blessings to all This is my last regular weekly episode of the season – see you in September! – Jeff Salzman

Frances Fukuyama is one of our most prominent political philosophers. He is famous for his argument that liberal democracy and free-market capitalism represent “the end of history,” a thesis widely criticized (somewhat unfairly, as I’ll explain) in light of the rise of 21st Century autocracies, especially China and Russia. In his new book, Liberalism and its Discontents, Fukuyama updates his argument, which he sums up in his recent feature article in the Wall Street Journal: “The Long Arc of Political Progress: A democratic world order is not the inexorable outcome of historical forces, but even amid setbacks, societies are clearly evolving towards equality and individual freedom.” I’m always happy to see any ideas of cultural evolution reach the mainstream, and Fukuyama does an excellent job of tracing the patterns of human history, including the herky-jerky nature of progress. He makes a strong case that human conditions are getting better in the aggregate. But … what is powering this development? In human terms, how is it that an eight-year-old becomes a twelve-year-old? Is it just because they “make better choices” or “social structures change”? Alas, this is territory that Fukuyama and most mainstream political writers do not explore. In this episode, I add some insight that I think creates a more integral view. Enjoy! – Jeff Salzman

Sometimes in our psychological development the way forward requires us to go back, to re-explore earlier stages of life to see what is distorted or left unintegrated. This is the theme of the work of my guest today, developmental psychotherapist Kim Barta. He discusses his approach to personal growth, which is based on the STAGES Model of Development created by well-known developmental theorist Terri O’Fallon (who is also Kim’s sister.). Using psychotherapeutic practices, shadow work and meditation, Kim has devised a comprehensive system of self-exploration with stopovers at every stage of development, designed to bring the gifts and powers of that stage online. Shoring up our developmental scaffolding in this way makes us able – and worthy – to grow into the higher stages of integral consciousness, which Kim and the STAGES model also beautifully illuminate. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kim Barta! – Jeff Salzman Kim is launching an intensive year-long program, “Shadow and Light” for a cohort of 16 people. (As always when I discuss a product with a guest, I get no compensation.) You can find out more about Kim and all his offerings at Kimbarta.org.  

This week I address a listener’s question about a fascinating subculture arising in the environmental movement: the “post-doomers”, people who, as she writes, “hold the idea that the collapse of civilization as we know it is already well underway, is unstoppable, and will be felt by us here in Comfortable Land through disruption of many kinds in the not-too-distant future.” Post-doomers find meaning in surrendering to this inevitable doom, much as a hospice patient might find peace – even joy – in the acceptance of their death. Or that their loved ones might find in reconciliation and mourning. I’m not a doomer. I’m an “I-think-we’ll-muddle-througher” and a chronic both-sidesist. I am allergic to alarmism as well as to those who dismiss their opposition. But might I be a post-doomer? Can one get the transmission without swallowing the doctrine? Yes, there is no end to environmental suffering, and any path to sustainability will continue to be painful and frightening. Witnessing and grieving this along the way makes us worthy to create a new and better world. Evolution proceeds through destruction and creation. Fortunately, since the Big Bang, at least, creation wins. I have not only hope but faith that will continue. Enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman

My guest today, Steve Banks, is an accomplished, integrally-inspired composer who is about to drop a fantastic new piece of music that is both classical and cutting edge. It’s called Blue Pearl: A One World Oratorio and it will be performed for the first time in London next month. Blue Pearl is itself a fascinating example of integral consciousness arising in an established art form. In its structure it is a classical oratorio, defined as a “large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically a narrative on a religious theme, performed without the use of costumes, scenery, or action. Well-known examples include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s The Creation.” While Bue Pearl is rooted in the western sacred choral tradition, Steve’s spiritual inspiration is explicitly integral. Fusing several musical styles, his work celebrates the unity-in-diversity of the integral vision. The central image is of the earth as seen from space, the ‘blue pearl”, a fragile, living, conscious planet. The lyrics come from writings by Ken Wilber, Thich Nhat Hanh and Steve himself. The world premiere is May 14th at the St. Giles Cripplegate Church in London. It will be performed by the London Mozart Players and two choirs: the Excelsis Choir and Vox Farnham Chamber Choir. You can check out Steve’s website, Stevebanks.info for a prototype of the work, all the lyrics, and information on how to attend in person or online. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Steve Banks as well as his wonderful new work, Blue Pearl: A One World Oratorio. – Jeff Salzman

