I had the honor of playing the Dharmapalooza 2009 afterparty this past weekend (11.14.09), taking the stage after a gorgeous music and spoken-word performance by Stuart Davis.  After driving through a nerve-racking snow storm from Denver to Boulder, and then realizing that there were only about 25-30 people at the studio, it initially did not seem like the night would go very well and i wondered if i should even bother setting up my equipment.  But it turned out to be one of the strongest sets i’ve ever played (mixing five decades’ worth of music into a tight 2.5 hour performance) and probably the most fun i’ve ever had playing (thanks to the beautiful hearts and minds shaking their beautiful asses to my noise.) 

Hell, i even got Jun Po Roshi and Stuart Davis to dance, which has to be one of my all-time greatest personal victories.

Here’s a few highlights from the evening.

(Thanks to Nomali Perera and Robert MacNaughton for the videos, and to Jason Digges for the photos.)

With so much end-of-the-world hype spreading through our digital nervous system—especially in the wake of the new film 2012 (which i have not seen yet, but would like to….)—i thought i would compile a few clips from the Integral Life archives that offer Ken Wilber’s own perspective about 2012, the apocalypse, and the future of civilization as a whole.  All these clips are available for free.

Also, be sure to check out InformationIsBeautiful’s gorgeous info-graphic separating 2012 facts from fiction. Link.

Is the Future Spinning Out of Control?

“Is everything spinning out of control?” asked an Associated Press article in Summer 2008. Between rising flood waters in the Midwest, drowning polar bears in the far North, skyrocketing gas prices, plummeting home values, and endless wars on multiple fronts, the future does not seem to be living up to its promise—a promise envisioned since the détente of the Cold War and the proclamation of George H.W. Bush’s “New World Order.” From an Integral altitude, what can we make of the future?

The Ever-Nearing Apocalypse

Each altitude sees the apocalypse differently: Magenta is awaiting the return of Quetzalcoatl and the completion of the “long cycle” of the ancient Mayan calender. Red is currently stocking ammunition and digging bunkers in Montana. Amber is eagerly anticipating the Rapture just before the arrival of the Four Horsemen. Orange prognosticates a very gloomy future after the total collapse of the global economy. While Green just hopes we make it to 2012 before we all boil alive in our own atmosphere.

Are we facing the inevitable end of everything? Or are we experiencing an entirely new set of global life conditions which—painful and chaotic as they are—will nonetheless lead to a more sane and integral future? Repent, the Beginning is near!!!

2012, the Aquarian Age, and the Nature of Evolution

From the Mayan prophecies of 2012 to the Aquarian Age, ever since the sixties many of us have felt that something big is about to happen in human consciousness—indeed, in human history—and that we are lucky enough to be a part of that monumental transformation. So what’s going on here? Is this simply the narcissistic fantasy of our time, or are we truly fortunate enough to be participating in the culmination of 15 billion years of evolution? As might be expected, the truth seems to be somewhere in the middle: no, we are not going to “go up in light” any day now—but the evolving universe has become conscious of itself, and it’s only through the precious human vehicle that this understanding is realized—that is, if we survive long enough to engage the glorious possibilities before us. As with any evolutionary step forward, the promise of the good to come is weighed against the new terrors hidden in this nascent power. Ken goes on to discuss his work-in-progress, The Many Faces of Terrorism, and how, with the advancement of pluralistic values on a global scale, and the implementation of worldwide one-person-one-vote electronic democracy, only 50% of the population may survive this brave new world….

It’s not easy being an artist—especially if you are trying to make a living.  It can seem at times as if the entire world is stacked against you, forcing you to compromise your vision or surrender it altogether in order to put food on the table.  And while the internet has proven to be wonderful for consumers of art, it can be a bit of a double-edged sword for artists themselves.  On the one hand, they can find new audiences from around the world that they may never have found otherwise.  On the other hand, it seems that today it takes something truly extraordinary to cut through all the digital noise—and even when you do break through, you run an even greater risk of your work being copied, pasted, and distributed across the web.  All the blood, sweat, and tears that go into a work of art can instantly evaporate into a fine mist of 0’s and 1’s.

In today’s entertainment-dominated culture, more artists have an opportunity to eek out a living than ever before.  A role that was once fit only for misunderstood iconoclasts is now open to just about anybody.  As a result we have witnessed an unprecedented explosion of creativity online, as it becomes easier and easier for people to explore and express their own artistic proclivities.  At the same time we have witnessed an equally-unprecedented explosion of mediocrity, as any college student with Photoshop installed on their laptop can fancy themselves an “artist”, making it that much more difficult for genuine talent to shine through the dreck.

A lot has changed over the years for artists.  But one thing has remained true since time immemorial: in order to be a truly great artist, you must live your entire life as your ultimate work, your friends and family as your grand masterpiece, your every breath as your finest creative denouement.  Now more than ever, an artist must strike just the right balance between inspiration and occupation, between creativity and commodity, between the idealism of form and the pragmatism of function.  It is a dance which, when we see it danced well, lifts us all out of the mundanity of daily life, offering us new eyes and new perspectives through which we can see the world in an entirely new way.

Bryce Widom is an artist facing exactly these sorts of challenges.  Already an accomplished painter, designer, and illustrator in his own right (as well as a beloved part of the Boulder/Denver integral community), Bryce is now beginning a new phase of his artistic career, which is already culminating in his beautiful new art gallery 1000 Views of God (featured here at Integral Life.)  In this dialogue he and Stuart Davis discuss his own story of cultivating his identity as an artist—an often painful, often exhilarating process of surrendering again and again to his deepest purpose and vision.

A little haiku that jumped into my head this morning, which pretty much sums up everything you will find on this site:

Hollow keystrokes and
Empty verses, they are all
Dead words in Hearses

ex·o·ter·ic
Pronunciation: \ek-sə-ˈter-ik\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin & Greek; Latin exotericus, from Greek exōterikos, literally, external, from exōterō more outside, comparative of exō outside
Date: 1660

1 a : suitable to be imparted to the public <the exoteric doctrine> b : belonging to the outer or less initiate circle
2 : relating to the outside

1 a : designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone <a body of esoteric legal doctrine — B. N. Cardozo> b : requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group <esoteric terminology>; broadly : difficult to understand <esoteric subjects>
2 a : limited to a small circle <engaging in esoteric pursuits>

Integral Life offers a 2-disc DVD entitled The Future of Christianity: A Startling New Vision of Hope for the 21st Century. Join Ken Wilber and renowned Christian contemplative Father Thomas Keating as they present their newest—and some say most interesting work! Discover a vision of the Christian journey that has radical implications for our spiritual lives and for the world as a whole. Click here to learn more.

It has often been said that there is a central paradox in the role of religion throughout history: on the one hand, religion has been the single greatest cause of war and suffering. On the other, religion has been the single greatest source of redemption, salvation, and liberation for humanity. How can we possibly make sense of this double-edged dagger? How can we reconcile the very best qualities of religion with the very worst? Read the rest of this entry