Saw this - being "old school" as I am, I have clear memories of loving MTV - back when MTV DID play music videos.  So I always like lists like this, where I can check out newer videos - and in this case, this is easy, because all the videos are embedded on the same page, courtesy of YouTube.

Especially since I can only identify some of the 50, it also helps to expand my knowledge of the current music scene.

I saw this from C4Chaos -

Very cool functionality at Zaadz.  You can choose the song, and using "open" functionality, this uses another application - Project Playlist

Although, I have to say, some of C4's music selections are seriously sappy!!     Life By the Drop though - that is cool.

(But hey, anyone who sees my IPod would say the same. We all have those sappy songs that "get" us). 

Still, a small poke at C4 - why isn't Changes on there?  That would be perfect for this playlist!

Tricks and tips to learn faster and longer, at Online Education Database.

I always need to remember the breakfast one, myself...

A great post by David Jon here.

"Yet, I was still taken up with the promise of what a comprehensive philosophy would look like. It wasn't Ken Wilber's vision that held me in thrall anymore. It was the underlying nature of a comprehensive philosophy–i.e., a non-reductionistic philosophy–that I sensed as being the original basis for my resonance with Ken Wilber's work and what I might now choose to call 'Integral Cognition.'"

I would agree with this - and I find that those who attempt to embrace the highest forms of - Spirit, Mind, Body, Other, Soul, Skillful Means In Living - these are the people I want to be my "tribe" so to speak.

Grounded in the world.
In communion with the Divine Soul
Self aware, of one's own shadows and B.S.
Learning, giving, growing, creating - "He not busy being born is busy dying".
Relaxing into the Buddha's smile, that is perfect as it is.

I clearly haven't been posting a lot here - mainly because I've been pretty busy.

But also, this particular blog has focused on the "basics", of integralism (when not veering to tech stuff and philosophy!)

For various dimensions, it is now pretty clear what the basic practices are.

Physical - I've blogged before - but 2 to 3 times a week, cardio, stretching, and weighlifting for exercise.

For diet - barring special circumstances - less carbs, and balanced eating.

Meditation - while there is a lot around the map here, the basic practices involved for integral involve:

Basic Zen/Vipassana sitting
BigMind/Advaita training
Compassion/Heart work


Now, of course, I'm missing a lot of the I-Thou meditations.  Perhaps I could blog them.

In terms of professional, career - one of the best books out there for this is Pathfinder, and What Color Is Your Parachute?

Both are passionate and practical, and give a very good sense of what are the gifts one has to GIVE, in terms of skills, abilities, and desires.

Psychological/interpersonal- while there are a lot of books out there, self-assessment is fairly easy to use, and I have also used this site to point to inexpensive therapeutic options.  And then there is the Shadow Work of the 1-2-3, as well as Byron Katie's work.  I could write more about relationship as well, but it is so easy for this to become narcissistic, in my opinion.

Now - community - this is probably one of the biggest lacks that I personally have, or have not written a lot about, and I've been attempting to address this through the Ken Wilber MeetUp, and organizing the San Francisco ILP Group. 

And then, when you do all the above, do you have time for rest, play, and creativity? Where is the balance?

I still believe there are things that are important for an "integral practitioner" to deal with - deeper delving into the interpersonal, dealing with MOTIVATION and destructive subpersonalities (just because all the practices are out there, doesn't mean you are doing them!), and also re-introducing some concepts into the integral community with ethics - such as "duty", "community commitment" etc.  A community is defined by the individuals that "take on" the duties of that community, and it is duty and volunteerism that is the glue of community.  Which conflicts a bit with "my/your integral growth".  And you want to keep away from any cultism, as such.

At any rate, opening up for questions - what integrally, needs to be worked on?  My integral growth, rather than "our" integral growth? 

I've received the first issue of Polysemy - I will be posting some reviews, when I get the chance, but for now, a couple of first impressions.

a.  Now that I've been blogging awhile, I'm becoming more interested in "best of" groupings - those posts that endure, or the best writings that take a form that can be used away from the computer.

Polysemy seems to me an example of this, and it's always very nice to actually have a physical representation in your hand, I think. 

