About Terry Patten

Terry Patten is a leading voice in the emerging fields of integral evolutionary leadership and spirituality. In his cutting-edge writings, talks, and teachings, he not only inspires transcendental awakening, love, and freedom, but also calls us to accept and incarnate our full humanity. This expresses itself in a profound sense of purpose, spiritual inspiration, and evolutionary activism.

Terry is a faculty member in the Integral Executive Leadership programs at Notre Dame University, a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, and serves on the board of the Wellsprings Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and John F. Kennedy University.

He worked with Ken Wilber a core team at Integral Institute to develop Integral Life Practice, which distills ancient and modern practices into an intelligent contemporary transformational lifestyle. Earlier, for 15 years, he undertook a life of intensive spiritual discipline in the monastic setting of Vision Mound Seminary. Upon leaving he founded the catalog company Tools For Exploration, which defined the field of consciousness technologies. Terry is also a social entrepreneur involved in supporting restorative redwood forestry. As an entrepreneur and consultant he has worked for twenty years to help leaders bring higher consciousness into practical actions that transform complex human systems. He is also a teacher, coach and consultant who travels widely, challenging and connecting leading-edge individuals and organizations worldwide.

Integral Spiritual Practice integrates the insights earned during Terry's decades of intensive spiritual practice with those from his years as an entrepreneur and grassroots activist. In his current work, he is helping to articulate an authentic spirituality that illuminates the vital relationship between sincere care, discriminative intelligence, personal responsibility, and spiritual awakening.

A coach, consultant, teacher, and author of four books, Terry lives in Marin County near San Francisco, CA. He is the author, with Ken Wilber, of Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening.

Terry's Bio

Terry Patten was born in 1951 near Chicago, Illinois. When he was 6, his family moved to the York Center Community Cooperative, an intentional community founded by members of The Church of the Brethren who invited people “of all races and religions to live together with us as a witness for peace and brotherhood.” He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he received three coveted Hopwood Awards for his fiction and poetry.

In 1973, he became a student of the brilliant and controversial American spiritual teacher, Adi Da Samraj. During his 15-year period as a formal devotee, he co-authored (with Adi Da and Saniel Bonder) the classic book Garbage and the Goddess and served as a founding editor of The Dawn Horse, Vision Mound, and The Laughing Man magazines.

In 1988, Terry founded Tools for Exploration (now Tools for Wellness), which first brought together in one place many of the emerging brain-mind machines, subtle energy tools, and other cutting-edge technologies for expanding awareness. Terry co-designed, co-produced, and co-authored numerous biofeedback tools, psycho-acoustic recordings, books, and articles on stress reduction, peak performance, and neurodevelopmental re-education. During his ten years of leadership, the field grew dramatically and Tools For Exploration’s annual revenues rose to over 2.5 million dollars.

After selling Tools For Exploration in 1998, Terry co-directed two grassroots environmental organizations. One of these, Old-Growth Again, demonstrates a new economic model for sustainable Redwood forestry.

Terry became a teacher and senior associate of Integral Institute in 2004. He worked closely with Ken Wilber and a core team at I-I to develop Integral Life Practice, which distills ancient and modern practices (for body, mind, spirit, shadow, and other key areas) into a contemporary transformational lifestyle. He then served as a senior trainer at I-I Seminars and co-director of I-I’s Integral Coaching Center. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in Consciousness Studies from John F. Kennedy University; in his thesis, Terry analyzed how higher levels of awareness can be fostered by Integral coaching.

In March 2007, Terry traveled to Iran as a part of U.S.-based civilian diplomacy delegation. I-I’s Holons News asked him to blog about his trip; hence, Integral in Iran, where Terry reflects on the dynamic (and often troubled) relationship between Iran and the United States—on multiple levels and from multiple perspectives—while attempting to catalyze a more Integral dialogue oriented toward mutual understanding.

In December 2007, Terry launched The Integral Heart, a website that "engages our critical evolutionary moment, exploring the perspectives and practices that can cultivate a life of greater awareness, growth, freedom, vitality, service, and ultimately, love." In 2010, IntegralHeart.com became IntegralSpiritualPractice.com. Integral Spiritual Practice features video, audio, articles, and blog posts all focused on how to live with an Integral mind, heart, body, and soul, while participating fully in our troubled and beautiful world.

Terry's most recent book, Integral Life Practice: A 21st-century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening, co-authored with Ken Wilber, Marco Morelli, and AdamLeonard, was published by Integral Books/Shambhala in the fall of 2008. He is currently at work on a new book, titled The Terrible Truth and the Wonderful Secret: Answering the Call of Our Evolutionary Emergency.

In 2007, he joined the Editorial Board of The Journal of Integral Theory and Practice and in 2008 the Executive Board of the Wellspring Institute of Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. In 2009, he joined the faculty of the Integral Executive Leadership program of the Mendoza School of Management at The University of Notre Dame, helping to design and deliver their program, Unleashing Your Leadership Potential. He has also taught at Columbia University, San Francisco State, and John F. Kennedy University. He travels widely, speaking, teaching, consulting, challenging, and connecting leaders and institutions worldwide.

Terry lives in Marin County, California with his wife Deborah Boyar, who is also a therapist, teacher, and activist. His son, Michael, is a senior at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, studying film production, art, and creative writing.