Author: Terry Collins

Foresight consultant and a lecturer and researcher at the University of Houston in the College of Technology. In the Project Management Department she teaches Leadership and Team Building to graduate students. In the Human Development and Consumer Science Department she teaches Human Ecosystems and Technological Change to undergraduates online. As a researcher she has worked in conjunction with the University of Houston Foresight Department and the Lumina Foundation on Student Needs 2025+. Led and mentored the "Emerging Fellows" blogging group for the Association of Professional Futurists. Has also mentored a group for the Women's Energy Network. Terry has given five presentations at the World Futures Society and two at the regional Project Management conference. She has appeared on “Great Day Houston” and moderated a Futures Panel at the Mensa regional conference. Terry has peer-reviewed publications in Foresight, Futures Quarterly Review, and On the Horizon She has a B.A. in Philosophy & a M.S. in Foresight

Revisiting the “other” or why we should stay calm and give Trump a chance…..for now.

Emotions are running high since our president-elect has been announced! There have been protests in various cities, walkouts of high school and college students and new Facebook pages organized around this. No one can stay objective to the values of others when their emotions are high because it evokes the “fight or flight” response. When this happens our capacity to hold multiple perspectives becomes narrower as we have less access to our neocortex while the amygdala is in command. (http://bit.ly/2cRGlzm) I don’t blame anyone for expressing their authentic emotions and personal truths. However, in order to do a better job of forecasting as a Futurist, it’s much easier if we don’t make someone unlike ourselves the “other.” And, if we can objectively observe values, then we can forecast future behavior more accurately.

On September 11, 2011, I wrote a blog on the “other” ( http://bit.ly/2geFmg9). In it, I reminded folks that Integral promotes all perspectives because they may have partial truths. Furthermore, if there is a strong reaction to something, then it should at least be explored for “shadow” issues that need to be healed and integrated into our whole consciousness. The value in this integration is, so that we have a better chance of controlling these issues instead of them controlling us. Every good futurist has a responsibility to explore their blind spots for questionable assumptions.

I was disappointed when Trump won the election. Hubby and I both caucused for Bernie as he comes closer than any other candidate to our personal values. Since he lost the primary, we got behind Hilary, but I told hubby and my Trump friends that I thought Trump had a good chance because I know the center of gravity values in this big beautiful country of ours is closer to Trump than Hilary. However, since the popular vote went with Hilary, it gives me hope the values of the country are going in the direction of more inclusion and pluralism. (http://spiraldynamics.org/faq-basics/ ).

If you know the values within a group or individual, it is easier to assess what their behavior will be in the future. While our new president-elect is certainly difficult to pin down where his authentic values are, I personally am going to try to take the high road, stay calm, and give him 100 days to see if he may be a better president than anticipated! How about you?

Welcome to Integral Futures

Integral Futures is an approach to Futures that uses Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory as its framework.  Integral Theory contains a holistic, four quadrant model that explores the interior (intentional) and the exterior (behavioral) of the individual and the interior (cultural) and the exterior (system or social) of the communal or collective. (Wilber, 1996)

Richard Slaughter was the owner of this domain for many years but has graciously transferred it to me for which I am grateful and will do my best to be a responsible, conscience steward.

Integral theory tells us that reality arises in the presence of and through the consciousness and experiences of individuals and collectives which can then be observed through behavior, science, nature and social systems.    What distinguishes Integral is that it considers the subjective experience and integrates it along with the objective, intersubjective, and the interobjective. The effects of one quadrant affect the others and a balance of all four quadrants will contribute to the health of the individual and or  the collective.  Because of the inclusiveness nature of this theory, practitioners  have a framework that is meta- or at a higher level  that will not reduce or collapse the interior experience of individuals and collectives into the exterior realm (reductionism).  All perspectives are taken into consideration. This will not create integral but will guide and track integral attempts by its practitioners. (Esbjorn-Hargens, 2009)

It is my intention to share with you my thoughts on what is happening in the world of Futures and Integral and Integral Futures specifically.  I would love to collaborate with you so feel free to contact me with any thoughts to expand or disagree.  Thanks for joining me on my journey.

Wilber, K. (1996) A Brief History of Everything, Shambala, Boston & London

Esbjorn-Hargens, 2009P.3 http://integrallife.com/node/37539

My interior consciousness has value… or why I love the upper left!

My favorite quadrant of the  Integral matrix is the upper left.  This quadrant is the conscious subjective of the individual interior or the “I” of the matrix.  This is where personality type, gender types, altered states, normal states, phenomenal states, cognitive awareness, emotional access, interpersonal skills,  psychosexual  expression and spiritual experiences reside. (Esbjörn-Hargens)

My spiritual experiences are probably why I love the upper left  the most as those experiences have the most meaning for me and inform everything else I do as an individual.  Integral verifies this happens to everyone as it proposes that each quadrant has an effect on the others whether it be conscious or unconscious. (Esbjörn-Hargens)

My favorite spiritual practice is “ecstatic dance” as there is something about moving the physical body which also moves whatever is stuck which is able to rise to consciousness whether it be some type of creative solution or other “ah ha’s” that may arise. Every once in a while, if I’m lucky, I enter an altered state where instead of me doing the dance I am able to rest in the state of being danced.  It feels like heaven and I call it a “dancegasm”!

Do you have something similar that happens to you that is generated from the upper left?

Integral Futures and the “other”

Before you start thinking I’m about to expound on some horror movie or equivalent  such as the “thing” let me explain.  One of the reasons why Integral is important to Futures is because with this perspective it makes inclusion of the “other” a priority.  In order to cover all the bases of the Integral map or framework, the “other” must at least be considered. That does not mean the “other” may have all the truth, but it may have some or parts of the truth which give a fuller, more comprehensive picture of whatever Futures angle is being explored.

The main two reasons why I respect the Integral framework so much is because it includes the subjective but also because it has a “shadow” component to it that most models do not have.  Carl Jung said that whenever an individual has an emotional charge either positive or negative to another individual s behavior, it may be because of disowned parts of themselves that are projected on to others.  An example of that would be when an individual who is clearly angry is denying their anger and accusing others of possessing the anger.

So not only does Integral make  a Futures endeavor more (w)holistic, but it also is attentive in making sure it is psychologically developmentally healthy, which is always something worthy in my opinion.  How about you?