The Wilber Effect?

I received an Anonymous comment on my last blog post regarding Scott Parker's excellent essay Winning the Integral Game? which is posted on Integral World. This comment struck a cord with me and has me reflecting a lot on my experiences with Ken Wilber and his work. I have more to say soon, especially regarding where I was in my life when I got into Wilber's work. (Oddly enough I can answer "yes" to every question the Anon poster asks regarding when people got into Wilber's work. Very interesting indeed.) More later as I continue to reflect...

Comment from Anon:

Dash wrote:

(I was once a giddy fan of Wilber myself and when I took the first Integral theory course I was very excited to be able to actually ask Wilber a question on a conference call. Being drunk with integral, as Matt Dallman puts it, is a very powerful thing.)

It is very interesting that so many persons describe their early encounter with Wilberian Integralism as if it were an intoxicant--they use terms like 'giddy' 'drunk' 'fired up'

Scott Parker also mentions something else--the sense of superiority he felt.

Years ago, I read something by a person who wrote that science fiction, at least that from certain authors, can have a mood altering effect.

Its worth asking whether Wilber's material, or at least some of his more famous books have a mood altering effect.

Wilber may not consciously intend to write mood enhancing, intoxicating material, but some books,written by persons with powerful unconscious agendas, may have a fascinating impact, because the authors, pressued by unconscious material, insert all kinds of unconscious derivatives that speak powerfully and subliminally to readers who unknowingly have issues similar to the issues that unconsciously drove the author's act of creation--and drive that author's public career.

A text of this kind is like a waking dream, with conscious and unconscious material that set up a vibe.

The fascination produced by such a text comes because it speaks to something unconscious in us. But a text of this kind can tease us but it cannot wake us up. Once we wake up, the text remains interesting but loses its fascination factor.

The process of science and philosophy requires a state of mind that is alert and interested but not in this state of intoxicated, enthralled fascination.

***One reason why the language of academia is so calm and mannered is to ensure that people stay awake and lucid and AVOID the kind of verbal intoxciation that is incompatible with creating science and philosophy.

I remember getting very interested by General Systems Theory when in graduate school. It gave me a comprehensive understanding of things. But I dont recall feeling that my appreciation for GTS made me superior to those who preferred other frameworks. It was a tool that fit my hand. A carpenter doenst think he or she is superior because a particular tool works best.

In grad school we discussed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in very great detail, and other models of psychological development. But never at any time did the instructors encourage us to get 'fired up' or go into states of partisan loyalty concerning this material.

The instructors were appeciative and interested, but they did not act like 'fans' and never encouraged us to act that way.

I learned that science is a matter of interest, comraderie and good craftsmanship, but never included animosity, fan mentality or the slightist hint of elitism.

A sense of intoxication and a feeling of mastery, a feeling of belonging, shared with others who believe in 'The System', an urge to proslytize, a sense of superiority in relation to those who dont share one's beliefs that The System is salvation:

all this is characteristic of conversion to a mass movement, rather than the emotions felt by scientists or philosophers who are pleased to have found a helpful new set of tools.

Dash and Scott describe the deep discomfort they both felt when they eventually came to question Wilberism and feared the loss of the comfort they'd gained from the Wilberian material.

It might be helpful for those who feel puzzled why they became drawn to, even fascinated by Wilberian material to do the following:

Be a detective and look carefully and curiously at what your life was like and what your state of mind and emotion were in just before and at the time you got fascinated with the Wilber material.

Were you in a painful state of depression or anxiety? Were you isolated, with people who didnt quite share your aspirations? Were you overwhelmed by the complexity of information taught at the university level and desperately seeking mastery?

(I remember that one very painful thing in either the freshman year or first year of graduate school is finding yourself surrounded for the first time by persons as intelligent as yourself and suddenly fearing you may not have what it takes--a painful state of mind, and one where one becomes desperate to regain some kind of stability--ASAP.)

In such a state of mind, where we crave stablity, long for a sense of mastery, Wilberian material, which may, through its author's search for mastery, may contain unconscious derivatives that trigger a sense of mastery in those readers most yearning to feel that way.

IMO, power and mastery, and suppression of vulnerability may be unconscious but very important elements in Wilber's life and that he has unconsciously created writings which evoke feelings of power, mastery and supression of vulnerabilty, makign them appealing to anyone who wishs to feel that way--and that means these will appeal to a lot of people.

