Dear IEC Friends
A significant portion of our community shares being in the helper-niche, dedicated to providing healing and transformative experiences to others. We council people one-on-one, hold groups, workshops, courses or whatever transmission we have at hand.
One thing we felt under discussed is what working with groups would look like in an integral style. What would it mean to facilitate a group at the integral stage?
- What is the Integral Stage?
- An Overview
- Post-postmodernism
- Re:View of Good and Bad
- Flex-Flow in Groups
- The Origin of Flow
- Integral Flow Approach
- Recipe for Facilitating Integral Groups
- Where To Try An Integral Group
What is the Integral Stage?
The Overview
Integral is a structure of consciousness in our stages of development, where people see the world as a whole interconnected system, rather than a collection of isolated parts. It seeks the orderly comfort of every perspective, values all developmental structures that came before itself. Integral is actively learning to switch between them, meets others where they are.
It’s also referred by the colours Teal and Turquoise, the 2nd Tier on Ken Wilber’s spectrum of consciousness; Yellow, or Flex-Flow, is the 7th Stage is Spiral Dynamics, is where pluralism and relativism (postmodern/Green) are transcended and Included into a system of perspectives.
These are the perfect conditions for an aspiring facilitator to relate to anyone, provide space for whatever theme is arising in their group.
Post-Postmodernism
Circling and the classic sharing circles fully embrace the rich and emotional experience of our life. The liberating experience of being your authentic self, treating others equally so. Structurally the postmodern Green, the negligence of self-limiting hierarchies of the Amber-Blue and material strives of Orange. Some things that also commonly happen at the Green is people starting volunteering, thrifting, eating vegan, and being overly ironic. Drastically changing their looks, their identity, friends, or even gender to suit their “true self”.
While Green frees us from hierarchical thinking, allowed you to de-construct the world around you, it has also traps you in a free-from-hierarchical thinking. With no concept of direction, or the idea of “better” as those labels impose oppressive hierarchies. The Integral facilitator is not leaving Green, on the contrary, it’s transcending and including it.
Re:View of Good and Bad
The Integral/Teal worldview goes beyond the insights of Green, and is learning to re-appreciate healthy hierarchies and value distinctions within the bigger picture. Learning to acknowledges and understands the importance of previous stages (Magenta to Green) in the human experience. And also smoothly integrating them without forcing change or extreme cultural relativism. This structure of consciousness doesn’t just see all points of view, it honours them and allows the organic contextual flow between them… hence the phrase, flex-flow.
Flex-Flow in Groups
Origin of Flow
The original meaning of the flow experience, researched by positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a highly satisfactory peak experience when with a focused concentration on the present with heightened awareness, and we drop the control of thinking mind, temporarily getting out of time into the eternal presence being one with the moment.
Integral Flow Approach
Along with paprika, flow, the Rubik’s cube, one of our national treasures is the first integrally informed full spectrum group work, developed by a practicing integral psychologist with a clinical degree. The Integral Flow Approach is a brainchild of our friend, founder of the Integral European Conference, Bence Ganti. By moulding therapeutic methods across the developmental spectrum, and spicing it with a shared, relational flow experience, his groups gain access to transpersonal insights, spontaneous integration.
He has spent 26+ years, facilitated 1000+ groups, combining the healing and transformative methods of the human psyche and soul. From group to individual, verbal to non-verbal, from gentle to powerful, shamanic to scientific, earthly to heavenly, grounding to transcendent.
Through non-verbal contact, bodywork and encounter exercises, the Integral Flow Approach puts people into a deeper state of consciousness where subtle encounter experiences and the flow state appear both in individuals and the group. Combined with sharing our experience verbally, it has a quick healing effect on the lack of contact and connection that many of us carry simply by living in today’s highly individualised world.