I've read the first article so far - by Dan Allison.  As well as being a decent read - one of the best sentences being "The cumulative limits (narrow and broad) in our lives make the frame." - it's also interesting to see the use of images, contrasted with the text.  It definitely makes for a richer experience.

The article meanders a bit, but for me, the best point made is the importance of limits - in art, life, and technology.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

This is from NDhighlights, but I think it is worth reprinting:

Song of the Mahamudra (Tilopa's Song to Naropa)




Mahamudra, the royal way, is free
from every word and sacred symbol.
For you alone, beloved Naropa,
this wonderful song springs forth from Tilopa
as spontaneous friendship that never ends.
The completely open nature
of all dimensions and events
is a rainbow always occurring
yet never grasped.
The way of Mahamudra
creates no closure.
No strenuous mental effort
can encounter this wide open way.
The effortless freedom of awareness
moves naturally along it.
As space is always freshly appearing
and never filled,
so the mind is without limits
and ever aware.
Gazing with sheer awareness
into sheer awareness,
habitual, abstract structures melt
into the fruitful springtime of Buddhahood.
White clouds that drift through blue sky,
changing shape constantly,
have no root, no foundation, no dwelling;
nor do changing patterns of thought
that float through the sky of mind.
When the formless expanse of awareness
comes clearly into view,
obsession with thought forms
ceases easily and naturally.
As within the openness of universal space
shapes and colors are spontaneously forming,
although space has no color or form,
so within the expanse of awareness
realms, relations and values are arising,
although awareness possesses
no positive or negative characteristics.
As the darkness of night,
even were it to last a thousand years,
could not conceal the rising sun,
so countless ages of conflict and suffering
cannot conceal the innate radiance of Mind.
Although philosophers explain
the transparent openness of appearances
as empty of permanent characteristics
and completely indeterminable,
this universal indeterminacy
can itself never be determined.
Although sages report
the nature of awareness to be luminosity,
this limitless radiance cannot be contained
within any language or sacramental system.
Although the very essence of Mind
is to be void of either subjects or objects,
it tenderly embraces all life within its womb.
To realize this inexpressible truth,
do not manipulate mind or body
but simply open into transparency
with relaxed, natural grace
intellect at ease in silence,
limbs at rest in stillness
like hollow bamboos.
Neither breathing in nor breathing out
with the breath of habitual thinking,
allow the mind to be at peace
in brilliant wakefulness.
This is the royal wealth of Mahamudra,
no common coin of any realm.
Beloved Naropa, this treasure of Buddhahood
belongs to you and to all beings.
Obsessive use of meditative disciplines
or perennial study of scripture and philosophy
will never bring forth this wonderful realization,
this truth which is natural to awareness,
because the mind that desperately desires
to reach another realm or level of experience
inadvertently ignores the basic light
that constitutes all experience.
The one who fabricates
any division in consciousness
betrays the friendship of Mahamudra.
Cease all activity that separates,
abandon even the desire to be free from desires
and allow the thinking process to rise and fall
smoothly as waves on a shoreless ocean.
The one who never dwells in abstraction
and whose only principle
is never to divide or separate
upholds the trust of Mahamudra.
The one who abandons craving
for authority and definition,
and never becomes one-sided
in argument or understanding,
alone perceives the authentic meaning
hidden in the ancient scriptures.
In the blissful embrace of Mahamudra,
negative viewpoints and their instincts
are burned without remainder, like camphor.
Through the open door of Mahamudra,
the deluded state of self-imprisonment
is easily left behind forever.
Mahamudra is the torch of supreme liberty
shining forth through all conscious beings.
Those beings constituted by awareness
who try to ignore, reject or grasp awareness
inflict sorrow and confusion upon themselves
like those who are insane.
To be awakened from this madness,
cultivate the gracious friendship
of a sublime sage of Mahamudra,
who may appear to the world as mad.
When the limited mind
enters blessed companionship
with limitless Mind,
indescribable freedom dawns.
Selfish or limited motivations
create the illusory sense of imprisonment
and scatter seeds of further delusion.
Even genuine religious teaching
can generate narrowness of vision.
Trust only the approach
that is utterly vast and profound.
The noble way of Mahamudra
never engages in the drama of
imprisonment and release.
The sage of Mahamudra
has absolutely no distractions,
because no war against distractions has ever been declared.
This nobility and gentleness alone,
this nonviolence of thought and action ,
is the traceless path of all Buddhas.
To walk this all-embracing way
is the bliss of Buddhahood.
Phenomena on every plane of being
are constantly arising and disappearing.
Thus they are forever fresh,
always new and inexhaustible.
Like dreams without solid substance,
they can never become rigid or binding.
The universe exists in a deep, elusive way
that can never be grasped or frozen.
Why feel obsessive desire or hatred for it,
thereby creating illusory bonds?
Renounce arbitrary, habitual views.
Go forth courageously to meditate
in the real mountain wilderness,
the wide open Mahamudra.
Transcend boundaries of kinship
by embracing all living beings
as one family of consciousness.
Remain without any compulsion
in the landscape of natural freedom:
spontaneous, generous, joyful.
When you receive the crown of Mahamudra,
all sense of rank or attainment
will quietly disappear.
Cut the root of the vine that chokes the tree,
and its clinging tendrils wither away entirely.
Sever the conventionally grasping mind,
and all bondage and desperation dissolve.

