Corey, I was wondering if Integral Life has ever given thought to some type of Integral Incubator? I called into Diane’s show last month about my education program. I think it has real potential, but I would love to get integral input on it too. Stepping into “reality” with this stuff is interesting and daunting, but I am feeling some opening like never before…
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Hi Michelle,
I have talked to several others who would also love something like an Integral incubator. Can you say more about what this would look like? I have some thoughts but first want to make sure we are thinking about the same thing.
I’m pretty open, but I guess my thoughts are something like a “Crit space” in a design studio, where you can discuss the project and get feedback. Pretty straight forward really, but very important because it can be hard to move out of the theoretical into the engaged.
From my design experience, one thing that happens with this step is everything starts to feel a bit less once it gets applied (reality can be a real buzz kill) and technology allows a type of virtual reality space that can keep people so engaged that they never want to take the step. In architecture we call this being a “paper architect”. I’m feeling like this is happening a bit right now with the leading edge, a lot of talk, books, podcast, conferences; all discussing how to do things but when it comes to the actual application not much happening. I think we are suffering a bit from Paper Integral.
I would like a space to help with this shift. Time to put down the pencil and pick up the hammers, so we need both training ground for how to use a hammer and crit space for what we are going to build.
Awesome, my thoughts exactly. Totally agree with your “paper integral” analysis, and I think such a space will help to amend that. I’ll contact my friend Karen and get her input on this, she is writing an Integrally inspired novel and wants some feedback on this site. @ksv
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Sounds rather alot like one of the ideas we had spitballing around ‘Campfire’ @HawaiianRyan.
I know I would love some communal support/ critique from the shared integral mind, it’s easy to get lost in one’s internal space without the blind spot saving of others, or the appreciation and validating of the importance of a passionate project that others can give. My own interest is a split between gaming/ software development and therapy.
And I wholeheartedly agree Michelle with that difficult buzz kill of reality being something to traverse. That might be true of any creative endeavor but also seems a widespread struggle in integral world. Either we get lost in abstract ideas or we seem to enjoy them too much.
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Corey, if you’re reading this, I second the motion!
For some months I have been speaking with @HawaiianRyan and others about creating such a space, and I love Michelle’s name “Integral Incubator.”
Also, I would like to be able to post a project of my own on it Real Soon Now.
My modest ambition, which I’ve spoken of before on this forum, is to help take Integral mainstream via a best-selling novel that is a fun summer read on the surface, but whose deep structure is thoroughly integral.
(Corey, you might remember me as the sixty-something gal at Ken Wilber’s “What NOW” conference twenty months ago, who book-ended the conference with excited burbles about how the Red Barbarian in all our third chakras wants to join our Integral Party).
On October of last year I signed up for one of Robb Smith’s one-hour consultations for those starting Integral enterprises – I consider my novel-in-progress to be such. He advised me (among other things) to join this forum and introduce myself and my project here. So I did.
I forget whether Robb himself mentioned to me the possibility of creating a sub-section of this forum for people to post their Integral projects for feedback, but I think it’s a terrific idea. I will most definitely have stuff to post.
In fact, it’s a pretty big synchronicity for me to have Michelle bring this subject up at precisely this time, (and thank you, @HawaiianRyan for alerting me to this thread). Tomorrow I am going to give a dramatic reading in front of a few friends of the core Integral vision that is the heart of my novel. I’ve engaged a professional to video-record it. I hope to post it on YouTube by the end of the year.
At that point I will very much want to start getting feedback from the Integral community. I am entirely serious about getting a big, main-stream publisher, and wide readership, for my novel, & am working hard toward this end. If I succeed in my moon shot (and I have in my life pulled off two other moon-shots of this magnitude), then Integral will be launched into the mainstream.
I want to be in integrity with this. Is the version in my creative writing how the Integral Community wants our world view and vision to be presented to a larger public? I’m hoping for plenty of input, feedback and vetting from y’all.
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How about this as an idea…
We could have a community contest where each contestant (which could be anyone) pitches their big idea to the Integral leadership or to the community in general “shark tank/dragons den” style (maybe we can call it “Teal Tank” 
), either though a live presentation on an online platform like Zoom, or a 5 minute or so recorded video presentation. A write up could work also. Then, either the Integral leadership (@corey-devos, @robbsmith, etc…) or the general community can vote on the winner(s) of the presentation. We can come with with the criteria for the winners. The winner(s) would then receive a prize, such as some funding for their project via Integral ventures or even a free trip and a presentation slot at one of the big Integral conferences.
Thoughts?
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I will be curious to see if there is interest in this. Having some space for deeper feedback would do a lot to progress from ideas to application.
Thanks for throwing this out there!