EDITOR'S COMMENT:

So far, 128 of you have registered on our new website. How do you register? Just click the blue "Register" tab at the top right hand corner of NHNE's new website. Once the registration process is complete, you can login into NHNE's new website, which is when the magic begins. Whereas before you could only see forum headlines, now your can read entire posts, and add your own!

Who cares? Well, if you are interested in Ken Wilber and All Things Integral, you could read Joseph Dillard's fabulously lucid description of what is meant by "integral transformative practice" (see below). Or see what Sherry Stultz thinks about attending the funerals of "family terrorists" (people who have held their families hostage by emotional or physical abuse, and then died).

And if you happen to be a recurring contributor, I've just posted an outline of the three major epiphanies of my life. These are the opening thoughts for a longer piece I hope to pass on to my children some day (and others who might be interested) that summarize the main things I have learned in my life (so far). I'm posting this in the "Recurring Contributor's Forum" to give NHNE's recurring contributors a first look, and to invite them to share the major epiphanies that have shaped, informed, and motivated their lives.

So register, register, register! And, if you want a ticket to the backstage show, become a recurring contributor today.

With Love & Best Wishes,
David Sunfellow

P.S. For those of you who may be weary of sharing your name and contact information with us, here's our privacy statement:

"The personal information we gather from our members is ferociously protected, never shared with anyone outside our network, and used only by those in our network who require it, such as NHNE's website facilitators and system administrators. You're safe with us!"

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AN INTEGRAL TRANSFORMATIVE PRACTICE
Posted by Joseph Dillard
In NHNE's "All Things Integral" Forum

"...all of us at this forum need to discuss what it means to have an 'integral transformative practice.' I’ll start off the discussion by saying a few things about what that means to me. 'Integral' refers to body, mind, and spirit, including exercise, nutrition, interpersonal communication, meditation, finances, and of course, emotional health. 'Transformative' refers to helping us stabilize at our next highest level of functioning. That usually means to identify the laggard line of development that we tend to avoid or ignore, and bring it up to speed so that we have a stable and more balanced foundation for transformation. Most of us have discovered that if we ignore the development of certain critical lines -- financial support, personal ethical development, emotional equanimity, exercise, and good communication skills, for example -- we lack the balance required to sustain transformation. 'Practice' refers to consistent daily application. Murphy and Leonard have people commit to their ITP five days a week. Their version includes the setting of clear intention, in the form of several affirmations which are integrated and expanded through a series of exercises. It also involves yoga, relaxation exercises, conscious eating, non-reactive communication, and meditation. Wilber avoids setting up a specific recommended ITP structure, out of the awareness that there are many paths. However, some practices that he routinely recommends are daily meditation, strength training, and some form of psychotherapy or self-insight process. He also encourages everyone to identify a path of personal service.

"My own bias is that most of us need to set up a clear daily structure and commit to it. It is less important what it is than that we do it! It is less important how well we do it than that we do it! Part of the challenge is that we are asking ourselves to juggle a lot of balls at the same time: nutrition, non-reactivity, a better exercise program, meditation, and a ramped-up approach to how we serve others. This takes time and discipline -- no getting around it! But then, that’s why we’re here -- to compare notes on what works and doesn’t work for us, to talk about how we sabotage our daily ITP and draw on support and direction from each other, and from integral thinkers like Wilber, Murphy, Leonard, and many others."