Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening (Paperback)

~ (Author), Terry Patten (Author), Adam Leonard (Author), Marco Morelli (Author)
Key Phrases: big mind, integral psychograph, mantra meditation, Integral Life Practice, Integral Ethics, Core Modules (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"At once challenging and uplifting, tender yet assertive, this provocative and accessible book is the source text for a new movement in post-metaphysics and life transformation. This book is the definitive roadmap for your journey to an awakened life."—Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power "From the moment I began an Integral Life Practice, it was as if my life was assigned a new trajectory and course setting from deep within the cockpit of my soul. 'Glory upon Glory' is the way my days are unfolding since I began to practice. An ILP is an incredible catalyst to growth in ways that I could never have imagined. See for yourself!"—Eddie Kowalczyk, lead singer-songwriter of Live " Integral Life Practice is an extraordinary achievement. Comprehensive, detailed, and powerfully rational, it inspires any and all of us to consider more deeply how profound is our embrace of the life we are living. The searing clarity of the integral perspective leaps off every page of this manual for personal evolution, clearly illuminating what it means to be fully alive!"—Andrew Cohen, spiritual teacher and founder of EnlightenNext "Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory has created a road map. Now Terry Patten, Adam Leonard, and Marco Morelli have added a GPS (Global Practicing System) with Integral Life Practice. Travelers on the spiritual path will find this book indispensable."—Brother David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine monk, author of Listening Heart: The Spirituality of Sacred Sensuousness and Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness and cofounder of Gratefulness.org "Once again, Ken Wilber and his colleagues have taken a big subject, swallowed the whole thing and the kitchen sink too, and then spent years working to understand it, digest it, metabolize it, and then translate it into clear prose and helpful practices. And the outcome? This wonderfully helpful manual for living: Integral Life Practice. A fantastic resource for a more peaceful, meaningful, intelligent, and exuberant life."—Elizabeth Lesser, author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow and The Seeker’s Guide, and cofounder of Omega Institute 

"Ken Wilber and the authors of this clearly written, sensible, well-informed book are fellow explorers with George Leonard and me in the development of integral transformative practices. Such practices grow out of a philosophic vision dawning across the world that joins our aspiration for personal and social transformation with both science and the contemplative traditions. This book will advance this developing worldview and the disciplines needed to actualize it."—Michael Murphy, author of The Future of the Body and The Life We Are Given and cofounder of Esalen Institute

"Integral Life Practice will help you build the healthy foundation from which you can wake up to your transcendent nature or Big Mind. Western aspirants have long needed a universal practice manual that wisely draws upon ancient traditions and modern science and psychology. Now we have it—an inspiring, straightforward guide for living a truly harmonious, awakened life."—Zen Master Dennis Genpo Merzel, author of Big Mind, Big Heart: Finding Your Way

"Integral Life Practice is a masterpiece guide of grounded, intelligent, self-transforming wisdom integrating the insights of all the great traditions of truth."—Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Entering the Castle "This book makes Ken Wilber’s ideas come alive. It spells out how to apply Integral philosophy to everyday life by working with body, mind, spirit, and the deeper psychological aspects of ourselves. Integral Life Practice presents a useful map of one’s existential condition leading toward the attainment of the highest states of consciousness."—Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche "Integral Life Practice offers a finely honed distillation of some of the most effective and universal practices from the great wisdom traditions, at the same time presenting a context for practice that is both soaring and sensible. True to its title, it takes seriously the human need for fully balanced development, for depth as well as breadth, for psychological as well as spiritual development, for softness and toughness, for ethics and bold experimentation. Beautifully written, laid out in accessible modules, the book is truly an on-and-off-the-mat guide to 21st-century practice, arising from that place in us which stands in the best of tradition, yet rides the cutting edge."—Swami Sally Kempton, author of The Heart of Meditation: Pathways to a Deeper Experience "Integral Life Practice brings the integral system from the mind to doable action in life.  Here is a treasure of integral Upaya."—Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, past holder of the World Wisdom Chair of Naropa University "Integral Life Practice represents a particular milestone. It gives a lucid and easy to understand summary of the Integral thought-system, without dumbing it down—no mean feat. What’s more, it describes in an engaging and practical way what to do in order to live from this elegant and inclusive worldview. If you want a clear and easy-to-follow map for waking up, read this book."—Bill Harris, Director, Centerpointe Research Institute and creator of Holosync Meditation Technology "Here we learn, through integral wisdom and disciplines, how to be freer and more fully authentic by ironing out the peaks of higher consciousness development into every nook and cranny of daily life. This is the secret of the integral life: transcending while including, and being there while getting there every single step of the way. Get ready to train your mind, open your heart, and awaken to your true universal Self."—Lama Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western Word and founder of the Dzogchen Meditation Centers "What if we could draw from the best of the world’s ancient contemplative traditions as well as contemporary psychological and somatic therapies, and weld them into a powerful program for transforming our lives?  Now we can, and Integral Life Practice is a happy result of this possibility."—Roger Walsh MD, PhD, University of California, author of Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices

Product Description

Over the last thirty-five years, Ken Wilber has developed an Integral "theory of everything" that makes sense of how all the world's knowledge systems—East and West; ancient, modern, and postmodern—fit together and can elevate our awareness. Drawing on science, psychology, human development, spirituality, religion, and dozens of other fields, Integral Theory is a revolutionary framework for understanding ourselves and the world we live in.

Now there is a way to not just think Integrally, but to embody an Integral worldview in your everyday life.

