Integral Life Practice  - Wilber's Latest

2 February 2009

OK, it says that this book was written by three people (Terry Patten, Adam Leonard and Marco Morelli) and that Ken Wilber was only the meta-author, it is so strongly drenched in everything Wilber wrote before that he might as well have written it himself. The three co-authors are clearly very faithful disciples of Wilber's.
That said, I believe the book's contents are awesome. This is a very broad, yet deep, method of approaching development in all its aspects as an integral whole. If there is something I always believed in, even before I had read anything Wilber wrote or even knew he existed, it is development. Wilber's Integral Psychology is still my favourite book of his, but Integral Life Practice comes close, mainly due its sheer practicality. It does give you the basics of Integral Theory, but not in the depth that other books have done. Thankfully so, for all that is well-known stuff to those who know Wilber and need not be repeated in this book. It's about the practice and this book does everything to make the reader want to practice. From each of the four main modules (Body, Mind, Shadow, Spirit) to the numerous "additional" modules, all is aimed at making you do things and that is a welcome addition to all theoretical books that were written before on the subject. Whether you have plenty of time or not, there are always exercises that fit into your schedule. And all that is presented without any unnecessary links to religions that may not be your own.
Thankfully, by the way, the "Shadow" as it was introduced in "Integral Spirituality" (see my earlier review of that book here) is now reframed to be what it is: psychotherapy. I always found the Shadow as Wilber described it overrated, but am much more at peace with its application in this book and the confirmation that it is just an application of normal psychotherapy.
I was most happy with two things. First of all the chapter about Integral Ethics, which is something that I have been wondering about and had a hard time explaining to myself and others, but which is finally extensively described (albeit without practices) in one of the later chapters. Secondly, the fact that the book really makes you want to do this stuff, including making development plans ("ILP Blueprints") and tracking your progress. It even made me create a plan and follow through on it :-).
Greatest irritations are twofold as well. Firstly the frequent use of vague wording for the non-dual state: Suchness, I AMness, True Face, etc. I appreciate that such a state is hard to describe in clear words, but these words tell me nothing, even lead me away from the essence of non-duality. My second irritation is worse, though and has to do with the same subject: Wilber et al keep confusing the causal state (that of the Witness) with the non-dual state, which, specifically in the Spirit module, is annoying. Back in 2005 already, The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies published a paper by Burton Daniels called "Nondualism and the Divine Domain" where this is made very clear. That paper is really good and goes much further in the definition of non-duality than Wilber ever went.
Anyway, this book is worth five stars out of five for me. Anyone who really wants to work on their own development and do it comprehensively should get this book and put it into practice.