“The Guru and the Pandit" is a central pillar of every issue of EnlightenNext magazine. Featuring EnlightenNext founder and pioneering teacher of Evolutionary Enlightenment Andrew Cohen and integral philosopher and founder of Integral Institute Ken Wilber, these dialogues explore the contours of the Kosmos, from the broad strokes of evolution's arc to the subtlest strands of human spiritual experience. Together, they seek—and find—new and creative avenues of engagement with the manifest structures of consciousness itself—and then proceed to move them forward.
Appearing in front of members of Wilber's Integral Institute, Ken and Andrew speak about the multidimensional aspects of the spiritual quest and field a broad range of questions from the audience. Such fundamental questions as What is the role of meditation?, What is ego?, and Is being mindful enough to create real transformation? are answered. More practicum than theory, these dialogues begin to convey the new and evolving vision of spiritual life these two luminaries are creating and represent a bold departure from the East-meets-West fusion that has dominated the alternative spiritual movement for the last thirty years.
Ken Wilber
Biography
Ken Wilber is the world's leading “integral” philosopher. The author of such titles as A Brief History of Everything (1996) and A Theory of Everything (2000), his philosophy integrates body, mind, soul, and Spirit with self, culture, and nature. Integral philosophy is rapidly becoming a powerful presence in fields as diverse as politics and spirituality, psychology and business, medicine, and art.
Revered as the “Einstein of consciousness,” Wilber has written sixteen books exploring different facets of human development and cultural evolution. His first book, The Spectrum of Consciousness (1977), written when he was only 23, became a seminal text in the emerging field of transpersonal psychology. His most recent book, Boomeritis (2002), is a novelized critique of our postmodern culture and a call to move to a higher, more integral relationship to life. He is currently finishing the third volume of his Kosmos Trilogy, the most up-to-date summation of his continually evolving philosophy.
In 2000, Wilber founded the Integral Institute to support and promote integral thinking. The Institute acts as a clearinghouse for research and applications using the integral approach, and recently launched an engaging online resource, “Integral Naked,” to introduce cutting-edge integral thinkers to the public. His latest project is the development of Integral University, an online learning community that will offer accredited courses in a variety of fields such as Integral Ecology and Integral Law. With a growing popularity among the younger generations, Wilber's philosophy has sparked online discussion forum communities and e-zines, as well as live gatherings called integral salons. United under the banner of “IntegralNEXT,” their mission is “to help create connections between individuals and groups who are seeking to enact an integral vision in their day-to-day lives—people yearning for true integration, genuine transformation, and whole-hearted communion.”
Ken Wilber currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