There may be an unintegrated strand of youthfulness in Wilber, what Jung termed 'Puer Aeternus' that may also make Ken and his output unconsciously intoxicating to young persons, especially those who are full of fire and who fear that traditional religoius and academic communities are forcing them to stifle their fiery, angry energy.
They may be attracted to Ken because he has created a social scene where you get to have your cake and eat it too--feel spiritual and highly developed, yet have permission to blast off and use foul, abusive language and claim that only inferior persons would be offended.

It may be that part of the pain of questioning Wilber's system is losign that sense of verbally induced certainty/mastery, losing that verbally induced feeling of power and instead, returning to a state of emotional vulnerablity that you were in before encoutnering the Wilber material--and that the mood enhancing nature of the Wiilber material temporarily suppressed that vulnerabilty.

Finally, (personal hunch) there seems to be something about Wilber's public personality and the narrative he has crafted and gives to the public about his own life that may be a part of the fascination.

Hard Core Wilberians have become just as invested in Wilber's version of his life story and in Wilber's personality as they are in his system. In this, he resembles Carlos Castaneda, another person who wrote intoxicating material with elements filched from academic sources then used in an anti-scientific manner.

No other scientific concept or philosophy has required that we get invested in the personality of the scientist or philosopher in question.

Wilber has not been content to create a body of writing. He has also encouraged and created an entire social scene around himself, not just an intellectual system--via the internet.

No scientific theory or philosophy that has academic recognition has ever required that we belong to a social scene.

But that social scene may be part of the appeal---it gives a sense of belonging, and that can be very hard to give up. But one loses kinship to the Wilber tribe as soon as one dares to become adult and autonomous in relation to his system and its social taboos.

IMO, Wilber's actual fascination is not with ideas or spirituality but with power.

He may also have some kind of unconscious fascination with power and distaste for human vulnerablity.

For it is very interesting that, despite his avid interest in science, Ken Wilber never made use of the findings of social psychologists such as Stanley Milgram (Obedience to Authority experiment) or Philip Zimbardo (The Stanford Prison Experiment) in his own study of cult leaders.

Wilber only seems interested in science when he can appropriate elements from it to support his fantasy of personal development into an invulnerable super-person, impervious to temptation.

What may make social psychology useless for Wilberian purposes is that findings from social psychology demonstrate that no matter how intelligent we are, we remain vulernable to social influence and can be corrupted by power imbalance. Even Stanford University students regressed into ghastly cruelty and abject submission to cruelty, when isolated (Zimbardo's Prison Experiment)

Wilber seems unable to see the relevance of Zimbardo's findings to his own work,despite having partipated in a seminar with Zimbardo in the 1980s, material from which was published in the book, 'Spiritual Choices, The Problem of Recognizing AUthentic Paths to Inner Transformation', edited by Dick Anthony, Bruce EckerKen Wilber, Paragon House, 1987. (Dr Zimbardo is listed on page 27 in footnote #9 a footnote as one of the participants.)

Yet depsite his being listed in that one footnote as a seminar participant, Philip Zimbardo's Prison Experiment findings were never discussed in the book--a very puzzling omission, for the purpose of that seminar was to assemble a team of top experts to discuss and find ways to distinguish between helpful tranformative new religious movements and potentially hazardous new religious movements.

Its as if one were to discuss Brothers Karamazov and omit any mention of hating one's father.

By contrast, a conscious and alert scientist not in thrall to an unconscious personal agenda would see the relevance of Zimbardo's findings and discuss them.

My hunch is that Wilber and possibly the other two editors could not face the relevance of Zimbardo's work because the outcome of the Prison Experiment findings demonstrated that even intelligent educated students, were vulnerable to social isolation, power imbalance and human vulnerability.

The Prison Experiment is probably painfully subversive for anyone who cherishes dreams of a grand system and set of spiritual exercises that would supposedly create super-evolved color coded persons who would be impervious to temptation.

Zimbardo's Prison
Experiment warns that Ken's hopes of becoming highly evolved, superhuman and invulnerable are a dead end dream, and that his grand project of beocoming an invulnerable human being is futile--sad news, indeed.