“Bence Ganti’s Integral Flow Experience is a genuinely Integral practice that is wise, effective, and truly integral. Pulling all the pieces together, he has created a marvelous and most useful method!” – Ken Wilber, Integral Vision
Based on his experience of facilitating over a 1000 groups, he suggests that there is a spiritual field beneath the shared flow experience, that manifests itself through us when we are connected by it. This is a form of the “new-we” and a higher stage of being together. A space for structured chaos, where all our parts can flow into a synchronised harmony. Hence called the Integral Flow Approach.
“If Wilber is the Einstein of consciousness, Bence is the Mozart of it.” — Leonard H, NeuroTrain
He posits that if we open people and loosen up their ego fixations then they potentially open “up and down” on the levels at the same time. Both higher states occur and earlier unresolved issues also surface and get a chance to be uplifted.
“Bence has a masterful and sovereign guidance in the flow practice combined with a compassionate heart that helped me to release tears for myself, and for all suffering human beings. His instructions were clear, his reminders gentle and to the point. A wonderful healing practice.” – Susanne Cook Greuter, Ego Development Theory
Recipe for Facilitating Integral Groups
Therefore if Integral/Yellow means the dynamic agility of all systems, facilitators aiming to hold space for these higher realms of development need a synthesis of methods that embrace all expressions across development.
Therefore if Teal/Yellow means the dynamic agility of all systems, facilitators aiming to hold space for these higher realms of development need a synthesis of methods that embrace all expressions across development. For instance, the synthesis of Integral Flow Approach is such:
1. Relational meditation
2. Subtle interpersonal connection
3. The power of touch
4. Elements of authentic relating
5. Liberation through movements
6. Now-constellation work
7. Causal presence
“Bence leads from both the heart and head. He is as comfortable talking theory as he is directing a large-group psychodrama, or leading a drumming circle in the woods. It is never about gaining attention for himself, but rather it is about creating a richer experience for the participants. His impeccable intention helped everybody relax”- Jeff Salzman, Daily Evolver.
Where To Try An Integral Group
The next opportunity to try the full-spectrum power of Integral Flow is this summer in Hungary, in the Integral Summer Retreat from the 2nd to the 7th of June, shortly after the Integral European Conference. (Yes, we have a whole ecosystem of integral things)
As this is his first week-long done in English at Hungary, one of the secret ingredients of the medicine is Bence doing it in his homeland, giving it the whole experience an extra layer of depth and rootedness. He has held 47 retreats so far in Hungarian, now requiring a waitlists for locals to get in.
An Integral Flow retreat is intensely experiential, as it includes a dynamic range of talking circles, movement, contact flow, music, psychodrama and somatic expressions. Plenty of break times, outdoor activities and meditation.
“I highly recommend that you check out Integral Flow Therapy. I had a chance to experience Bence Ganti’s transformational process work in Budapest and I was happily surprised at how deep, original, touching, fun and catalytic it is.” — Terry Patten, Integral Spiritual Practice, Bay Area Integral
Financial Help: If the program fee, which is 2/3 of the price is too heavy for you, and you want to come, you can ask from us a “pay what you feel” solution for this part of the cost. For that send us an email about it to info@integraleuropeanconference.com
And we are introduced QnA Calls, where you can book a 15 minute session and engage with someone from our team to help you find what you are looking for!
Bence’s chosen orientation has been Wilber’s integral psychology since 1996. His formal trainings include a psychology degree (MA) in 1999, and clinical psychology (post-gradual) and integral hypnotherapy in 2008. He also learned other methods and healing modalities in the last 26 years, which today he blends into integral flow. These include:
- humanistic and transpersonal psychotherapy,
- clear communication,
- Gestalt,
- NLP based hypnotherapy,
- breath work,
- altered states guidance (trance-sitter),
- psychodrama,
- constellations work,
- field-awareness,
- bodywork and somatic psychotherapy,
- movement medicine,
- shamanic work,
- psychic sensitivity,
- vipassana meditation
- As a former musician, he also includes at times singing, guitar playing, and drumming.
With Love
The IEC Team