Today I’m talking with David Fuller, one of the emerging luminaries of the emerging emergence movement (whew!). David, along with his partner Alexander Beiner, founded Rebel Wisdom four years ago, and has built it into a significant, integrally-informed cultural player, managing to thread the needle between – and beyond – the warring ideologies of traditionalism and progressivism. David shares his journey of development and how it led to the creation of Rebel Wisdom. He describes how the platform has itself evolved, morphing beyond its initial association with Jordan Peterson, who has gone hard anti-left. Rebel Wisdom has moved forward into new arenas, most notably sense- and meaning-making, and is currently exploring the territory beyond atheism. “Maybe even a world of spirit?”, I ask? David’s answer gives me faith in the continued evolution of Rebel Wisdom’s terrific contribution to global awakening. Enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman PS – Rebel Wisdom has featured several integral thinkers, including Ken Wilber. You can check out a recent conversation David hosted with Diane Musho Hamilton, Steve McIntosh and me here. PPS – One slight technical matter: My side of the conversation recorded in audio only, no video. So when I speak you’ll see a still photo of me – which is why I’m so stiff and my lips aren’t moving!

In this episode of the Shrink and the Pundit, Dr. Keith Witt and I discuss a powerful realization emerging at the leading edge of culture regarding the role of trauma in our lives. Dr. Keith is writing a book on the subject and has mined various psychotherapeutic modalities to create an integral approach to using trauma as a portal to health and higher consciousness. In our wide-ranging conversation we address: Trauma and resilience as forms of memory * The differences – and similarities – between ongoing trauma and “major event” traumas such as accidents, violence and illness * Trauma through human history * Sensitive vs sensitized: the healthy and unhealthy poles of postmodern consciousness * What child-centered parenting misses * The biological drive to have a spiritually-awakened brain * Updating your autobiographical narratives * Trauma and the self-transforming mind. I really loved this conversation and I hope you do, too! – Jeff Salzman You can find out more about Dr. Keith Witt here.

The sexual evolution continues! This week I look at the controversy raging over the dramatic emergence of transsexual identity and gender fluidity, particularly among young people. I place it in the context of the stage transformations of sex and gender through history, and even get a little personal. I hope you enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman  

Vladimir Putin’s ill-conceived war on Ukraine reveals a hidden aspect of consciousness evolution: newly emerging stages are seen by existing stages as a regression. Putin the autocrat saw democracies as weak and depleted. So did Hitler and the Japanese before World War II. It’s an old pattern that we can trace back to the warriors of old, who had contempt for the budding traditionalists beating their swords into plowshares. Over time, however, the emerging stage wins, not only because it brings on new capabilities (traditional order, modern rationality, postmodern sensitivity) but also because every stage contains the capabilities of the previous stages, often repressed but available when the chips are down. Thus, Zelensky, with his media-savvy modern and cool postmodern vibe, reveals in battle the heart of a lion and calls it forth in his people — much to the surprise of Putin, the world, and perhaps the Ukrainians themselves. The pattern continues in modernity’s misreading of postmodernity (I use a clip from Bill Maher’s show to illustrate this), and in the challenges being put to the emerging integral stage of consciousness and culture. I finish the episode with stunning excerpts from the book, Bloodlands, the story of Stalin’s war on Ukraine, and how its karmic echoes are resounding today. I hope you enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman

I’ve received many thoughtful and heartfelt comments on the war in Ukraine from my listeners. In this episode, I share their insights and add a few of my own. 0:42 – How the stages of consciousness are arising “simultaneously”. 5:34 – The shocking strangeness of premodernity and its challenge to modern culture. 15:13 – “The world, even Russians, seem to be more unified and sensitized to the abhorrence of war.” 17:20 – “Why do I care more about people who look and think like me?” The challenge of moral growth. Thanks for listening – you can write me at [email protected], or leave a voicemail here. – Jeff Salzman