I suspect that because Wilber remains mostly unconscious, his work, though fascinating and cognitively stimulating, may keep his fans unconscious in relation to their own power issues because Wilber remains unconscous about his own power issues. And this may affect why Wilber keeps associating with teachers who reportedly have had difficulty using power responsibly. (eg Andrew Cohen)

IMO, Ken Wilber has loyalists because he has found a way to write about science and philosophy in a way that makes people get high and hopeful and then get addicted to him because he has made them feel good.

True science and philosophy cannot be practiced when one is clnging to hope, inspiration--one can only create true science and philosophy by NOT being in the state of mind that Wilber and his followers prize.

Comments

[Aeryck]

I totally relate to this whole thread of ideas. I was "wilber-drunk" myself for several years. I too was on a conference call and got to talk to him for 20 minutes just on my own. I was high for weeks.

Later, I had a very vivid dream, in which KW was dying, and have basically been sober ever since. I still have a lot of respect for KW, especially his thoughts and writings, but the allure of the community and the man just fell off. In a way, I felt like I "grew up".

I posted about the dream a while back:
http://integralvalley.typepad.com/blog/2006/07/perspectivechan.html

Aeryck

[Julie Da Costa]

Hi Geoff,

It's Julie aka moondancing33.

I just googled for your blog. It's good to see you are still going strong with another book to your credit. Well done. I'm having a look at chapter 25 online which deals with Dash's letter. I have a question. What is the difference between an obsession based on love and an obsession based on hate?

I really wanted to respond to the earlier post - 12 step evolution - but I couldn't work out how to do it. I'm not really sure what I wanted to say about it. I haven't read the WIE article yet but I intend to based on your recommendation. I also intend to check out a lot of the other subjects you raised. Although I had heard of Laszlo's etheric field theory I hadn't bothered to check it out. Perhaps I thought it was too scientific. Anyway I'm now fascinated after reading a few short articles on the web. It's always nice to read scientific theory that can explain my direct experience.

Anyway as I was writing this the first two of these songs (yes I'm listening to oldies radio today) came on and I thought I'd pass them on. The final one is my summation.

I love the work you do. Keep it up.

Warmest wishes,
Julie.

She's Not There - Zombies
Well, no one told me about her
The way she lied
Well, no one told me about her
How many people cried

But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don't bother tryin' to find her
She's not there

Well, let me tell you about the way she looked
The way she acted and the color of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not there

Well, no one told me about her
What could I do
Well no one told me about her
Though they all knew

But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don't bother tryin' to find her
She's not there

Well, let me tell you about the way she looked
The way she acted and the color of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not there

But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don't bother tryin' to find her
She's not there

Well, let me tell you about the way she looked
The way she acted and the color of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not there

(Rod Argent)

Everywhere
Fleetwood Mac

Written by christine mcvie.

Can you hear me calling
Out your name
You know that Im falling
And I dont know what to say

Ill speak a little louder
Ill even shout
You know that Im pround
And I cant get the words out

Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
(wanna be with you everywhere)

Somethings happening
Happening to me
My friends say Im acting peculiarly

Cmon baby
We better make a start
You better make it soon
Before you break my heart

Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
(wanna be with you everywhere)

Can you hear me calling
Out your name
You know that Im falling
And I dont know what to say

Come along baby
We better make a start
You better make it soon
Before you break my heart

Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
Oh i...
I want to be with you everywhere
(wanna be with you everywhere)

Song: Aquarius Lyrics
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revalation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

[Anon]

Turning Our Aspirations Into Prison Walls

Let us examine what could be called a kind of aikido, in which our own energy is used to throw us off balance and think of ourselves as unworthy or at risk of falling from grace into unworthiness.

This article offers an perspective on how a belief system can have a psycho-active effect, and eventually entrap up, using our own aspirations against us.

http://fwbo-files.com/mc20mins.htm

It may be a helpful addition to any detective work one is doing to assess where one was at when first encountering Wilberian Integral and how it induced mood states one prized then had to work ever harder to maintain.

It appears it isnt just our anxiety, depression, and craving for mastery--though these are very important too--but also our aspirations.

Few of us ever imagine that our energy, our vitality, our aspirations, can, through a few adjustments, be tweaked to become something that entraps us, rather than setting us free, and can cause kind compassionate people to find themsleves insisting that a celebrity guru's cruel behavior are noble and necessary.