Integral Life Practice is not just a new approach to self-development and higher awareness, but a way of making sense of—and making best use of—the existing treasure trove of insights, methods, and practices for cultivating a more enlightened life. It offers a uniquely adaptive approach to awakened living that's suitable for everyone: people with busy careers and families, college students, retirees, even hardcore athletes and yogis. It's geared for devout—and irreverent—people of any religion, or no religion!

This highly flexible system will help you develop your physical health, spiritual awareness, emotional balance, mental clarity, relational joy, and energy level, within a framework that integrates all aspects of your life. Combining original exercises, vivid examples, cutting-edge theory, and illustrative graphics, Integral Life Practice is the ultimate handbook for realizing freedom and fullness in the 21st century.

For more information, visit www.Integral-Life-Practice.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: Integral Books (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590304675
• ISBN-13: 978-1590304679
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,541 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not world-shattering, not bad, just very good, September 9, 2008

By	Shashank Singh (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, considering I had low expectations going in. I'm a fan of Wilber but have thought the previous attempts (A theory of everything and A integral vision) at presenting his theory for a broader audience were, frankly, horrible. This book which is basically written by three others writers (closely connected to Wilber) is probably the best introduction to why an integral approach to spirituality is important.
The book breaks down into important aspects of our selves that we can "work" on and explore. None of the content in itself is groundbreaking, if you're familiar with shadow work the section on it simply presents the basic, but it is lucidly written and well organized. The same goes for all the topics: body work, spiritual practices, mind (i.e. Wilber's integral theory)....though I was glad to see a nice section on devotional approaches or an integral theism, something that is often lacking in popular spiritual books.
The impact of the book was its overall scope, when I step back and really take in all the different practices and important aspect of our human life, its inclusive vision is beautiful and penetrating. The overall drift I got from the book: if you're transcending your limitations, be sure not to reject your simple and grounded humanity. If you're primarily working on psychological/physical improvement think about greater possibilities then simply improving your mortal identity.
If you take the book with a grain of salt, which I did, you will probably find a lot of useful and practical information (maybe even a little inspiration).The most annoying part of the book was that some of the language and design remind me of a computer course: technologies, modules, bubble notes: Am I studying for the SAT or what here?

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Celebration of Life, September 25, 2008

By	Zapt Pupil (East Coast) - See all my reviews

This book is truly a gift to humanity. It contains simple yet essential practices for those looking to take the leap of faith into the next stage of human consciousness and evolution. It is written intelligently yet it's tone is warm, friendly, and easy-to understand. The team of writers challenge and engage us not just to think about ways to improve our lives, but to actually practice those ways, to do and be those ways. The writers give us a dynamic and effective tool to actualize our true and widest and highest potentials.

The book distills a variety of powerful techniques and information from ancient traditions and the latest cutting-edge technologies into one short, sweet, and potent read. I especially liked the examples they give on how to start your own Integral Life Practice (ILP). This book is a great addition to the Integral Life Practice Starter Kit It expands on many of the products included in the kit.

I think that this book will attract a larger and broader audience than Ken Wilber's previous works did. It is sure to change and transform many people lives. Can't wait to see what Ken and the folks at Integral have in store for the future. This book is highly recommended.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Integral Life Practice - Ken Wilber's Latest, February 10, 2009

By	D. Haven "DvdH" (Hoofddorp, Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

OK, it says that this book was written by three people (Terry Patten, Adam Leonard and Marco Morelli) and that Ken Wilber was only the meta-author, it is so strongly drenched in everything Wilber wrote before that he might as well have written it himself. The three co-authors are clearly very faithful disciples of Wilber's.
That said, I believe the book's contents are awesome. This is a very broad, yet deep, method of approaching development in all its aspects as an integral whole. If there is something I always believed in, even before I had read anything Wilber wrote or even knew he existed, it is development. Wilber's Integral Psychology is still my favourite book of his, but Integral Life Practice comes close, mainly due its sheer practicality. It does give you the basics of Integral Theory, but not in the depth that other books have done. Thankfully so, for all that is well-known stuff to those who know Wilber and need not be repeated in this book. It's about the practice and this book does everything to make the reader want to practice. From each of the four main modules (Body, Mind, Shadow, Spirit) to the numerous "additional" modules, all is aimed at making you do things and that is a welcome addition to all theoretical books that were written before on the subject. Whether you have plenty of time or not, there are always exercises that fit into your schedule. And all that is presented without any unnecessary links to religions that may not be your own.
Thankfully, by the way, the "Shadow" as it was introduced in "Integral Spirituality" is now reframed to be what it is: psychotherapy. I always found the Shadow as Wilber described it overrated, but am much more at peace with its application in this book and the confirmation that it is just an application of normal psychotherapy.
I was most happy with two things. First of all the chapter about Integral Ethics, which is something that I have been wondering about and had a hard time explaining to myself and others, but which is finally extensively described (albeit without practices) in one of the later chapters. Secondly, the fact that the book really makes you want to do this stuff, including making development plans ("ILP Blueprints") and tracking your progress. It even made me create a plan and follow through on it :-).
Greatest irritations are twofold as well. Firstly the frequent use of vague wording for the non-dual state: Suchness, I AMness, True Face, etc. I appreciate that such a state is hard to describe in clear words, but these words tell me nothing, even lead me away from the essence of non-duality. My second irritation is worse, though and has to do with the same subject: Wilber et al keep confusing the causal state (that of the Witness) with the non-dual state, which, specifically in the Spirit module, is annoying. Back in 2005 already, The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies published a paper by Burton Daniels called "Nondualism and the Divine Domain" where this is made very clear. That paper is really good and goes much further in the definition of non-duality than Wilber ever went.
Anyway, this book is worth five stars out of five for me. Anyone who really wants to work on their own development and do it comprehensively should get this book and put it into practice.