Intrapersonal Archives – Integral Life

The Highest Stages of Human Flourishing

Alexander Love — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 17:23:32 +0000

Keith Martin-Smith and Alexander Love explore Terry O'Fallon's STAGES model of human development, focusing on the rarely-discussed MetAware tier where transpersonal awareness becomes a structural feature of consciousness, leading to the dissolution of boundaries and recognition that all meaning is constructed.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

Nocturnal Meditations: How to See in the Dark

Andrew Holecek — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:33:44 +0000

Andrew Holecek presents dark retreat—extended periods in complete sensory deprivation—as a transformative meditation practice that accesses deeper levels of consciousness typically obscured by our light-obsessed, distraction-heavy culture. He argues that conventional "waking" awareness is actually humanity's most contracted state, while nocturnal practices like lucid dreaming and sleep yoga offer profound opportunities for shadow work, creativity, and spiritual development.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

Don’t Just Transcend Your Pain — Include It

Alexander Love — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:08:40 +0000

After the tragic murder of his father at age 20, Alexander Love began a decades-long journey through grief, spiritual practice, and shadow work — seeking not just to rise above his pain, but to finally and fully include it. In this deeply personal conversation, he shares how real healing began not with transcendence, but with embracing the very wounds he had tried to escape.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

Tantra Is Not What You Think (And Way Better Than You Imagined)

Kimberley Lafferty — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 19:51:36 +0000

Two accomplished tantric practitioners — one from Kashmir Shaivism, the other from Tibetan Vajrayana — share their profound awakening stories and reveal how ancient consciousness technologies can accelerate the challenging transition from teal to turquoise awareness and beyond.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

The Magic Mirror: How AI Is Reshaping Your Mind

Dr. Keith Witt — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:17:37 +0000

Keith and Corey examine AI’s cognitive, relational, cultural, and developmental impacts — highlighting both the dangers of projection, offloading, and disembodiment, and the opportunities to use AI as a practice partner for discernment, shadow integration, and growth. Corey then showcases some of the new AI tools now available to all Core Members of Integral Life.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

Trauma, Transcendence, and the Beauty that Breaks Us Open

Kimberley Lafferty — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:02:55 +0000

Geoff Fitch, Abigail Lynam, and Kimberley Lafferty explore how deep suffering, spiritual awakening, and developmental transformation often intertwine in the transition into meta-aware consciousness. Through personal stories, group process insights, and reflections on collective shadow work, they illuminate how real relationship and sacred community can hold and catalyze the most disorienting — and most liberating — phases of human evolution.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

Every Scar Has a Story: Rewriting the Narratives That Shape Us

Dr. Keith Witt — Fri, 02 May 2025 18:52:50 +0000

Dr. Keith Witt and Corey deVos explore how trauma shapes the stories we tell about ourselves — and how those stories can be transformed into resilience, wisdom, and self-leadership. Drawing from developmental theory, the Enneagram, and decades of clinical experience, Keith offers a four-stage model of trauma healing rooted in radical acceptance, narrative re-patterning, and the cultivation of a compassionate “wise self.”

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

Caught in the Algorithmic Undertow

Bruce Alderman — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 19:22:19 +0000

Bruce Alderman and Josh Leonard explore the slow, invisible pull of digital systems — algorithms, platforms, attention economies — that subtly yet profoundly shape our beliefs, behaviors, and social worlds.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

The Shadow of Trump

Kim Barta — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 17:54:50 +0000

Psychotherapist and developmental theorist Kim Barta joins Keith Martin-Smith for a deep dive into the psychological and developmental dynamics surrounding one of the most polarizing figures of our time: Donald Trump.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.

The Occupational Hazards of Awakening

Kimberley Lafferty — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 19:39:07 +0000

In this profound dialogue, Kimberley Lafferty and Santiago illuminate the occupational hazards of awakening, exploring the bliss and challenges of ego dissolution and emptiness within daily life. They offer deep insights and practical wisdom for integrating profound spiritual experiences into authentic human living.

This post was originally published on Integral Life.