One of the most promising ways that integral is being conveyed to a broader audience is through the world of academia. According to Dr. Sean Esbjörn-Hargens of John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California, “The more we can establish the integral model as an academic discipline, the more it can be viewed as legitimate within mainstream culture.” The halls of the academy have long been Western society’s incubator for all forms of knowledge. But these halls have for the most part been closed to integral theory in spite of the fact that many books have been published on the subject and that the theory itself provides the framework for a truly interdisciplinary academic approach. But Esbjörn-Hargens is trying to change that. In 2006, he partnered with Integral Institute to establish the Integral Theory Department at JFK University and the world’s first accredited master’s degree program in integral theory. Through the program, Esbjörn-Hargens and his colleagues are trying to test and prove the efficacy of what they call the scholar-practitioner approach to education and research, which gives equal emphasis to both “transformational self-inquiry and intellectually rigorous scholarship.” In addition to gaining a theoretical understanding of the dynamics of consciousness and culture that the integral model reveals, students also use spiritual practice and other forms of self-reflection to explore and develop their own interior dimensions. While the fledgling master’s program is still quite small (eighty students in this fall’s cohort), it is only one of what Esbjörn-Hargens refers to as “the four legs of the integral academic stool.” Hargens has also helped start the peer-reviewed Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, the Integral Research Center, and a biennial academic conference, all of which serve as forums for a growing number of scholar-practitioners who are applying the integral model to a diverse array of disciplines—ecology, international development, psychology, and spirituality—to compare their findings and start to build an evolving body of integral knowledge.

Of all the new developments in the integral movement thus far, the most significant may be the “Biennial Integral Theory” conference, the first of which was held this past August at JFK University and which Ken Wilber called a “historic and momentous event.” This academic conference, which was sold out months in advance and carried a waiting list of more than three hundred people, was officially organized as a showcase for the work being done by the network of integral researchers and practitioners that JFKU has pulled together. A quick flip through the conference brochure revealed a fascinating array of research presentations, including “An Integral Perspective on Climate Change,” “Integral Education at the Elementary Levels: Big Philosophy for Little Kids,” and “Integral Politics: The Islamic Movement and Political Crisis in Turkey.” There were also panels that assembled many of the integral world’s leading figures to discuss everything from “Integral Feminism” and “Integral Law” to a roundtable inquiry into the question “Does Integral = Ken Wilber?” But while a lot of important information was distributed through the many presentations and panels—and a major step was taken toward putting integral theory on the map as a truly legitimate academic discipline—the significance of the conference was much greater. The gathering was a cross section of the integral world itself—a unique blend of spiritual teachers, philosophers, journalists, academics, professionals, and many leaders of the growing integral networks across the globe. For most of these five hundred participants, it was the first time they had been at an event of that magnitude, where everyone shared an interest in the integral perspective. By bringing this global meta-network together, the conference started to give the relatively independent actors in the integral world the kind of confidence and connection that come from recognizing that they are part of something much larger than their individual communities and specific bodies of work.

So the integral emergence is at a significant point in its development: While not yet a mainstream movement, it is no longer limited to a small handful of pioneering individuals. And while the definition of what this integral future will look like is far from clear, even among those who have started to explore this territory through their own lives, communities, and work, the fact that so many are becoming interested in hashing it out together is a sign that something important is occurring. As Steve McIntosh noticed on his recent book tour throughout many of the integral world’s budding centers, “There is a sense of excitement and vibrancy among the people you meet. And people are showing up in good numbers. It’s not yet a popular movement, like you might read about in Newsweek. It’s not like Eckhart Tolle on Oprah. It’s more about the quality of the ideas and the commitment of the people than it is about the number of people who are interested in it.” And for this small but growing group of integralists, just as the founding fathers of America could never have completely foreseen the impact that their revolution would have on the future of humanity, it is likely that the full significance of the philosophical and cultural activism being carried out in the many corners of the integral movement is far beyond what any of its members can grasp or intuit at this early stage. But in spite of this fact, there is a bold sense of pioneering spirit, fueled by conviction in the truth and potential of the integral perspective itself, that is driving the movement forward—often blindly—into a hopeful future.