The illumination from an oil lamp
lights the room instantly,
even if it has been dark for aeons.
Mind is boundless radiance.
How can the slightest darkness
remain in the room of daily perception?
But one who clings to mental processes
cannot awaken to the radiance of Mind.
Strenuously seeking truth
by investigation and concentration,
one will never appreciate
the unthinkable simplicity and bliss
that abide at the core.
To uncover this fertile ground,
cut through the roots of complexity
with the sharp gaze of naked awareness,
remaining entirely at peace,
transparent and content.
You need not expend great effort
nor store up extensive spirtual power.
Remain in the flow of sheer awareness.
Mahamudra neither accepts nor rejects
any current of energy, internal or external.
Since the ground consciousness
is never born into any realm of being,
nothing can add to or subtract from it.
Nothing can obstruct or stain it.
When awareness rests here,
the appearance of division and conflict
disappears into original reality.
The twin emotions of anxiety and arrogance
vanish into the void from which they came.
Supreme knowing knows
no separate subject or object.
Supreme action acts resourcefully
without any array of instruments.
Supreme attainment attains the goal
without past, future or present.
The dedicated practitioner
experiences the spiritual way
as a turbulent mountain stream,
tumbling dangerously among boulders.
When maturity is reached,
the river flows smoothly and patiently
with the powerful sweep of the Ganges.
Emptying into the ocean of Mahamudra,
the water becomes ever-expanding light
that pours into great Clear Light
without direction, destination,
division, distinction or description.

I'm late to this, but I have now also taken the PersonalDNA assessement.

I am a 'Generous Inventor'.

I must say - this is one of the cooler types of tests around.  sliding and percentages, x and y axis, very nice.

I also took the superhero test - I come out as mostly Superman - but a very average joe superman, as I scored only 60% at the highest.

And then, on the Medieval Archetype test (thanks Victoria), I come out as the Lover.

I'm not sure how accurate all of these are - after all, what do the Lover, Superman, and Generous Inventor have to do with each other?

But they are fun!

On a serious note, these same type of assessments, I hope to actually fall over to skills, and then be integrated with one's eportfolio.

I've been waiting to reference this for a bit, basically until they had a blog - which they now do!

Some of my favorite creative types are creating a magazine, called Polysemy.  I'm very excited for the magazine, as all of the folks over there are bright, creative, and a deep pleasure to read. I'm looking forward to viewing/experiencing the dimensions that AREN'T so verbal, but are more visual, and in Wilberian terms, more centaurian driven, revealing in creative expression worlds of insight, passion, awareness, and exposing the Subtle realms in the everyday.

The blog is here.

Take the plunge and subscribe! 

This post from How to Save the World is titled Why We Hate Complexity.

It's a good post - I especially like his posits of why we hate complexity:

I think the reason is that the acknowledgement of complexity, of a system's being beyond our understanding and analysis

    * reduces our sense of power and control
    * increases our sense of helplessness and insecurity, and
    * reduces our confidence in the predictability of the future.

