aqal
October 2008 
Many Hearts Clapping for Ken Wilber in NY
Joy Bringer
So it was Another AQAL Sunstop2 in NYC. Being little late due to the long commute and unexpected detours, I missed the beginning, but the rest was quite fluffy. The audience was mixed as expected – from few Deidafieds3 and Kenophils4, to several baldins and baldouts5, the unavoidable greenophobes6, lowerlefterverts7, upperrighternauts8, and upperlefternauts9, the usual INcrowd10, and several curious visitors and many Kosmic witnesses…
The atmosphere was … integral. From exclude and protect11, vibes from the audience to the include and transcend waves from Ken. The display of the STD condition (Spiral Too Dynamicus) and Quadrantis Syndrome13 with plenty of wilberease14 was right on and in action. The positive pauses were due to the special musical breaks with Eddie Kowalcsyk, lead singer/songwriter of Live with his deeply touching mix of mysterious guitar, deep lyrics and soulful performance despite the voice problems due to allergy problems as revealed by Ken. 
As the meeting unfolded we all marvelled at the brilliantly articulated thoughts, memes and themes by Ken from the evolution of consciousness from slime and electrons to the full Spectrum of Consciousness, the Godhead and Up to Eden and Eternity. The range and depth of his thinking, the clarity and originality of his insights, definitely put Ken in another league. Maybe a league of One Taste, the “world's greatest modern philosopher and a true Einstein of consciousness” as he is often labelled.
In parallel of this fascinating interaction and exchange of ideas and energies, there was definitely some yellowitis15, but no nerdjacking16, fortunately. 2 things emerged quickly – my intention to not get surfacespect17 and to eventually start wearing a meditation alert bracelet18J And to dig deeper into the new “Integral Spirituality” gem and other transcendental readings of Ken as I explore the Multiplex and undertake a deeper and more conscious ILP (Integral Life Practice).
Aside from the occasional instances of humorous plays with the multiple voice disorder 19 symptoms and the microphone jokes, there were obvious signs that Ken was in pain and discomfort and his noble attempts to joke about it only sent stronger waves of compassion from us on his way. We were all deeply touched by his dedication and courage to be here with all of us in his physical condition and shape. We enjoyed his wit and strength of spirit, but more than anything quietly admired his grace and grit…
After the exchange of Q&As came the most memorable moment when we applauded him intensely for about several minutes, all tearing and feeling the most incredible warmth, energy and love in the air. There was such a surge and transmission of energy and such interconnectedness of spirits in a pure presence, beingness and is-ness… We not only sensed, but literally swam in this wonderful ‘we’ space that was suddenly created. Ken was accepting it all with hands on his heart and a grateful smile on his face. We were all impressed by his intellectual brilliance and spiritual magnetism, but what seemed to affect us most this time was his human vulnerability in his Go/od-ness and his pure heart openness that caused us all to open ours and make a deep connection on a soul level that is to be cherished and remembered for eternity…
Many hearts clapping in NY for Ken indeed. Peace and joy on many levels.
All in all, NY is ready for a Boulderdash 20 :) Or living the life integral at least. Me too. I am.
Integral Terminology/Jargon List (credit to Wikipedia):
1. Homo Sapiens Integralis: a newly evolving form of the homo sapiens species (mostly male) that constantly bore their friends and significant other with endless babble about AQAL, levels and lines or states and stages; spends most of their free time reading integral books, papers or watching/listening to integral material rather than engaging, relating to and helping others.
2. Another Aqal Sunrise: diving into a Wilberian we-space, containing the fruits of his cognitive effort, the creation of a frothy mix of holonious hunks
4. Kenophile: One who has the hots for the BBG.
5. Baldout: Those INcrowders who fallout with Ken's favor.
6. Greenophobe: those who upon learning the description of the Spiral Dynamics green meme become afraid of associating with anything or anyone considered too “green”
7. Lowerleftervert: The perfect integral host or hostess.
8. Upperrighternaut: Travels in space without ever leaving flatland.
9. Upperlefternaut: Travels in space without ever setting foot in flatland.
10. INcrowd: Those young enough, good looking enough, rich enough or having enough technical skills to be classed as 2nd tier.
