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Perched on a narrow stretch of the Big Sur Pacific coastline, Esalen Institute is about as far away as you can get from the Washington DC and still be in the same country—geographically, but also politically, culturally, and institutionally. Yet, for a few days in the first week of October, those distances were bridged, and […]
This past week I was at The Esalen Center for Theory and Research on California’s legendary Big Sur coast. I came to Esalen to participate in an event I’ve been helping to plan for close to a year: The Conclave on Political Polarization. Since December 2013, The Institute for Cultural Evolution (“ICE”) has been working […]
So far ICE has been funded by generous philanthropic contributions from our friends and associates. But now that we have officially become a 501c3 nonprofit, we are ready to try raising funds for our polarization campaign through the new medium of crowdfunding. Rather than just asking for contributions, we are tying our Indiegogo project to […]
For years, Republicans made hay by appealing to “family values.” Liberal Democrats were often at a disadvantage because many of them did not in fact adhere to such values, as Jonathan Haidt has made clear in The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (2011). Haidt (pronounced “hite”) is a liberal […]
Over the last few days ICE’s partners and board members had a very productive strategic planning retreat. Carter and I, together with Elizabeth Debold, Michael Zimmerman, John Mackey and Jeff Salzman, made good progress in our thinking about ICE’s polarization campaign. Among other things, we narrowed down the conception of our “synthesis platform.” Instead of […]
As I picked my jaw up off the floor after hearing Rep. Todd Akin’s now infamous statement that women’s uteruses have the magical power to resist impregnation in the case of rape, I wondered, “Where could he have gotten that idea?” Laura Helmuth, writing for Salon.com’s XXfactor, noted that his “statement was a crystallization of Akin’s worldview: […]
For many years, the idea of cultural evolution was very important to me. As a teenager, I watched on TV while civil rights workers were beaten beause they demanded equal rights for blacks in the American south and elsewhere. My understanding was that those stirring and dangerous efforts represented a change in how people thought […]
The idea of forming a nonprofit think tank focused on influencing the American electorate through the insights of integral philosophy began in the summer of 2011. As I was putting the finishing touches on my last book, Evolution’s Purpose, I realized that this emerging understanding we are now calling the “evolutionary perspective” (among other labels) […]
At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech was well received by an energized audience. But at least one particular point of his speech was embraced with an extra sense of joy, laughter, enthusiasm and even a standing ovation. “Barack Obama” he exclaimed, invoking the name of the president with a certain measured […]
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I’m excited to announce my new 9-week online course on post-progressive politics. It’s being produced in partnership with The Aligned Center: https://thealignedcenter.com/institute/becoming-part-of-the-solution/
At last we turn the page on an ugly chapter in our history. While Biden faces difficult challenges, and while his presidency will inevitably have shortcomings, I’m rooting for his success. Biden is poised to take the first steps toward the higher cultural ground our nation needs.
https://www.dailyevolver.com/2021/01/leading-leaders-to-higher-ground/ If you are interested in executive leader development or leadership in general, here's a great episode just for that! Enjoy!
My article just published in Integral Leadership Review: "Why Centrism Fails and How to Overcome Hyperpolarization"
http://integralleadershipreview.com/17747-12-21-why-centrism-fails-and-how-to-overcome-hyperpolarization/?fbclid=IwAR03NT_o57_1aK71EhK7OPy0q0rMv_-C4GtpbCmZeC9eMxHqPZujO58PzaY
This is the first episode of our new series: Post-Progressive Inquires
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What Does “Transcendence” Mean?
“Transcendence” or “the transcendent” generally refers to the people and things that are ultimately more important than yourself or your perceived self-interest. For example, that which is transcendent for you could include: Your family, humanity, your deepest convictions, the environment, God, Oneness, your country, animals, freedom, adventure, art, science, a better world, or anything you consider authentically “higher.” Your personal ideals of transcendence are grounded in the people and things that you’re dedicated to, and might even lay down your life for, if it became necessary. Your ideals of transcendence therefore help define your life’s higher purposes.
The word transcendence is used in this exercise as an umbrella term that is friendly to both spiritual and secular notions of transcendent higher purposes. In other words, you don’t have to be religious to recognize the significance of transcendent ideals. Our attraction to a greater good that lies beyond ourselves—our ceaseless striving to serve something higher and create something better—is a fundamental part of what makes us human.
The connection between your ideals of transcendence, your virtues, and your basic moral obligations—to self, to others, and to the transcendent—is illustrated by the graphic below. The specific virtues shown in this graphic are the 7 fundamental virtues, but the specific 7 virtues you choose in this exercise may differ from these classical 7.
For more on virtues and their relationship with transcendence, see the book Developmental Politics, by this exercise’s author, Steve McIntosh.