This also reminded me of a classic book by Alan Watts titled The Wisdom of Insecurity.

In a sense, Integral Practice, is an attempt to navigate the world in a way that a way that is true to our spiritual, emotional, social, and physical selves.  And this involves participation - hopefully participation that WORKS - for the most part. 

But in the end - the emptiness/fullness of phenomena, and the encounter with dissolution of the self - this will never be fully solved by any practice, any way, any belief system.

We build sand castles out of our lives, and invest these sand castles with our selves, our sense of ownership, our loves, our projects, our communions, and our creativity.

Because this is what humans do.  Scorpions sting.  Humans seek meaningful activity.  

The confrontation with dissolution, with death, beyond that meaningful activity, is almost an anti-integral practice.  But spiritually and existentially necessary, just the same.

Great post from coolmel, regarding his flow of blogging - basically, he is "being blogged" by flow, rather than being a guy just blogging.

Now - is this just a function of creativity?  I posted this as a comment - that creativity is touched by God, and can flow through any type of activity - Quarterbacks have reported it while playing football, dancers have reported it while dancing, scientists have reported it, etc.

Now, is "flow", its own type of realization?  A glimpse into the realization of what already is so? Or is flow a glimpse of future human's capabilities?

I would hate to say that "blogging is spiritual practice", as clearly blogging is not physical practice.

But of course, divine creeps in everywhere - so is flow and inspiration from the self, the super-self, or the Divine?

Or all three?

Jean at the Human Bean has a pointer to the type of sychronicity and flow that Rommel speaks about - worth a read to hear Philip K. Dick speak.

Some great happenings for people in blogs I read, that I haven't commented on - so now is the time.

First off, Matthew Dallman, with a few other people I read, is creating a magazine called Psolemy.

Here's the first press release.

Lost of great perspective here.

I'm looking forward to reading some of what will come out of this - integrally informed artists go wild! 

I'm looking forward to the cheesy comedy channel late-night commercials about those videos...

Went to Cafe du Nord on Saturday.  One of the better venues of San Francisco, no doubt.

Of the three bands that were there, I really liked both:

Finding Stella - two amazing female voices, and decent songs, cute too.  Harder rocking than Indigo Girls, while definitely not as deep as Indigo Girls either.  A shallower but harder Indigo Girls?  Hmm, I wonder how that works...

Smithpoint - this band is at least as good as other punk-pop rockers, such as Good Charlotte, and they have fun doing it.  Their lead singer has a GREAT voice for pop - and not the typical look, even though he has the typical voice.

Miggs, the headliner.  Well, great voice, good musicianship, but it would be hard to find a group of more "self-important wankers", I would say.  (Am I too old for musicians that simply take themselves so seriously now?)

The women seemed to like them though.

I definitely recommend listening to the first two bands - and kudos to new services like Podbop, without which I wouldn't have been able to spring the low price of 10 bucks, and thus found some pretty good live music to listen to.

I think this post by Brian at Zaadz encapsulates what a lot of us are hoping for, in terms of a next generation, conscious, connected, internet.

It certainly tracks with some of the "future-gazing", I've been spouting off here., but of course, more down to earth, and  more experience with "social networks".

Rating systems

Skillful Means

Portfolio analysis

Great to see someone running with the ball!

Is called Podbop. 

From the description:

"We podcast bands coming to your town"

Now you can LISTEN to bands that are coming to town, see if you like the voice, like the music. NOTE:  The pages are slow to load, but well worth it.

Here is the San Francisco page.


Seriously, this is a long standing problem of mine.  There is a free evening, I want to go out and here music I haven't heard - but how do you know it isn't crap?  Now you can preview! 

Now there only needs to be MORE bands listed.

I've already lined up a couple of bands I want to see.  I'll report on the results next week.

A new blog was brought to my attention, that seems to have a really unique focus. 

Called Composition, Service Compassion, Photography, there is a real focus on that CAPTURED MOMENT of awareness, where the mind stops - and briefly - there is a pause in meditative reflection.  And this is reflected in the photographs.

As well, there is a focus on service, isn't something that I have linked to much here, and I need to do more of it...