As the Talking Heads asked in Once in a Lifetime, 'How Did I Get Here?'

In reading the cited excerpt from the article, readers are invited to substitute 'Wilberian Integral' and 'AQUAL' for 'cult'.

This may be anxiety arousing for some. IF you can do this, see if this offers an accurate, validating mirror for what you have lived through and have observed in yourself and others at first hand.

(quote) Cult belief systems are bi-polar because they encourage the aspirant to identify with this imagined ideal new self, and then, from the perspective of this new self, to see their old self as comparatively inferior and flawed. An inner tension or conflict is set up, between the 'positive' new self, and the 'negative' old self. In effect, a split personality is created, with ego-utopia or hubris for the idealised new self, and ego-dystonia or shame and guilt for the negative old self.

"The hubris can either be a personal hubris, in the case of the cult's top hierarchy, or more usually, for rank and file members, it is a kind of projected hubris, or hubris-by-proxy - the hope and expectation that in due course, after diligent practice, they will attain the ideal for themselves. This expectation can sometimes lead to a sort of collective arrogance or hubris among established cult members. They see themselves as part of an elite, and tend to look down rather sniffily upon the mores and values of mainstream society.

"To varying degrees, believers can experience a sort of religious mania of inspiration, when they are in the hubris phase, identifying with this idealised imaginary new self, with its perfect perception and understanding, etc.

"Believers can become addicted to this inspiration, and can become dependent on the group and its leadership (whom they regard as teachers and guides) to validate their spiritual progress and to maintain this inspiration. Of course, cult leaders can exploit this dependency for their own purposes.

"If members fall out of favour, even temporarily, with the group leadership, or if they begin to doubt if they can achieve the group's ideals, they may experience a sort of religious depression, in the form of anxiety or guilt over their seeming inability to free themselves from their negative 'old self', with all its bad habits and weaknesses and lack of faith. This depression reinforces their desire to return to the inspired state, and can reinforce their addiction to the utopian vision of the cult belief system, so there can be a feedback system operating too.

"At an extreme, believers fear they will become ill or fall into hell if they leave the group.

"All this goes on within a cult members mind. A cult does not control its members by using external coercion. It is the belief system itself which is the primary active agent in cult mind control. The actual controlling of mind is done by the person themselves, as they attempt to discipline their mind and reform their personality, in accordance with the tenets of their new belief system. Effectively, a cult, via its belief system, uses a person's own energy and aspirations against them.

"It would be a mistake to assume that only weak willed people join cults. On the contrary, it is often the more ambitious and strong-willed people who become the most committed cult members.

"...believers control their own minds, as they train their minds and reform their personalities, in accordance with the tenets of their cultish new belief system."
(unquote)

Anon comments: producing this split is important.

If this is the case, one doesnt need to isolate people physically or socially. Just sell people books and a method and if this stuff induces a bipolar split, while claiming to bring people to nondualistic unity and One Taste, they will stay stuck, for the method promises health, while actually, in the long run, making people feel they are chasing a receding goal--or if they get One Taste, leave them fearful of losing it, one they 'get it.'

Keep changing the method and concepts, too. That way the users can never get a sense of mastery, because they have to keep up with these upgrades.

And as even blissful states of mind are actually impermanent, this is a recipe for anxiety and self reproach, unless one sees it for what it is and steps out of the circle.

The following scenario may occur.

Here we are, using AQUAL seeking unity. We may may have a few 'Big Mind' expericiences produced by Integral endorsed gadgets, or by AQUAL linked methods which make it seem unity/second tier is attainable for us.

Then, all things being temporary, this fades away.

Then we have the self reproach of having lost our high ranking status. We work that much harder to regain it.

Meanwhile, we may invoke Integral jargon and excuse the cruel behavior of its Wilber endorsed teachers, because our willingness to rationalize cruelty and jargonize keeps us hopeful of someday retaining our real second tier status.

Even if we dont feel we have reached second tier, we can hope have potential to do so and meanwhile demonstrate that potential by rationalizing cruel behavior or by convincing ourselves that the Wyatt Earpy tirade was skillful means and not ghastly bad manners.

