Transpersonal and Integral Dialogue

between Dr. Roger Walsh, Jorge Ferrer and Bence Ganti
with facilitator Rob McNamara

What happens when 3 decisive figures from different fields of today’s psychology are on the same stage? What are they talking about? Fortunately they have a brilliant facilitator who puts them into the weirdest situations they can imagine. The result is a heartwarming and funny performance. Instead of a vibrant debate of different opinions they share their thoughts about what they appreciate most about the work they have done together.

Watch the video:

There are 3 rules for the dialogue:

1. Water is the metaphor for Spirit, God and Love.
2. More is happening than appears on the surface.
3. Cut to the heart and listen from the heart.

In the first imaginary scene, the 3 men on stage are wearing black jumpsuits, have masks covering their faces and are just about to enter into a museum with an exquisite piece of art that is needed for the collection.

Than a black van filled with material and immaterial treasures is racing through the town, going towards the horizon, than BANG splash into the water…

When the water line envelops their hearts, Roger relaxes and says: „Guys this is it, we’re not getting out of this. My estimation is we’ve got about three minutes each to share what we most appreciate about what we’ve done together.”

Roger highlights that according to Carl Jung, a „gnostic intermediary” is someone who imbibes the wisdom of a different culture, translates it into a language and concepts of their own culture, and thereby makes this understandable to all. So our job, each and every one of us, is to be gnostic intermediaries, imbibing the great wisdom from the world’s history and the world’s cultures and different traditions, formulating it in the language of contemporary psychology, transpersonal and integral, and bringing this wisdom to the world. What a privilege!

Jorge mentions that both Transpersonal and Integral Theory can learn from each other. TP can learn from Integral to pay greater attention to developmental theories. Integral can learn from Transpersonal to be more modest, more humble. He points to a problematic aspect, what he calls „spiritual narcissism”, a deep-seated belief when one feels that one’s tradition, one’s spiritual path, what works to liberate oneself, is somehow kind of superior or more complete or final than others.

Bence’s short message to put in a bottle is solid and crunchy: deep connectedness is more important than the ultimate model of reality. He thinks that society has mandated today’s psychologists and psychotherapists to be the priests and healers of the modern world. To fulfill this task, it is necessary to put all the psychological views together; we need a model that includes all aspects of human beings, including the ego and the transpersonal self. Ken Wilber said it first. The solution is that despite our differences, we are connected in heart, in a deeper mission.

Then the scene changes: they find themselves in a bed… Before our fantasy runs away with us, we quickly understand that unnecessary rudeness is part of our lives.

We learn that the way forward is to continue cleaning up, growing up and waking up. Partly to reduce the pain in our own hearts but also partly to reduce the pain we have caused others.

If you wish to join another great event with the same spirit, join us for the IEC Regathering 2019 Vienna.

With Love, The IEC team