11. Exclude and Protect: An expression used to solidify the boundaries of the INcrowd and devalidate the OUTcrowd.
12. STD or Spiral Too Dynamicus: the condition developed after exposure to the Spiral Dynamics virus; symptoms include haphazardly using the SD colors to overgeneralize and label people, events, movies, organizations, religions and anything else imaginable. - Also includes using colors to inaccurately label morals, cognition, needs and other lines of development.
13. Quadrantis Syndrome: the inexplicable constant need to categorize any and all phenomenon into four quadrants (or the Big Three, or I, We and It). - Example: At dinner the other night I suddenly drew four boxes and did an integral indexing of the inside/outside of the individual/collective aspects of the Ruby Tuesday restaurant.
14. Wilberease: the integral jargon/language gradually learned after reading just about every book written by Ken Wilber - Examples: transcend & include, “mean” memes, “true but partial”, etc.
15. Yellowitis: Malaise afflicting certain individuals that can only see others not in the INcrowd as green and lower.
16. Nerdjacking: Is when a nerd latches onto Ken-II's power and then becomes a IINN or Integrally Inflated Nasty Nerd.
17. Surfacespect: A condition whereby the surface appearance of individuals is taken to be their depth.
18. Meditation alert bracelet: worn by serious meditators so that the firefighters know not to move them.
19. Multiple Voice Disorder (MVD): a temporary psychological condition brought on by Genpo Roshi’s Big Mind process that may cause your various selves/voices to start talking to one another in front of friends and family
20. Boulderdash (props to Coolmel for this term): the exodus of people relocating to the hub/ground zero of the integral movement: Boulder/Denver, CO.
Access: Public
Fun blog, Darina! Great pics. Some nice reportage. A dizzy panoply of terms! So, are you ready for a boulderdash? Or just a little daily ILP? :) … Christopher
Always right on the pulse Christopher!
Between the fun and the serious, learning wilberease is easier than chinese, but still… And yes the terms can get one's mind in a spiral if one lets them. About readiness, I am definitely about to move on, more of the latter for sure, but who knows may be the former as well? Que sera, sera and I intend to be there for it, living on the edge. What about you?
Hey JoyB,
I loved your I-I report. It was one of the funnier descriptions of an integral event and I enjoyed it heart-ily.
Very humorously and lovingly executed. You really integrated I-Jargon in a most lucid Wilberease way.
Thanks for adding the Integral dictionary at the end. I am not well-versed with the integralease and now I at least have a l bit of a color-coded handle on it.
In Appreciation for the beauty of I-I, even as an outsider lower tier entity.
Violetflame
Soundsed like a perfectly sublime time, wish I had been there, hats off to the BBG for his effervescent We-ness in the midst of it All.
Hey Beautiful Elena,
What lower tier are you referring to, that must have been many many lifetimes ago!
Believe or not some memes totaly got into me, for I remember dreaming Big Mind, Atomic feelings, Godhead and more… :)
It was really a very special event for me at least - may be we should meet and have a spontaneous zaangha during KW's next visit in town? :) I would love to!
Darina, here's a taste of my ILP … for my mind: poetry, writing fiction; body: yoga/tai chi; heart: being gracious with (almost) everyone I meet, loving Sophia; soul: meditation; spirit: staying connected with people like you; but with no plans to make a boulderdash! :) … Christopher
Wow Christopher,
That is integral indeed. And holistic too. I won’t ask about the child in you, the naughty side or the shadow because you have probably embraced and transcended them… :)
Thank you for sharing and being such an interesting and important part of the journey! Blessed are those sharing its ups and downs and twists and turns with you. Take Joy too!