The AQAL Integral Map and Other Sources of The Integral Heart

This site assumes some familiarity with the language of Ken Wilber's AQAL theory. (But this is by no means an absolute pre-requisite.) In general terms, AQAL involves making a place for—and finding a way to integrate—the profound contributions of 1) our great religious traditions, 2) modern science and psychology, and 3) post-modern cultural, critical, and systems theory.

In fact, the AQAL framework (AQAL stands for "all quadrants, all levels") claims to interrelate virtually all major schools of human knowledge and practice—not just rational knowledge, but also the mystical or trans-rational gnosis of the esoteric wisdom traditions (e.g., Buddhism, Vedanta, contemplative Christianity, Islamic Sufism, indigenous Shamanism). By drinking deeply from these authentic sources (including ethics and aesthetics) we come to a trans-path path that is greater than the sum of its parts. AQAL articulates the larger pattern that connects these many diverse approaches together. (It's no accident that AQAL is often called a "theory of everything!")

However, there are many profound and useful maps of consciousness besides AQAL. On this site, you'll also find references to the works of Robert Kegan, Don Beck, Susanne Cook-Greuter, Sri Aurobindo, Otto Scharmer, Steve McIntosh, and many others. The consciousness expressed on this site is also deeply, dearly, impossibly enriched by the influence of my root-Guru, the great spiritual teacher and all-time “difficult man,” Adi Da Samraj.

Want to learn more?

Introduction to Integral Theory and Practice: IOS Basic and the AQAL Map - by Ken Wilber

Not-Two Is Peace (excerpt) - by Adi Da Samraj