For further reading, there is a longer article on the social context and marketing forces which support all this.

http://fwbo-files.com/CofC.htm

[Anon]

Another thing that may be appealing about the Wilberian Integral scene is it gives energetic young persons an outlet for anger and a seductive unspoken message that anger is evidence of superior evolutionary potential--if you disapprove of what KW and the integral elite disapprove of.

This may be worth close scrutiny, because when we are young, we are full of energy, at the height of our powers, and unless very fortunate, are given few satisfying outlets for this firey vitality.

Young persons who are intense, peppery, with physical, emotional and spiriutal energy all craving outlets--all too often will be told 'You are too much, you are too intense.' Or may be punished. School is a hell of having to sit still.

In college and university, we are told to tone down our language and behavior, and not given any convincing reason for why academic discourse seems so polite and measured--and painfully boring. (It is so that one can cultivate sober, lucid and noncraving states of mind without which genuine science and philosophy cannot be practiced. But..no one told me this. I had to figure it out on my own.)

At the average ashram or buddhist practice center, a young person will often encounter this same rather discouraging message that anger-is-bad. I can remember how discouraged I felt. It seemed I was being told to stop being fully alive.

The problem is when we are young, anger really and truly seems the only way to 1) access our life force and 2) stay in contact with it. When warned that anger is an afflictive emotion, we do not yet experience anger as afflictive, because we dont see evidence that anger is costing us anything.

Supprssing anger is what feels afflctive!

It was not until I was in middle age, trying to maintain a tough athletic training program, plus Zen practice, that I discovered my vitality was ebbing and that each bout of anger drained my vitality and was compromising my health.

Only when old enough to have lost a bit of vitality could I cease taking it for granted. And only then could I observe for myself that anger really triggered a chain of cause and effect that was costing me something.

When young, I had surplus vitality and didnt yet feel the loss.

So, here is a young person, who sincerely experiences anger as the one reliable way to access vitality. (sexuality is another way, but one cant always find a partner). Anger is frowned on at home, at school, in university, on the job, and at most spiritual/social justice venues.

Our young seeker's vitality is feeling squelched.

But...the Wilberian Integral scene makes it appear that anger is OK, even praisworthy!

Take a look at an earlier book of Wilber's entitled One Taste.

It purports to be from his journals, but IMO seems more a glamorization of KW's life.

Even in this early book, Wilber inveigh's against what is to become his favorite bugaboo/straw man, which is 'boomeritis'/narcissism.
He's already twanging that banjo string.

Anger is given an outlet.

Wilber describes all these friends and associates giving 'brilliant' talkes, 'expressing 'scathing' opinions. He and his friends zestfully disapprove of various matters.

Wilber makes it seem spiritual practice is a matter of associating with spiritual celebrities and 'beautiful people' in a spiritual equivalint of the A list party circuit.

Its all very glamorous, very exciting--and deliciously bitchy. All at once, anger is brought out of the closet. You wont get yelled at or scolded for it. Anger becomes a point of connection with these glamorous fascinating people.

Just share their antagonisms and you're already like them, and on the first step to becoming fully evolved! You may not know quite where you fit on the AQUAL because that map keeps changing, but as long as you share KW's antagonisms, you know you are on the right track.

Its not only OK to be angry, its a sign you are part of an elite club.

A youngster would get a message of 'God, I wanna be this way when I grow up, and if I do spiritual practice, maybe I can hope to live like this when I grow up.'

And, you are given things to disapprove of and crusade against. Instead of your anger being a liability--in the Integral scene, its positively virtuous to be angry if you disapprove of what KW disapproves of.

He will even quote you on his blog if he likes the way you blast off against his current opponent/s.

You may end up writing things on KW's behalf in your twenties. you'd wish you'd not written when you review all this years later.

Instead of real Buddhism's message that anger and crusade mentality are afflictive emotions that energize only temporarily but long term embezzle our energy and generate reaction patterns that can harm us in future relationships, in the Wilberian scene, you get a license to link anger into your spiritual practice, as long as you direct that anger against the matters Wilber has disapproved of--namely boomeritis,etc.

It may seem that by sharing sharing KW
s pet peeves and his antagonisms, and that's the first step to becoming as evolved as KW.

[Ollie]

I really appreciate this post, thanks.